Lamar Street Organic Pale Ale

It is uncommon to find a product essentially as advertised on the label, so when Lamar Street's Organic Pale Ale purported to be "a full-bodied brew with a crisp, clean finish" Eric was understandably skeptical. In fact, it is exactly that, although its other claim of "a perfect balance of flavor and refreshment" was slightly more debatable.

Brewed by the Goose Island Beer Company, which as far as we can tell involves neither geese nor islands (discuss), this is an American pale ale that is certified organic, whatever that means. Our guess is that no wacky chemicals are used on the various ingredients while they are being grown. The beer does not appear to be available anymore, judging by their website, on which it is not listed.

In the interests of full disclosure, I must add a very important qualification to this review: the bottle of beer in question was EXPIRED. Oh, the humanity. We could not remember when this beer was purchased, but the label clearly indicated that as of November 11, 2009, it was no longer at its finest. To compound the strangeness of the situation, it must further be noted that this was the last beer of a six-pack and that Eric had not previously enjoyed the beer very much, hence why it took so long for it to shuffle off to Buffalo, as they say in the parlance of our times.

That said, this time around he found it to be a pretty straightforward pale ale, unassuming, well balanced and refreshing. He said it had almost a caramel overtone to the malt and was not overly hoppy, robust enough to avoid being watery but, as previously noted, crisp and clean. Basically this is a very average beer that he wouldn't mind drinking but wouldn't actively seek out and purchase. And if it isn't expired, don't even bother.

Just the facts, ma'am: Lamar Street Organic Pale Ale, Goose Island Beer Company, Illinois, American pale ale, 4.7% alcohol by volume.

The War of the Worlds is much more interesting than this beer.