Is Ice Nice?

In last weeks issue of the Urban Tulsa, several of "the most tasteful beers, wines, spirits available locally" were reviewed. The 12 person tasting crew sampled over 30 beers and gave each beer a score based on appearance, aroma, palate and flavor. They used a point system, with 20 points possible for a perfect beer. The highest score they gave was 16.5 to Sam Adams Winter Lager and Lemp Standard Lager, which tied for number one. The review that I found the most shocking was their number six choice, Molson Ice, with a score of 14.85.

We've carried Molson Ice at McNellies for a long time, and it doesn't exactly fly off the shelf. Far from it. After reading the review I thought I'd give this beer another shot. I've had a poor opinion of the beer for a couple reasons. One is the fact that it's an 'Ice' beer, which reminds me of crappy domestic beers such as Miller's Icehouse, Bud Ice or Smirnoff Ice. Another reason I've been disinterested in the brew is because of the unimpressive label and green bottle. Green bottled beers always seem to have a skunky aroma, and I find it hard to get past this and enjoy the beer. I found an explanation for this green bottled phenomenon on a blog called Premium Bitter; see #5 if you're interested in reading about it.

So, what exactly is an 'ice' beer? The creation of an ice beer involves lowering the temperature of a batch of the final product to 32 degrees, then filtering out the ice crystals that form. This reduces the amount of water in the beer, and results in a higher alcohol content. The Molson Ice has an alcohol content of 5.6%.

I reached down to the bottom of the cooler, wiped the dust of one of the bottles and cracked it open. As I anticipated, the aroma was terrible. It smelled like my dirty running socks, but it slightly lessened after a few minutes. I poured it in a glass and observed the color had a clear pale golden shade, unlike the Urban Tulsa's description of 'amber.' There was a slight foamy head which quickly faded, and there was moderate carbonation. The taste was nothing too spectacular, pretty crisp and plain.

I would say it's Canada's equivalent to our basic domestic Bud Light. It wasn't as horrible as I anticipated, but it wasn't overly stimulating either. I'll agree with one reviewer's statement I read online," "I would drink it again. As long as I didn't have to pay for it."