A staple in New England, Narragansett Lager is a great example of how good American Lager can be. In a normal setting, it's crisp and refreshing and actually tastes like something (unlike other American Lagers). It has some notable corn and biscuit flavors from it being an adjunct lager, but they're not overly sweet. Narragansett makes a great lawnmower or pool beer, and if it's hot out, you can bet I've got 'gansett in my fridge. But how would it do out of a backpack?
Setting
In Georgia, we get a two week special hunting season for wild pigs and coyotes in May. It's a bit of a "last hurrah" before the ending of the public land hunting seasons. It's hot, humid, and swarming with bugs. I was out hunting pigs in South Georgia in May and brought a few cans of Narragansett to test it out in the woods.
Foaminess - 5
Even after a couple miles in the pack, my can didn't foam up too much after cracking it open. There was a slightly more aggressive "hiss" when I cracked it open, but other than that, it opened up just fine.
Aroma - 3
Despite the fact that warm American lager typically smells like bad decisions and the morning after, Narragansett's aroma was fairly pleasant out of the can. The corn bread aspects come through when warm just like when cold, but there's a nice sweetness that comes along with it. Outside of that, the aroma was the same as when the beer is cold.
Taste - 4
This beer tastes great when warm. It's not overly sweet like Budweiser typically is, but it definitely has some corny sweet flavors. Now that it's warm, the carbonation comes out a little more and gives the beer a pleasant fizzy mouthfeel that refreshes the pallet and makes you thirsty for more.
Drinkability - 4
Narragansett was great to drink warm. It had a much better aroma than I expected, and the sizzling carbonation makes it really easy to drink.
Overall Score - 16/20
This is definitely a reliable choice for the woods. It comes in a 16 oz tallboy making it efficient to carry, and as a lager, it's crisp and refreshing for those warm summer evenings at camp.
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