Basic straw-hued pale lager layers rice-caked barleycorn graining and glutinous wheat sweetness atop icy quartz water from underground springs. On second passing, caramelized apple, kettle corn, and butterscotch illusions distend above fizzy popcorn buttering.

Sparkly carbonation, tepid malt sweetness, and lively hop bittering inform unassuming lager too plain and simple to attract serious attention and closer to boring domestic pilsners than inviting Asian imports.

Doughy lead-in gains sugary corn-malted cracked wheat sweetness, remaining mildly creamy to silken finish.

Best bought in 1-quart bottles, this refined, pale-bodied, bubbly-carbonated Bavarian-styled pilsner features iconic sharp-hopped barley roasted Scotch palate. Possessing decent body and recognizably sticky sweet malt luster, modest American classic is a fine stepping stone to more charismatic beers. Serve to hearty beginners. However, stay away from the canned version, which borders on cloying as soapy malts enjoin weak barley influence for lower-tiered cheaper quality brew.

Weak puffy white-headed gold-cleared pale lager suffers from murky malt souring, dirty peat earthiness, and dank cereal grain scrap, diminishing mild grassy hop bitterness. Ancillary corn sugared sweetness picks up lemon-bruised orange-molded tingle before watery finish beckons.

Disappointingly innocuous clear straw moderate-bodied Italian lager with noxious skunked vegetable waft uncloaks lackluster white-breaded rye frontage receding to negligible lemony hop bittering. Dismal metallic-chemical truculence siphons crisply bland carbolic fizz. Could pass as musty subpar German lager worse than Becks and Warsteiner.

So commonplace it compares to processed Budweiser instead of Scotch-adorned Michelob and lacks advertised full-bodied inertia. Faint caramel malts mesh with musty barley sweetness and light hop fizz at fast fading watery finish. Too dull-indistinct to be a summery session brew yet easy to imbibe. Brewery defunct: 2002.

Japan's oldest brand (now also brewed in Canada) proffers sweet cereal-malted corn sugar contingency deteriorated by inappropriate sharp-hopped metallic pang, gluey honeyed rice pasting and sour Scotch snip. Harsh enzymes mire dilapidated finish of slick golden-cleared lager.

Carbolic hop fizz, skunked sour malts, waves of barleycorn, and slight molasses creaminess give buttery Scottish premium well-balanced, though watery, flow. Frisky earthen bitterness lingers, but soapy finish weakens substantially. Strangely reminiscent of (and better-tasting than) Genesee Cream Ale.

Bubbly white-headed golden-bodied sour-candied lager with frisky carbonation. When fizz settles, sullen crystal malt finish just ain't enough.

Pronounced Ji-veech, this lightweight pale lager tosses gooey honey malting atop sharp floral spicing. Mild sourdough tease, sugary almond pasting, nutty coarseness and lemony subtleties linger across phenolic hop bittering to indiscernible watered-down butterscotch finish.

Clear-toned tequila-wafted Mexican bantamweight maintains stereotypical crisp watery consistency and soft citric tang. Mild toasted hops scamper through soft barley-rice malting. Somewhat lighter yet more enjoyable than many South of the Border beers, despite vegetal mire. Serve with lime to awaken flavor profile.