1-2-Horse-3 PUNCH

Inspired by Jeff's quest for the perfect 1-2-3 weekend knockout spectacular, I myself set out on a warn Saturday evening to engage in a slightly less perfect sequence of beverages. I give you:

THE GENESEE HERITAGE LINEUP OF UNDERRATED AND SHAMEFUL BEERS.

There's a free pizza sitting on the table (thanks, America!), which is the obvious food choice to complement these cheaper-than-Yuengling beauties. Do they taste as good - or as bad - as the $16/case price suggests? Let's find out!

18:14 - 12 Horse loses its cap. Like those about to follow, the beer will be transferred to my mouth via a "stubby" bottle. No glassware here. This is Genny we're talking about. What little I can smell is pleasantly surprising: there's a tiny bit of creaminess detected. Mostly, though, this smells like the kitchen of any college apartment full of unrinsed bottles and cans. That's not to say that it smells bad - it may be an off-putting smell for a residence, but it's what a cheap beer should smell like. And it tastes...well...the way you expect "beer" should taste. Not an IPA, pale ale, stout, porter, Belgian, whatever. This is what your everyday, I just want to come home and yell at the stupid people on TV while I drink, beverage should taste like. It'd be fantastic for grilling. Honestly, I wish Genesee would make this a year-round standalone offering.

19:01 - Lager is next. Love the label. But holy hell, that's the only thing to love about this. The smell is...musty? Dusty? Rusty? Whatever it is, it's not great. And it tastes the same way it smells. Egad. I never thought I'd say this, but I need a Cream Ale. NOW.

19:08 - Oh, Genny Cream Ale. Screamer. Green Death. Putting you to my lips has never been more welcomed. There's something about this beer that takes me to a sunny, but rundown and sub-par (HA) golf course. I can only assume this means Neil and I have used this as our golf course beer before, but I honestly can't recall. All I know is that, for the first time in my life, I'm drinking this on the same night as other beers and thinking "wow, this isn't the worst beer I've had today." It's fairly smooth. A little creamy. Appropriately chilled. And the label is kind of neat, too.

So, have I found the perfect 1-2-3 weekend punch? Of course not! But I did find a surprisingly good budget beer (12 Horse), and I learned that buying a case of Genny Lager for future cookouts is a horrible idea. And I ate half a pizza that I didn't pay for. Then again, maybe the night was pretty great after all.