Big Bear Malt Liquor - Pabst Brewing Company

atr2605

New York

2.3/5  rDev -5.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

pours a yellow transparent color with a white head with average retention. sweet corn skunky aroma. More of the same in the taste. Pretty light body considering the abv. Fairly straight forward malt little with a bit of a funk to it. Not looking to drink this again

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2012 03:00:22 | More by atr2605

jsisko01

Michigan

3.18/5  rDev +30.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Appearance - Pours a clear dark golden color with an inch and a half thick head (probably because I poured aggressively) and it lingers for a few minutes. Leaves a frothy layer on top and has pretty nice lacing.

Smell - Citrus, grains, corn, and a little bit of funk.

Taste - A lot better than I was expecting.. Creamy with caramel, corn, grains, a little bit of spice that I can't pinpoint, and a grassy bitter aftertaste.

Mouthfeel - Love the creaminess. Medium body with mild carbonation.

Overall - This is definite a LOT better than most of the malt liquors I've tried.. So I give them props for that. Probably not something I would drink regularly though.

Serving type: bottle

02-28-2012 04:41:52 | More by jsisko01

emerge077

Illinois

1.73/5  rDev -28.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 1 | overall: 1

Why Pabst, why?

Pours a pale urine gold, slow rising carb trails feed into a clumpy, feeble skim on the surface. Random spotty lace, not enough to really qualify it as such though. Foam breaks, leaving a scab-like birds nest of foam floating on swill island. Transparent, dull coloration.

Smells like an old wet dishrag, minerals and soggy cereal grain.
Tastes like cream of wheat and corn starch. Odd toasty note of puffed wheat cereal.

It has a gross filmy slickness that is like glycerine, literally phlegm-like and utterly disgusting. Low carb levels makes it a chore to drink, with an astringent bite. Dumping the rest now. Nasty. A poor choice, even for a novelty 40 buy. Stay far, far away from this garbage. Calling this "crisp" or "easily drinkable" is laughable...

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2012 02:27:03 | More by emerge077

TMoney2591

Illinois

2.53/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Served in a Gale Sayers shaker pint glass.

Been a while since I tried a new malt liquor, so why not something random I found during my last visit to Kenosha? It pours a clear pale straw topped by over a finger of off-white froth. The nose comprises light hard water, light sweet flowers, and very light grass. Almost no smell going on here... The taste holds notes of corn, sour wheat, spicy hard water (I really hope that makes sense to someone other than me...), and grass. The body is a hefty light, with a moderate carbonation and a watery feel. Overall, not much to see here. It isn't horrid, thankfully, but it's nowhere near good.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2011 23:11:24 | More by TMoney2591

surlytheduff

Michigan

2.98/5  rDev +22.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Chilled 40oz'er, drank from a swanky new Alchemist glass. Beer poured a translucent straw yellow with just under a finger of head that soon melted away into nothingness, leaving barely a hint of lace. Nose was sweet, grainy with a hint of corn and alcohol. The taste was much more pleasant than the smell. Sweet, light corn and grain, subdued alcohol, crisp finish. Mouthfeel was light to medium bodied with medium carbonation. Went down smooth, no aftertaste.

Serving type: bottle

10-28-2011 01:43:39 | More by surlytheduff

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

2.9/5  rDev +19.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

40 ounce behemoth, 8% ABV, more of that Silver Creek Brewery of La Crosse, WI shell company obfuscation crap. Anyways - ah, memories of bootlegging teenagers...

This beer pours a clear medium urine-yellow colour, with two fingers of tight foamy white head, which leaves some random arched lace around the glass as it quickly gets outta Dodge. It smells of corn grist, and sweet alcohol, redolent of nail polish remover. The taste is grainy, sugary creamed corn, soft, edgeless saccharine booze, and surprisingly perceptible weedy, almost skunky hops - hey, I'll take 'em. The carbonation is quite mild, the body medium weight, not as cloying as I had expected, and fairly smooth. It finishes clean, sweet, with a little heat.

For the low cost and the elevated strength, if you don't mind a bit of repetitive, albeit mild, soulless sweetness, this goes down none too shabbily. But if you just came from downing a Slurpee from the Mac's next door to the liquor store, then I can see why that wouldn't bother you in the least.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2011 23:38:40 | More by biboergosum

tko741

New Jersey

3.28/5  rDev +35%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

I'll preface this by saying I'm reviewing this beer among it's style, not as a beer in general.

Pours a bright gold, lots of big bubbles, and a rice-white head that dissipates into about a half-finger covering. Smells of grain, pilsner, and light alcohol.

What can be said about the taste, it's about the same. It has a nice grainy taste to it, which is hard to find in other malt liquors that simply smash your mouth with nail polish remover and alcohol.

Like most malt liquors, it starts off tasting horrible, but it's not hard to get used to it.

Serving type: bottle

01-29-2011 01:10:03 | More by tko741

crossovert

Wisconsin

1.68/5  rDev -30.9%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2

40 oz bottle, was about 1.60.

It is a clear yellow gold with a fizzy bright white head.

The smell is corn syrup mixed with vodka and rootbeer.

The flavor is pretty mellow. It has a slight corn flavor, some tanginess, and metal.

It is cheap as hell, and it shows in the taste, I bought it more or less as a joke. And I only had 6 ounces of it, that was enough.

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2011 01:21:23 | More by crossovert

CrazyMike

Alberta (Canada)

2.23/5  rDev -8.2%
look: 1.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Opaque orange appearance with head that disappears quickly. Smell is overwhelmingly sweet, picked up a hint of vegetables and malt.

Taste is alcoholic and sweet, has very strong hops. Very little carbonation, surprisingly this is medium bodied. Aftertaste has a sweetness that lingers.

Overall, this beer is nothing fancy, made to get you drunk for cheap. Although I prefer this over other malt liquors as it is fairly easy to drink. The label alone stands out from other 40's.

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2010 04:30:58 | More by CrazyMike

Brad007

Vermont

3.53/5  rDev +45.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Found this in Plattsburgh, NY.

Pours a light golden color with a frothy head that fades down quick into my pint glass.

Aroma is chock full of grainy malt and a light hint of cooked corn. Not too bad.

Taste is sweet and grainy with just a hint of cooked corn. Not bad. No alcohol burn, despite the 7.5% ABV.

Mouthfeel is full of lingering sweet, grainy malt. Easy-going.

Not bad at all. Cheap and easy to drink. Of course, what more do you expect? If I were in a pinch, I'd probably buy it again. The problem is, it's a ferry ride across the lake for it.

Serving type: bottle

08-28-2010 03:24:28 | More by Brad007

BabyBastard

New York

2.68/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Drank from the 40, appears a pale straw color. Looks like the typical malt liquor. Light in appearance.

Smells a bit of grain, not much else to be picked up in the nose. A bit of alcohol twinge may be there.

Tastes light for a big malt liquor. Alcohol is disguised well with that typical adjunct corn/rice flavor. Overall, not bad, but not good, either.

Feel is also very light and crisp, most likely due to the temperature. As this warms, the nastiness comes out, making it hard to drink. I'd say it has average drinkability when cold, decreasing rapidly as this brew warms.

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2010 22:58:18 | More by BabyBastard

jaylang

New York

2.4/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Never had it before, it was on sale. to be honest i wish i didn't spend the money.The beer left a funny taste in my mouth and and was a bit flat to begin with. As malt liquors go, this one is better then others i've had in the past. all in all....I've had better....

Serving type: bottle

03-06-2010 11:37:36 | More by jaylang

berserker256

Michigan

2.33/5  rDev -4.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.5

I'm reviewing this beer from my memory of fourteen years ago. We all know that this is your typical cheap malt liquor that tastes shitty. That's not important here.
...It was 1994. We were on the Michigan State University Campus on a typical Saturday night party search. My buddy Anthony was old enough to buy beer so he did. He bought me a 99 cent 40 oz of Big Bear. I was only 19. Without getting into detail we had a great night that night. By the end of the night I had a huge cut on my right knee. Anthony taped a wad of napkins on my gushing bloody knee at Bell's Pizza on Grand River. It ws 4-20-94. I know that because I kept the bottle from that night and that date was scribed onto the bottle along with our signatures. My blood is still on the bottle. Anyway, I guess the purpose of this site is to review the taste of beers and not the memories behind beers. But in this case the memory is way better than the taste. The taste sucks. The beer sucks. What we did that night was great.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2008 04:35:52 | More by berserker256

pmcadamis

Illinois

2.58/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A - Cheesy growling bear on the label. This 40 was a little over a dollar at the Quick-n-Easy. The brew is a pretty honey-gold with a small foamy head and a surprising amount of lace. Pretty good lookin' for a malt liquor.

S - Acrid sweat and ripe armpit. Lots of corn and veggies too. This is one of the most foul smells I've encountered in a beer.

T - Nowhere near as bad as it's smells....thank God. This is really sweet, with some alcohol flavors that I actually like. It's got a stronger hop presence than other malt liquors that I've tried. This is pretty good stuff as long as it's kept cold. It has a ricey "cheap sake" flavor that I quite like.

M - Medium bodied and rich with a nice alcohol attenuation in the mouth. It's pretty solid and well built for a ghetto brew.

D - Not bad at all! Just try not to smell it! Heilman makes the best cheapo beer ever! PBR, Old Milwaukee, and now Big Bear!

Serving type: bottle

10-27-2007 23:52:24 | More by pmcadamis

TennesseeHusker

Tennessee

2.9/5  rDev +19.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This malt liquor was a staple for me as a kid. I still like to have one now and again for nostalgia's sake. As always I drank the 40 straight out of the bottle. The smell of this beer is cooked corn. It tastes average for a Malt Liquor. It is clear and yellow like you would expect. I have never poured one so I can't speak to the head or the lacing.
Now for its good points. The label is one of the most awesome out there with a big mean bear. It is a little cheaper than other malt liquors at about a buck fifty. The gravity is just right, one forty on a summer day hanging out on the front porch will put you right were you want to be. It's a classic beverage if only for its low rent appeal. Not ghetto, strictly white trash. I always get one when I visit my old town and hang with my homies.

Serving type: bottle

09-10-2007 07:30:35 | More by TennesseeHusker

kguyty

Missouri

3.23/5  rDev +32.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Everyone must remember that this is malt liquor... the basement bargain brand of beer. It is what it is, although this is one of the better tasting malt liquors that I have tried. It does not have the characteristic sweet taste from the alcohol that most malts have. It is easy to drink, and tastes great on a warm day with some bbq. It is also rdiculously cheap when compared to other malts.

Serving type: bottle

07-22-2007 22:01:48 | More by kguyty

lmactans

New York

3.08/5  rDev +26.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Not bad. Not bad at all. Very easy to drink and it packs a punch. Not overly sweet like most malt liquors. Tastes the best when drank ice cold right out of the bottle. For a nice 99 cent buzz, you cant beat it. Oh yeah, and the bear's nice to look at.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2007 23:45:18 | More by lmactans

ReebShorts

Washington

2.2/5  rDev -9.5%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

decided to review this the way a "40" should be reviewed, straight out da bottle.

Aroma of malts corn, grain, mildew.

Sweet, not alot of flavor, and fairly easy to drink.

This 40 does what it sets out to do, gets ya drunk cheap, and let's you do it before it gets warm (if that's your objective). Better than most 40 oz's of malt liquor I've tried.

Serving type: bottle

04-14-2006 06:59:10 | More by ReebShorts

Mebuzzard

Colorado

1.4/5  rDev -42.4%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

Whew, 99 cents for a 40 oz.
drank from the bottle, no need to pour it in a glass.
Very light color, no head to speak of. Not really sure what it smelled like, cross between hops, socks, and malt.
If it didn't taste bad it would be tasteless. I did manage to down the 40 oz, but the bite was too much. And I don't mean bitter bite, I mean taste bite, my tongue hurt.
Bad beer....but cheap.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2006 04:34:02 | More by Mebuzzard

Litterbean

New York

1.78/5  rDev -26.7%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Presentation: A big ol' forty with a "scary" bear on the label that is ready to eat your brain cells.

Appearance: Straw colored with a head that disappears in seconds. No lace to speak of.

Smell: Slightly offensive. Somewhat sweet smelling but overpowering in a way.

Taste: Very little carbonation. Tastes a bit stale, with no real characteristics to pick up on except its offensiveness. Leaves my mouth without a trace. Can't even smack my lips to get an aftertaste on this, unless I burb. The alcohol is slightly there.

Drinkability: Depends on your mindset. You wanna get tanked? This is wonderful, drinkability is a five. Sit back and guzzle and hoot and holler. Aside from that though, this is not the beer to be sitting around with, enjoying with friends. There is nothing to enjoy. It has very little redeeming qualities except it might actually strengthen your face muscles, as I recoiled and scrunched my face up after every sip. Ah well, a good choice for those who like to get bombed cheaply.

Serving type: bottle

02-05-2005 01:06:42 | More by Litterbean

Shiloh

Ontario (Canada)

2.42/5  rDev -0.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

I find this to be one of the better malt liquors that I have tried, which does not make this an acceptable product, just better than most others of its kind.
Everything about this product is thin with the exception of the ABV.
What makes this product a little superior over others of its ilk is its lack of alcohol taste, alcohol nose and warming affect upon quaffing.
Cheap drunk if that's what you are looking for...but still kinda sad if you are.

Serving type: bottle

01-08-2005 01:44:28 | More by Shiloh