Yuengling Traditional Lager
To start this review series off on the right foot, I thought that I would start with the old standby of beers – Yuengling. Pronounced a variety of ways (from Yin-ling, Ying-Ying, Yang-ling), this beer stands-out from other lagers by having a subtle malty aroma and taste.
If you’ve had Budweiser and Sam Adams traditional lager, Yuengling would be smack-dab in the middle of the flavor spectrum. Not a “yellow fizzy beer” like Bud, Yuengling has an amber color reminiscent of Sam Adams, but not the same combination of malts and hops. Yuengling would probably be the best introduction to novices willing to jump into of the world of flavorful beer without blowing your lips off with insane amounts of hops (like that found in a lot of American micro-brewed IPAs, but check in soon for that review).
You can pair Yuengling with any food combination that you can think of…barbeque, fish, pizza, or Chinese food, the traditional lager has enough flavor to stand on its own legs without completely dominating your palate. Like I said in the intro, it’s a stand-by beer, so you know that you can eat anything with it ANY time of the year. For me, I like to combine Jack Daniels and Yuengling, but so do dock workers in Baltimore…on the tamer side, I go for the turkey kielbasa and macaroni salad with my Yuengling.
Sadly however, if you’re a Massachusetts resident like myself, you better stockpile your reserves of Yuengling whenever close to the New York border…can’t buy it in the Bay State. Even though the D.G Yuengling & Son Brewery is the oldest in the nation, their distribution hasn’t made it to New England (must be the Puritans and their buckle shoes patrolling the border). But if you’re in a location that carries it, be in bottle, can, or draft, DRINK UP!
As always, have a cold one,
Bill
