Hamms Golden Draft

Brewed by Miller Brewing Company (MillerCoors)
Style: Pale Lager
Milwaukee, Wisconsin USA

I don’t know what overcame me, but while I was grocery shopping yesterday I found myself on a mission to buy the cheapest beer I could find! This little guy had the worst aromas I’ve smelled in a long time... diacetyls, DMS & adjuncts abound with a sweet candy-corn and cardboard persona. It appears more "pale yellow" than "golden" with plenty of carbonation and a fast, white head. Corn and tin can flavors are supported in a sickly-sweet palate that makes sure to coat your mouth so the experience can linger. Listen to yo’ mama when she tells you, "You get what you pay for!!!"

I’m tempted to take a new photo for this page, but I really like the store sign that’s pictured, regardless of its resolution. (I’m surprised the Hamms bear didn’t die years ago... if he’s promoting beers like this one he’s prone to making some really bad judgment calls.)

<font size=-4>6-pack from <a href=http://www.cub.com/recipes-webapp/your_cub/St Foods, Tinley Park, IL 60477<font size=-1>

Pours a pale golden yellow. Aroma of corn, grains and some hops with a bland flavor and bitter finish.

Pours a little darker than most american lagers. Aromas of corn, hops, and you know the rest. Flavor is a little more pronounced in this lager, a little more bitter.

Sampled out of a small snifter. Pale vitamin B urine color, macro-liike faux-white head. Light, but sweet caramelly malt and some pepper. After a while, maybe after it warms up more, its a little papery. To me its better than Miller due to the less ass-like taste, though, I suspect brewed the same way.

Uniquely bad even for the style. I am not a fan of any of Hamm’s beer despite being a fan of some similar brews. This one is too sweet, corny, overcarbonated, reeking of acetylhyde and watery with a strange after flavor. I found in hard to drink, which pretty much kills the cheap beer experience.

Opening the hunting camp in the fall is a magical experience: the musty smell, the Hamm’s signs dusted with cobwebs, the brisk autumn air...The leaves crunch under my feet as my worries disappear in that Upper Michigan wilderness. An owl can be heard in the distance. Back at camp, the sauna and barbeque get lit, and a cooler of Hamm’s and ice takes center stage. The sun goes down, and coyotes howl at the full moon. I climb into my down sleeping bag, gullet full of Hamm’s. I wake up and have Hamm’s and eggs for breakfast. The road hunt is on, with good cigars, hardroll sandwiches, Waylon Jennings on 8-track, and plenty of ice cold Hamm’s.

Can
Hmm. I’m not going to pour this one into a glass, so I’m going to tell you what I think it looks like. Clear gold/dark yellow. Small wispy head and lacing. Nose of strong corn and grains. Grassy hops. Weak alcohol aromas. Again, the flavor is pretty much the same as the nose. Lots of corn and grainy characters. The hops are now slightly bitter and a little bit sour. The mouthfeel is watery and the flavors don’t last long enough, but are there too long if you know what I mean.

Can
Wisconsin is the land of clear blue waters? Hmm, news to me. The ol’ HGD just doesn’t do anything for me. Corny grainy flavor...wait, there’s flavor! Finishes a bit acidic and watery. Another pale lager brewed in the american tradition. $9.45 for a 24 pack though...