Labatt Crystal - Labatt Brewing Company Ltd.

andrenaline

Ontario (Canada)

2.93/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A staple in my hometown of Thunder Bay. Having had the opportunity to taste some tasty brews, I'm surprised this is the 'pride' of this brew in my hometown.

A - Pours a crystal clear pale golden straw colour, thin layer of head with no retention or lacing.

S - Quite mild with grassy hops that dominate the nose. Tough to detect much else.

T - Flavours is reminiscent of a light lager, grassy hops dominate with a touch of bitterness, sweet corn and bread on the finish.

M - A tad dry on the finish, but goes down smooth and is easily drinkable.

O - It's cheap and I wouldn't turn one down but it's certainly nothing to go out of your way to get your hands on. Rather bland and as much as the selection is weak in my hometown, there's plenty better offerings available.

Serving type: bottle

09-25-2011 06:30:38 | More by andrenaline

mfgeorge

Ontario (Canada)

2.1/5  rDev -32.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

I don't know what I can't believe more: that this is still brewed or that my father just bought a 24? So I had two of these over the Thanksgiving weekend. First one in the bottle, second I poured into the glass.

Crystal for it's name for sure. It's crystal clear straw gold with a nicely carbonated white head. It's a very attractive beer, but that's as far as the complements go. Had a metallic smell which transferred into the taste. A bit of corn on the nose as well. Slight citrus in the mouth from the hops. No bitterness whatsoever. Body thin, watery, but would be thirst quenching if it wasn't for the flavour. After five minutes of warming the beer was hard to drink. After ten minutes I couldn't take it any longer. Overall if you want to chug something that's light and quenching, this works, but for sitting around a campfire taking your time, skip this at all costs.

Serving type: on-tap

10-12-2010 15:11:23 | More by mfgeorge

drinkininthewood

Ontario (Canada)

3.03/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Served from a brown 341 twist off bottle into a lager glass.

A- Light golden in color, Soda pop type fizzyness with a small head but it does lace surprisingly. Much better looking than what i expected.

S- Metallic, with some malt. Fairly sweet.

T- Very light flavor. A little citrus at the start. Czech saaz hops make it very clean tasting with nice malt flavor. Generally pretty sweet finish.

M- Crisp,Clean,light bodied, with moderate carbonation.

D- Not alot of flavor in this beer, but an excellent session beer, great at the end of a hot day at work>very refreshing and drinkable.

Overall a very decent, incredibly easy drinking lager beer. Not alot of flavor but just enough to make it wicked refreshing.

Serving type: bottle

06-07-2007 01:05:18 | More by drinkininthewood

Frozensoul327

Michigan

2.78/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

Not an amazing brew, but not terrible either. Had a few of these last weekend in Sault, Ontario. Poured out to a light yellow color, with a big bubbly head that dissipated fast, but left some lace. Slightly sweet and citrus odors were present. Flavor was mediocre, but straight forward, with overtones of hops, malt and corn. This isn't real common, and I can see why. But i'd welcome it on American shelves any day if it displaced AB products. Worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2005 21:23:58 | More by Frozensoul327

ahking

Michigan

3.08/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Had this for the first time today. Imported this to the States myself from Ontario (i.e. smuggled across the border in my trunk from the Beer Store). Pours a standard golden lager color with an impressive head for a adjunct beer (disappears fairly quickly, but leaves a bit of lace). A little too sweet for my taste. Hops are present but a little too malty (and you can taste the corn adjunct). However, this is sort of a unique flavor. Sort of a cotton-candy-sugar smell, faint tinge of pine flavor from the hops. The more it warms, the more evident the hops become. The can indicates it's naturally aged, but I am not sure what that means. No preservatives which is a plus for a macro. 5% ABV is quite good for a "lighter" lager.

Serving type: can

02-05-2005 03:27:34 | More by ahking

pootz

Ontario (Canada)

3.08/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This is an Ontario beer that has been around forever. I remember my Dad and Uncles drinking it on the porch in the humid Great Lakes summers back in the 50s. According to a local brewery historian this was one of John S Labatt's experimental brews back in the late 1800. It was introduced to Ontario only and was a first attempt by a Canadian Brewer to offer a light lager.

I have no way of telling how many changes it has undergone in Labatt's long corporate history but this is a pretty standard Canadian lager made with quality ingredients, in the vein of "Blue” but it has a slightly different character.

Presentation: Standard Canuck longneck twist top with lot code and date. Labels espouses a product that id "naturally aged, no preservatives, cool , clear, lager"

Pours a crystal very clear dark straw color with a lively white 2 finger head that reduces quickly to a lace that hugs the side of the glass all the way though the drink. Highly effervescent. Slight aromas of boiled grains and hop,

Starts crisp with hop - effervescence and a slight citrus hit then mellows to a sweeter malty mouth feel then finishes fairly clean with a lingering malt taste.

It comes off as a lightly pilsen-hopped sweet-malt lager with a lot of effervescence to give tang to the tongue (slight citrus).

A good standard Canadian lager without any really outstanding character but pleasant enough as a thirst quencher.

Serving type: bottle

11-16-2003 03:27:37 | More by pootz

tavernjef

Minnesota

3.1/5  rDev 0%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Offered up by a neighboring camper while finishing a late night campfire dinner along the east shores of Lake Superior in Canada, eh. Always easy to share a beer and stories with a good campfire.

This strange Labatt brew is a bit uneven in just about every aspect. The color seemed to split from top to bottom like a black & tan, the top being solid gold, straw-like in color where as the bottom was a lighter diluted yellow, a small whiteish head about a finger high came out on top but said goodbye within a second. Smell is uneven as well, with a musty hop, lightly citrusy, and a real weird raw oatmeal quality that seemed to dart in one nostril and out the other. Taste is lightly floral hops, quite subdued in approach, it stands up with good sweetish caramel malts and some grains of bread floating lightly in the mix. Again, there seemed to be empty spots, and some odd mixing of flavors and textures that were just to light to get a good hold on. It was a good beer to have while enjoying our stories and fire, luckily I had my Unibroue's to back me up afterwards.
Good luck in Alaska Kevin.

Serving type: bottle

06-02-2003 09:34:59 | More by tavernjef

Shiloh

Ontario (Canada)

3.3/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A very nice brew from Labatt, I enjoyed this little critter..
A pretty little offering in a clear honey golden hue...poured to a nice 2 finger head that quickly disapated to a small island lace with glass ring...The nose was a slight hint of yeast...the body medium full...The taste was a light bitter and dry...I found the taste improved with each sip...very nice...

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2003 16:01:11 | More by Shiloh