Review of Labatt Maximum Ice
Posted By Ken Sunday, 13 April 2008 10:23
Last night it was decided that we need to get back to our roots on this website. We've had too many good beers lately, and haven't ventured into the realm of the more dangerous beverages, where you never know what to expect. That was the case here with Labatt Maximum Ice. I personally enjoy Labatt Blue, but knew better than to put any weight into the decision or expectations on this drink.
Ken's Review
Taste: C- Labatt Max Ice does not do a good job in this arena, though it isn't as terrible as I expected it to be. The biggest issue I have with this beer is that when you take a swig, you get a bite of beer taste as you swallow. Then, this sort of mucky film feeling gets left on your tongue. The aftertaste is pretty bland, and compares to drinking water from a rain puddle in the middle of a street. Had worse tastes, but this one ranks pretty low.
Packaging: C+ Nothing too special with the packaging. I actually purchased this in the tall boy can, but you can get it in equally less-impressive bottles. The tall boy was a silver can with some black pattern that I assume was supposed to give off a feeling of jagged ice but failed miserably. There really is nothing to capture the beer here, unless you view the pretty plain can as a way of saying, "this shit is not going to be very exciting".
Value: B- The 22oz. tall boy of this cost me $1.69, which is way too expensive for swill on this level. I would have been more inclined after-the-fact to have paid around a buck for it. But since it was for a good cause of helping to steer you, the reader, away from it, I won't bitch too much about the extra 69 cents. Maybe Labatt can use the money to get some better tasting beer here.
Drunkeness: A- Drunkeness is not an issue at all with Maximum Ice. This beer comes in at a solid 7.1% alcohol content, guaranteeing that if you can get past the taste, this is a cheaper way to get f***ed up fast. I wouldn't recommend getting blitzed off this stuff though, because just the little bit I had last night left me with a decent headache this morning. I'm sure a lot of this will make you truly regret your life the next morning.
Overall: C+ Unless you are a fan of quickly getting blitzed and waking up somewhere unnatural with a splitting headache and high risk of vomit, then Labatt Maximum Ice is not where you want to be. The poor taste and not great price makes it hard to recommend. Save your cash for something a few steps up from this at least. You'll thank me later.
Zach's Review
Taste: D When drinking the Labatt Max Ice, you wonder why you did it, but as you will learn later, there are a few good things about this beverage. The taste isn't exactly terrible and I've had worse, but it has a really odd aftertaste when you first drink it and kind of makes your tongue feel weird. This seemed to go away after a bit, so I'm not sure if it made my tongue numb or it just sucks less as you keep drinking. My vote is for the numbness thing.
Packaging: B- This tall boy can is kind of cool, but isn't really special. It has a nice silver on black scheme with a kind of bad ass looking lightening bolt thing. I'm sure the Labatt's folks were looking to be cool and get the college drunks. Not sure if they succeeded, but at least they are giving it a shot. Although, if they put a bit more thought into the product, it might get a better rating.
Value: B The Max Ice has a pretty good value. At $1.69 for a 22-ounce tall boy, the good folks up North know how to give you your money's worth. At 7%, this baby has the potential to get you drunk for cheap.
Drunkeness: A Hells yeah! The Max Ice knows how to treat you right with a nice 7% in every can. They may not know shit for taste, but they sure know how to jam more alcohol into their cans.
Overall: C Well, this certainly wasn't the best or worst beer/malt I've ever had, but it did suck enough to warrant an average rating. While the taste kind of blows, I think the Max Ice people decided that they are cheap drunks and have accepted who they are. They do this fairly well, but in order to reach a higher rating, they may need to man up and hit the 10% mark. Good start though, Labatt's!