I said “Hey bartender! Hey man, looka here! A draw one, draw two, draw three, four glasses of beer!” OK, I didn’t say that. What I really said when I bellied up to the bar at Taco Mac was “I’ll have a Jekyll American Lager, please”. But, that bit about the three four glasses of beer is in my head from the old Blues Brothers song, so maybe I will use it some time. You just never know what I’m gonna do. For that matter, I never know what I’m gonna do.

Like, for example, order up a Jekyll American Lager. American Light Lager (or ALL for short) is not one of my favorite styles. It’s not light beer, and is a corruption of pilsner lightened with adjunct grains like corn or rice. I have a fondness for some classic examples like Narragansett Lager, but for the most part stay away from the national brands (Budweiser, Miller High Life, Coors Banquet Beer).

Some craft breweries these days produce a version of American Light Lager because, hey, not everybody likes craft beer. Jekyll’s version is free from adjuncts and more of a lightly hopped pilsner. It’s easy to drink and accessible and, I think, a good starter beer for someone looking to enter the world of craft beer. It’s great to have on hand for barbecues or parties for your non-craft drinking friends. Have ‘em try one of these in lieu of a Budmilloors.

From the Jekyll website:

This is our take on the American Lager which is brewed to be light, refreshing and crisp. Pours a pale golden in color with aromas of cereal and sweet grains. Enjoy at the beach, tailgate or your front porch.

Jekyll American Lager has an alcohol content of 4.6% by volume with 13 IBUs. I paid $6 for a draft mug at Taco Mac (high for the style I think) but it is reasonable in cans at $8.99 a six-pack retail. This beer was credit 993 in my Brewniversity studies, 7 more to Chancellor!

My mug of Jekyll American Lager arrived a bright pale-yellow color Jekyll with a soft clean malty nose, smooth clean maltiness in the palate, and a faint balanced hoppy finish.

ALL in ALL (pun intended), this is a decent example of the style and, while not a beer I would drink every day, it is well suited to the purposes I mentioned above. I’ll give it a solid 4 ½ stars rated to style, less ½ star for the higher price than the same style usually commands.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft



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