Hamm's - Hamm's Brewing Co.

emmasdad

Colorado

2.98/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

I have fond memories of this beer from years ago, ice cold from plastic cups while playing softball at one of my Dad's union picnics. I was about 12, and even then I remember this one being inferior to some of the others my Dad drank (Erlanger, Lowenbrau, etc). Anyways figured I'd try it again. Pretty much the same as a lot of the other macros, with little to distinguish itself. Clear yellow color, fluffy white head, big carbonation, grains. But with a bear.

Serving type: can

11-20-2010 19:08:11 | More by emmasdad

Reidrover

Oregon

2.98/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Decided to review this beer..having seen it in the local Safeway for years but never had the courage to try it..bought in the 24 oz can for 99cents.
IIts appearance is very non-desript..there is a finger sized head for a minute or so after pouring , but it dissapears quicjk..leaving very little trace..the beer is a dark golden colour.
Hardly any smell at all just a hint of corn syrup maybe a small amount of malrt..but even this goes quick.
actually doesnt taste to bad for a cheapo very sweet though.
I suppoe this is drinkable enough on a hot summer day after yard work..but not one I will grab again.

NOte this beer grew on me I did buy more..much more a good backyard BBQ swiller.

Serving type: can

02-09-2003 20:08:09 | More by Reidrover

morimech

Minnesota

2.78/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4.5

I haven't had this beer in 15 years. I use to bring this to BYOB parties knowing that no one else would steal my brew. They would stick to Bud, Busch Light, and High Life and mock me and my Hamm's.

This is a very pale looking beer with large white head that settles quickly. Very lively long after the pour.

The smell isn't nearly as obnoxious as most other macro lagers. There still isn't anything good about it though.

The taste is weak. Don't remember it being this weak. Maybe get a little bit of the hops but otherwise is beer flavored water. It is light and crisp so pounding these all night would be no problem. Maybe that is why I liked it back in the day.

Serving type: can

11-27-2007 00:45:49 | More by morimech

illidurit

California

2.17/5  rDev -19.3%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.5

Can. Yellow and fizzy and clear and urinesque. Smells like stale grains, old corn, cesspool water. Flavor is not as watery as some pale lagers but unfortunately the lack of wateriness is replaced with an abundance of cloying corn syrup and cereal. Finish is mineral and short. Yawn

Serving type: can

09-06-2009 05:55:48 | More by illidurit

bditty187

Nebraska

2.58/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Light yellow, head reached about a ½ inch, spotty lace. The nose is sweet (like corn). The taste is sweet (like corn). Once this beer warmed, even minimally, it really started to taste cheap. When the beer was cold it was okay… Now that I have tried Hamm’s I can move on, I don’t need to go back.

Serving type: can

11-29-2002 19:34:37 | More by bditty187

TastyTaste

Minnesota

2.8/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Medium gold with a big white head. Smells a lot like grain and a little like malt. Taste is actually more complex than most cheap beers. Starts out with a watery malt flavor, then passes into an adjunct flavor. For it's very low ($12.99 a 30 pack) price, this is quite a deal.

Serving type: can

01-15-2004 01:52:32 | More by TastyTaste

garymuchow

Minnesota

3/5  rDev +11.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Sulfur and soft malt and some lingering yeast character.
Brilliantly clear very pale straw. Head is very white and fizzy sounding. Settles out rather quickly.
Shoot of sweet corn flavor up front, but a soft feel throughout. Pale malt is very soft and dominated by the adjunct. Mild, but noticeable dryness on the finish and it lingers. Full carbonation. Not much hopping.
Very easy drinking. A little too sweet for my tastes and a bit of strong on the adjuncts. I suppose it hits style fairly well. Can do for a lawnmower beer.

Serving type: can

10-07-2012 17:45:39 | More by garymuchow

armock

New York

3/5  rDev +11.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Can from Savemart in Manteca, CA

A - Poured a golden color with a white head that leaves some lacing behind

S - Is of sweet grainy malt with some corn

T - Like the smell starts off with sweet grainy malt and finishes with a touch of corn

M - This beer has a light body with higher carbonation to it

O - Sure its not the best lager out there but on a hot day with burgers on the grill its not a bad beer at all and for the price and taste it beats the the other macros

Serving type: can

06-09-2011 22:02:59 | More by armock

puboflyons

New Hampshire

3.45/5  rDev +28.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

From the can stamped: SEP1012-CO8031534. Sampled on June 1, 2012. It pours a highly carbonated pale yellow with a head that rises about an inch and eventually settles down. I am rating this on whether it looks, smells, and tastes like and American Adjunct should. The look is right. The aroma is of grains, corn, and a bit of hops. The body is light to medium and creamy. The taste is also grainy, corny, but the hops finish it surprisingly crisp and clean. I stumbled across this in a beverage store in Southern New Hampshire and I have not seen Hamm's in New Hampshire since the 1980's. Easily worth the $3.75 I paid for the 6-pack.

Serving type: can

06-02-2012 00:44:17 | More by puboflyons

WoodBrew

Illinois

2.7/5  rDev +0.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Continuing with the throw backs that have seemed to make its way into main stream I tried a Hamms. It is like Pabst's brother. The color is golden clear with decent carbonation. The smell and taste are grainy like you would expect. The mouthfeel is fine.

Serving type: can

05-10-2011 00:07:46 | More by WoodBrew

mentor

Colorado

2.4/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

12 oz can obtained from a local grocery (HyVee) and consumed a couple days later. Pours a one-finger white fiszzy settling head over a crystal clear very light straw colored liquid. Smells mild hop and 2-row barley sweet. Tastes watery. Malt sweet is very gentle. Hop presence is there, but it's amazingly low. As it warms I get some saaz and maybe hallertauer. Watery mouthfeel and sharp carbonation that's actually part of the taste profile (because there's not much here to taste).

Serving type: can

06-25-2005 23:20:24 | More by mentor

Rayek

Colorado

3.03/5  rDev +12.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

Picked up at a company function.

A: Straw colored with great clarity and mild carbonation from tiny bubbles. Big foamy white head stuck around longer than I thought it would. Left no lace.

S: Promising. A nice aroma of pepper is accompanied by a bit of raw grain.

T: The aroma doesn't translate to the taste. Pretty standard macro fare, but better to me than the BMC mainstays. Mild Malts hit first with flavors of dry barley, wheat and rice, but not necessarily in that order. Bitterness provides balance, but no discernible flavor other than a little metal. Finishes extremely clean.

M: Light body is fizzy, but not overly so.

D: A good yard work and family barbecue beer. In the bargain beer department, this slots in alongside PBR for me. Since a 12-pack of Hamm's goes for less than PBR, this is my new go-to cheap beer.

Serving type: can

11-10-2008 17:04:53 | More by Rayek

IntriqKen

California

1.58/5  rDev -41.3%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1

Pours a very, VERY pale yellow with a soft white head that sticks around for a while. Millions of little bubbles rise to the top of the glass constantly.

Aroma is mostly crisp grain like it is freshly cut. A little sulpher comes to the nose as well.

Taste is a real disappointment to me. Very grainy corn flavors, a little slippery on the tongue and a hop finish that doesn't taste like hops but rather sweet malt gone bad. With all of that said it is one of the weakest tasting brews I've ever had.

I'm sorry, Hamms..this one is just undrinkable for me.

Serving type: can

06-21-2008 01:46:28 | More by IntriqKen

Haybeerman

Colorado

3.05/5  rDev +13.4%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

A: Bright, clear straw yellow. Poured a 1 finger foamy white head that dissipated quickly to a skim that disappeared in a minute or two. Decanted continually. Thin, inconsistent lacing after the first couple drinks, then nothing.

S: Hay and grass with some sweet, biscuity malts. Faint bittering hops.

T: Malt and hops consistent with aroma; very muted. Light sweetness lingers in muted bitter finish.

M: Light body. Ample carbonation. Crisp and fizzy.

D: Representative of style and affordable. Nothing very special, but I wouoldn't turn one down.

Serving type: on-tap

08-10-2009 01:16:58 | More by Haybeerman

budgood1

Minnesota

3.23/5  rDev +20.1%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

a re-review.
i felt the need to re-review this beer because it's now $10 a 30 pack locally...making it almost the cheapest macro selection around. i usually chose high life, but oddly i've been swilling this stuff lately.

hamm's pours out clear and quite light golden, with a minimal head that dies quickly. practically no lace. the aroma is grainy and grassy; not obnoxiously of cheap adjuncts, but more pleasant. the taste follows suit, the grain/grass combination really asserts itself and the hopping really can be noted. while the maltiness is noticeably thin and watery, it still tastes fairly refreshing. i would rate it slightly higher in drinkability, just becasue it doesn't taste bad. those macro drinkers who like the neutral flavors of anheuser-busch will be offended by the character of this beer. but i'm not. while drinking this beer, i think about growing up in the land of sky blue waters, and how our minnesota forefathers appreciated this beer while engaging in their favorite leisurely pastimes.

a side note...my favourite beer glass, which i sample most of my beers in, is a classic hamm's pint schooner. oh, the nostalgia....

Serving type: can

06-28-2003 15:04:20 | More by budgood1

Frozensoul327

Michigan

2.23/5  rDev -17.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

This was one of the first beers i had when i went off to college. I tried it as i had never heard of if and wanted to do something different than all my roommates who were Bud lovers. It's not an expensive beer, and it shows. The flavor is not great, but not terrible either. It had a light aroma, and a slightly chemical taste. There was little or no corn / hops flavor, and seemed kind of watery. Either way, i can't find it anymore, and Bud has taken it's space on the shelves, which pisses me off. Overall, not bad. If it was there, i'd drink it.

Serving type: can

01-18-2003 11:10:09 | More by Frozensoul327

sholland119

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev +30.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A-Pours a clear yellow with a white frothy head.

S-Nice malt and grain presence with a little bit of a spicy note.

T-Some sweet malt and even some detectable hops.

M-Light bodied and crisp.

D-Well, I have to say this exceeded my expectations. For the style this is tasty. Or maybe "tasty" is the better word but in any case I drank it all.

HV

Serving type: can

07-15-2009 16:22:30 | More by sholland119

ElGordo

Oregon

2.68/5  rDev -0.4%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

Presented in a 24oz "Power Cylinder" (my words, not the marketing dept.'s). This was my drink of choice my first year or so in college, and I'm still a semi-avid collector of memorabilia featuring the Hamm's Bear.

Pours a pale straw color topped by a small, fizzy white head. Aroma is pretty much nonexistent. Not good, not bad, just not much of anything. Palate is lightly sweet, with very light adjunct malt and just a touch of fruity hops. Finish is clean and slightly bitter. Body is light, a tad fizzy, and a little bit tangy on the finish. I will say this - you can drink the hell out of this beer. Good in the large quantities preferred by non-discriminating types.

Serving type: can

02-28-2006 07:14:54 | More by ElGordo

DaPeculierDane

Wisconsin

3.63/5  rDev +34.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Hamm’s is a solid beer and great for drinking when PBR and Schlitz aren’t available. It’s very bitter for the style, putting BMC brews to shame. The best part about drinking Hamm’s is that when you drink it, people watching all think, “Wow, now that’s a MAN!”…well, either that or, “Wow, now that’s a drunk!” Hamm’s appearance is very similar to its cousins PBR, Old Style, Schlitz, and Blatz. When you poor Hamm’s into a glass (which should always be frosted because Hamm’s in a frosted glass has no negative flavors what-so-ever) you will see that it has a two inch thick, frothy white head for nearly 1.3 seconds. After that the froth becomes a thin, glass clinging lace. The body is hydrated urine with tons of carbonation. Hamm’s has a great lightly hopped metallic aroma and really tells you that the slightest amount of malt just might be involved someplace in the beer. The taste is even better and makes it obvious that Hamm’s is only made with sky blue waters. There is even a little bit of grain in Hamm’s. The Mouthfeel is light and as aforementioned, bitter. It goes down really well. The only bad thing about Hamm’s is that it’s proudly made by Unions, which means that for every $8 you spend on a case, a penny or so is going to eliminate American jobs and ruin our economy. That’s just sad but overall, the strong points of Hamm’s more then make up for that one small down side.

Serving type: can

08-11-2006 20:14:58 | More by DaPeculierDane

Wildman

Ohio

1.55/5  rDev -42.4%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

This beer was a very pale yellow color and formed really no head to speak of. The aroma was of grain and alcohol. The flavor was of grain and some alcohol. Very light beer and not much in the finish.I had totally forgotten about this beer. I really think that some macro beer companies need to rethink their policies. Cheap beer should have at least one redeeming quality, which is drinkability. This one does not have that.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2002 21:35:39 | More by Wildman

hardy008

Minnesota

2.85/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

"From the land of sky blue waters..." How many of us still remember the commercials with the Hamm's bear? Some of my favorite commercials as a kid.

Pours a pale gold color with a large foamy white head with decent retention. Smell is of corn, hops, and sweet malt.. The taste is a lot like the aroma. I can taste the hops and some sweetness which is a plus. The corn / grain taste is also present, but is not unexpected. The mouthfeel is thin and watery, but also crisp and clean. Got to take the bad with the good. The drinkability is average.

Serving type: can

07-08-2009 01:49:02 | More by hardy008

jsprain1

Minnesota

3.08/5  rDev +14.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

A- Clear golden, thick off white head. Retention is not great but better than most in style. Some lacing.
S- Smell is sweet on the nose, a good bit of corn, and a light grainy character.
T- Well it's heavy on the corn but it's not sulfuric or otherwise vegetal. It actually tastes pretty good, but I wish it was a little bit less sweet.
M- Decent body for style but oof was the carbonation overwhelming my tongue or what? I guess the aggressive pricklyness keeps the sweetness from lingering too much, but it really was a bit too much.
O- A decent beer and refreshing. The carbonation was a poor move but otherwise it's one of the better adjunct lagers out there.

Serving type: on-tap

08-01-2011 00:24:28 | More by jsprain1

AlCaponeJunior

Texas

2.88/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Not too bad looking. Light yellow and not so typically fizzy for an adjunct lager. Head was decent and lace wasn't bad at all.

Smell is typically grainy, some corn, a bit of light malt, a little bit sweet.

Taste is plenty OK for the style. Sweet corn and grains with a touch of grassy hops and some light malts.

Light and easy to drink, not that carbonated for the style.

Overall it's quite average but would certainly do when you're fishin' and someone else is buying the beer.

Serving type: can

09-14-2011 22:33:12 | More by AlCaponeJunior

Todd

Massachusetts

3.2/5  rDev +19%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Presentation: 12oz can. "Brewed in true family tradition from purest water and choicest barley malt, grain and hops." adorns the can. No identifiable freshness date, but there is a batch number.

Appearance: Pours a nice frothy white, two finger head that quickly settles to a thin lace. The clear liquid is a very pale, straw yellow.

Smell: Light hops, grain and a metallic edge in the aroma.

Taste: This light-bodied brew is immediately crisp and freshing with a smack of lemon in its gentle hop bite. Notes of salt also come into play as the brew dries with a nice crispness. Grain flavours follow with a thin, but even, sweetness. I can also pick-up on an addition of corn as the beer warms. The beer finishes with metallic and grain flavours with some dryness to it.

Notes: This is a damn fine "Union Made" beer, and certainly better than its more marketable brethren. It's simple and easy to drink, but the best part is its $2.99 a 6-pak price tag.

Serving type: can

06-20-2001 00:00:01 | More by Todd

jjanega08

Minnesota

3.3/5  rDev +22.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A= pours a clean yellow color with a nice big overcarbonated head on it that suprisingly holds some pretty nice retention and lacing on the side of the glass. Actually decent looking. A lot like high life with the head.

S= Smells like beer. Just like any adjunct lager you get a little grain and a little yeast.

T= The taste is nothingness. It's got a very very slight sweetness to it otherwise water. Really odd.

M= unexpectedly smooth and clean.

D= Not a bad AL. I actually sort of like it a little. It was cheap as balls and taste like nothing. I would buy this again if I wanted to get smashed.

Serving type: can

10-20-2010 00:52:43 | More by jjanega08