– an amber lager from Band of Brewers

published Mar 11, ’15

Packaging
Third Shift’s packaging has a drab blue and deep tan coloring along with an image of a late 1800’s factory.  I’m not sure if the intent was to harken back those good old days of toiling at work into the wee hours or just to invoke a blue collar camaraderie amongst beer drinkers.

I grabbed the sixpack off the shelf because I like an amber lager and I thought this was a small brewery craft beer.  I was surprised to find out that Third Shift is actually made by mega-brewer MillerCoors.  And it’s not like MillerCoors is the only global-brew-corp that does this kind of thing – hiding their ownership behind a micro-marketing mask.  But there is something disingenuous about a major corporation producing a product that they do not acknowledge their ownership of on the main product website.

From the Brewer

Third Shift is a product of Band of Brewers, which is actually a part of mega-brewer MillerCoors.  The Third Shift website is at best, sparse. The only info is a purchase-point locator – no pix, no videos, no social media.  No beer drinking experience. Here in the internet age, this is very disappointing.

Third Shift is the only brew mentioned on their site.  With 5.3% ABV, it’s noted as an Amber Lager.

Check it out at ThirdShiftBrewing.com

Color
Thanks again to BeerColor.com for providing a fantastic tool for determining beer color. After comparing both scales to Third Shift, the color is a 10 in degrees Lovibond which makes it a Copper beer.

Taste
Third Shift starts out with a hoppy flowery aroma, but the flavor is flat.  The middle is bitter.  Again hops along with a mix of malt; and it is quite a bit bubbly.   It ends hoppy-flowery and flat, again, but the bitterness stays.  There’s a whisper of sweet that comes and goes, leaving just bitter at the very end.

This is a beer flavored beer.   It has a complex flavor, but no spice, no fruitiness – it’s just hops and barley.  But those flavors are just too subtle to make it a great beer.

I’d serve Third Shift to my die-hard pilsner friends, if they weren’t afraid of the color,  as a challenge to see if they are ready to step up to a bolder beer experience.   If they like it, they’ve grown.

Final Facts
Name:  Third Shift
Packaging:  Drab colors with industrial imagery
Type:  Amber Lager
ABV:  5.3%
Color:  10 in degL which makes it a Copper beer
Taste:  Light flowery aroma; slightly bitter middle; then ends lightly sweet to bitter
Price:  $8.99 six pack
12 oz bottle:  $1.50
Final rating: 3 out of 5 Caps

Third Shift’s flavor is it’s best quality, but there really is not much flavor.