Posts Tagged ‘Leinenkugel’s Original’

Leinie's and Baseball

Monday, October 20th, 2008

I wrote this a little while ago.

I’m tasting my Leinenkugel‘s Original in the perfect setting: at the Deadwood in Iowa City. This is a serious bar, and when you’re here you can only drink one beer, an American lager. Leinie’s distinguishes itself from many in this category by its notable hop bitterness. Most American lagers tend towards balanced to slightly sweet, but Leinie’s, like PBR, leans a bit to bitter. The flavor is relatively malty, with a hint of astringency on the sides of the tongue. There is a faint hint of sulfur, detectable only as a bit of sweetness and perhaps some cooked corn.

The sweetness lingers a little but the bitterness and astringency distract you so it is all too easy to take another gulp. In the end, this beer is every bit as drinkable as one of the Big Lagers, but with much more flavor. My only major complaint would be the near lack of head.

The Red Sox aren’t doing so hot, so for luck I’ll order a Leinie’s Red.

This beer lives up to its name. It’s almost a cherry colored red, and it glows even in the darkness. Unfortunately that’s all it really offers.

Red has almost no flavor. The only thing on the nose is a metallic stab. There is an unpleasant astringency all over as well as a displeasing sulfur character, much like well-cooked cabbage. Unlike its big brother Original, Red doesn’t invite further sips. Red orders you to drink it down so you don’t have to deal with it anymore.

That’s not how I drink beer.

+/-Leinenkugel’s Original

RateBeer: 2.6

-Leinenkugel’s Red

RateBeer: 1.5