Roundtable #30 | Retro Beer Challenge | Final Round and Champion

Here we are at the final round of the Retro Beer Challenge, with three contenders for the crown: Old Style, Budweiser, and Rolling Rock. Before we announce the winner, just a few notes.

The Worst: Jim thought Miller High Life was the worst of any of the beers we drank, but I'd have to go with PBR, which we eliminated in our preliminary round at the Melody Inn. It's kind of like choosing your least favorite dictator.

The Vomit: There was none. We drank four ounce samples, and because these beers average out at around 5.0 percent alcohol volume, we were easily able to handle them. I don't recall feeling drunk at all.

Added bonus for Utah, Minnesota, and Oklahoma drinkers: Budweiser in those states is 3.2% ABV due to state laws. So not only does it taste bad, but it won't get you very drunk.

The Winner: When it came down to picking a favorite, we each chose something different. Jim liked Rolling Rock, Kelly liked Old Style, Gina liked Budweiser. In choosing the sample labeled "B", I thought I was voting for Old Style - but as it turns out, I chose Budweiser as well. Which means our winner is Budweiser. King of Beers, indeed.

Jim calls this result "a rigged, St. Louis-ian conspiracy by two members of the Roundtable", but that's not the case at all - to be honest the differences between the three finalists were so small that it was really hard to choose one. On a different day I'd be just as likely to choose Rolling Rock or Old Style. They're really that close. So if you're somewhere away from good beer, but you're still looking to drink, any of the three are fair options.



The Post-Contest Challenge: After picking our winner, we opened up a bottle of Sam Adams Boston Lager to see if there was a noticeable difference between it and the Retro Beer contestants. Not only was there a difference, the difference was amazing. Sam Adams actually tastes like beer.