Name Tag Lager - Minhas Craft Brewery

mfnmbvp

Illinois

2.8/5  rDev +10.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

12 fl oz can, acquired at the local Trader Joe's earlier for a whopping 67 cents. No freshness date apparent except a code on the bottom. My second review of a beer coming from a can!

Poured into a Firestone Walker pint glass.

A - Pours the typical boring American adjunct lager fare. Clear piss yellow watery looking color with tons of carbonation bubbles rushing around and an artificial, chemical looking fizzy white one finger of head sticking around. Looks a lot like the Miller Lite on draft I was served yesterday at the local hillbilly watering hole. Surprisingly, the beer retained some lacing on the glass on it's way down.

S - Honestly, my first smell made me think of some really cheap whiskey, like the kind that comes in a plastic gallon bottle. Pale adjunct corn / malt follows. Not exciting to smell. Hot nail polish remover / alcohol smell is prevalent. It smells like cheap whiskey for sure.

T - Thankfully it doesn't taste as foul as it smells, though it is by no means good. Much sweeter than most other typical American adjunct lager beers I have had in the past, with a strong taste of honey in every sip. Still tastes carbonated and artificial, rather than having the smooth cleanliness and natural taste of some better lager beers (i.e. Samuel Smith's Organic Lager Beer).

M - Mouthfeel isn't bad, no real flavor to cherish and love here though. Goes down smooth enough, slight honey sugar sweetness hanging out, fair level of carbonation, and a nice light bodied feel.

I guess I can't really complain, this is a semi-above average, standard American adjunctive fare here, and nothing more. Although, I guess you kind of know what you are getting into with this one considering the bold plainness of the can and it's ironically generic name. Not a beer to take seriously in any way, but considering what it is, I would probably buy another can for 67 cents again, y'know just for sh*ts and giggles. And honestly, I'd probably go for one of these before I ever went for a Bud Light.

Minhas Name Tag Lager ---2.5/5

Serving type: can

02-24-2013 01:09:04 | More by mfnmbvp

kristenspaintings

California

3.61/5  rDev +42.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

I am glad this beer has “Classic” in the name. It is an ample and fair description of the beer. It has a slightly bitter flavor, near golden look, good head, nice aroma and brings one back to the classic times(for us older people). Even the price reminds me of days past.

I am glad this beer does not say “superior”, “private reserve”, or “best”, because it is truly not any of them. For the price this beer is great to try or cook with, but it is nothing special. I vote, buy a six pack, drink one or two and cook some brats with the remainder.

Serving type: can

02-18-2013 19:58:45 | More by kristenspaintings

jayupark

4.35/5  rDev +71.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

I'm not a beer expert, but this beer is very nice for the price. It's much, much better than any other beer I've tasted that's under $1 a can.
The appearance and smell are just average (not like the cheap pee smell some sub $1 beers have). The taste is great. Not bitter. A touch of sweetness and very smooth.

Serving type: can

12-29-2012 01:32:23 | More by jayupark

barczar

Kentucky

2.33/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Pours a brilliant golden with a quarter inch white had that slowly dissipates.

Grain, corn, and acetaldehyde form the aroma, with light floral hops at the finish. Smells kinda boozy and estery.

Flavor is unexpectedly sweet. Tastes more like a malt liquor. Grain, corn adjunct, and fruity, apple esters are present throughout, with the finish being lightly bready and a touch bitter.

Body is on the light side, with moderate carbonation and a bit of astringency.

Pretty sweet and estery for a lager. Just too sweet.

Serving type: can

12-23-2012 06:54:43 | More by barczar

LXIXME

New Mexico

2.6/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Small white head quickly falls into a very thin lacing above a clear straw golden colored beer.

Sour grain malt aroma with some sour fruit (lemonish) style hops coming through.

Sour grains and light sour hops dryish taste.

A dryish aftertaste with a very slight leftover sour lemon taste hanging around on this light bodied decently carbonated lager.

This beer seems like a lemony Bud Light, I'll have to pass on drinking any more of these but I think those Bud Light Lime drinkers might like it.

Serving type: can

11-03-2012 21:00:21 | More by LXIXME

kojevergas

California

1.85/5  rDev -26.9%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

12 fl oz aluminum can served into a Uinta pilsner glass in me gaff in low altitude Los Feliz, California. Acquired at Trader Joe's in Culver City nary but more than a few hours ago. Expectations are very low. It looks like and seems like shite. A full sixer ran me $3.49 - just over one cent per beer more than the best deal on Budweiser at Wal Mart. That makes this pretty damn cheap for the L.A. area.

Served straight from the refrigerator. Not paired with food.

A: Pours a ~4 four finger of beige colour, poor thickness, little cream (if any), and average retention. Lacing is awful. Colour is a clear yellow with little vibrance. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show. Far from an appealing appearance.

Sm: Straw, barley, and clean malts. A bit of an apple juice character. Not at all appealing. It really turns me away. That said, it could be worse. Mild in strength.

T: Stale malts, clean barley, a bit of straw, and a little cream. Bland, boring, simple, lacking subtlety, and dull. Why brew this? Swill.

Mf: Clean, smooth, wet, and thin. Suits the flavour only in the most general of ways.

Dr: A clean simple uninspired brew. Would suit beer pong on a good day. It's better than American macrobrew shite like Budweiser, but that's probably the best thing I can say about it. It'd be suitable for cooking. This brewery's simple times pilsner can be had at the same low price and is a better beer methinks. There's no reason to get this again. Avoid.

D-

Serving type: can

09-17-2012 04:07:00 | More by kojevergas

beerme626

Kentucky

1.33/5  rDev -47.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.5

Can from Trader Joe's poured into a weizen glass

A: Impressive at first. Darker amber than typical of the style. A nice one-finger head, that becomes a half-finger head, then ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. Fizzy.

S: Like a nasty barn

T: Apple juice. Seriously. Seriously.

M: Watery apple juice.

O: Want apple juice that says it's beer? This is for you!

Serving type: can

08-29-2012 23:36:24 | More by beerme626

chinchill

South Carolina

2.8/5  rDev +10.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a deep golden color with great clarity and a lasting white head. Leaves plenty of lacing on the glass.

The aroma of corn, barley and light hops is parallel in the flavor profile, which is not bod but has too much corn. It does leave a decent bready finish.

M: medium+ carbonation; medium-light body.

O: With appropriately low expectations, you'll probably agree that this hits its target: a cheap but drinkable lager.

Serving type: can

05-30-2012 00:15:09 | More by chinchill

jimmah120

Minnesota

2.53/5  rDev 0%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Look is a pale yellow-orange with a 3-finger bone white head. Smell is skunky corn and grain. Taste is crisp and clean like water up front, but finishes sweet, syrupy, and cloying - like sweetened corn water.

Not especially bad, but not very enjoyable

Serving type: can

05-25-2012 08:14:42 | More by jimmah120

russwaddell

Virginia

1.98/5  rDev -21.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

My benchmarks for cheap beer are Budweiser and Miller High Life, which I like because they are not overpowering in any one characteristic.

Name Tag lager is cheaper than those, and worse. The corn and malt are predominant in smell and taste, and remind me of the lower ABV malt liquors.

If you like a lot of flavor to your cheap beer, I suppose you might like this over other bottom-shelf offerings. If you prefer your bad tasting beer to be as flavorless as possible, this is not such a good choice.

On the flip side, this mixes extremely well with Trader Joe's orange juice!

Serving type: can

05-22-2012 13:33:09 | More by russwaddell

mactrail

California

2.65/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Biggest impression is how sweet this is, exactly like denatured malt liquor. This stuff is not actually bad, it's just a peculiar sort of nearly hopless malt beverage. A faint but very odd swimming pool nose. A little sanitizer never hurt anyone. Tastes more like the last drops of pineapple juice rinsed from yesterday's can.

12 oz can from Trader Joe's. The Simpler Times lager and pilsener are so much better than this, which someone claims to be "all malt." I find that hard to believe, unless the supposed malt in Name Tag is some kind of byproduct of sugar cane processing.

Coarse bubbles, but not unpleasant mouthfeel. In the cheap swill department there are better choices.

Serving type: can

03-21-2012 05:28:05 | More by mactrail

Shibbykaiyai

Michigan

1.25/5  rDev -50.6%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.5

After the first can, I stopped pouring it into a glass because it looked so poor. Almost water like with a hint of beer. It barely even tasted like a domestic light beer.

I am a fan of less sophisticated beers like old style or hamm's, most likely due to fond college memories of drinking them. And I usually do not shy away from a beer just because of price. But I should have known, even in the land of "two buck chuck" that $3.99 a sixer was too good to be true.

Serving type: can

03-04-2012 00:31:10 | More by Shibbykaiyai

GossageBrewery

Missouri

2.58/5  rDev +2%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured this 12 oz can of Name Tag American Pale Lager into a pint glass. Poured a pale straw color produced a thin white head with poor retention and it leaves no lacing behind. The aroma was fresh and clean, grain and corn. No hop aroma to speak of. Light in body, this lager is sweet, a nice mouthfeel, not much taste or character. There is some grain flavor with the taste of corn. Overall, its decent- there are worse American lagers out there- but honestly, its not something that I would purchase again. Even for the 50 cents that I paid for this can....yes...i paid 50 cents. How about that for a man soda? Prost!

Serving type: can

02-18-2012 23:38:32 | More by GossageBrewery

rodney45

New York

2.75/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: Corn yellow with a paper white head that cuts and runs.

S: Notes of perfume, citrus, malt and grape flintstone vitamins.

T: Taste profile is of light malt, citrus and fruity sweetness. Non dry aftertaste.

M: Light body with moderate carbonation. No bitterness, no alcohol feel.

O: For 50 cents a can you cant do much better. Great to keep on hand for a hot summer day. Its refreshing and not awful, enough said for 2.99 a sixer.

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2012 11:23:41 | More by rodney45

Redrover

Illinois

3.28/5  rDev +29.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12 oz can poured into my Samuel Smith Imperial pint glass. The beer is a bright & clear gold with a large but quickly collapsing white head.

It has a nose of cereal grains and a hint of something floral.

the taste is sweet and grainy. Maybe some bittering hops in the backend. It is simple but refreshing with no off or odd flavors. Turns a bit dry with a hint of sour at mid glass.

The mouth is crisp and slightly scouring from the active carbonation. Well worth the modest investment of 50 cents.

I see this is brewed in Monroe which was the longtime home of Berghoff beers. At one time Berghoff had an advertising campaign that used name tags (hello my name is Berghoff..) I wonder is this a riff on or homage to the old campaign?

Serving type: can

12-29-2011 00:59:52 | More by Redrover

UnknownKoger

California

2.55/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

For fifty cents a can from Trader Joe's? Sure why not. I feel silly, but let's do it. Opened the can and poured into a pint glass. Well carbonated and great head. The color of the beer is that of straw...or urine

Smells metallic and adjuncty. Mmm. Tastes like it too. There's some corn in there and maybe some other off flavors. It's rather unremarkable. Pretty flavorless

Only good thing I can say is it goes down rather smoothly. But that's it. Like I said, for fifty cents a can you can't really expect anything spectacular. This is something I'd drink on the beach or on a hot summer day if I have nothing else around.

Serving type: can

12-12-2011 20:54:43 | More by UnknownKoger

homebrew311

Illinois

2.38/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Props to the label and the can for matching the delightfully trashy product that is contained within.

A: pale straw, clear, bubbly

S:nose is surprisingly fruity, like fruity pebbles style with the addition of stale corn... Otherwise very non descript

T: so on the topic of fruity pebbles, imagine the milk left behind.... Add to that some carbonation and remove the body and you have Name Tag. This beer is an anomaly. Not sure if this is a good thing.

Mf: thin body, fizzy, light

O: well this beer provides an experience. I will leave it at that.

Serving type: can

12-11-2011 02:40:55 | More by homebrew311

mithrascruor

California

1.78/5  rDev -29.6%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

Fairly dismal looking lager... practically clear with a bit of foam on top. Standard canned-beer aroma and taste, but even lighter. Mild malt corn taste, nothing bitter. Moderate carbonation and very light-bodied feel.

PBR is a very rich beer compared to this stuff. Extremely light-bodied with a flavor (or lack thereof) to match. I suppose that for $3 for a sixpack, I can't be blamed too much.

Serving type: can

12-05-2011 04:08:11 | More by mithrascruor

MrHurmateeowish

New Hampshire

3/5  rDev +18.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

12oz can purchased at Trader Joe's in Portland, ME. Pours a very light yellow crystal-clear body with no head to speak of. Grains (similar to a Triscuit cracker) and the slightest hint of citrissy hops jump out of the aroma, but only lightly. Bready and cracker-like notes make up most of the flavor with a hint of cooked vegetable and citrus to round things out. Light in body with medium carbonation. Overall not a bad beer I suppose. Very simple, nothing horribly wrong with it. About what you'd expect for $3.99 per six-pack I guess.

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2011 00:08:33 | More by MrHurmateeowish

AleWatcher

Illinois

2.55/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Fifty cents per can at Trader Joes... Couldn't resist the tick!

Clear, straw golden yellow. Bright shiny white head with surprisingly nice lacing. Pretty decent retention. This might be the best looking pale lager I've had...

The smell is almost non-existent... Though I manage to pull out some light boiled rice notes and a bit of sweet malt. Virtually no hops on the nose. The flavor has very little going on... No hops, no bitterness.

Body is thin and bubbly.

Overall-- not terrible... But then again, neither is Miller Lite. Both are so flavorless that they don't offend, but also so weak that they really aren't worth my time drinking.

Serving type: can

11-26-2011 01:59:36 | More by AleWatcher

Ryanthebear

New York

3.2/5  rDev +26.5%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

At 2.99 a six-pack, I had to give this a try. This beer pours a golden yellow. The thin head dissipates quickly. The aroma was not too impressive. No hops to be found and a little stale. The taste was surprisingly sweet up front, with slight bitterness in the finish. The mouthfeel was light to medium. Medium carbonation. Overall, this beer is great for the price. It is many times better than anything else you can find for 50 cents a can.

Serving type: can

10-23-2011 00:48:44 | More by Ryanthebear

Biffster

Michigan

3.15/5  rDev +24.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

So I thought I'd try an "all malt" beer at the $2.99 price point, and I really want to like it, just to be the rebel I like to imagine I am. So here goes...

The beer pours a deep gold with some amber notes. Its brilliantly clear, with a low disapating white head.

The aroma is bready, doughy, and floral. There is no real hop aroma. This smells for all the world like a good kolsch. There are some low fruity notes as it warms.

It is sweet at the sip, with a discernable toasty malt presence and some caramel and graham cracker that lingers. There is a noticeable amount of hop bitterness and a spicy warming at the swallow but the finish is malty and maybe a bit flabby.

The mouthfeel is medium light. THe body is light, and the carbonation is fairly high, but more creamy than spritzy. there is just a touch of prickly warming in the throat at the swallow.

Ok, I did it. This has some potential, but needs work. I picture Trader Joes contracting to someone to make an "all malt" lager for cheap, but good. I feel like the recipe is fine, but there could be more attention to detail in the process to get a drier, cleaner brew.

Serving type: can

10-11-2011 02:27:35 | More by Biffster

AwYeh

California

1.73/5  rDev -31.6%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2

Well, I had this because it was free.

A: Light yellow, surprise.

S: A light sweetness and barely noticeable malt aroma; smells like a frat party.

T: Cloyingly sweet; tastes like a Dum Dum pop dissolved into water.

M: Thin as water with a carbonation like ginger ale. Not digging it.

O: The price isn't bad which I guess brings this up a bit? An adequate substitute for your BMC.

Serving type: can

10-09-2011 10:01:24 | More by AwYeh

Duff27

Illinois

2.6/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A- Pours gives way to a one inch quickly receding fizzy head. Color is a mid golden. Very little head retention and no lacing.

S- Aroma is of bread and kind of corny. And stale. Yelch.

T- More bread. Real sweet malt aftertaste. Sweetness over powers the hops in the case.

M- Crisp carbonation bite. Medium to medium-thin mouthfeel. May be the best part of this beer.

D/O- Rated to style. Drinkability is there for the BMC folk. Obviously there are better beers out there but at this price point it demands a purchase, if only to catch a buzz. Minhas sure does do everything NOT to show ownership in it's brews.

Serving type: can

10-08-2011 21:55:58 | More by Duff27

McStagger

California

3.5/5  rDev +38.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: Slightly cloudy, golden hued. White head, ample carbonation. No lacing. Really though, this should be drank straight from the can.

S: Malt syrup sweetness. No adjuncts, but still has some serious cereal smell. A weird mild soapiness.

T: Malty sweetness, again with a touch of cereal notes, not much hop presence on the end. Beer definitely tilts to the sweet ish side.

M: Carbonation diffuses quickly across the palate. While not viscous, this is definitely a littler slicker than I thought it would be.

O: To be quite honest, I'd drink this beer if it were closer to 5 bucks a six pack. I really enjoy it. It is simple and has no frills. At 50 cents a can, you'd be hard pressed to find more beer for your buck.

Serving type: can

09-30-2011 05:26:40 | More by McStagger