Come on now, admit it. Walking through the beer store, you look briefly at the end of the cooler with the cheap beer and notice that gray twelve pack for under $6 and think “hmmmm?”. Well I succumbed to the temptation all for the sake of my devoted readership.

Steel Reserve is brewed by the Steel Brewing Company  out of… um… well, there are three different answers to that question. The can states “Fort Worth” in the logo, Milwuakee Wi on the side and the website says Irwindale CA.

Opening the can was like opening any other can of beer. It has a color like, well, no I’m not going to pour this out. Frankly, who would drink it from the glass? Ok, on to drinking.  In the mouth it has a sweet clinging with just a bitter hint of hop. More hop flavor than a Bud, but not much. Once its gone there is that warm glow of alcohol in the mouth along with the sweet clinging at the back of the tongue.

Strangely enough, it starts to taste better the further down the can I get. Maybe that has to do with the 8.1%ABV, though. I’m reading the can and getting a good chuckle, too. “High gravity lager, SLOW brewed for a minimum of 28 days” *gasp*. Sure, to get 8.1% the initial gravity does need to be high, but it also tastes like the final gravity is also on the high side.  Slow brewed, huh? I am no proffesional brewer, but this is really funny to me! When I brew a lager, I leave it in primary at lager temps for at least a month, then secondary for a few more.

I’m going to give this one a half mug up. Honestly, it doesn’t taste bad, it doesn’t taste good but I won’t kick it out of my fridge either.

Cheers!