REVIEW 59: MOLSON CANADIAN

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  Canada

BREWERY:  Molson Coors Canada

STYLE:  Adjunct Lager

ABV:  5.0%

PURCHASE:  Draught (pint), $4.50

SERVING:  Chilled pint glass. A roughly half-inch head from the tap on Beer #1. Not much retention. Beer #2? Not much head at all, and even less retention. Uh-oh. Flat? I was able to use the "stir" method to give it one. 

APPEARANCE:  Typical color for this style, which I call "adjunct straw." A shade darker than most adjuncts, though. The usual white head. Very little lacing.

BOUQUET:  Fresh, floral aroma with whiffs of grain. Not very complex, but agreeable. The "cooked-veggie" element adjuncts are famous for is not very evident here.

PALATE:  Average body with initially average carbonation; the latter can increase sharply if you give it the opportunity. Yeasty and biscuity from the get-go. Slightly sweet. Hop factor is minimal, though discernible. Ricey, like a lot of North American adjuncts these days. Slight seltzer quality to the overall mouthfeel. Husky finish followed by an aftertaste that features the trademark "cooked-veggie" note largely absent from the aroma, and complemented by a perfectly heightened yeastiness.

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  Molson Canadian. Hockey beer. 

Adjuncts--particularly those from this continent--are never top-of-the-heap. The term "adjunct" itself indicates that. These are beers made with slightly inferior ingredients--at least as far as beer goes. These ingredients include such things as corn and rice--adjunct ingredients. These ingredients partially take the place of real malted barley and hops, thereby cheapening the quality. 

That said, this is better than most, and arguably the best one out there. Although I must say that, like Bud, it's better in the bottle. Far from outstanding, but far from shit.




GRADE:  C+