Island Brands USA is a South Carolina-based beer and marketing company that markets its premium brand of lagers as a lifestyle brand that fits in between “factory” and craft beer; right on its homepage, it tells you:

Island Brands produces clean, better for you, super premium beer, set at a competitive price point to fill the gap between factory beer corporations and craft breweries.

Island doesn’t brew its own beers, according to Kate Bernot in this Good Beer Hunting article from earlier this year—it contracts with New Belgium Brewing. It’s a great article that goes in depth about the company, the owners, the marketing, and more; here are the opening paragraphs to get you started:

Island Brands is attempting to do what other, much larger beer companies haven’t yet been able to: mount a sustained challenge to Corona and Michelob Ultra. Its business plan is to create a portfolio of brands that mimic some of the most popular and successful beers and flavored malt beverages (FMBs) in the country, then undercut those leaders with marketing claims of being more “authentic.”

The Charleston, South Carolina-based company saw combined sales of its two existing brands— Island Coastal Lager and Island Active—grow +70% last year to hit $1.9 million in grocery, convenience, liquor, and other retail chains tracked by market research company IRI.

The company sent me samples of its four offerings, for which I have individual reviews (of course!). Let’s go.

Island Coastal Lager

The flagship beer of the line, with 4.5% alcohol by volume, 137 calories, and 9.9 grams of carbs. A “best before” date on the bottom of the can read 4/23/22.

Appearance: Nice deep gold color touching on copper. White whipped foam head.

Smell: Extremely clean and light, a bare minimum bread dough graininess, otherwise not much aroma to speak of.

Taste: Similar story in the flavor, I’m getting a touch of Hawaiian sweet rolls in the malts, it’s a bit doughy, otherwise it’s quite light and mild. There’s the barest hint of black tea hops. It’s crisp with a super clean fermentation profile.

Mouthfeel: Light-bodied, a touch of lingering sweetness, otherwise it’s crisp, clean, and dry.

Overall: It’s almost as if you took a California common (steam) lager and dialed it back to almost nothing? Perfectly drinkable for hot, humid beach days.

Island Active

This is essentially the equivalent of a macro light (or “lite”) beer, and it’s packaged in taller, thin cans to emphasize “skinny” as a lifestyle play. It’s 4.2% ABV, with 88 calories per 12-ounce serving and 2.6 carbs.

Appearance: It’s a tall thin can, evoking the “active” hard seltzer brands. It pours quite a pale yellow, clear, bubbly, with a crisp and fizzy white head that dissipates quickly.

Smell: Corny light lager, with a hint of sparkling mineral water. Mostly clean, with perhaps a hint of DMS.

Taste: Light, minerally, and yes, I believe there’s DMS or something similar that’s slightly noticeable. Not a lot of other flavor; it’s mildly grainy and grassy at best.

Mouthfeel: Light—very light—without any real structure to the body.

Overall: Needs work; it’s a light, flavored mineral water with a spritz of grain flavor.

Island Lemonada

Here we essentially have a radler, and I’ll reprint its description:

Inspired by the coastal lemon groves along the Mediterranean, Island Lemonada is both thirst quenching and delicious. Kick back and soak up the sunshine with this shandy that perfectly balances the finest premium beer and fresh squeezed lemonade. Crisp and clean, this beer is made for easy drinking.

So it’s blended with “lemonade” (according to the label on the can), with 4.5% ABV, 161 calories, and 14.8 grams of carbs. The best before date was 4/8/22.

Appearance: Pale yellow, crisp white head, with a touch of haze.

Smell: Definitely lemony—a big punch of fresh lemon zest/peel with a bit of juice and a hint of an artificial aroma. Generally getting lemonade and a bit of lemon-lime soda.

Taste: It’s got a bit of a radler (or shandy) thing going on, with a  sweet lemonade note over a corny, grainy lager that has its own sweet (corn) note, then a bit of grassy, hay character. It’s a touch cloying, with a hint of that artificial note in the aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: Light-bodied and fairly crisp.

Overall: Not bad, it’s got the “lemonade” character as advertised.

Island Southern Peach

Southern Peach is another shandy, essentially a blend of peach-flavored southern sweet tea with the base lager; the description (below) indicates real peaches were used, though I didn’t get the impression that they were (other than a peach flavor). The description:

Juicy sun ripened peaches, fresh brewed Southern tea and premium beer are combined to create Island Southern Peach. Get some South in your mouth with this twist on a Southern classic. Crisp and clean with a hint of fresh peach tea, this beer is made for easy drinking.

It’s 4.5% ABV, with 164 calories and 16.5 grams of carbs. The best before date on this one was 4/9/22.

Appearance: Copper colored, crystal clear, nicely effervescent, though a white head fell quickly.

Smell: Peach schnapps with a bit of artificial syrup character (Torani?). There’s a bit of real, ripe peach aroma backing that up, otherwise it’s a clean, neutral lager underpinning things.

Taste: A peach-like and somewhat bitter tea flavor blended with a grainy, slightly husky base—more “bitter” here than in the others of this brand and it’s a touch astringent, and a bit jarring in comparison. It’s what it says, a (cloying) southern peach sweet tea and a neutral lager blend, though there’s no real balance in that the tea takes over.

Mouthfeel: Light, a touch cloying, with a bit of astringency.

Overall: Not great, a jarring blend that needs balance and should lead with actual peaches rather than flavored sweet tea.