Schlitz "Gusto"

Name: Schlitz "Gusto"
Style: American Adjunct Lager
Owner: Pabst
Slogan: "The beer that made Milwaukee Famous"

BeerAdvocate Rating: 81 (Good)
RateBeer Rating: 1, 18
ABV: 4.7%

Founded by August Krug in 1849, the company that would become Schlitz brewing company sprang up in Milwaukee.  By 1902 Schlitz had seized the title of largest beer producer in the U.S. from Pabst and it remained that way for more than 50 years.  By the late 1960s, sales of Schlitz were declining due to pressure from Anheuser-Busch and their flagship brand "Budweiser."  In an effort to remain competitive, Schlitz re-formulated their beer in the early 1970s using cheaper ingredients and processes which ultimately ruined the brand, turning it from a premium brand to second-rate bottom-shelf swill.  The decline continued and the company was eventually sold to Stroh's, and later it was in turn sold to Pabst.

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Schlitz...  Fucking classy.

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During all of this, the original recipe from the 60s was lost and was not transferred with the sales.  Those who used to love the old Schlitz were just plain out of luck.  In the new century, Pabst took a gamble on Schlitz and decided to try to revive the Schlitz of old.  Through research of documents and interviews with former Schlitz brewmasters and taste-testers, they were able to reconstruct the 1960s classic formula; the result has been a hit.  Many people, including a number of beer snobs have praised the result and have said that it is what the American Adjunct Lager should be.

Serving:
Aggressively poured from a 16oz "Tall-Boy" can into a Wine Enthusiast Steady-Temp Double Wall Beer Glass. The glass breathed a sigh of relief.

Appearance:
Pours a clear golden color with a one-finger white head that dissipates quickly to a thin film, leaving copious lacing.

Smell:
The nose is of pale, biscuity malts with a notable presence of grass and pine.

Taste:
The taste follows the nose.  A decent presence of malt with the undertone of the corn adjuncts coming through, although it's not overpowering.  The sweetness of the malt is nicely balanced with hops; I think I can taste some cascade in there.  The hop presence doesn't come across like microbrews do; they're probably using pelletized versions.

Mouthfeel:
Surprisingly full-bodied for an Adjunct lager with medium carbonation.

Overall:
For the style, this beer is really quite good.  It's no substitute for an all-malt premium lager but it is far ahead of any of the BMC offerings and the price is fantastic.  I recommend this ahead of any other Adjunct Lager I've tried.