I am very impressed with this beer. It has an outstanding aroma. It smells very much like apple cider and cinnamon. Nothing interesting about the appearance; just a little bit cloudy with no head. Very good flavor. Ripe apples, cinnamon, pumpkin, and other spices, and wheat in the finish. By far the most interesting and daring of anything made by Leinenkugels. My girlfriend likes it, her friend who doesn’t like beer likes it. Well done.

Bottled, rated along with a Unibroue Éphémère for the sake of science. Okay, the Leinies is apple & cinammon, the Éphémère is apple, coriander, curacao... not a fair competition, but we may be surprised. Leinie’s has a nice, light apple cider smell, a little yeasty, not too sour. Surprise, Éphémère also has a screw-top! Smells more like fresh apple juice. Leinie’s pours a pale beer body, slightly tinged with apple juice, with a thicker head than most Miller beers. The Éphi is darker, more like apple juice, with a thicker head. Taste is, well, rather nice. Quite tart, perhaps a Rome apple. Cinnamon puts it somewhere between mulled cider and apple pie. The Éphémère is much more delicate. Also, malts are very pale, but much more noticable. Neither has much of a hop taste to it. Both are a tad gassy. I’d say yes, the Leinie’s is a little overbearing, like a macro fruit beer, there’s more fruit than beer taste to it. But there are so few macro apple beers, it ends up scoring points for putting something different on the market. It’s also pretty successful as an autumn beer, for after a Thanksgiving dinner. The Éphémère is a geat summer beer with a delicacy that rates it higher, but I gotta say the Leinie’s is pretty strong and hearty.

Pour is a nice orange with a nice white head. Aroma is malty with notes of grass. Flavor is a nice deep malt with lots of roasted nut. Very pleasing everyday brew. Extra points for being available almost every where and always easy on the wallet.

Bottled. Pours a more substantial amber body than you’d expect for this style. Head is big and thick, dwindles to sudsiness. Not too much aroma beyond the basic "beer" smell, maybe a touch staled. Taste is nicely malty, as a matter of fact. A very light peppery hop is there just to keep it from getting too sweet. It’s likely the best American pale lager I’ll have had, though I know that’s not saying too much. Still, it was on sale for $9 a 12-er, making it a great beer for the money.