Name: Tap & Die
Brewed By: The People’s Pint
Brewed In: Greenfield, MA
Type: Unfiltered, Bottle-Conditioned Malt Liquor
ABV: 7.5%
What they say: “More than just drinking instructions, this fine brew is homage to the industry that put Greenfield on the map and to the plethora of malt liquors that helped raise our brewers. This high gravity lager is hand-crafted with pride to bring you a memorable experience. Brewed and bottled in Greenfield, MA, home of the biggest tools in the world.”
Website: The site looks like a basic local restaurant website; links to ‘About,’ ‘Menu,’ ‘Beers,’ and the like are on the left side. One complaint I have is that the ‘Beers’ link gives you a map of MA and tells you where to find people’s pint beers to purchase, not descriptions. For the beer descriptions, you have to first look at the food menu, then click on the “Beverage” link listed, and then find the “List of available beers” link at the VERY BOTTOM of that menu. I know they want to hype the restaurant as well as the beer, but if I found this in a store I wouldn’t know anything about the restaurant; I’d want to find out more about the new beer I’d bought. Everything is dark text on a white background with very little graphics, so points for the site being clear to read.
Why this one, Show? The People’s Pint is something of an anomaly in terms of your standard brewpub. Whenever possible, they include locally-grown, organic ingredients in all of their food, but without the pretentiousness. The restaurant is located on a side street in a tiny town in western MA, with old wood booths and townies crowding the bar. I’ve enjoyed the 40 oz. Tap & Die a few times before, now I get to write about it.
First Thoughts:
Head: Pronounced, thick and white, some cling.
Nose: Somewhat of a lawnmower nose, reminiscent of an American mass-produced beer.
Color: Pale golden.
Presentation (5): I have a soft spot for craft beers that come in a 40 oz. bottle. The label is very simple; it’s just black printing on a white sticker. There’s a graphic in the front, the description of the beer, and a small bit about the People’s Pint as well. Simple, but effective. Extra point for the use of the classic “bullet” bottle shape. 5
Originality (5): Malt Liquors, or “beers,” are nothing new, having been around for literally thousands of years. The American terming of some beer as malt liquor is really nothing new, either (Colt 45 has been around since 1963), but microbrewers tent to stay away from calling any of their beers by that name due to the unfortunate stigma. The last malt liquor I saw from a brewery willing to charge more than $3.99 for it was a 40 oz. of Dogfish Head Liquor d’Malt, about four years ago. Originality points for the fact that People’s Pint made one, AND bottle conditioned it. 3
Body (10): The beer’s got a light-to-medium body, and doesn’t fill the mouth with flavor and carbonation. Those two things are definitely present, however. There’s a little bit of a “straw-y” feel as the sip works its way down the throat. At the midpoint of the sip the maltiness becomes evident, spreading about the throat as you swallow. 8
Taste (10): We here at Those Beer Snobs work tirelessly to provide you with the best possible quality of reviews that no money can buy. But at no time does that come at the cost of integrity. Now that’s just a fancy-pants way of me saying I ain’t gonna lie to you, and here’s why. This beer tastes like any lawnmower beer you will find at your local supermarket, bar, or Wal*mart. There’s no real sweetness to the malts, and no hop bitterness at all. There’s some bitter flavor at the end of the sip, but it’s more of a ‘these aren’t the best malts’ rather than, ‘these are some good hops.’ 5
Efficiency (10): If you look up the work “efficiency” in our dictionary you will see a picture of a bottle of Brooklyn Black Chocolate stout, but that should probably be changed to a picture of a 40 oz. In one bottle you’ve got three and a third cans of 7.5% ABV beer. You’ve got beer that’s easy-drinking enough that it can be consumed before it begins to get warm in the bottle. Although, for the purposes of this review, I was pouring servings into 16 oz tankards. We here at TBS recommend this serving style every time, as it will increase your personal snob factor by 5, while not encouraging what we hear is called ‘binge drinking’. 10
Versatility (10): While versatility tends to be inversely proportional to ABV (and tangentially beer style—you’re not going to bring a case of Unibroue’s Fin Du Monde over to your friend’s house for Beer Pong), here we have a beer that skirts that convention. By looking, feeling, and tasting like your average adjunct-laden beer, Tap & Die presents itself as a surprise hit in the versatility area. Bring two to a buddy’s house—that’s a six-pack and change already, especially if you put it into cups to drink it. Enjoy it during a poker game, a BBQ, even a friendly game of flip cup. The only thing cutting into a top rating here is the price—at $18 for two 40 oz bottles, it’s easier to just grab that 12-pack of Bud or Coors. But not as snobby. 9
Final Score: 40 (Great Beer)
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