Quelle grande gout indeed!

Genesee Brewing has held a contract with the LCBO for low priced beer for a gazillions years meaning you can pick up a six pack's worth of their brews for about seven bucks, which is about as cheap as it gets in Ontario. The cans up here are labeled exotically in both English and French and describe the volume of the contents three different ways: pint, ounces, and millilitres. Sadly, they get Genny regular, Genny Ice and I think maybe a Genny Lite - but not Genny Cream, the ur-cream, the legendary western New York gift to the beerosphere which has spawned a goodly number of other cream ales including up here north of the border.

But is it any good? And at less than half the price of Dogfish 60 and five bucks less a six less than a Canadian macro... well, what does "good" mean in this context? Genny does not hold itself out as craft. It is really a regional which has withstood the forces massed against it over the decades since the golden age of American beer as described in 2006's Great American Beer. Which is fine, honest and all that. But is it any good? It is a really soft beer which is typical for west and central NY given the water table and salt mining history. It also lacks that subtle hint of plastic that, say, PBR carries for me. It is decidedly more beer coloured as well, a nice bright amber with a fine white head. In the mouth, there is rough bitterness, icing sugar cloy across the tongue and cling to the lips that contends with the slight graininess, corn, as well as a bit of a fruit note that sort of lifts it a very bitty bit above the macro fray.

So is this macro, kraphtt or craft? Likely MKM if we were describing it in terms of compass points. But that is pretty good for the seven buck six pack, isn't it? And if I was filling an ice tub for non-craft drinkers... why would I buy the $40 two-four when this serves as a perfectly good $28 one?