When GameDay Lager was announced in this part of the world a few years ago, I assumed that it would be nothing more than another, shitty, American macro-like adjunct. Even though Upland was charged with brewing it, I thought that the only way that they would produce a relatively low ABV lager for the consumption by the masses, and in mass quantities at football games, would be to go with a lowest common denominator beer. That assumption was wrong – quite wrong.

The color of the beer is lighter than, (a) I expected, and (b) I would have liked. I generally like my Viennas to be light amber/copper in color, and this certainly is not. An orange-golden body supports a decent head that leaves some good lace.

A very simple, but very nice, malt/bread nose.

Appropriately there’s a malty sweetness that runs through the beer. Quenching and satisfying, the beer offers some good, low bitterness, and a back-end and aftertaste that gives the light caramel and toffee that one might expect. Simple but stylistically correct.

This is a very solid beer, and I’ve always enjoyed drinking it, but that light color for the style I can’t quite get over. I have a suspicion it was brewed that way on purpose in order to keep the masses from thinking that they were drinking “a dark beer”. Perhaps the truth will never be known.