The big 211

I guess you could consider it bitch brew but really its just an alcoholic energy drink.

 

Good ol' OE.

As long as you're not drinking Four O, you're fine.

Steel Reserve is some thick nasty shit though. I always feel overwhelmed and nasty drinking that shit when I wake up. The gas station that I used to live by though sold 6 packs of tall boys for under 4 bucks. Couldn't beat that deal anywhere.

 

tons of belgian beers fall both below and above this

and not ALL belgian beer is fruity, either...but a large percent is, thats true...

 

well it's also rather popular with the good-times crowd who like a slight energy boost for their drunk, you haughty old nebbish.

 

Surprisingly, the Alstrom Bros. at BeerAdvocate give Steel Reserve a B rating:

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/257/718/?ba=bros

B / 3.7
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | drink: 4
rDev: +31.9%

Presentation: 24 oz sliver can with eye catching fonts and "buy me" wording.

Appearance: Crystal clear light amber golden in colour with a minimal lace formed by a champagne like carbonation.

Smell: Light malt aroma with a faint acidic and noticeable alcoholic nose to follow.

Taste: Medium to full body with a definite crisp carbonation. On the sweet side. Clean slightly stripped malty palate, strong spicy alcohol presence with a trace acidic hoppy twang. Little bit of cooked corn flavour and sweet dextrin from the residual sugar. After taste is very clean with just remnants of the spicy warming alcohol.

Notes: One of the most drinkable malt liquors I have tasted, one of the more alcoholic ones I have run into also. Even when it warms up a bit it does not get ghastly like other malt liquors do.

Serving type: can

 

Compare the Alstrom Bros. review of Steel Reserve to Olde English 800...

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/105/3350/?ba=bros

F / 1.75
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.5 | drink: 2
rDev: -28%

Presentation: 40 oz clean glass twist off bottle, no freshness date. Says it is brewed by Olde English 800 Brewing Company but this is a Miller product.

Appearance: Clear yellowish golden colour with a wispy white lace that has a hard time staying around. Looks like beer that has been sitting out for a while.

Smell: Grainy with a cooked corn grit aroma, slightly metallic and not too pleasing. Light whiff of alcohol also.

Taste: Abrasively crisp, carbonation is high with a slick moderate body. Big grainy flavour bursts from an astringent character, big twang of used up hop that throws down a sharp bitterness with no flavour at all. Metallic and cooked corn runs amuck with a nearly cloying sweetness. Mild clean fume of alcohol warms the throat and body, astringent flavours ride far into the finish.

Notes: Yikes! This is some harsh stuff, it is more than a chore to swill down 40 ounces of this. Many names have been given to this brew but “Ghetto Juice” sticks the most. This seems to be one of the worst but one of the most talked about malt liquors … celebrities that drink this style of beer usually drink this. Go figure?

Serving type: bottle

 

well, it all boils down to personal taste, really, and while i'm not above drinking some steel reserve when i'm broke i find it particularly abrasive and hard to choke down, moreso in fact than old english. far more....

i also find myself suffering from bad heartburn often after drinking it, strange though it may seem.

i dont know...everyone likes different things, and just because a couple afficianados like it best of all malt liquors doesnt make it enjoyable for me.

still, i'm not extolling the virtues of OE....

and like i've said, my favorite malt liquor has to be schlitz red bull for taste, price, drinkability, and alcohol content (about 1% less by volume than steel reserve, though)

granted it DOES receive poor ratings over all....

but....i dont know why, i can't really defend it. i just think that, to me, its the best choice for a malt liquor in terms of taste and price. im drinking a 40 right now, to be honest

i like it well enough. i'll take it over high life or mgd or coors or bud almost any day of the week.


easily and by far the WORST malt liquor i've had though was lion imperial pilsner....worst tasting and most expensive, to boot.....

oddly enough i really like lion stout.

 

Somedays ill drink OE no prob, other i wont touch it. Its too sweet and i hate malts.

Maximum ice is the best 40.