John Labatt Classic

Brewed by Labatt Breweries (InBev)
Style: Pale Lager
London, Canada

Thanks Dad! Pours deep gold with not much head to speak of. Probably because my dad gave it to me after it sat in his fridge for over a year. Aroma is mostly of mild hops with some malt and soft fruity aromas. Taste is flat watery veggies, with lots of malt sweetness still, and a dash of hops, that leaves a bitter aftertaste. It’s still better than Blue, and it’s been sitting for a while. Thanks again Dad!

Had been buying this beer for over 20 years. I am trying to find out why it was retired?

C’était mieux que la Bleue, elle goûtait quelque chose et ce n’était pas mauvais. Légé saver de malt, pas amère.

A nice change from typical Labatts. A very tasy beer. A mild not overbearing beer which is very enjoyable.

Bottle shared with GregClow and HogTownHarry at Ciro’s. Pours a clear gold with a small white head. Nice bubbles and spare lacing. First thing you notice in the aroma is no skunkyness(!) -- the aroma is of light hops, grain, caramel malt...wait did I say hops? Hops in a Labatt product? WOW! The flavour also suprises, there’s nothing wrong with it! I tasted sweet malt with a light hop finish. It’s very mild but it’s still tasty. A hell of a suprise coming from Labatt but what isn’t a surprise, unfortunately, is it being retired. We can’t have a good Labatt product on the market can we?

Bottle (341ml). At Ciro’s - shared with GregClow and blankboy. Poured pale yellow with a nice continuous column of small bubbles and a small white fizzy head. Aroma was, to me, exactly that of fresh-picked, fresh-broiled peaches and cream corn being shaved off the cob: fresh, sweet and corn-vegetal, but in a nice way; also some barley and rye, perhaps a hint of pinecone. Taste very mild - corn-sweet, grainy, a bit of alcohol; I admit I was very bemused by this one. Mouthfeel fairly lively, a bit sticky. This one was just a little too sweet for me, but pretty fresh tasting and not much chemical/adjunct character, so while not great, certainly not bad. Decent macro paleager.

Bottle at Ciro’s. Pale golden with a medium sized head that quickly disappears. Aroma is on the sweet side, a little grainy, with noticible malt and grassy hops - my gosh, it’s a Labatt product that actually smells like a proper beer rather than a can of soggy vegetables! Flavour is decent as well, with a fresh malt character and a subtly hopped finish. A nice mainstream lager, and easily the best Labatt product I’ve ever tried. Figures that they would retire it. I guess I should be glad that I had a bottle while I had the chance.

341ml brown bottle. Pale gold with the slightest wisp of white surface bubbles. Light aroma of grainy malts. Flavourwise, it does have an ok level of malt, some grainy notes, a touch of mineral water and a faint hop presence in the finish, leaving it with a bit of dryness. It’s not a blockbuster by any means, but passable.