Labatt Blue - Labatt Brewing Company Ltd.

whatthehull

California

2.75/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Tulip

A - golden straw in color, 1/8 finger very white head that dissipates in moments and no lacing

S - lots of grain, funk, very sweet malt, slight hop note and very breast

T - not bad, better than bud, very sweet, light malts, grains, some hopish notes and a bit of spice

M - light bodied, medium plus acidity, low complexity, no balance and low finish

D - very easy to drink, perfect for tailgates, lakes, beach parties and such. Not much going on but not terrible

Final thought - this is a great alternative to bud and the like. Only $1 a pop, not bad

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2011 00:04:26 | More by whatthehull

Stocean1

Ontario (Canada)

3.28/5  rDev +23.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Poured a pillowy two finger head with some retention upon a straw yellow body, clear and clean appearance

Smell is grainy malt, bread, light hops, floral

Taste follows the nose, some corn in there but not overdone

Mouthfeel is light to medium bodied with plenty of carbonation, slight bitterness in the aftertaste, very drinkable

A brew that will always have a place in my fridge.

Serving type: bottle

11-13-2011 15:09:05 | More by Stocean1

kangarooAdam59

Wyoming

3/5  rDev +13.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

In a pint glass:

A: light yellow-gold with a one finger off-white head, the head is creamy looking and reduces to a thin ring fairly quickly

S: subdued bland hops through rice and corn, no skunkiness

T: exactly the same as the smell

M: light and crisp, sessionable, subtle bitter finish, no aftertaste

O: right on for the style, but just an average beer for me, probably better with food

Serving type: bottle

11-12-2011 00:54:53 | More by kangarooAdam59

bluHatter

Michigan

3.45/5  rDev +30.2%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Yellow golden, clear, pours with very little head that disappears instantly. No lacing.

S: Classic clean beer smell. Light and easy. Wheat, grain.

T: The taste of this beer always reminds me of beer and peanuts at a baseball game. Brings back great memories - but it's nothing too special. Just a really really easy to drink refreshing delicious beer.

M: Light carbonation. Easy on the palate, slight tingle.

O: Just a descent all around beer. Of the basic cheap beers, Labatt Blue is a favorite. Easy to drink and as refreshing as water.

Serving type: bottle

09-12-2011 00:02:26 | More by bluHatter

thatruth

Washington

1.85/5  rDev -30.2%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2

picked up a 12 pack from the Safeway near Alaska Junction in West Seattle to get drunk about a month ago. found one hiding in the back of the fridge. 12 oz bottle poured into pint glass.

pours 1/8" head with no color that dissipates quickly. minimal, slippery lacing. piss yellow body with a few bubbles throughout.

smells like Canada. ha...East Hastings, maybe. smells of corn, weird hops. malty, boozy aroma.

tastes like this should be a craft beer only website. tastes like every other "american adjunct lager" or whatever the hell. tastes identical to a warm, dry sprite - even though it's fresh out of the freezing fridge.

mouthfeel is comparable to a pale, low alcohol, cheap champagne. fritzy and uncomfortable. club soda-esque.

Labatt!! whatever that means in French, it must be close to the f-word.

Serving type: bottle

08-28-2011 22:47:58 | More by thatruth

chinchill

South Carolina

2.9/5  rDev +9.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

12 oz bottle served in a pint glass.

Pours a light yellow-gold with an ample off-white head. The head is nicely creamy but reduces to a thin ring and very thin 'islands' within minutes. Medium+ carbonation is visible.

S - The nose is about as expected: weak, tainted by adjuncts, and little influenced by hops. It isn't bad, however, with no real off-odors.

T - Labatt Blue's flavor is definitely on the lighter end of the scale for lagers. It does have enough flavor to spark a clear sensation of sweet grains followed by a very mildly bitter finish. The clean finish leaves a reasonably durable impression of malt with a more ephemeral impression of hops.

M - crisp in the mouth with a rather thin body.

O - No real negatives other than the lack of substance.

Serving type: bottle

08-22-2011 19:51:18 | More by chinchill

tdm168

North Carolina

3.08/5  rDev +16.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Pours a clear gold with a quarter inch of head and little retention. Smells grainy but little else of note. Taste is grainy with a little hoppy bitterness and some sweetness finding their place in the finish. Mouthfeel is smooth, clean, and crisp.

For the style it's not bad. None of those metallic or overly adjuncty flavors one would associate with this style.

Serving type: bottle

08-12-2011 22:31:32 | More by tdm168

beerandcycling88

Washington

3.28/5  rDev +23.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

This is a pretty decent session beer. It smells like sweet grains tastes about the same with the addition of a slight amount of hops. The mouthfeel is very light with a lot of carbonation.
Overall this is a slightly better then average adjunct lager that is good for an after bike ride session beer. Not going to win any awards but it does the trick.

Serving type: bottle

08-05-2011 02:49:26 | More by beerandcycling88

depechemode1983

Texas

2.83/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

A - Poured into a pint glass. The beer is a clear yellow/straw color. The head dissipates pretty damn quick in a soda pop like fashion. Lacing is non existent.

S - Very light grains, a little sweetness and some faint hops. There is also a bit of a metallic twang to it.

T - Not as offensive as I was expecting. Very light in flavor. Typical of the style. Light bitter hops with just a little graininess. Pretty bland.

M - Mouth feel is light bodied. Smooth enough. Carbonation seems high in the pour but now it seems its all gone. Must have disappeared in the soda pop head.

O - It's drinkable, but why would you want to? Maybe to cleanse the palate and make way for a good beer? I wouldn't buy it again, however it wasn't horrible.

Serving type: bottle

08-02-2011 20:56:50 | More by depechemode1983

Hoptometrist

Oregon

2.68/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Poured from the bottle into a nonic glass

A- Poured a clear straw yellow with fizzy carbonation and one finger of frothy white head with no lace.

S- Cereal, sweet grains, and a mild skunk

T- Cereal, sweet grains, corn, pretty nice bitterness on the finish for an AAL Quite sweet

M- Fizzy, refreshing, crisp, thinner mouthfeel

O- This was my college beer. After I graduated I still got 12 packs once in a while to drink along with my craft beers and still have a few of these left over from last year. I like it for what it is a cheap buzz that I liked better than most of the other AALs at the time, not sure if I would still feel that way, but I don't really drink them anymore. Probably my first time drinking this in a glass other than having it in pitchers at the bar. It is definitely quite sweet, but does have a little more bitterness than most AALs IMO. I don't really see my self buying this in the store again anytime soon, but will revisit it at the bars every once in a while.

Serving type: bottle

07-27-2011 01:29:10 | More by Hoptometrist

ktrillionaire

Florida

2.73/5  rDev +3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

A - Looks pretty good for the style due to a big soapy white froth of head and bits of lace upon the glass.

S - Very slight pale grain and minerals.

T - Tastes like water. Maybe beer-flavored water, but that is probably a stretch. Nice mineral and grassy herbal finish/aftertaste, which bumps up the flavor a notch in my estimation.

M - Thin body, watery, low but prickly carbonation.

O - Fairly drinkable and quite inoffensive, but it is definitely not above mediocre.

Serving type: bottle

07-05-2011 16:56:48 | More by ktrillionaire

Onenote81

North Carolina

3.23/5  rDev +21.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Continuing with the "Blue" theme...

12oz bottle poured into a pint glass. Just had this on tap a few days ago, let's see how it compares. The pour yields the same pale gold with a thin white cap. The nose is just a mild - corn, grass, faint citrus. The mouth is crisp and refreshing still, albeit on the thin side. The flavors seem more pronounced from the bottle (though I think that has more to do with the ice-cold glass my draft was served in - how I hate that). Creamy corn, light malt, mild bitterness. Grainy finish. Not a bad brew. I'd reach for this before many other adjuncts.

Serving type: bottle

06-23-2011 14:30:21 | More by Onenote81

DrinkingDrake

Massachusetts

2.8/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured into a pint a light yellow with a lot of head that died down fast to leave almost nothing. Nose is nothing short of any other mass produced lager. A bitterness and pale malt if anything. The flavor is watery but with a brighter grain character than expected. A light bitterness that finishes. The finish has a light sour taste. I'll drink it if I'm handed one at a hockey game.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2011 21:34:33 | More by DrinkingDrake

SeussMD

Connecticut

2.85/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Ahh, Labatt Blue. Once upon a time, in the dark ages of beer when Sam Adams was not yet available and imports where for rich people and/or those who put on airs, I thought Canadian beer had it all over its southern macrobrewed cousins. And with family in Buffalo, it was always around. I'd review Old Vienna, because my grandfather drank it and my grandfather was The Man. But it's not available. And I forgot to pick up a can of Genny Cream Ale. So in honor of The Man, who passed away five years ago yesterday, and Buffalo, The Greatest City In The World...

Serving size: 340 ml bottle, eh.

Pours pale gold, one-inch frothy head that disappears faster than you can say "imported daily from Canada."

Aroma: Very little. Straw, slight sweetness (the corn talking, perhaps).

Taste: Some hint of malt, corn. Slight hint of hops. Strong overwhelming suggestion of water. Mrs. Seuss says: "Doesn't smell like much. Doesn't taste like much." She's right.

Mouthfeel: For a beer with such a wimpy head it's got a fairly decent fizz to it. Crisp, I guess you could call it.

Overall: Labatt Blue is about drinking, not thinking. It is meant to be consumed quickly, without tasting it. Hockey arena beer. Stadium beer. Hot summer day beer. Cheap beer. Drink it fast so I can get buzzed beer. It's scary to me that I still occasionally purchase and consume something so frighteningly meh ... but imprinting is powerful and the Buffalo beer gods must be appeased during Stanley Cup playoff runs. Twist cap at your own risk....

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2011 22:42:02 | More by SeussMD

hosehead83

Ohio

2.63/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured from a 12 or is that an 11.2oz. bottle into a highball glass. (I don't want to rinse out a perfectly good pint glass to review this particular beer.) Pale straw color, with an actually pretty decent head of white, soapy foam.
Aroma-Faint sweet malt and grain.
Taste-(When actually tasting this beer and not just pounding down an ice cold bottle, I can't help but grimace and wrinkle my nose a bit)
Watery grain, faint sweet malt, canned corn note, faint metallic finish.
This is my Grandad's favorite beer. He likes it in paper cups and that's how we drink it together. Somehow, drinking ice cold Labatt's out of 7oz. paper "shooter" cups while gazing out at a lake makes it taste pretty damn good. But for the more formal purposes of this review however, sorry Blue. (And I mean that).

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2011 15:49:57 | More by hosehead83

techfed87

Michigan

2.48/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Pours a moderate head. Color is light to moderate yellow, quite clear. Smell is a bit neutral.

First sip is fairly straightforward. Flavor is lacking in hops, but does have a satisfying, if fairly meager, malt presence.

All in all, a decent, if only a little underwhelming, beer.

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2011 00:46:12 | More by techfed87

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

2.48/5  rDev -6.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Labatt Blue is a pretty decent drinking beer. It's best when it's ice cold. It's much like other Pale Lagers, Yellow in color, dissipating head, and pretty smooth tasting. I'd go for a Labatt's before ever going after Miller or Bud. This beer gives us some good flavors and it could easily be much worse.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2011 22:43:02 | More by Knapp85

6470zzy

Massachusetts

3.08/5  rDev +16.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Appearance: Crystal clear straw colored brew with a snow white 1/2 head that quickly dissipated.

Smell: Old School all the way...this is the beer smell from my father's mug, corn and grain

Taste: Corn, sweet old time "new world" lager

Mouth-feel: soft, smooth easy carbonation.

Drink-ability: Easy to drink, this is definitely a lawnmower beer that you can knock back a few of.

Serving type: bottle

03-20-2011 12:04:24 | More by 6470zzy

WVRadar

West Virginia

3.43/5  rDev +29.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

1/2 inch fizzy white head that slowly dissipates to a collar around the top. Lots of bubbles rising to the surface. Clear, sparkling pale gold body with good lacing. Hint of corn? in the aroma. Initial medium bitter flavor, with a light short finish. Watery, light to medium mouthfeel with lively carbonation. Good lawn mower beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2011 00:21:44 | More by WVRadar

axeman9182

New Jersey

3.03/5  rDev +14.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

11.5oz bottle, served at the Cloverleaf Tavern with a small, chilled pint glass.

Labatt Blue pours a light, crystal clear yellow.There's a wispy white head that never rises in stature enough for there to be even a chance of having a discussion about head retention or lacing. What nose there is is largely of pale and cereal grains, and just a little bit corny. A faint herbal noble hop presence is a pleasant surprise. The flavor follows to a T, and I'm struggling to temper my disappointment in the relative lack of flavor with my expectations of the style. The body is predictably watery, but the carbonation does show some signs of life/assertiveness. All in all Labatt Blue is a serviceable macro "pilsner", one that I find less offensive than some of it's brethren. That said, I don't see myself ever wanting to order it again.

Serving type: bottle

03-11-2011 05:13:34 | More by axeman9182

Afree

Iowa

3.2/5  rDev +20.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Had a special at the Local Liquor store here, 12 bottles for $9.99 so I figured why not. Pleasantly surprised with the quality for the price.

Appearance- Poured into pint glass and had lots of carbonation coming up from the bottom. Thinner white head w/ very little lacing.

Smell- Hard to pin point what it smelled like, reminded me of a tiny bit of malt and some indescribable sweetness. Overall not horrible.

Taste- A lot better than I expected, but can still taste the grain...

Mouthfeel- Slightly watery but that was expected, overall not bad.

Drinkability- Average. Nothing special. Could pound if wanted too but I would choose something else for that.

Serving type: bottle

02-20-2011 21:22:10 | More by Afree

smakawhat

Maryland

3.08/5  rDev +16.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

So, this was my go to beer for so many years growing up. You either drank Molson, Labatt, or Carling O'Keefe. So somehow this is a Canadian Pilsner it says on the bottle huh? Hmm. Well who knows. That being said I am curious to see again how this is since I haven't had one in ages. Imported from Canada does it taste the same? Well let's find out.

Why not for fun... pour this into a Pilsner style glass.. sure what could be better right?

Poured out of the bottle good ole Blue gives a simple three finger soapy head. The head falls at a clip on to a straw gold completely clear body. Very solid carbonation coming up from the bottom of the glass. Leaves a very solid collar also throughout the drink This actually looks like a Pilsner in this glass, and looks really good I am kind of surprised. No lacing is apparent either.

Smell is crisp but also a strange sweetness, and some industrial chemical component (not sure what but like cleaner/solvent or something). Luckily the chemically-ness is kind of hidden so the smell overall isn't too offensive. Never really examined the smell of this beer.

As for taste and feel. Sweet at first with a muted crispness (this is not like a crisp Pilsner at all), some weak bread like component on the swallow. Strangely feels a little boozy for such a low abv which seems really odd, but a decent passable mouthfeel. Not carbonated at all either.

I'll admit the beer has taste to it but its very sweet (maybe its from corn?) and I am sort of having a hard time remembering if this is what I grew up with, it sort of feels close, but then again I always drank it out of the bottle. This is still pretty easy drinking all things considered but it gets into bubblegum beer territory.

Serving type: bottle

02-09-2011 04:08:02 | More by smakawhat

CuriousMonk

Virginia

3/5  rDev +13.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Had a few times by bottle and poured into a pint glass. From notes: Pours a yellow body. Nose is light lemon & very light malt. A hint of lactic sourness & a twinge of fruit (blueberry.) Flavor is light malt, a bit of lemon, minerals come through right before the finish. The finish itself is odd - a bit cloying but the fruitiness makes it taste almost corny. The lingering finish pils malt would be nice if not so cloying.

Serving type: bottle

02-08-2011 14:49:04 | More by CuriousMonk

RonaldTheriot

Louisiana

3.2/5  rDev +20.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Labatt Blue has a thin, white head and a clear, straw appearance, with some bubbles but no lacing left behind. The aroma is of a sweetness, not unlike buttered grits, and the taste is similarly sweet, yet with a bit of bitterness in the initial part of the sip. Mouthfeel is light and watery, and Labatt Blue finishes fairly refreshing and dry. Overall, this is a so-so beer, and I suppose it's worth a try (but, then, aren't all beers worth a try?).

RJT

Serving type: bottle

02-06-2011 22:44:46 | More by RonaldTheriot

BeerCon5

Pennsylvania

3.13/5  rDev +18.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a bright straw yellow color with a small amount of bubbly white head.

The scent is of grains, corn, and some yeast.

The taste like the scent is mostly grain and corn, some notes of yeast.

Light bodied, very crisp and thin, moderate carbonation.

This is average for the style but as most macros the flavor is very thin and watered down. Not really something I would drink again.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2011 18:54:35 | More by BeerCon5