Family Pale Lager Style Malt Liquor
Country USA (WI) ABV 8.1%
Producer SABMiller
Price $ Packaging 22oz/650ml, 40oz/1.18L bottle; 12oz/355ml, 16oz/473ml, 24oz/710 mL can
Characteristics Malty, strong

Overview Steel Reserve comes in a dizzying array of sizes and strengths. It doesn’t have the cultural cachet of Olde English 800, but there are a series of ‘90s ad jingles by the Ramones, which are worth seeking out.

Flavors and aromas This was one of the big surprises of the tasting reveal. There’s a pleasantly malty nose, slightly sweet, with low hop character: simple, but nice. The mouth has a body that’s definitely on the full side, but the finebubbled carbonation keeps things fresh and bright. There’s a soft bitterness, and a malty finish where we get the only hint of the ample alcohol, in the form of a slight booziness. Overall, this is smooth and round, and has little of the volatile, sweet-flat character of other malt liquors we tasted.