REVIEW 115: ROLLING ROCK EXTRA PALE

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:  USA

BREWERY:  Latrobe Brewing Company

STYLE:  Adjunct Lager

ABV:  4.6%

PURCHASE:  Draft (pint), $2.50

SERVING:  Chilled pint glass. From the tap, a standard 3/4" head. The two subsequent beers got a little less. Lousy retention.

APPEARANCE:  Body of the beer is the color I call "adjunct straw." Sudsy white head--when in existence. Very little visible bubbling, and no lacing whatsoever. 

BOUQUET:  About as clean as you can get. Lacks the skunk factor present in so many other mass-produced macrolagers. On the flip side, there isn't much of anything. Seltzer, some generic adjunct product, and a fraction of a fraction of a trace of floral hops. 

PALATE:  Seltzer-like entry, which explains the soda-like but somewhat repressed carbonation. Middle-of-the-road body, palate-wise. Generic grains permeate the mid-palate but recede right at the finish, yielding to adjunct notes such as corn and rice, and a resurgence of seltzer. There isn't even much of a yeast factor here; it's almost as if you're drinking a light beer. (Well, it is under 5%.)

MUSINGS AND METAPHORS:  The Rock. The first beer Crockett ever had. A 7-ounce "pony" bottle, courtesy of my grandfather. It was his weapon of choice.

Back then, it was good. Or maybe it was inexperience convincing me it was good. I can't tell. All I know is that, as an adult, I find it to be . . . bleh. Did Latrobe's sale to InBev destroy a once-great brand? I don't know. At the end of the day, the Rock is another Yuengling: A storied brew from my home state that has sharply declined in prestige and has been surpassed by hundreds--even thousands--of competitors, yet remains oversentimentalized by local drinkers.

So, what does the "33" mean? Who gives a shit?




GRADE:  D-