Moosehead Lager - Moosehead Breweries Ltd.

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

2.65/5  rDev -13.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Better than the national brands by a moose whisker. If youa re surrounded by national brands, you can get by on one of these if you sip it as some maltiness and carbonation. Unattractive Yellow and short but immense sudsy foam. Grainy, more drinkable with food.

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2004 01:32:19 | More by northyorksammy

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

2.25/5  rDev -26.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

Crystal clear pale maize with accents the color of butter (not gaudy margarine yellow, but pale butter yellow). The head is airy and semi-stiff, but still looks like it has more substance than the average mass-produced lager. The cap lingers at a fat one finger for a bit with one undulating ring of lace just above the surface of the beer.

There was a big blast of skunk on top popping that, although it's much less noticeable now, hasn't completely faded. I doubt that this bottle is truly skunked though, even with the green glass. It's anything but an enticing aroma and is weak enough that it can be easily ignored.

I drank my share of Moosehead back in the day and this Moosehead doesn't taste like I remember. Little wonder since it's been 15+ years and 700+ beers ago. I preferred Labatt Blue back then because I always found The Moose to be too bitter. Well, this beer is anything but. It doesn't have enough flavor to be bitter.

Light, weak flavor is carried on a light, weak body. There's some slight hoppiness I guess, but the IBUs have to be in the single digits. Again, it isn't assertive enough to have a bad flavor, and is, in that sense at least, drinkable. This is one of the weakest non-light beers that I've ever consumed.

Why is this Canadian-brewed beer an *American* all-malt lager and not an adjunct lager? (note: the 'adjunct lager' style has since been changed to 'macro lager'). Moosehead Breweries Ltd. may not have used adjuncts, but perhaps they should have. At least then, there'd be some flavor. Better yet, add more ingredients and give us some beer with our beer.

Moosehead Lager is an unoffensive rehydrater. Hey, at least I didn't make any moose <liquid waste product> references.

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2005 00:41:17 | More by BuckeyeNation

mikesgroove

South Carolina

2.08/5  rDev -32.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Still cannot believe Alex showed up with this one. Served cold and poured into a pint glass, this one was consumed on 08/08/2010.

Hazy straw yellow on the pour, but that was to be expected. Small head of white that quickly fades leaving a bare top and minimal lacing that is less then impressive.

Aroma is light, practically non existent as you wade your way into it. Light malted grains, a touch of corn and hay. Your typical macro lager without much in the way of originatly. Crisp, clean, an flavorless finish leaves nothing behind. When its ice cold it is not terrible, but once it warms it is damn near intolerable.

Overall another in a long line of not very goo beers that I tried over the last week.

Serving type: bottle

08-12-2010 01:04:44 | More by mikesgroove

UCLABrewN84

California

3.1/5  rDev +1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Pours a clear gold with a foamy off-white head that settles to a partial film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace slowly drip into the remaining beer on the drink down. Smell is of malt, grain, and sugary aromas. Taste is much the same with sweet grain flavors on the finish. There is a very mild amount of hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is an average beer that is drinkable but nothing too exciting going on here.

Serving type: bottle

05-26-2013 04:22:29 | More by UCLABrewN84

brentk56

North Carolina

1.95/5  rDev -36.5%
look: 4 | smell: 1 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Appearance: Pour a clear pale golden color with a rich marshmallow of a head that leaves plenty of lace, but dissipates rather quickly

Smell: What would you expect from a green bottle - the skunk

Taste: Fortunately, the taste was not skunked (if that could be called fortunate in the case of this beer); sweet, with a developing bitter grainy accent by mid-palate; after the swallow, the sugary sweetness persists well into the finish although the raw grainy taste never really fades

Mouthfeel: Light bodied, almost watery, with moderate to high carbonation

Drinkability: If you like sugar water, you will probably like Moosehead

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2009 19:23:12 | More by brentk56

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

3.1/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

12 ounce bottle - $1.29 at Total Wine & More in Kennesaw, Georgia.

Appearance: Pours the predictable clear, yellow body with a foamy, white head.

Smell: A bit skunky initially. Then, after the stink has had some time to waft away, you get some sweetish malt hints and floral, lightly grassy hops.

Taste: Sweet, lightly husky light pale maltiness with some floral, herbaceous hoppy accents and restrained bitterness. Finishes dry, crisp, and with some enduring grainy hints.

Mouthfeel: Light-bodied. Medium-plus carbonation with an overall crisp mouthfeel.

Drinkability: An acceptable, easily drinkable lager that, forgiving the minor skunkiness, is just a hair more distinctive than the rest of the macro lagers out there.

Serving type: bottle

07-18-2009 22:06:45 | More by ChainGangGuy

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

1.93/5  rDev -37.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Nice golden brew with a generous head. Strong skunky taste with a small malt aftertaste. This is a very light brew. This is one of the worst macro I had for a while. I don't see the need to drink this again and again why are they using light green bottle...

Serving type: bottle

10-14-2003 16:07:37 | More by Phyl21ca

BEERchitect

Kentucky

2.1/5  rDev -31.6%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Typical for 'green bottled' beer. Pungent odors emit from the bottle. Aromas of light skunk, earthy, and grain. Getting into the flavor, the odors subside a bit, leaving a cereal grain flavor with a mouthfeel of light huskiness and graininess. Malt sweetness and breadiness is moderate and improves until the sharp and almost astringent finish. Leaving a grain-like aftertaste. Though I've had worse, this is not likely to be a beer that I will revisit.

Serving type: bottle

02-13-2006 12:43:57 | More by BEERchitect

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +30.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Moosehead pours a crystal-clear, dark gold body beneath a thick finger of bright-white foam that holds remarkably well and leaves some very nice lace about the glass. The nose welcomes you with a beautiful combination of sweetish grainy malt and herbal and floral hops. That combination carries over in the flavor where the hops really come into their own. Initially they seem more herbal, but as it warms a bit some of the more floral nuances appear. The malt doesn't appear as sweet as the nose suggests, and it's also backed by a solid bitterness. In combination with the crisp carbonation and medium-light body, the bitterness cuts through nicely. It finishes dry with some quickly passing, lightly sweet malt up front; a slap of floral hops; and then lingering herbal hops amidst a long-lasting bitterness. Refreshing, satisfying, and highly drinkable!

Serving type: bottle

07-08-2006 17:26:15 | More by NeroFiddled

WesWes

New York

3.48/5  rDev +13.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

The beer pours a very pale gold color with a thick frothy white head that fades to lacing. The aroma is decent. It is light with a slight malt scent and a pleasant green bottle skunky smell. The taste is good. It is light and refreshing with a nice skunky green bottle flavor and slightly bitter aftertaste. The mouthfeel is good. It is a low bodied beer with good carbonation. This is a fine Canadian lager. It has a decent aroma and good lager flavor.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2004 23:37:32 | More by WesWes

zeff80

Missouri

3.2/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Decided to revisist an old favorite from college.

A - Poured out a golden, yellow color with a small, fizzy, white head. It didn't leave much in the way of lace.

S - It smelled of corn and sweet malt.

T - It tasted of sweet malt and light spiciness from hops.

M - It was crisp and sharp. A light-bodied beer.

D - This is still a pretty good lager. It is easy drinking and very sessionable.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2008 18:30:48 | More by zeff80

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

1.75/5  rDev -43%
look: 2 | smell: 1 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1.5

Poured from a 12oz bottle into a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a pale yellow color, with a thin white head that fades slowly and leaves a thick lace on the glass.

S: The aroma is of grain, light malts, along with a touch of hops, but overall it's quite off.

T: The taste is pretty much a bready and mild malt sweetness. There's a very mild hops presence that brings in a little bit of balance. The after-taste is likewise slightly bready and slightly sweet.

M: Crisp with a little smoothness, light body, medium-to-high carbonation, finish is clean.

D: Not very flavorful, goes down easily enough, not filling at all, mild kick, there's really not much of anything here that would make me want to drink this beer again.

Serving type: bottle

06-10-2008 03:53:43 | More by TheManiacalOne

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

3.78/5  rDev +23.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

I really enjoy Moosehead from time to time. I prefer it the most when I see it on tap somewhere. I know it's just a typical lager but something about it makes me like it.

The beer poured out as a clear golden color with a thin fizzy head on it. There is no lacing on brew. The smell of grains a malts on the nose with the slight hop aroma in there. The taste of the beer is crisp and had a sharp hop character to it with some sweet grainy malts in there too. The mouthfeel is clean and Simple. Overall, like I said before, if I had to pick a lager to drink for the rest of my life this would probably be in the top 5.

Serving type: on-tap

07-04-2011 07:37:35 | More by Knapp85

russpowell

Oklahoma

3.63/5  rDev +18.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

If this'd been an eurolager it would've scored better

Pours straw colored, effervescent with 1" of white head. Good lacing & head retention

S: Some herbal hop notes, sweet malt & grassyness

T: Sweet malt, herbal hops & grassyness up front. Sweet malt follows along with a little herbal hops. Finishes slightlty fruitty & a little lemony hops

MF: Light/medium bodied with a good carbonation & skew a little too malty balance-wise

Drinks pretty easy, a little more complexity would help. Nice revist to a blast from my past (84-90 I drank a fare amount of this stuff)

Serving type: bottle

02-23-2007 04:26:32 | More by russpowell

Halcyondays

California

2.63/5  rDev -14.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

12 oz. green bottle

A: Pale yellow with white head, average lager appearance.

S: Bits of malt and hops, really nothing.

T: Bits of hops and skunk.

M: Very light on the palate, less than what I was expecting, fizzy.

D: Good, but didn't feel like having another, it just got boring at the end. Not a bad beer, but it just didn't make an impression on me.

Serving type: bottle

07-09-2007 00:09:58 | More by Halcyondays

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

2.85/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

This pint arrives to my table, and appears a clear pale yellow hue, with a small amount of thin soapy white head, which leaves a bit of lace. It smells of skunky herbal hops, mostly, and a very mild white grain malt. The taste is light white cracker grain, and more skunky, grassy hops. The carbonation is way too high, the body is chalky, kind of cloying, and not quiet medium weight for the style. It finishes dry and crisp, but the skunk factor persists to the end. I know Moosehead is revered for being the last of the Canadian ownership holdouts among macro brewers, but their flagship beer is nothing that I would seek out.

Serving type: on-tap

07-13-2009 23:16:44 | More by biboergosum

jwc215

New Jersey

3.15/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours light straw yellow with a thin white head that fizzles to barely a patch.

The smell is of some sweet grain. Slight "skunk" soon dissipates.

The taste is of sweet grain that is interrupted occassionally by (Cluster?) hop sharpness. It has an abrupt, mostly clean, finish.

Light bodied, smooth, inoffensive. It beats most macros, but I can think of so many better lagers...A decent choice to bring to a party of macro drinkers as it is easy but has something to it.

Serving type: bottle

09-08-2007 16:00:11 | More by jwc215

tempest

Pennsylvania

2.9/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Served a green bottle at Italiano Delight in Emmaus, Pa. I poured it into a chilled pint glass.

Meh, another fairly bland lager. The aroma is all DMS and cooked corn once this warms, no good. The flavor is pale, clean barley with a slight herbal bitterness at the end. Light in body and easy to drink, there isn't a lot of flavor, but it's ok lawnmower beer. Once the green-bottle skunk clears out, its mostly inoffensive.

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2008 02:31:28 | More by tempest

WVbeergeek

Ohio

3.45/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Straw golden hue with a creamy mountainous white head very nicely textured leaves behind thickests of lacing. Primarily smells of sweet grain not bad at all but there is a hop aroma here to balance the sweetness good representation of a solid all around drinkable lager, very clean and inviting but there have been times when I've had 6 packs this time I sided with a 12 pack split with a friend only five bucks a piece not bad eh? Taste, is full on sweetness fresh cracked grains a malty lager with a nice bite of hops in the finish considered flavorful side by side other macro North American lagers. Could be a staple for the right price, mouthfeel is slightly creamy medium to light in body good carbonation solid brew. Drinkability, tasty, refreshing, and all around decent brew.

Serving type: bottle

11-10-2003 04:15:04 | More by WVbeergeek

jdhilt

New Hampshire

2.9/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours with a two-finger white head that fades quickly leaving traces of lace. Clear amber color. Light carbonation and light bodied. Slight hoppy/skunky nose. Starts with a mix of hops and sweetness, finish is clean, better than American lagers. $1.50 for a 12oz green bottle from Colonial Spirits Acton, Ma.

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2005 23:17:00 | More by jdhilt

Jason

Massachusetts

3.48/5  rDev +13.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Presentation: 12 oz green bottle with no freshness date. Blurb about the brewery and a bit of history on the back label.

Appearance: Shaded yellowish straw hue, tiny bubbled carbonation that forms a thin blanketing white lace.

Smell: Fresh milled grain and the sweetness of a malted barley mash as well as clean boiled hops come to mind, pretty much what an American lager should smell like.

Taste: Crisp medium carbonation with a moderate malty body and a smooth and inviting mouth feel. Malt is straight up one sided which is goes well with this beers disposition, clean on the palate … almost immaculate. Hops are sharp and to the point with their quick in and out bitterness. Fresh drying grain pulls any sweetness away from the tongue and puckers the mouth into a clean after taste of little residual.

Notes: A clean and quick to drink lager, better than its US counterpart while leaving a touch more quality without taking away from the swift drinkability of most American lagers.

Serving type: bottle

03-23-2002 05:57:25 | More by Jason

Zorro

California

3.1/5  rDev +1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Pours a clear light gold brew.

Smell is mostly Grain and sweetness.

Tastes sweeter than I remember, big grain flavor, needs more hops though.

Rather thick for a lager, I like that.

Good Drinkability, but here this isn't exactly cheap. I remember when this was “the GREATEST beer ever!” it’s OK.

Serving type: bottle

02-14-2004 02:32:01 | More by Zorro

Viggo

Ontario (Canada)

2.75/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pours a golden yellow, clear, big white head, no lace. Smell is sweet malt, some spicy hops. Taste is lagery and sweet, some spicy hops in the middle, slight bitterness in the finish. Mouthfeel is acidic, high carbonation, light body. I remembered this being a lot worse, not as bad as some.

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2005 17:48:53 | More by Viggo

BlackHaddock

United Kingdom (England)

2.28/5  rDev -25.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

This green 350ml bottle has a date of 6th May 2009 on its shoulder, it was drank and reviewed on a cold but dry November Saturday in 2008, at on in my lounge in Shropshire, England.

I poured it into one of my Duvel glasses and stared at it for a while. All the little bubbles that fixed themselves to the side of the glass began to break away and rise to the white head above. I was left with a golden, clear brew with no pin-head sized bubbles on the glass. Interesting, but not enough to stop me smelling and tasting the beer.

The aroma wasn't to great, in fact there was very little to pick up at all, some malts and grain if I'm being kind, otherwise 'nowt'. So my bog standard score of 3 for lager/pilsners is awarded.

The taste isn't strong enough, I expect a malt lager to taste of malt, this almost made it, but failed.

Not enough 'umph' for me I'm afraid. Just a boring lager which has travelled a long way to be slagged off by a Brit.

Mouthfeel and drinkability effected by the non-taste and general blandness of the product.

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2008 13:51:25 | More by BlackHaddock

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

1/5  rDev -67.4%
look: 1 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1

First had: bottle from some friend's cooler

First beer I ever had. Good thing I kept trying.

Pours a clear straw color with a small, white head that fizzles out rather quickly. Not much in the smell other than skunk and some light malts. About the same in the taste: stale malts and lots of skunk. Fizzy and weak, light bodied, and none to drinkable. Please avoid.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2011 03:04:49 | More by Rifugium