Third Shift Amber Lager - Coors Brewing Company

mjurney

Texas

3.5/5  rDev +12.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance:
Golden-amber color, clear. Lots of carbonation rising up. Thick frothy head.

Aroma:
Faint. Sweet malts, bready, a little caramel.

Taste:
Sweet malts, bready, slight toasted and caramel. Bitterness is mild. Finish is dry, crisp. Body is light, crisp, refreshing, medium carbonation.

Overall:
It's a good beer, but nothing special.

Serving type: bottle

05-23-2013 07:18:10 | More by mjurney

mralphabet

Virginia

3/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

12 oz bottle poured into Sam Adams Perfect pint glass

A: Clear golden color with a good 2 fingers worth of head that disappears about as quickly as it appeared, with no lacing.

S: Sweet malts with just a small hint of hops, not much else.

T: First thing I'm getting is the sweet toasted malt, then pretty much the same at the end.

M: Medium carbonation, a little thin and dry in the finish.

O: Not a bad beer, pretty easy to drink and not a bad ABV, just not exciting enough to make it a session beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2013 00:08:02 | More by mralphabet

Gmann

New York

2.8/5  rDev -9.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75

Pours a slightly hazy pale copper color with a short dense white head that settled into a light ring.

The aroma is quite sweet. Noticeable grain sweetness is mixed with a caramel note. Aroma has a bit of a sugary scent as well.

The flavor is grainy sweet and has a caramel edge. There seems to be some corny adjunct flavor. There is an odd bitterness from the hops, grassy. Has a beefier malt presence over the typical Coors product. A bit of an astringent lemon tea flavor in the finish.

The feel is light to moderate with fizzy carbonation. Sweet on the palate with a dry an oddly bitter finish.

Better than fizzy yellow beer but not that good overall.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2013 20:47:49 | More by Gmann

WVbeergeek

Ohio

2.74/5  rDev -11.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.25

Amber body it's third shift band of brewing amber lager, gold medal where? Clear amber body fizzy carbonation is all over the place the head is creamy textured and colored with large bubbles. Aroma has cooked cereal grains, corn and caramel coloring as the base malts somewhat earthy pungency in the nose...how is this stuff even on the same level as the Batch 19....it's a modern day lager that they want you to believe has been brewed by a band of brewers who are like brothers taking on the masses when in fact this is the masses brewing an amber lager to compete with Black Crown and Yuengling Traditional Amber Lager. Faint biscuit malt and caramel flavor with a hint of spicy peppery hops, not really bad in the flavors just in the sense of texture that it tastes like a mass produced product with a harshness that's hard to describe with loving and discriminatory words. It's just not that good and sales will project the same opinion especially for the price point this beer has I'm glad I found an individual can to review, not bad really after one it's not bad could a pour another in my glass, hell no. Overall impression is that the big brewers need to stop going pseudo-craft and go all the way and claim it as there's Miller can brew a great mass produced light lager why not a great IPA???

Serving type: can

05-13-2013 21:45:07 | More by WVbeergeek

Alextricity

Michigan

3/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Served on-tap in a chilled "Boomba" 22(?)oz pint glass for a surprising $6.50 (with tax).

Appearance: Crystal clear, one finger head. Absolutely no lacing to speak of. Looks decent at best.

Smell: Sweet malts, and maybe a touch of hops, surprisingly enough ... truthfully, not bad smelling at all, and I don't get any adjuncts in the aroma (I don't know if they're used).

Taste/feel: Follows the nose, with a lot of sweet malts. The first few sips tasted super bready to me. As the beer warmed up, it just got sweeter and sweeter, and the aftertaste had a slight artificial sugar flavor. Not a bad taste, but there's not much to it. Solid. Feel's average as well -- smooth, and not too carbonated.

Third Shift, to me, tastes a lot like Batch 19 (also from Coors). The difference there is, this is classified as a Vienna Lager, while that's considered an American Adjunct Lager. For that reason, and the fact that this beer was only a buck less than a Boomba of Two Hearted (albeit at a different bar), it's hard to recommend it. It's not an awful beer, but it's stark raving average, and quite a lot like Batch 19 for more money. Eh.

Serving type: on-tap

05-11-2013 03:18:03 | More by Alextricity

Bookseeb

Washington

2.69/5  rDev -13.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Appearance has a golden amber color supporting a fair dissipating head leaving nill lace. Smell of adjunct grains and mild hop. Taste is grainy, slightly sweet with big adjunct flavor. mouthfeel is light with good carbonation. Probably the one and only time I'll give this one a try.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2013 00:20:47 | More by Bookseeb

jjamadorphd

Florida

2.98/5  rDev -3.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Three is my favorite number - I wish I could say the same for this beer.

Third Shift Amber Lager pours out a very nice, golden color with racing bubbles all the way to the surface. It produces a nice light-tan head, pillowy, with a little staying power. The head, though, does have good lacing. The smell was the first thing that turned me off - pure hops, which would not bode well for me in just moments when I would try it. Its mouthfeel was surprising, a nice mix of carbonation and thick liquidy taste that I did enjoy. But, the most important of all the categories, the taste, was simply disappointing. The bottle says "Amber Lager", but the darn thing tastes like an IPA. Had a second bottle and...yep, again, IPA taste. Not high on list of beer types.

Overall, it's a pretty decent beer, but nothing overly spectacular to give it above average.

If you drink, don't drive, and if you drive, for cyrin' out loud - don't drink...stay safe...

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2013 22:27:41 | More by jjamadorphd

Goosehunter75

Missouri

3.19/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

A - Pours a golden copper that is crystal clear. It has very little head. What is present is fluffy white but it disaptes quickly and leaves very little lacing. It does have a overall nice color.

S - It smells very grainy. Not ven malty...but grainy. There is a slight grassy and raisen aroma.

T - Very nice malt flavors upfront folloewd by a big biscuity finish. There are slight toffee undertones throughout.

M - Quite lite for this style beer and just in general. Very easy to drink and creamy feeling

O - Its pretty much what I anticiapted. Very nice tasting beer and very easy to drink. There is just nothing that sticks out though. Not really a very memorable beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2013 22:50:10 | More by Goosehunter75

HalfFull

California

3.03/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Twist off bottle poured into a pint glass, the Third Shift pours a clear golden with a half inch of foam and very light carbonation in the liquid. Moderate retention as a result.

Aroma is clean and grainy with a light hint of vienna malt character and a faint touch of hops. Warming does expand the hop experience with some agitation, yet seems oddly out of place overall. Taste is dry with a hint of caramel up front and offers a coarse and grainy finish. Lacking as for depth as a Vienna Lager but an easy quaff for a medium bodied lager. Light and smooth feel, simple and without any defects. Average.

Serving type: bottle

04-28-2013 04:28:16 | More by HalfFull

joemcgrath27

Alberta (Canada)

3.09/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3

A - clear golden copper colour, half finger of head retained at just about that level
S - pale grain and adjunct with just a faint hint leafy hops and light caramel
T - getting mostly leafy and metallic hop flavours, some noticeable adjunct, very mild graininess
M - light and well carbonated, pretty crisp and clean, finishes just slightly dry
O - not bad but bottom line its an average beer

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2013 01:29:34 | More by joemcgrath27

jimmah120

Minnesota

3.53/5  rDev +13.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

pint can purchased at a gas station, best by 1st of July.

amber-gold look with some lacing and little retention. smell is musty grain, semi sweet, some lemon, spicy finish. taste is grainy, woody, some sweet roasty grain/malt but just a hint. hops are light and lemony. more than a little alcohol in the finish.

for a coors product, this is excellent

Serving type: can

04-25-2013 01:03:02 | More by jimmah120

Mavigo

Michigan

3.48/5  rDev +12.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Didn't know much about this beer until I saw that is was produced by Coors. Lowered my expectations by a lot but not to fret, it worked out. Served in a chalice.

A: Pours a clear, amber orange color with a 3/4 inch orange-ish, tan head with not much lacing to it. Dissipates fast.

S: Wheat, grains, grass, barley, spices

T: Light, smooth flavor, not very original but it's fine, wheat flavors, grass, grains, spices, subtle yeast

M: Fairly carbonated with a lighter body, fairly balanced with flavor profile, crisp, refreshing

O: Overall I was expecting much worse since it's by Coors but it's alright. Nothing special, just a run of the mill wheat beer, but not too bad, I could drink lots of these with no discomfort. Unoriginal but relatively enjoyable, I'd recommend it.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2013 16:40:20 | More by Mavigo

Jason

Massachusetts

3.19/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 3

16oz tallboy can, freshness date on the bottom of the can.

Golden amber hue, clear and very bubbly. Two fingers of head hold steady for a while. Very light aroma of cooked cereal and bread crust, clean. Deep crispness, kiss of sweetness upfront. Grainy with faint caramel, some hop bitterness ...enough to balance but flavor is nearly non-existent. Cooked veggies, fresh hay and animal feed on the palate. Drying grainy finish.

Not half bad ... just a plain amber lager. Lots of faux marketing thrown at this. Not sure of their intention but seems the idea was a hesitant pull of a trigger. Not really worth the time IMO.

Serving type: can

04-21-2013 02:36:04 | More by Jason

smiga

New Jersey

3.35/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

I bet if people tasted this blind it would eliminate the lower marks and render this beer a solid "above average". I agree the labeling is misleading - what gold medal!?

Poured into a .5 l cylinder glass...

A: Amber as promised with more carbonation, and a looser head than the best micros. The 1/2 finger head faded fast and left no lacing.

S: Decent aroma. I get bready, malty, subtle grainy aromas. Not a strong waft and nothing negative as some have written. maybe a little generic, mass produced, and bland, but not negative.

T: If you had to have a macro brew, this is a great one to pick. Really nice balance of hops, malt, tingle. Nice finish. They are working on the flavor and doing a great job. Sessionable. refreshing.

F: nice tingle, good body. Maybe a little syrupy, but mostly refreshing and a nice finish. I rate this as the best body in a mass produced beer I have tasted.

Overall: Great accessible, reasonably priced lager. I encourage people to taste this blind. It doesnt knock your socks off, but it's a perfectly fine above-average amber/ale/pre-prohibition-style-lager.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2013 01:29:07 | More by smiga

WesWes

New York

3.79/5  rDev +22.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

The beer pours a deep golden, amber color with a thick frothy white head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is good. It has a dry lager yeast scent along with a touch of caramel malts for color and malt character. The taste is decent. It has a smooth and easy drinking pilsner and caramel malt flavor that goes down easy and finishes dry. It's nothing spectacular, but it's quite quaffable. The mouthfeel is fine. It is a medium bodied beer with adequate carbonation. This is a good drinker and a good go to cheap beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2013 23:04:16 | More by WesWes

FlyingBull

California

3.33/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Have been wanting to give this a try. I respect what the macro-brewers do (don't always necessarily like it...), so i like to try their n0n-standard offerings. Picked up a 6 at a local grocery store for $7.

This beer poured a crystal clear amber with a 1/2 white head that settled down to a skim coat after a few minutes. There was some lacing down the glass as i enjoyed. The initial aroma was sweet malt with some caramel to it. I picked up a very mild "flowery" hop aroma. The taste was very Malty, with some caramel - sweetish, but had some bitterness at the end. I found the body to be on the full side - much more than i expected.

All in all, i actually enjoyed this brew. I found it similar to Coors' Batch 19 (which I liked a little better...). I found this to be in the pre-prohibition American lager style, which i like. For a beer from one of the big brewers, this was pretty good.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2013 16:11:31 | More by FlyingBull

Brad007

Vermont

2.58/5  rDev -16.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Pours a mild amber-gold with a thick, frothy head into my glass. Label says "amber lager" but style is vienna lager. Hmm.

Industrial with the stench of sweet, highly-processed grain. Can't say I'm surprised as this is not a craft as the label (sneakily) tries to convey.

Just another bland, syrupy "beer spritzer" in my opinion. The latter part refers to the carbonation, which would be more at home in a wine spritzer.

A touch of burnt caramel is the only other thing I can detect. Not much else to pique my interest.

Batch 19 was much better compared to this. I think Coors would be better off sticking to their light beer spritzers and leave the real beer to others.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2013 07:00:16 | More by Brad007

Lemke10

Wisconsin

3.36/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

This pours a dark amber color with an average off-white head. It has a very mild aroma of mostly grains. Surprisingly decent tasting for a beer that going in I knew was brewed by Miller/Coors. This is a pretty average to high average macro-brew attempting to appeal as craft. Some caramel sweetness is mixed nicely with the grains. Tons more flavor than Miller Lite or Coors light!

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2013 04:48:01 | More by Lemke10

Mister_Falcon

Pennsylvania

4.19/5  rDev +35.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured a flawless amber color into a pint glass with a quarter inch head. Nothing offensive about the smell. Nice, crisp and refreshing for an amber. A well-balanced beer with a touch of bitterness, roasted flavor and effervescence. Could become a go-to for an amber fix from here on out.

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2013 01:11:21 | More by Mister_Falcon

JamesQuaff

California

3.51/5  rDev +13.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.75

Bought this beer sight unseen at the grocery store today. My local store maintains a modest selection of quasi-craft beers, and this was in that section. Never heard of it before, and that in itself intrigued me. Not much info on the packaging aside from the name. Looked like it was trying hard to appear as a 'craft' beer, but the twist-off caps gave it away. The price point was also a factor in my purchase - it was on sale for $10 a 12 pack. We shall see...

Served in my trusty Sam Adams tulip.

Pours a deep golden copper-orange, not really what I'd call 'amber' but a decent looking beer just the same. Nice color. Head is about 1/2" and bone white, with large bubbles and a 'loose' structure, and fades away rather quickly. Very little lacing.

A rather subdued nose, not able to pick out much. A little corn and a touch of hops. As it warms I'm getting a bit of a caramel note. Nothing unpleasant, but nothing really jumps out, either.

Flavorful and nicely balanced. An initial caramel sweetness fades into a decent bitter hop bite, and the finish is very clean, with pleasant bread and cracker notes. Not bad at all. Pretty darn agreeable, actually. Simplicity and balance have been growing on me more and more recently.

Light/medium bodied. The carbonation feels like the head looks - large bubbles.

A solid, refreshing, flavorful lager. I very much enjoyed this beer and I'm glad I grabbed it. I was going to say, it reminds me of something out of the current "Pre-Prohibition" lager trend that seems to be picking up. Now that I hit the site, I see it's a Coors product and a sister to Batch 19. Hey, if Coors starts putting out rich, flavorful lagers at this price point, more power to them. Drinking $12 bombers and $15 4-packs gets expensive damn quick, and if I'm going to be occasionally forced by my budget into the lower tier, I applaud the lower tier rising up to meet and even exceed my expectations. My overall rating takes this value into account.

Serving type: bottle

04-09-2013 14:41:48 | More by JamesQuaff

bourbonbock

New York

2.94/5  rDev -5.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75

Poured a 12 oz bottle of this into a clean pint glass.

A. Pours a light amber body with a finger of white fizzly head that dissipated quickly.

S. I smell subdued hops, lager yeast and a little bit of must.

T. The flavor of this one is a little bready, slightly yeasty, and slightly overcarbonated.

M. Thick body with a smooth feeling on the way down and very little alcohol bite. More of a sipper than a gulper...

Overall not a bad beer for summertime barbeques but I wouldn't pick this up to satisfy any cravings.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2013 19:40:51 | More by bourbonbock

Reidrover

Oregon

2/5  rDev -35.5%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

2 oz bottle from a six pack from "Habits" in Salem. $5.99 a sixer. Light copper coloured lager, large ,thick and rocky off white head. Not much to the aroma, grainy,cardboard ,slight grassy hop. Taste is thin caramel, with a certain astringency in the end that is perhaps hop? Watery palate Not impressed very pedestrian

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2013 17:42:10 | More by Reidrover

Aaron_Ramson

California

3.75/5  rDev +21%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Reviewing this as well as Batch 19, another Coors craft beer experiment, together. Poured a light amber with better head retention than Batch 19, lighter color and less viscous looking. The smell is much more subdued; slight caramel and toasted bread, so scent of hops at all. Very easy drinking and smooth taste that follows the nose; subdued caramel, lightly toasted grains, slightly nutty. A barely-there hop presence hides in the backbone. The mouthfeel is medium-thin and the carbonation is appropriate. This beer is very easy to drink and sessionable, but I also see this as the main flaw as this beer just has no "wow factor" to it. I preferred the thicker, rougher, more characterful taste of Batch 19. Easy to drink, tasty, and finely made, this is still not the best example of an American amber lager. Samuel Adams still dominates in that category but Third Shift is worth picking up if the price is right. (Paid 9.99 on sale at Rite-Aid.)

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2013 02:20:42 | More by Aaron_Ramson

TheMarkE

California

3.14/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Appearance: Golden amber with a good head of foam and decent lacing.

Smell: Malt and corn syrup.

Taste: Sweet maltiness, rather bland.

Mouthfeel: Light bodied, leaves behind the “beer” taste common to most macrobrews.

The Verdict: Meh. Even though this says it is made by “Band of Brewers” it is actually another Coors brand and it shows. Tastes very similar to a Coors or Blue Moon. Inoffensive perhaps, but the same blandness you can get from many other beers.

Serving type: bottle

04-03-2013 06:07:08 | More by TheMarkE

EagleTalon

Arkansas

3.16/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3

Pours out to a nice 1/2 inch head. Color is medium-light on the amber spectrum. Aroma is a faint caramel malt and grains with some grassy hops faint in the background. Flavor is rather bland and nondescript, starts out grainy/biscuity with a crisp noble hop finish. Mouthfeel is light, CO2 is on target. On the balance, the beer is very much in the mold of Killians and other mass-produced reds and ambers brewed with the lager yeast and processes the big boys use. This is not bad beer but it has Coors written all over it. Not that that makes it bad (no "ad hominem" attacks to big beer here), just sets it apart from independent craft brewers in how it comes across on the palate.

P.S.: Good price at the store (but I know we can't review price). I felt I got a decent deal considering what other swill sells at this price.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2013 23:22:58 | More by EagleTalon