Mickey's - Miller Brewing Co.

whatthehull

California

2.8/5  rDev +9.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

Poured into a La Chouffe Tulip

A - Clear yellow/golden, two finger white head and some head lacing

S -Sour yeast, slight hops, citrus, lemon grass and tons of corn and malts

T - Slight hop note, sweet/toasty malt, a slight bitter yeast flavor, corn and maybe some citrus or fruit notes

M - Sticky, coats the mouth, low acidity, long finish but finish gets kind of sour

D - A bit heavy to drink on a warm day. But a perfect cold night beer. For almost 6% and $2 a 40oz, not bad

Final thought - For the genre I like this beer, outside of the genre, this beer is for bums

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2011 03:17:43 | More by whatthehull

cooch69

Pennsylvania

3.88/5  rDev +51.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Got a 40 oz. of this cause I have'nt tried Malt Liquor in about 6 or 7 years and had no recolection of what they actually tasted like.

Pours a clear as day light yellow with a tall foamy two-three finger head after an agressive pour.

Nose is primarily rubbing alcohol and sweet, bready pale malts.

Taste comes off as just an American Lager bumped up in alcohol. It does have that rubbing alcohol taste to it as well. With such a light beer I don't see it as much of an issue that the alcohol shines through so well.

Overall I think this tastes better than a lot of premium American Lagers I'd probably choose this for a hot muggy night on the deck.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2011 01:44:23 | More by cooch69

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev +17.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

My uncle introduced me to Mickey's a few years ago. One new years eve he got a case and we sat around drinking them trying to figure out the guessing game on the bottle caps. The beer might not be the greatest but at least they give you something to do while drinking it. Anyway it pours just like any other American adjunct lager I've had with a yellow body and A white head. The head fades and leaves us with sweet smelling brew. The beer tastes alright and doesn't have a bad aftertaste at all. It was a drinkable brew thankfully and it helped bring in the new year!

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2011 00:21:49 | More by Knapp85

bmo56

Massachusetts

2.73/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Served in the quintessential 40 oz bottle, Mickey's is still one of my favorite malt liquors. Pale in color and sweet corn in taste, I still drink it(once in a great while) on hot New England Nights, because it drinks better than bud light, and bud light sucks and its cheaper than Brooklyn summer or sierra nevada summerfest

Serving type: bottle

05-07-2011 04:24:19 | More by bmo56

buschbeer

Ohio

2.7/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

12oz bottle
Served in a pint glass

A - A vigorous pour presents a yellow beverage with an inch or two of white head that disappears quickly.

S - Sweet corn, grass

T - Sweet malt, grass, just not a lot going on.

M - Watery

O - It goes down like water, with a buzz.

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2011 00:41:29 | More by buschbeer

WeezyBoPeep

Florida

4.18/5  rDev +63.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4

Look, no beer snob is gonna score a malt liquor over a C something. It's just not gonna happen. Reviewed within the STYLE by a true beer advocate, this one will fare quite well.

Consumed some grenades over the last few weeks right out of the bottles.

A:Nice looking, unique bottle. Very cool. I like the bee with the stinger out, it's for you, beer snob who is too good for this legendary beverage!

S: Nice aroma for a malt liquor. Not metallic at all. Very yeasty and pleasant with a sweet note. Light corn, cheap hops, and plenty of malt to go around.

T: Excellent malt liquor here. Mouthfeel is perfect for the style with a nice carbonation and a wonderfully refreshing finish. I get hints of sourdough, corn pops, apple juice and corn flakes.

D: I could have these until the sun comes up. Good luck taking down more than a sixer of grenades though, you'll be toasted. (Or more than 3 forties.)

Value: INCREDIBLE.

One of the best malt liquors out there. In short, House of Pain was right. But only for real men. Beer snobs need not apply here.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2011 04:54:37 | More by WeezyBoPeep

MaltsOfGlory

Oregon

2.15/5  rDev -16%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Pours an atrociously huge head, completely white, three fingers in length. The body is completely yellow, so much carbonation I can't even think strait; completely see through as well. The head looks frothy and nice, but it's already disappearing, it is leaving nice lacing though. Confusing look overall, because all the aspects are horrible accept for the lacing and the head are pretty damn nice. I don't detect too much skunk on this beer, which is good considering it's out of a green bottle, but then again I don't smell much period. There is a gross sour, adjunct malt smell, and maybe the slightest hint of hop in there somewhere. It just smells boring, it smells boring and watery. Wow, that's a pretty horrible taste, I get this huge gross malt taste, just full of adjuncts and other crap, that is mixed in with water, and with a slight alcohol taste. One thing that surprises me about this is how not crisp it is, that's usually one redeeming factor for these adjunct beers, but this isn't even crisp or that refreshing. The only thing I can really say that is good about the taste is that all the flavors are blended well together, but none of them are good flavors, so...yeah. It gets easier to drink as you get closer to the bottom of the glass, but that's not going to save this beer from a bad rating. The mouthfeel is ok for a malt liquor, but pretty damn light overall, not too impressive there. One thing I can say is that this beer is incredibly easy to drink, I don't know what it is but it just goes down and before you know it the glass is gone. Overall, not a horrible beer in terms of adjunct lagers, but there are some areas that are god awful.

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2011 07:17:33 | More by MaltsOfGlory

JoeyBeerBelly

New York

3.15/5  rDev +23%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I was happy to find this beer in a 24oz can (99¢) at one of my local food stores. The last time I had one of these was 30 years ago when I was out in California from a "Grenade" wide mouth bottle.

L - clear yellow color with a thin white head that settled as a ring leaving a tiny bit of spoty lacing.

S - sweet malt, corn and a hint of alcohol.

T - not that bad, sweet malt, some grainy corn and light alcohol.

F - medium bodied with a crisply carbonated feel.

O - pretty good for the style.

Serving type: can

04-24-2011 17:34:37 | More by JoeyBeerBelly

Nerudamann

Arizona

3.15/5  rDev +23%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a can into a pint glass.

Look - pale golden color with about half a finger's worth of almost white foam that dissipates somewhat slowly.

Smell - it smells like any malt liquor...very cereal like and a bit musky.

Taste and Mouthfeel - Also very cereal like in taste, and very light in general. Not much qualitative evidence of the taste. Texture is actually decent for a malt liquor.

Overall - definitely not the worst malt liquor I've had, but not interesting at all in taste.

Serving type: can

04-24-2011 05:44:02 | More by Nerudamann

missilesilo

Minnesota

4.65/5  rDev +81.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

Appearance - I like the look of the bottle; it looks cool and makes me want to drink it.

Smell - Great! Doesn't smell bad at all.

Taste - Excellent. Don't mind drinking, or even chugging it.

Mouthfeel - Leaves a good taste in your mouth

Overall this beer is good because it tastes good and you only need 2 or 3 to feel a buzz.

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2011 04:25:45 | More by missilesilo

weizenbob

Michigan

3.8/5  rDev +48.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Don't let the pissed off looking wasp frighten you; at 5.6% ABV, Mickey's is the soft and cuddly malt liquor. I picked this up in a display case full of 24 ounce $.99 cans. I opened the can and poured into a pilsner glass in hopes that glassware alone would transform this beastly brew into a beauty of an imperial pilsner.

The pour yields two fingers of foamy white head. Head retention is good. Really nice thick lacing sticks to the side of the glass. The beer is golden colored and crystal clear. A moderate amount of carbonation can be seen through the glass. It's kind of pretty looking.

The aroma reminds me of the maibocks that I've been drinking lately. It actually smells like a premium strong lager with a nice grain bill. Wet hay is forward in the nose and is accompanied by a honey-like sweetness. There is an impression of freshly cracked peppercorns. Alcohol is not so much smelled as it is felt, as the nose hairs are tickled by its presence in the aroma. This is really not smelling bad at all.

Y'know, the taste isn't all that bad either. It is not as interesting as the aroma would have me believe, but there is none of the cringe inducing harshness that I normally associate with the style (no doubt due to the below average alcohol content). There is a soft graininess that is nice. As expected, there is also a fair amount of corn adjunct flavor. The honey sweetness reaches the tongue as it did the nose. It is watered down for sure, but it finishes cleanly. I'm less impressed by the flavor than I am the by lack thereof. Regardless, I am still impressed.

This is a light bodied brew, but certainly on the heavier end of light. It is highly carbonated and as such a little tingly. Overall however Mickey's is really mellow and easy drinking.

Mickey's is a pleasant surprise. It's dirt cheap; it looks, smells and feels great, and the taste is totally inoffensive. That may not be high praise, but for a style that is often unpalatable, it's about as good as it gets. Incidentally, I could wholeheartedly recommend this over any of the proper adjunct lagers in the Miller lineup.

---

The Two-Schlitz Scale: (see my profile for an explanation)
As impressive a malt liquor as this is, I still don't give a Schlitz for Mickey's.

Serving type: can

04-11-2011 22:44:17 | More by weizenbob

BucBasil

South Carolina

3.18/5  rDev +24.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Drank from the 24oz can.

S: Not too bad. Typical malt liquor corn sweetness, but also a pretty decent malt base that's almost bready. This one could stand up in a lineup next to Heineken and some other Euro pales.

T: Somewhat bready in the beginning, with a surprising smoothness. Finish is pretty bad, overly sweet with that creamed corn weird character typical of these things.

D: This is a good kickin' back beer, right at home alongside a porch swing. Lowbrow but in the best way. It does what it wants to well, and doesn't give the drinker a sense of hobo shame and horribleness or hilarious irony that goes along with drinking an American malt liquor. At the beginning I was hesitant but then gladly drank the whole thing.

Overall not too bad as far as malt liquors go. Again, I'm sure not many could tell the difference between this and a Euro Pale Lager in a blind lineup. Decent and a good surprise.

Serving type: can

04-01-2011 03:50:51 | More by BucBasil

CaseyR22

California

3.58/5  rDev +39.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

12 oz. green "Grenade" bottle poured into a Sierra Nevada hop tulip. Yea maybe it's not the right glassware but I just got the glass so I'm using it on all my beers. LOL

Look- Gold, clear as day. 1 Finger head that dissipates insanely fast. A tiny bit of splotchy lacing.

Smell- Sweet malts and corn, a hint of booze.

Taste- Honestly not bad, I was expecting worse.Not a lot of taste there, but I pick up sweet malts, a little bit of white bread flavor, and slight alcohol way in the back. Much better than most beers of this style.

Mouthfeel- Fills your mouth with carbonation. Typical of malt liquors.

O/A- Damn good "For the style"

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2011 08:39:36 | More by CaseyR22

dakeynr

Pennsylvania

3.8/5  rDev +48.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

OK. I have read the reviews of Mickey's "Fine" Malt Liquor here and some folks seem to be embarrassed to even be reviewing it, or in some cases, to be giving it too high a grade.
C'mon. It's beer, and we're all beer lovers here, and - speaking for myself - I love to try all sorts of styles and flavors and countries of origin...gimmicks and chicanery included. I believe all's fair in love and the love of beer. Malt Liquor is another product that gives us the incredibly huge variety of beverages in the 'beer' category. That's enough to love it for!(IMHO)

This is an above average Malt Liquor. It's not over the top in the abv department, as it's right there with many excellent IPA's. I find this to be preferable to many domestic lagers - the taste is better.
Color is pale amber. Quickly dissipating head. Carbonation remains, and bubbles rise, reminiscent of Sprite or 7-up.
Tastes somewhat sweet, with a rather nice, if somewhat strong-flavored finish. No noticeable alcohol on the tongue, that I could detect.
Serve Mickey's ice cold. It holds up well to strong flavored meats, and appetizers - think burgers, brats, dogs, hot wings - or it's great solo.
Mickey's is, in my opinion, one of the few choices that will harmonize with almost everything. And, actually, if you pour Mickey's in a wine glass, and serve it without revealing the brand - I believe most people would find it to be a great, refreshing pale lager.
If you can get past the stigma attached to malt liquors in general, and give this an honest go...you may find you like it...or love it!

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2011 22:35:55 | More by dakeynr

HalfFull

California

3.1/5  rDev +21.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

12 oz. wide mouth barrel shaped bottle poured into a pils glass. Dated May 16, 2011. Pours a medium straw with half an inch of whitish foam. Decent amount of bubbles working their way up allow for some retention and good lacing.

Bit of barley on the nose with perhaps a hint of adjuncts. Rather neutral in nature without any good or bad qualities. Perhaps a bit of lemon and lightly notable hop scents with aggressive agitation.

Taste is similar with some citric sweetness attached to a bready malt base. Fair amount of texture to the feel, and again lacking any obvious adjunct notes. Not all that bad but not quite Old English either.

Serving type: bottle

03-19-2011 01:26:22 | More by HalfFull

Wegomlegging

Virginia

2.63/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Watery yellow color. Sweet smell of corn and hops. Flavor is not too awful, watery and slightly bitter. Felt ok in the mouth, respectable. Slightly drinkable, and refreshing in a strange way. If you must drink malt liquor, make yours a Mickey's grenade. It's by far the best one out there. Just be careful how many you have, it's a doozy.

Serving type: bottle

03-13-2011 02:32:31 | More by Wegomlegging

ZenAgnostic

Texas

3.38/5  rDev +32%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance - Foamy white head with decent if erratic lacing and decent retention. Crystal golden brozen body.

Smell - Sweet corn. Not much in the way of complexity and no bitterness.

Taste - Slightly sweet corny front, barely noticable bitterness in the middle, and a slightly stale finish. That could be the fault of the can, but that's just conjecture. Otherwise pretty one dimensional.

Mouthfeel - Somewhat watery, but nothing strange of an american lager or malt liquor. A decent amount of carbonation keeps it from feeling sickly sweet or overly stale. I can tell if this beer went flat it would be especially undrinkable, but is pretty fine just one of the can.

Drinkability - Pretty drinkable for a malt liquor. Then again malt liquors probably aren't exactly the drink of choice of beer sophisticates. Keep in mind I am grading within style. Not bad, not good - unless you plan on getting drunk.

Serving type: can

03-04-2011 23:39:55 | More by ZenAgnostic

drabmuh

Maryland

3.08/5  rDev +20.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Bad beer Thursdays -- two for one edition. This is simultaneously a well known "bad beer" but also a top 5 American Malt Liquor, neat. Poured from a green 40 ounce bottle into a Paulaner 1 L dimpled stein.

Beer is yellow and clear, heavily carbonated with a thick head of large white bubbles, actually bubbles of all sizes, no staying power though. It's gone before I know it's there.

It actually smells rather pleasant. Sweet, pilsner, it has a slight odd aroma to it but it definitely doesn't smell bad.

Beer is medium in body and has an odd bitterness at the finish...and here comes the boiled corn aftertaste. Bummer, you really let me down Mickeys. I was hoping for so much more. At least the aftertaste is short lived. I can say that much for it. It's drinkable, more so than the others, just not very good tasting.

Serving type: bottle

02-25-2011 01:16:56 | More by drabmuh

chicagoabbot

Illinois

2.73/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

12 oz 'grenade' into a snifter...that's right, I'm reviewing Mickey's out of a snifter. I hesitate to use the word 'impressed' by this beer, but let me say that I am impressed by how good this is for being absolute crap.

Pale piss body with a typical adjunct fizzy soda head that subsides into weakness.

Nose is slightly skunky, probably from being light struck...sort of like a mirage, but instead of thinking you have water you think you have Belgian yeast and instead of finding sand you find...crappiness.

Taste is fairly smooth for what is is. Pretty drinakable. I'm ready to crown this the best cheap non-craft malt liquor.

Serving type: bottle

02-12-2011 00:13:50 | More by chicagoabbot

TMoney2591

Illinois

2.48/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Served in a snifter.

And, thus, following the good stuff, Swill Fest 1.5 kicks off, complete with a viewing of Human Centipede. This offering pours a clear straw topped by a finger of white foam. The nose comprises wheat, corn, and hay wet with the runoff from some dark, murky bog in the old English countryside, the kind of thing you'd see in some rustic Gothic throwback tale. The taste holds notes of corn, corn syrup, and a heaping helping of bad apple juice. Up until now, I was unaware that apple juice could go bad in this manner. now I think it could be a possibility. The body is a hefty light, with a moderate carbonation and a watery feel. Overall, I think this gives yet another reason for why malt liquors don't get any real respect: They don't really deserve much.

Serving type: can

12-25-2010 03:14:42 | More by TMoney2591

Vdubb86

Illinois

2.9/5  rDev +13.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Served in a snifter

Thanks to TMoney2591...i guess, since he made me try this for the swillfest 1.5

This beer pours a clear golden orange with a white foam that doesn't last long. The smell is pretty mellow, some concentrated malt notes of course. I really don't mind the smell it's sweet on the nostrils. The taste is bitter and rancid. Though it's not so much horrid as just not really that pleasant. The mouthfeel is decent as is the drinkability of this beer. For an AML it's pretty darn good, otherwise I wouldn't choose to drink it.

Serving type: can

12-24-2010 06:28:40 | More by Vdubb86

EgadBananas

Louisiana

2.73/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

24oz can

Dark straw in color, with a finger and a half of stark white, pillowy, bubbly head. Spongy lacing, and Bubbles!!!

Grainy, maybe corny. Theres some sweetness on the back end; malts.

Not much on the taste really. Hint of maltiness, and some tinny grains.

It's light, bubbly, highly carbonated, and crisp.

It's chuggable...and I may just do that with the rest of the can.

Serving type: can

12-23-2010 22:19:15 | More by EgadBananas

ronniebruner

Arizona

3.58/5  rDev +39.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4.5

The best of all American malt liquors, being perhaps the only drinkable 40 oz bottle in the United States. The beer is skunky, high carbonation, has a great taste for being so skunky, and is very cheap. I think almost everyone on this site has had this beer at least once, probably as a teen or college kid.

Serving type: bottle

12-19-2010 08:50:32 | More by ronniebruner

SamN

Colorado

2.35/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Lively beer, pale golden color with a rough head. Smell is intense of solvent alcohol, faceless spices and low grade cereal malts. Tase is sour, grainy and slightly boozy. Some herbals and a surprising slight smoothness. Feel is a little thicker than most adjuncts, numbs your tongue and lips a lil bit.

Pretty poor quality malt liquor, nothing I would drink again.

Serving type: can

12-19-2010 02:38:19 | More by SamN

tjsdomer2

Illinois

1.95/5  rDev -23.8%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Appearance: Good foam. Very pale yellow. Thick bubbles. Kind of oily. Not terrible, but still bad.

Smell: Strong and sour corn. Not pleasant in the least.

Taste/Mouthfeel: Mouthfeel is pretty weak, but sour. Quite watery with the mouthfeel.

Drinkability: Starts out ok, but gets extremely bitter at end and makes this hard to finish.

Overall: An improvement of King Cobra, but it's still not enjoyable. This was an old bottle though.

Serving type: bottle

12-16-2010 05:44:02 | More by tjsdomer2