Iron City Beer - Pittsburgh Brewing Co.

matjack85

Illinois

1.65/5  rDev -34.8%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Found this brown 12 oz long neck bottle on the discount rack at Geno's Liquors in Elgin, IL for just 84¢. No freshness date or any other information about the beer other than the declaration that this is the "Official Beer of the Pittsburgh Nation."

The pour was promising. It came out a crystal clear bright yellow color that left a 3 finger white head that lasted over 2 minutes, and when the foam subsided it left a nice amount of lacing along the sides of the glass.

As for the smell, there is not much to describe. My bottle didn't have a bad or skunky smell
to it like some reviewers found, but it didn't have anything pleasant to it either. Pretty clean smelling with a touch of grain, and that is it.

The taste is where this beer falls apart. The best way to describe it is carbonated water with bubble gum in it. It's completely lacking in complexity. It's basically sweetened, carbonated water, and what makes it sweet is nothing good like malts or fruits. It's more of a corn syrup sweetness. I assume corn is the adjunct used in here, but there is very little grain flavor even from that.

This is a very light bodied, watery beer with a medium amount of carbonation and an over abundance of sweetener which coats the tongue.

This is way too sweet and uninteresting to make it a very drinkable beer.

Serving type: bottle

10-14-2009 09:36:19 | More by matjack85

LuckyLyle

Texas

1.75/5  rDev -30.8%

06-19-2013 22:34:42 | More by LuckyLyle

acurtis

New Jersey

2.25/5  rDev -11.1%

06-15-2013 12:49:41 | More by acurtis

nineworldseries

Ohio

1.25/5  rDev -50.6%

06-03-2013 00:35:52 | More by nineworldseries

bushbeer75

Michigan

2.5/5  rDev -1.2%

06-02-2013 16:49:16 | More by bushbeer75

JeffBlodgett

Georgia

1.51/5  rDev -40.3%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.25 | feel: 1.25 | overall: 2.25

I'm not going to give a thorough and scientific review of this beer. We all know as a beer, this is utter crap. BUT. If you're a loyal Pittsburgher, this is THE BEER. I can't explain it. We know there are plenty of MUCH better beers out there. But if you're watching the Stillers, the Pens, and even the Bucco's, this is the beer you want in your hand- Out of the bottle, straight outta Giant Eagle. This is the beer you order when you go to Permanti's. This is the beer you would order at Eat n Park if Eat n Park served beer. It's a staple of Pittsburgh(and Pittsburgh expats) households everywhere! We're proud of everything Pittsburgh and this beer is as Pittsburgh as it gets! It very well may be water from the Mon', but we love it! It very well may be absolute swill, but we love it! It very well may be the most caustic man-made concoction ever brewed, but we love it!

Okay, it says i need to make more words so... GO STEELERS! GO PENS! GO BUCS! GO STEELERS! GO PENS! GO BUCS! GO STEELERS! GO PENS! GO BUCS! GO STEELERS! GO PENS! GO BUCS! GO STEELERS! GO PENS! GO BUCS! GO STEELERS! GO PENS! GO BUCS! GO STEELERS! GO PENS! GO BUCS! GO STEELERS! GO PENS! GO BUCS! GO STEELERS! GO PENS! GO BUCS! GO STEELERS! GO PENS! GO BUCS! GO STEELERS! GO PENS! GO BUCS! GO STEELERS! GO PENS! GO BUCS! GO PITTSBURGH!!!

Serving type: on-tap

06-01-2013 21:32:57 | More by JeffBlodgett

Slatetank

Pennsylvania

2.5/5  rDev -1.2%

05-23-2013 23:58:20 | More by Slatetank

IPAchris

Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev +18.6%

05-21-2013 16:08:35 | More by IPAchris

Analog_kid

Pennsylvania

1.95/5  rDev -22.9%
look: 2 | smell: 1.75 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

I have to post at least 250 words, so I guess my original review wasn't long enough.

I've had this on tap and in a bottle. It looks and tastes pretty much carbonated water right out of the Allegheny with yellow food coloring added to give it flare. You could drink this all night long and not get drunk. There's no body to it at all and it just smells awful.

Yes, it's horrible.

But who cares? It's Iron City. Just shut up and drink it like a man.

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2013 03:07:43 | More by Analog_kid

KerryCummins1977

Kentucky

4/5  rDev +58.1%

05-14-2013 20:56:03 | More by KerryCummins1977

Bill235

Ohio

2/5  rDev -20.9%

05-12-2013 22:41:31 | More by Bill235

kkmiller76

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev +38.3%

05-05-2013 02:44:42 | More by kkmiller76

BDF2000

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev +38.3%

04-30-2013 20:17:46 | More by BDF2000

Proclarush

Maryland

2.5/5  rDev -1.2%

04-30-2013 01:55:15 | More by Proclarush

Falcone

North Carolina

2.25/5  rDev -11.1%

04-11-2013 19:06:19 | More by Falcone

boilermakerbrew

Indiana

2.68/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75

A- Pours a medium-light yellow, not quite pale straw yellow, but close. Small, one finger head that actually retains pretty well down to a thin film. Lacing is ok.

S- Pretty much offensive. Very light malt flavors are about the only scent outside of a general skunky smell. Dull, metallic scents are also in there at the end.

T- Pretty much like the scent. Starts with some decent light malts but moves right into a dull sort of bitter/skunky flavor that is pretty bad. Moves into a slight metallic pang of flavor at the end, and then ends in a forgettable manner.

M- Light and highly carbonated. Surprisingly smooth for a lighter adjunct lager. Highly drinkable if you can get over the flavor and scent.

Overall, this is basically what I expect out of Pittsburgh, a subpar beer. Oh well, they give us the Steelers, ans this. Not really sure which one is less offensive frankly.

Serving type: bottle

04-10-2013 00:25:24 | More by boilermakerbrew

wroywel

Massachusetts

1/5  rDev -60.5%

04-06-2013 21:09:45 | More by wroywel

gameshowhost

Wisconsin

1.63/5  rDev -35.6%
look: 3 | smell: 1.25 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.75

Can-to-mouth.

A: N/A except for looking at foam residue on the rim, looks normal enough for the genre. Give it an average score but I'm not putting much weight in this category.

S: Honest to FSM, Iron City from the can is easily the worst-smelling beer I've ever encountered, and I'm from Wisconsin, where some terrible brews are major industries (yes, we brew some excellent ones as well) ... so that's saying quite a bit. Beyond skunky. Ranks down there with "last place in a felching contest". A legitimate "1" but I gave it a 1.25 in case they decide to do an anniversary edition and lower the bar even further. Pretty sure the empties are covered under EPA Superfunding.

T: Not-so-unexpectedly, the overwhelming scent makes it nearly impossible to get a good bead on the taste. Holding my nose closed didn't help a ~whole~ lot, but it did improve the experience, if only marginally. Very similar to the taste of all of the other watery, yellow domestics -- which are 2s in my book -- but I couldn't shake the scent from my taste buds so it's a 1.5.

M: Again, no significant differentiation from watery, yellow domestic, which are 2s in my book.

O: *sigh* I'm feeling generous. 1.75 since it had a bit of utility as a quick fix to the age old "Why don't we have any beer?" conundrum. Everyone should try drinking a 12 oz.er at least once in his/her life, just to know where some of the lower-limits on industrial beer production exist.

Serving type: can

03-12-2013 18:07:48 | More by gameshowhost

orangesol

Pennsylvania

2.5/5  rDev -1.2%

03-08-2013 00:38:15 | More by orangesol

bsopko

New Jersey

1/5  rDev -60.5%

03-01-2013 20:35:21 | More by bsopko

Steelcitynsouth

Virginia

5/5  rDev +97.6%

02-24-2013 03:53:34 | More by Steelcitynsouth

Rons35

Michigan

1.75/5  rDev -30.8%

02-19-2013 22:22:45 | More by Rons35

Danielr26

Michigan

2/5  rDev -20.9%

02-18-2013 19:47:05 | More by Danielr26

kylehay2004

Florida

2.75/5  rDev +8.7%

02-15-2013 00:29:15 | More by kylehay2004

rorjets

Connecticut

1.75/5  rDev -30.8%

02-10-2013 04:01:07 | More by rorjets