To Beer or Not to Beer (Ed_Grover Appreciation Write- Off)
Written: Sep 24 '05 (Updated Sep 24 '05)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Well....it's easy to drink and thirst quenching.
Cons: So is a glass of water and it costs less.
The Bottom Line: This is a bland, forgettable product. Its only redeeming quality is that it can be used for cooking.
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| Bryan_Carey's Full Review: Old Milwaukee NA |
Ed Grover has been a member of Epinions for almost exactly the same amount of time as me. We both joined near the close of the last century; Ed on December 29, 1999 and me on December 21, 1999. We both chose to use our actual first and last names, separated by an underscore, as our Epinions names. We have both resided in the state of Wisconsin- Ed currently lives there and I lived there during grade school, back in the 1970’s.
Over these years, I have grown to know Ed through his many thoughtful and insightful reviews on all sorts of products like books, restaurants, magazines, and other products. When I heard about this write- off in Ed’s honor, I was perplexed about what to write. Should I choose a book, since Ed writes so many book reviews? No, that would take too long and besides I wouldn’t know what book to read. What about a restaurant? No, that is not a good idea because I have already reviewed all of the popular chain restaurants that exist in Ed’s hometown of Milwaukee and in my own area of the country.
Wait a minute….Milwaukee…..that spells beer! And I have quite a bit of experience writing about malt beverages. I decided that all I would have to do is find a beer brewed in Milwaukee or that makes one think about Milwaukee and I would be all set to begin my contribution to this write- off. But what beer would I choose? I have already reviewed the entire Miller portfolio. And I know about Lakefront Brewery, located on the shores of Lake Michigan, but I also know I cannot possibly get my hands on anything from this company, since I live far away from Wisconsin.
Thinking back to some of Ed’s earlier reviews, I can recall that he once had a problem with alcoholism. Thus, I decided that the right beer to review would be one that relates to Milwaukee but doesn’t have any alcohol. Does such a product exist? It sure does: Old Milwaukee NA a non- alcoholic brew from Pabst Brewing Company.
Basic Characteristics of This Beer:
Old Milwaukee NA has a light yellowish color and an unappealing aroma that combines sweet grain, paper, and a small amount of spice. The foam level on this beer is light and the beer has a bubbly body with a near perfect clarity.
This beer has a taste that emphasizes the flavor of cereal grains and not much else. There is a little bit of a wooden flavor present as well, and almost no hop taste at all. Sweet adjuncts make this the beer that it is. The finish of this beer is watery and it leaves an aftertaste of light bread/cereal.
This beer has a very low alcohol content of .5 percent (or a little less, depending on the source you cite) by volume. A 12 oz. serving contains 12.2 grams of carbs, .4 grams of protein, zero fat, and 58 calories.
Food Compatibility:
Food? Well, I suppose this beer could be considered an all- purpose brew for just about anything since it is practically alcohol- free and since it has very little taste. I think its best use would be as an additive to certain food dishes, but it wouldn’t be too bad consumed with light snacks like potato chips, corn chips, and similar fare.
Final Thoughts:
Old Milwaukee beer products have undergone changes in production and ownership that would make any brewer’s head spin. This product and trademark has been sold and re-sold to different companies many times. It spent some time under the ownership of Stroh’s and then it was owned by Pabst Brewing/G. Heileman Brewing. The side of a can still says it is part of Stroh’s- a company headquartered in Milwaukee. Today, this product is contract brewed.
Non- alcoholic beers are an interesting lot. As most anyone will tell you, elimination of alcohol from beer makes the product taste like something else entirely. The beer loses more than just its kick, it also loses its drive, its speed, and just about everything else. The taste of Old Milwaukee NA is no different. It tastes sweet and grainy, like a glass of water with grated corn meal and other grains sprinkled on top. There is only a tiny amount of hop spice in this product and what little there is can be detected in the nose more than the taste.
Probably the most interesting thing about this non- alcoholic brew is its finish. Instead of tasting like hops (the way beer should), it tastes like cereal. And there is no real transition from finish to aftertaste because the finish is almost non- existent. You feel like you’ve just eaten a cheap dinner roll once the aftertaste becomes more and more evident.
This beer starts with a gravity of only 1.021 and finishes with 1.018. There is almost no change in the beer’s density, and that is exactly what you expect with a non- alcoholic brew. Speaking of the alcohol level, it should be stressed that there is some alcohol in this beer so to say it is non- alcoholic isn’t completely accurate. However, the level of alcohol is so low that, for practical purposes, it is considered alcohol free. Regular beer has ten times the alcoholic strength of Old Milwaukee NA. This means that, even on an empty stomach, it would likely take 30 cans of this product to feel any effect from the alcohol. If anyone tried to drink that much, he/she would likely vomit from all the carbonation long before there would be any noticeable changes brought about by the alcohol.
Old Milwaukee NA is easy to find. It has a wide distribution base and is usually sold anyplace where regular Old Milwaukee is found. The price, however, might surprise some people. The absence of alcohol might lead many to believe that this beer is less expensive than others. But this isn’t the case- it actually costs more than regular Old Milwaukee, which happens to be one of the cheapest beers on the market. It still isn’t much, though, so the price shouldn’t dissuade anyone from trying it. A six- pack sells for about $2.89, a price that is greater than the cheapest beer but much less than the majority of beer.
Now that I have tried this product and reviewed it, I have one more problem on my hands: What should I do with the remaining cans? I really don’t find this beer enjoyable enough to drink. But with its emphasis on sweet grains, this might make a good addition to a pot of stew or certain styles of soup. The cooking quality makes this product a little more acceptable than it otherwise would have been. It gives me something to do with the remaining beer so I don’t end up wasting any.
Is Old Milwaukee NA worth a try? Well, maybe…I mean it does have some thirst quenching qualities since it is so similar to water. Ok, let’s be honest- it’s not that great of a product. But hey, at least it has the Milwaukee name on the label, a name that has become synonymous with malt beverages and a place that happens to be Ed’s hometown.
In closing, let’s raise a non- alcoholic glass of beer and toast our fellow Epinions member, Ed Grover. He has been a mainstay at the site; a person who writes great reviews and a member of my trust list for a very long time. But most importantly, Ed is everyone’s friend. Even though I have never met him in person, I feel I know him from reading so many of his reviews over the past 5 years. He is a man of character, and his writing has inspired us all.
This concludes my entry in the Ed Grover Appreciation Write- Off. For more information about this write- off, hosted by Epinions member Eplovejoy, follow this link:
Ed Grover Write- Off
Recommended:
No
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