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Buyer's Guide for Beer Lovers

Lagers

Not Your Grandfather’s Lager

Reduced Calorie Lager

These are the recently popular brews in a figure-conscious society. Essentially, these are pale lager styled beers with fewer calories. Like all other “diet products,” the objective is to maintain flavor while minimizing calories. This achieved quite successfully by some brands, despite the implausibility of the proposition.

Interpreting the 100-point Scale

Consumers can translate the point score to the following quality bands:

Point Range Quality Band
96-100 points Platinum
90-95 points Gold
85-90 points Silver
80-84 points Bronze
Less than 80 Not Recommended
Legend
  • = Brewpub
  • ABV = Alcohol by volume
  • Date denotes the date on which the beer was tasted

90 Samuel Adams Light, The Boston Beer Co. (MA). 4% ABV (11/09)
Pale amber color. Pleasant aroma of lightly fruity caramel and toast follow through on a crisp entry to a dryish light-to-medium body with good balance and depth of flavor. Finishes with a long, crisp earthy hop and mineral accented fade. A very nice light beer with considerable flavor and style.

86 Lionshead Light Deluxe Pilsner Beer, The Lion Brewery (PA). 3.8% ABV (11/08)
Bright golden color. Aromas of buttery kettle corn and white bread dough follow through on a smooth entry to a dryish light-to-medium body hints of green pear and starfruit. Finishes with lightly creamy toasted grain fade. A pleasant quaffer.

84 Light Beer, Narragansett Brewing Company (RI). 3.8% ABV (10/10)
Pale golden yellow color. Aromas of buttery roasted corn and salty baguette crust with a crisp, dryish light body and a gentle dried lemon, corn flour and sparkling spring water finish. Clean and refreshing.

83 Light Lager, Bavaria N.V. Lieshout (Holland). 4.8% ABV (11/08)
Bright golden yellow color. Pleasant aromas of warm egg sandwich with a touch of savory roasted parsnip and carrot follow through on a soft, round entry to a dry light body with a hint of dried grapefruit, tilled earth and jicama on the quick, slightly metallic finish. Inoffensive and functional.

81 Moose Light, Moosehead Breweries Ltd. (Canada). 4% ABV (11/08)
 Golden yellow color. Yeasty egg bagel aromas follow through on a mellow entry to a dryish light-to-medium body with nice toastiness and a touch of lemon water on the quick, slightly tinny finish.

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