American Macro Week: Miller Genuine Draft
Miller Genuine Draft is the "premium" brew from Miller Brewing that was introduced in 1985. It’s "cold filtered four times for smoother flavor" and sits at 4.66% alcohol by volume.
I have to admit, back in my youthful beer drinking days, before discovering home- and microbrew, I considered MGD to indeed be a "premium" beer and would splurge and enjoy it from time to time. So there’s a bit of nostalgia value there, and I’m quite sure it played a role in imprinting what "beer" should be to my inexperienced senses.
Reviewed from the 24-ounce can at chilled refrigerator temperature.
Appearance: Pale yellow with a hint of gold-orange; very clear with the "bubbly" effect. Head—white and rocky; lacing.
Smell: Lightly toasted grains with a hint of something sour; otherwise, it’s got the watery, light-to-none aroma profile like the others.
Taste: Grainy "beer" flavor; so far this is the one I’m most associating with what I consider to be the iconic or representative example of the American macro; perhaps this is a nostalgic throwback to my early days of drinking MGD? Toasted grains and a bit of biscuit. Hops—well, if I detect them at all it’s pretty minimal. There’s a touch of corn here too.
Mouthfeel: Light and gassy and smooth but there’s a less-clean "residue" feeling after a swig.
The verdict: Overall, it’s pretty drinkable. It’s a bit "heavier" that the others so far, maybe because of the level of carbonation/gassiness and the "premium" quality? Not sure, but that’s the impression I get as I drink it.
On BeerAdvocate, it scores a letter grade of D+ (same from the Bros.). On RateBeer, it scores 1.59 out of 5 and is in their 2nd percentile.