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 Guns & Oil Maverick Lager (courtesy The Truth About Guns)

RF snapped a pic of Guns and Oil Brewing Co.’s Maverick Lager at his local HEB [not shown]. “I’m so confused!” he posted on Facebook. The folks over at G&O caught wind of his anguish and reached out and offered TTAG a T-shirt, a couple of can koozies and a case of beer. We’ve awarded the shirt and koozies to our last caption contest winner. Then RF contacted me, the resident home brewer, to test the product. Although this website adheres to its brand remit like Lamborghini, here’s the exception that proves the rule: TTAG’s first [and only] beer review . . .

Brewer: Guns and Oil Brewing Co., Moriarty, NM

Beer: Maverick Lager

ABV: 4.6

IBUs: ~20

Appearance: About one finger of thin, white head. Clear, golden-straw color. Nice lacing on the glass.

Aroma: Sweet. Not overly hoppy or malty.

Taste: A slightly malty sweetness.

Mouthfeel: Thin and fizzy.

Finish: A bitter touch of hops and a faint lingering malty flavor after the first sip or two.

Drinkability: This is a classic American premium lager on par with something like Stella Artois. Personally, I’m more of a strong, dark ale kind of guy, but if you like beers that remind you of having sex in a canoe, then this is a great choice. It’s smooth, it’s clean, and it has a nice, mild balance of hops and malt. It isn’t bitter enough to please the hop-crazed IPA lovers or malty enough for anyone who likes Belgian Tripels, but it will pair well with barbecue, burgers, or kolaches.

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46 COMMENTS

  1. Unfortunately I’m (close to) hometown loyal. Founder’s Brewing Company. For a light taste their Noble is delicious. And if you’re into dark, Backwood’s Bastard cannot be beat. A dark ale aged in a used scotch barrel….

    • My favorite Bastard is Arrogant Bastard Ale. It has the “right stuff,” right attitude, whatever. Drunk by all the best lawyers.

      • “Drink” is what you do to an ale.
        “Drank” is what you did to an ale.
        “Drunk” is your state of mentation if you have too many ales.

        • 20 minutes ago I would have agreed with you, but a quick check of Dictionary.com and Websters.com lists “drunk” as a past participle of “drink.”

        • Drank is a verb, past tense. So drink, drank, drunk basically works.

          But in any past-tense usage other than “someone drank it,” someone is going to be drunk. Or someone will have drunk it.

          [edit: I see other grammarians have been before me.]

          Speaking of favorite beers, if you ever get the chance to try some Fat Tire Amber Ale (out of Colorado), drink it up! It’s the standard by which all other beers shall be measured.

        • “Drank” is “purple stuff,[ ]oil,[ ]sizzurp[ It i]s a codine and promithazene mix that people from the south and H-town sip and sell. “

        • This is a result of so many comments getting moderated. Vexed and frustrated TTAG’ers turn into prissy grammar nazis’s and dictionary queens.

          Let us say “man hands” again and this will go away.

      • I am not an English major, and “drunk” might be the past participle, but “drank” is the past tense, which I think applies here. Use both words in a sentence: A) I drunk a beer; B) I drank a beer.
        Use it in another sentence A) They drunk beers; B) They drank beers. Then another: A) I am drank; B) I am drunk.
        I am not picking a fight. If you are ever in Minnesota, I will buy some beer which we both can drink. Cheers my friend.

        • I drink ale.
          Yesterday, I drank ale.
          Over the last year, I have drunk much ale.

          Just like “swum” is the past participle of “swim”:
          I swim.
          Yesterday, I swam.
          Over the last few years, I have swum many miles.

        • I walked in to a Mellow Mushroom pizza restaurant and peered at the line of taps like I always do. I noticed the big red V on one tap. When the waitress came to my table I asked her what beer from Victory was on tap. She said Hop Devil. I said bring me a pint. She said “you like that?” I said I had never had it but Victory is one of my favorite Breweries. She said “nobody likes it so we are selling it for a dollar.” I said “bring me two pints”.

        • 2 guys walked into a bar….

          You’d think the second guy would have ducked.
          But he was drunk from having drank or drunk too much.

          Long hammer, IPA. Very tasty.

    • I’m a fan of the Centennial. Also have a couple cellared bottles of the KBS that might be about mature.

      If I want something lighter, more average, for lack of a better word, I generally buy something from KBC and keep the money local.

      • I like Dirty, but when Backwoods is in season it’s no contest…a beer that tastes and smells like scotch….

        I noticed Dirty was starting to spread out a little. IPA had JUST made it as far north as Cadillac when I moved there. It took another 4 years for Dirty.

    • Agreed. I’ll wait for an IPA thank you. Also, they have a bottle opener for sale on their website, but it would be much cooler if said bottle opener doubled as a bushing wrench. Or maybe that’s a “what could possibly go wrong” idea?

    • If they had a Double Barrel Double IPA I’d buy a pack right now. I’m an IPA guy through and through, but I have been learning to love lighter beers.

  2. For those of you that don’t know of the old John Cleese joke. When beer is like having sex in a canoe; the next line is “F********** close to water”

  3. I used to drink beers like this, until I discovered Belgian ales. Stuff like this still has its place, though, like on extremely hot outdoor days, when it’s like drinking lemonade, but for adults (not much more kick than lemonade, though).

    • If you do, I’ll pay to send me up a bottle of their bourbon.
      My buddies bday is coming up and he only drinks Jim Beam.

  4. Sam Adams Rebel IPA is out. It has enough malt to sheer off some of the hops bite yet still there to make you appreciate it. Well balanced. No where near a Stone Ruination but a very decent offering from Boston.

  5. “…this website adheres to its brand remit like Lamborghini…”

    Like Ferrucio’s Lamborghini, Rosetti-Leimer’s Lamborghini, Chrysler’s Lamborghini, Setdco/VPower’s Lamborghini, or Audi’s Lamborghini?

    Just curious which one…

  6. “having sex in a canoe”

    Haven’t crossed this off my bucket list, but I have had sex on a jet ski.

  7. This seems like a really mass market beer. If that’s what you’re into, it’s probably a better company to have your dollars than inbev. Personally, i usually reach for an IPA or stout. Unless i’m being a cheap bastard, in which case PBR makes me look cool…

    • I tried Olde Froshingslosh back in the 70’s when I was TDY to Wright-Pat in Dayton, OH. Had a picture of a full bodied gal who said her hobby was welding. One of the worse beers I’ve ever had.

  8. Odell’s Bourbon Barrel Stout. A beer that will change your life for you. New Belgium Lips of Faith La Folie is also pretty darn good. Breckenridge’s 72 Imperial will do the job too.

    Anything but the standard “Olde Canoe Hump American Lager/Pilsner”, people
    seems to quaff by the gallon.

  9. That beer looks like urine. Urine after I’ve been drinking GOOD beers. Sounds like a Kolsch type brew to me. Meh. Who wants the King of piss water beers? Bleh.

  10. If I’m going lager, I prefer a good ol’ Sam Adams. Outside of that I like Arrogant Bastard, Hop Stoopid and my TX favorite, Shiner Bock.

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