Refreshing as the land of sky-blue waters (wa-a-ters)
Land of Lake and Pine
cool enchantment
comes the beer refreshing,
Hamm's, the beer refreshing,
if you know anything about Minnesota beer history, you know that jingle.
And I can't believe it's taken me this long to get to a can of Hamm's!
"Since 1865", says the can. Also, "America's Classic Premium Beer, Born in the land of sky blue waters." (Hey, that's here!) "Brewed in true family tradition from purest water and choicest barley malt, grain, and hops." Goody!
Ultra-clear, straw yellow color, some bone-white head at first, then it's gone.
Grainy nose, with some sweet malt evident, faint hops, but that's par for the style...wait, now I get it, it's injecting some bare bitterness into the sweet malt factor, arriving at a funky feel. Definitely not bad, not unpleasant, with some character.
Taste: not much here, mostly moisture. Slim flavors, if any...grainyness, at best. Malt is shy in this respect, the water rises above anything else. It's like lemonade without the lemon, and Kool-Aid without the Kool.
I can't really recommend Hamm's at all to anyone, unless your chief factors in deciding on a beer are cheapness of price and wateryness of flavor. There are many out there that fall into this category, Lord Love 'Em. I have a hard time knocking it...it's not bad, it is what it is...but, it's not much.
And they had a cool macot once, dress up in his costume, visit a strip club, and see what happens...
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That last part is a reference to my former salesrep pal, Corey Shovein, formerly of Hohensteins, local seller of Hamm's. He's given up the bear suit. Maybe Surly will have a mascot that he can parade around as?
I stand behind my old review, but it's not as terrible as all that, not offensive, anyway. Just not what I would choose to drink. Except now, of course. Taking one for the team, once more, that's me.
