Rainier Ice

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 5

I had a bottle of this tonight which I purchased at an LCBO in Ontario. It was brewed by the Sleeman company in Guelph Ontario. I was first introduced to this beer in Montana in the early 80s on an Elk hunt. Our guide brought out an ice filled Igloo cooler of the stuff after the 5 of us had struggled down an aspened high mountain slope packing out elk meat all day. It was a mule's job on an unusually hot early November day. The stuff went down like Odin's kiss to a thirsty skank who just peeled his ass off the side of a mountain slope. Other than the immediate thirst quenching qualities, the beer remained undistinct in my memory. I passed it in the beer stores in Alberta for years and never felt obliged to buy a 6-pack. The rainier dry I had tonight was a delightful surprise after the first impression I had with this brand. It had fair color, a faint hoppy nose and.....suprise....light flavour! Very dry as the result of rice in the brew but flavor enough for a mega brew. I think this may have more to do with the fact that the Sleeman brewery made it more than anything. If you fellow Yanks get a chance to taste Sleeman wares....do it! you won't be disappointed. Quality all the way. I suspect that is what happened to this Rainier I tasted.

Aroma: 3 | Appearance: 3 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

this ain't the worst so it won't get 2's. just a below average macro swill that tastes like all the rest they try to pass off up here. from a canadian perspective, any beer that only comes in cans for$7.75 a six(trust me that's cheap for up here), well you new what you were getting into. still, i'd put this a slight bit higher than schlitz or genesee, and slightly better than regualr rainier. goes good w/ the dry on a single nite of swilling.