Good Ol’ Burger Beer: A Review

It’s been a few weeks since the return of Burger Beer, thanks to Christian Moerlein.  My wife, however, gets 3/4 credit for this beer review, because I’m not absolutely certain that I’d have gotten around to Burger so quickly if it weren’t for her surprising me with a 12 pack following a regular grocery trip.

Needless to say, I was so excited that I had to take a picture of the package before even putting it in the refrigerator.  Getting this excited about what’s considered to be a “budget” beer probably fully qualifies me as a geek.

When it was announced that Burger Beer was making a return, there was quite a buzz in local news, including an entry from us.  While most of the adults around me were Hudy or Wiedemann men (and the occasional woman), I clearly remember Burger Beer in its white can, red background behind white lettering and a weirdly blue-green ribbon dangling below.  It’s quite an impressive, classy look, to be honest.  I gotta say, I was quite disappointed to see that this didn’t return with the Burger reissue.  I forged ahead nonetheless.

I was totally chompin’ at the bit for the beer to get cold, and when it finally did, I imbibed as Burger was meant to be imbibed: directly from the can, in more than one dose.  Because of this, I can’t really tell you what the beer actually looks like.  I can say this, however: it costs $5.99 for a twelve pack.  If you’re expecting the Greatest and Best Beer Ever Made, try this on for size.

Here’s what I was expecting: a full-flavored pilsner, over-carbonated, with clear overtones outside the normal hop/malt mixture of such a golden beer, not unlike PBR, Miller High Life, or Budweiser.

Here’s what I got: a full-flavored pilsner, over-carbonated, with clear overtones outside the normal hop/malt mixture of such a golden beer, not unlike PBR, Miller High Life, or Budweiser.

No surprises here.  I will say this, though: Christian Moerlein owns Burger Beer.  Christian Moerlein is HQ’d in Cincinnati.  Even though the beer is brewed in Wisconsin, I still consider Burger a Cincinnati beer, and solely because of that, I’d pick it over any other macro-beer.  It doesn’t hurt that there really aren’t too many taste differences, either.  Light years better than Beast, but not quite close to Bell’s Lager.  Burger doesn’t pull any punches, and it will get you fucking drunk.  Just like it was bred to do.

Related posts:

1. Beer-Flavored Beer–How Novel! A Review of Bavik Premium Pils
2. Hudy 14K: How Good Do You Think It Is?
3. This Christian Moerlein Fella Might Be On To Something: A Review of OTR Ale
4. Christian Moerlein Stout: Stanky and Tasty Goes Together, Somehow.
5. Christian Moerlein Takes It Hard To The Hole, So To Speak