Lout of the free

By way of hómage to the beer bloggers' beer blogger, Mr C. Lager of Oop North, I am eschewing my overpriced pongy ale for this post and going for yellow fizzy lout of the very cheapest variety I could lay my mitts on.

First up: Victory Prima Pils. I wasn't expecting much from this as the bottle was well past its best-before by the time I opened it, and expected even less when it came out pale pale yellow with high levels of carbonation. But tasting was a pleasant surprise: it's loaded with the grapefruit and peach notes of a charming, if bitter, hop character. The finish is a bit sudden and the expected staleness leaks through, but all in all I thought it works rather well as an American hoppy lager (but not as a pilsner, I hasten to add, before Velky Al sends the goons round). It lacks the balance and charm of Brooklyn Lager, but if you like your lout bitter, it's ideal. And the price? Well, it was past date, as I said, so the offy gave it me buckshee. Can't say fairer than.

Most recently, Al has turned his wrath upon Samuel Adams Noble Pils, and I just happened to pick one up recently. This is a much more attractive gold colour than the Prima, but it's hard work getting any kind of flavour out of it. It's dry, and as it warmed I got a brief sensation of white grapes, but bugger-all else. I suppose a fair bit of that has to do with the hop-laden lout I drank before it, but if you want more by way of tasting notes, try Al's post linked to above. As to its claimed credentials as a pilsner-style lager, it's got the full body but it's definitely too fizzy and lacks a solid malt backbone. I think this experiment has failed and I'd choose plain old Boston Lager ahead of it any day. If I were paying, that is: this bottle came courtesy of regular commenter Derek who brought it back from the US a couple of weeks ago. Cost including delivery: €0.00. And worth every cent.

You don't have to neck crap from cans to get your lout cheap, you know.