If you’re a regular Barrel to Bottle listener, you may have noticed that Pat Brophy likes Hamm’s beer. A lot. Possibly in an attempt to illicit Pavlovian response in listeners and co-hosts alike, Pat brings up Hamm’s-the beloved, the crispiest of Crispy Boys-in nearly every episode. If you haven’t noticed his ubiquitous mentions of Hamm’s, in a way we envy you.

With this massive target on his back Pat (along with Greg, Roger and Shannon) partakes in a blind tasting of macro lagers, administered by producer Jim. First of all, what are macro lagers? If you’ve ever been to a college party or a backyard BBQ, you’ve likely had one of these crisp, clean beers from a large commercial brewery. They’re often made with adjunct ingredients such as rice and corn, in addition to traditional malt.

The rules are simple: Jim has selected 10 beers, then set up behind a blind so that no one can see what he’s pouring. There are eight American macro beers, one American craft beer in the macro lager style and one import macro lager. There are no light/lite beers in this tasting, so that the tasting can be as close to an apples-to-apples comparison as possible.

Today, the Barrel to Bottle Crew will sample these ten beers, one at a time. They are judging them against each other and the overall macro category, on a 5-point scale. How hard will be comparing different shades of straw? Will Greg go tongue-blind? Before the big reveal, everyone will list their favorite and least favorite beers from the blind tasting.

Roger had to be dragged kicking and screaming into this blind tasting. Shannon hasn’t had a beer in six months. Greg thinks this is a little hacky and doesn’t understand why we’re doing it. Pat thinks he’ll be able to pick out his beloved Hamm’s from this line-up of macro lagers. But maybe it will all be worth it  in the end? Maybe uppance will finally come for Pat, all the way from the land of sky blue waters.

Happy Fourth of July from the Barrel to Bottle Crew! Go back and listen to our Fourth of July episode from a few years ago, we finally get some closure on something from that episode in today's podcast. 

Drink along at home with the following crispy boys

• Budweiser
• Alarmist Crispy Boy Pilsner
• Schlitz
• Miller High Life
• Hamm’s
• Miller Genuine Draft
• Pabst Blue Ribbon
• Old Style
• Modelo Especial
• Coors Banquet Beer