Simpler Times Lager - Minhas Craft Brewery

bbluemzbeer

California

4.75/5  rDev +62.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Appearance: Yellow body and good head.

Sm ell: Smell likes and malt with a blend of light hop aroma.

Taste: Crisp and clean with a sweet malty flavor and small amount oft bitterness at the end.

Moutful: Slightly thicker than expected given the lightness of color and clarity.

Overall: For around 4 dollar a six pack at traders joes beats the other beers at higher price point. At 6.2% AB this will give you some kick. This is a great session beeer. I will sure buy some more of this beer !

Serving type: can

04-15-2013 04:00:08 | More by bbluemzbeer

adams82

Michigan

1.7/5  rDev -41.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 1 | feel: 3 | overall: 1

Pours nearly golden, not quite fizzy yellow water; appears more robust than other beers of this style.

Smells like an adjunct lager. Sweet nose; slightly grainy smelling, but corn dominates. No hops, nothing offensive. How bad could it be?

Taste is dreadful! Super sweet, and I don't mean malty! Corn syrup dominates the flavor profile of this beer, with huge hints of sour apple and alcohol; no grains, no malt, no hops. Awful.

Mouthfeel is surprisingly firm; I figured with the amount of cane/corn sugar in this beer, it would be really thin and watery, but it actually has substance.

I imagine my great grandparents would have brewed a beer during prohibition that tasted much like this. If that's what Minhas was going for, then they hit the nail on the head, otherwise, this is a horrible representation of a fairly pedestrian style.

Note to self; beers labeled as coming from Monroe, WI must be avoided. Just because the can doesn't say Minhas, doesn't mean it didn't come from Minhas. I'm glad the 6 pack was only $3.49.

Serving type: can

02-18-2013 19:47:25 | More by adams82

kristenspaintings

California

3.71/5  rDev +27.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 4

Light, bubbly head.

Light amber/golden color.

Simpler Times Lager’s sweet aroma mirrors its taste. I like this beer a lot more than I thought I would. Generally I tend toward darker beers but this is one of the exceptions. Very smooth, sweet honey-like taste with no distinctive bitter bite you’d expect from such a light beer. It pairs well with a large range of foods, so you don’t have to worry too much whether the flavors will clash. It's also low enough in alcohol that you can appreciate the rest of your meal.

This is definitely not a complicated beer. Its flavor profile is fairly one-dimensional, but pleasant nonetheless. There are many beers out there that have more depth and character, but when considering its price category, it’s an outstanding value. It’s head and shoulders above anything else that’s this inexpensive.

In short, it’s a great value and I’d recommend it to anyone on a tight budget who appreciates quality beer.

Serving type: can

02-17-2013 14:36:44 | More by kristenspaintings

RalphSMouse

1.88/5  rDev -35.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.75

Appearance: Poured into a pint glass, a foamy, bone white head rises to the top. It shrinks considerably after a minute or two. The beer's color is that of filtered apple juice.

It doesn't look awful, but it doesn't look particularly good, either. 3/5

Smell: During the pour, this beer has a really malty fragrance. This quickly transitions to cidery and metallic notes, neither off-putting nor appetizing. 3/5

Taste: What begins as a rather unremarkable bubblegum mutates into an unpleasant flavor not unlike cough syrup. There are no perceptible hops here. The rather strong (for the style) ABV is somewhat concealed by the overwhelming sweetness, but that does nothing to save this mess of a brew—in fact, it reinforces its striking similarity to Robitussin. 1.5/5

Mouthfeel: It's flat and viscous—exactly the opposite of how this style ought to be. Very, very disappointing. 1/5

Overall: I purchased a six pack of this beer for $3.99 at Trader Joe's. Even at that price, I assure you, it's no bargain. Lackluster appearance and scent cannot much compensate for abysmal flavor and syrupy mouthfeel. There are better beers at this price point. Don't punish yourself with this swill. 1.75/5

Serving type: can

01-22-2013 02:01:30 | More by RalphSMouse

twiggamortis420

Texas

1.6/5  rDev -45.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

12 oz can pours a mostly clear gold color with an ample cap of white head. Surprisingly un-fizzy and sits around a good while. A few smattering of lace.

Nose is not very appealing. grainy, corn-esque malt and fusel alcohol notes with no hop aroma make for a very pathetic smelling beer.

Green apple grains with rough alcohol. Really not much else to describe this one, I have had many 40's that have destroyed this in the flavor department. This is waaay nasty; Grimace-inducing on the very first sip. Dont think I will make it very far into this one, it will definitely be a drain pour...its just a matter of how much of it I can hold down!

Serving type: can

01-13-2013 19:47:05 | More by twiggamortis420

puboflyons

New Hampshire

3.15/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

From the 12 fl. oz. can marked 13-314-17. Sampled on December 31, 2012.

I picked this up at a Trader Joe's in Nashua NH. It pours pale yellow with a fizzy white head.

The aroma is not all that special but it does have a corny, pal malt note like many adjuncts do. There is a hop crispiness at the end.

The body falls into the light to medium range.

The taste is acidic with a loud sweetness followed by a slightly hopped ending. It is better than many adjuncts but there is nothing that really jumps out to make it unique. Pound 'em down.

Serving type: can

01-01-2013 00:23:09 | More by puboflyons

TheSixthRing

California

2.75/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Appearance - Pours a semi-clear, golden hay color with a white, 2 finger head. Average retention. Spotty lacing.

Smell - Sweet and fruity; tart apple and sugar, mostly. Hints of grain and, buried deep, the faintest note of alcohol.

Taste - A jumbled mess of malt and sugar; subtle, faded green apple candy character. Faint hints of grain. Virtually no hops to speak of.

Mouthfeel - Medium bodied and sticky. Moderate carbonation. Where's the light, clean crispness of a lager?

Overall - Minhas delivers another malt liquor in disguise, this time as a lager. I didn't expect much out of a beer that costs roughly 60 cents per can, so I can't say I'm disappointed, only that I got what I paid for. Maybe a decent beer with which to play beer pong?

Serving type: can

11-25-2012 04:09:29 | More by TheSixthRing

Cunningham26

Massachusetts

2.7/5  rDev -7.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

I've had this beer for years and they're definitely toying with the recipe a bit. This was much sweeter than I remembered from years past, and actually a little less boozy. I guess the alcohol is getting lost in the sugars.

a- good straw yellow. A bit more bodied than typical adjunct offerings
s- Sticky sweet and a bit of yeast. Definite notes of green grapes and apple
t- Very sugary, with a lot of bright fruit flavors, followed by a slight yeast flavor. Distinctly not beery, nor is it like any adjunct beer I've had before.
m- cloying with all the sugar. flavors are a great one two punch, and then the alcohol cleans up a lot of it, but it's still a sticky beer. The empty glass felt like it had soda in it rather than beer

Overall, a great offering at $4/6cans. I think you just need to set your expectations accordingly. This actually tasted a lot more like a shandy/radler/cider than an adjunct lager, but I really enjoy those so it works for me. YMMV.

Serving type: can

09-27-2012 03:00:34 | More by Cunningham26

Jamesthebrit

Michigan

3.75/5  rDev +28.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: Light yellow with few bubbles. Rather unassuming.

S: A little lemon-lime note but otherwise just a little yeast.

T: Actually a very nice flavor. It's light but there is a great citrus note that compliments the light yeast note. I mean nothing complex but in terms of a lager it's very nice.

M: Sits pretty good. Actually the alcohol comes through a bit but otherwise pretty nice.

For a lager it's pretty good. Could just a tad bit more hops but otherwise solid. Good flavor notes to compliment the light nature of the beer.

Serving type: can

09-25-2012 00:22:26 | More by Jamesthebrit

mikeg67

New Jersey

1.83/5  rDev -37.3%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

12 oz can. Pours golden with a tall, long lasting white head and soda like carbonation. Nose is of lemon, hint of hops and malt. Body is medium and smooth. Taste is sweet corn, perfume, herbal hops, alcohol, some fruity esters. Hard to drink, easy to drain pour brew.

Serving type: can

09-24-2012 13:47:13 | More by mikeg67

LiquidAmber

Washington

2.95/5  rDev +1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Poured into a Seattle Beer Week pint glass. Pours a light golden amber with a decent half finger white head with good retention and a bit of lacing. Aroma of light sweet malt and a hint of biscuit malt. Starts out very sweet with pleasant malt, but quickly changes to a sweet juice flavor and then disappears with a faint hop memory. It looked and smelled slightly promising (I didn't have high expectations), but revealed its character pretty quickly. No off flavors, and is hovering around cloyingly sweet, but drinkable. I'm a bit surprised that at this ABV it doesn't have more flavor or character. It tastes like a much lower alcohol beverage and might suffice for someone looking for that. Glad this is ticked, moving on….

Serving type: can

09-23-2012 03:25:26 | More by LiquidAmber

Greybeard

1.78/5  rDev -39%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2

Dog water in a can. I picked up one at Trader Joe's on a whim and could barely finish it. Made me yearn for Champale. A bad example of fizzy, yellow American beer. Nasty stuff. I am required to write at least 250 words for the review so I will throw down some modifiers to fill up space:

Vile,
Watery.
Urine like.
Fizzy.
Upsetting.
Disgusting.
Unpotable.
Bloating
Repugnant

Serving type: can

09-13-2012 18:07:07 | More by Greybeard

secondtooth

Indiana

2.6/5  rDev -11%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Straw yellow, with a nice white head that dissipates into attractive spider-web lace.

Nose is corny, adjunct, malted barley or rice, really pretty typical.

Taste is super-sweet, even syrupy. Hop presence is practically null. To it's credit, this has a much fuller flavor profile and heavier body than macro lagers, but I'd still avoid this one again. A nice deal, though, at $3.99/6pk at Trader Joe's.

Serving type: can

09-08-2012 13:19:46 | More by secondtooth

scottfrie

California

3.48/5  rDev +19.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

12oz can into SA perfect pint.
A: Pours a pale straw color with a huge bright white head that slowly faded into a rocky film that left sticky patches of lace down the glass.
S: Dry grains and lager yeast dominate. Very light and a bit sweet smelling. I get notes notes of corn as well.
T: One of the more flavorful AALs I’ve had, and at least it doesn’t taste offensive. Dominate notes of sweet malts and adjuncts mix well with lightly spicy and crackery flavors of lager yeast. Watery, grainy, and sweet all-around.
M: Watery light body, slick and refreshing mouthfeel, expected fizzy carbonation for the style.
O: A decent drink especially for the price. Better than the major brands, but still not the best example of the style. Impressive lace.

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2012 20:01:47 | More by scottfrie

bluejacket74

Ohio

2.63/5  rDev -9.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

12 ounce can, picked it up as a single at Trader Joe's this morning for 59 cents. Might as well try it at that price! Served in a pint glass, the beer pours a clear gold color with about a half inch off-white head. Head retention and lacing are both average. The brew smells like sweet malt and corn, and not much else from what I can tell. Taste is mostly the same as the aroma, it's pretty much just sweet malt and corn, but there's also some slight bitterness, too. Mouthfeel/body is light/medium, it's smooth and easy enough to drink. For the style of beer it is, it's not bad. I wouldn't buy this very often, but it's not like I can complain about the price. I would try it again.

Serving type: can

07-28-2012 23:06:19 | More by bluejacket74

barczar

Kentucky

2.55/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Pours a clear golden color with a foamy half inch ivory head that dissipates quickly, leaving no lacing.

Aroma is laden with corn and reminiscent of malt liquor, with sweet malt and alcohol leading into a somewhat estery, perfumy finish.

Flavor reveals more esters, which are slightly fusel, followed by sweet malt and corn adjunct. Alcohol is present throughout, even into the slightly dry finish.

Body is a touch heavy, with moderate carbonation. Alcohol warmth lingers.

A bit more like a malt liquor than a lager, complete with adjunct and estery flavors. Not a beer I'll frequent without a paper bag.

Serving type: can

07-25-2012 06:55:16 | More by barczar

brureview

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev +28.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I was pleasantly surprised after opening a can of this beer which
I bought at Trader Joes several months ago.

I was expecting a mediocre adjunct lager with a dull taste.

The beer poured an attractive light copper color with little head.

The smell was a very faint corn, but later changed to a nice fruit smell with warming.

The carbonation is mild.

The taste was surprising. Quite good. A vibrant light fruit taste which makes this a decent summer or light lager beer.

It's a decent beer and I agree with the Bros rating. Certainly better than the vast majority of the adjunct lagers available on the market. It's supposedly a craft beer as stated on the can- and I would agree.

Serving type: can

07-16-2012 02:24:18 | More by brureview

gtermi

Texas

3.08/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A: This pours a clear golden body with a half inch thick white head that quickly fades.

S: The smell of this beer is VERY sweet. It almost smells like melted sugar added to corn.

T: Like the smell, I get a ton of sugar sweetness. I want to love this beer, but the sweetness becomes way too much. It's for sure not like yourbasic adjunct lager.

M: This beer goes down pretty darn smooth and doesn't have much crispness.

O: I feel this beer needs more hops. It is way too sweet and though it goes down easy, it is just way too sweet.

Serving type: can

07-10-2012 07:42:48 | More by gtermi

fizzy

Minnesota

1.88/5  rDev -35.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2

I have read most of the reviews about this beer. They bounce from "pretty good" to "pretty bad". Just goes to show that taste is in the mouth of the beholder. For me, I come in on the low end of rating. The old Huber brewery never made anything this poor even when "poor" beer was their business. At least Huber didn't try and put yellow corn syrup in a bottle and call it lager beer. Ugh, just plain UGH, and I intend to tell Trader Joe's next time I am there.

Serving type: can

07-06-2012 16:22:49 | More by fizzy

damndirtyape

Ohio

3.08/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

12oz can poured into a Shaker pint glass. Date stamp on bottom of can said "13 051 22".

Appearance: Clear golden yellow - a hint in the honey-orange range. White head upon pouring died down to nothing with no lacing. Above average color for an adjunct lager.

Smell: Crisp malt, hint of honey. Not a lot else.

Taste: Sweet, grainy - a bit cloying in the middle, then sweet tea bitterness towards the end. Gets a tad better as it warms up, but still exceedingly sweet in some cases.

Mouthfeel: Good carbonation, crisp, but a bit sticky towards the end of the sip.

Overall / Drinkability: Okay, nothing special. More flavorful than most mass market beers, but just okay. Drinkability is one and done. I finished it, but cannot see getting another.

Serving type: can

05-26-2012 01:07:52 | More by damndirtyape

jimmah120

Minnesota

1.88/5  rDev -35.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

"Enjoyed" out of the can. Tried this one because I enjoyed their pilsner and thought this would be similar.

The nose was very faint corn and maybe a touch of grassy hops. OK for a pilsner smell, I thought. The taste turned out to be awful, it was extremely sweet to the point of being syrupy. It tasted like someone took the juice from canned corn and added beer flavored Kool-Aid mix. The one good thing I can say is that it hid the alcohol well.

If you like sweet canned beer that gets you hammered, look no further. If not, go with their pilsner - it costs the same and is a much better beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-25-2012 00:11:18 | More by jimmah120

Luigi

North Carolina

3.55/5  rDev +21.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served in a 14 oz. pilsner glass

Pours out a clear light golden color with a fizzy white one half finger head. With decent lacing and retention to last through out the life of beer.

The aroma is light with cereal grains, soft sweet malt, and grassy hop.

The taste full of light cereal grain and honey sweet malt. I will assume that the alcohol plays a role in the mild sweetness. Either way the finish is smooth and clean, with only a bit of sweetness lingering. Refreshing

Light in body and moderately carbonated. Super easy to drink.

Overall this American lager is another example from Trader Joe's of a tasty example of an American style of lager. For the price yes i would buy again. Perfect for anything summer.

Serving type: can

05-22-2012 03:35:19 | More by Luigi

bwan15

New York

1.68/5  rDev -42.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

Appearance: Dark golden-yellow with copious amounts of carbonation. Head is huge and fluffy on initial pour, but quickly dissipates to practically nothing, leaving little trace of its presence on the glass.

Smell: Lightly malty, with a few twinges of hops.

Taste: Sickeningly sweet. Ugh. Liike, syrupy, sweet. A stale sweet. Like a really sugary candy past its prime. Some skunky hops keep it from being overwhelming, but this is not something I am enjoying at all.

Mouthfeel: Pretty full-bodied for a lager. Nothing clean or crisp here. its all saccharine stickiness, blegh. There is an interesting bitter aftertaste, but it seems so feeble compared to the sweetness.

Serving type: can

05-02-2012 00:44:26 | More by bwan15

billab914

Virginia

2.75/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

12oz can poured into my Ithaca glass. It poured golden in color with a thin, bubbly white head barely covering the top of the beer.

The aroma shows a lot of crisp fruits to it with strong apple and pear notes to it. I get some sweet, almost sugary graininess to it as well.

The taste also shows a lot of crisp fruits to it throughout. I get a little more of a balancing bitterness in the finish though, which helps a little. The apple and pear like flavors are still pretty dominant for me though.

The mouthfeel is light with carbonation being moderate. Overall, I didn't think it was that great of a beer even for the style. The crisp fruitiness and sweet, sugary flavors were just too dominant and took away from the drinkability for me. I don't think it compares favorable to other readily available beers of the style.

Serving type: can

03-23-2012 21:32:08 | More by billab914

Blueribbon666

Ohio

2.9/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Review from notes.
Pours a straw yellow into my trusty dimpled mug with a good fingers worth of head that dissipates fairly quickly w/o lacing.
Smells of sweet cereal grains, mostly corn with a slight hop smell as well as the alcohol within'
Taste/mouthfeel the aforementioned sweet grains hit first followed by a bit of hop for a crisp, yet boozy finish with the 6.2% abv very much in evidence, and despite the finger's worth of head the carbonation was mild giving the beer a medium body that could definitely work one over in the heat or sessioning. Never saw the stuff before and for $2.99 for a sixer of cans @ Trader Joe's, where I always seem to find something interesting to try, and a pretty heavy abv for the price it's definitely worth the pick up. Overall not bad, in my notes I wrote, "Like a Yuengling, minus the skunk/funk; add sweetness, abv and a Charles Shaw price."

Serving type: can

03-11-2012 12:20:57 | More by Blueribbon666