Three things come to mind while holding a can of Colorado Native. The first is the shape of the can, its a little longer and skinnier than the average 12 oz. can. Personally, I really like the feel of it. Second, this is brewed with all Colorado ingredients except hops. However, recently the brewery distributed rhizomes to a ton of Colorado-based volunteers to grow hops for a future fully native Colorado brew. Finally, yes, this is brewed, in some roundabout way, by the folks that give us Coors Light. That aside, we plan to provide an unbiased review of what seems to many, who've had it before us, to be a very solid lager. Cheers!

From the AC Golden site:

"Hold up a pint of Colorado Native and drink in its amber lager color, brought to life with pale and caramel malts from our famous Moravian 2-row barley. We painstakingly balanced its malt character against select Chinook, Centennial and Cascade hops to create a perfectly balanced, full-flavored beer. A lager yeast fermentation gives Colorado Native a slight fruitiness, complementing a citrus aroma note from a late kettle hop addition. Everything then comes together to deliver a clean taste and dry finish that is very drinkable by itself, or paired with your favorite foods."

Here we go...

Pour - dark golden in appearance with nice orange, brown and yellow hues. Very clean and clear with small bubbles streaming upwards and forming a good inch of thick, creamy white and foamy goodness. Looks very inviting.

Aroma - bread dough, biscuity, malty, caramel and a bit of apple combine with some citrusy hop aromas as well. 

Taste - plenty of malt characteristics come out at first, this is sweet with some brown sugar flavors on the tongue. The sweetness is then followed immediately by a sharp, dry and bitter finish. Very crisp and refreshing...which is what I'd like to have in a lager. Very smooth and well-rounded with no off flavors. Instead this hits all the marks and comes together extremely well. 

Overall - very impressive. I had my reservations at first but the folks at AC Golden have done a great job with this lager. I can't help but think that the packaging only improves upon something that was already well above par. If you live in Colorado definitely give this one a shot. 

Would I buy more of it? - yes. I would be happy to get a 12-pack of this from time to time to stock the fridge or cooler this summer. This is an easy drinking, refreshing lager that would make both the craft beer enthusiast and the casual beer drinker very, very happy. 

Note - AC Golden is a subsidiary of Coors Brewing Company (MolsonCoors). The brewery itself only employs ten people. Much debate can be had as to whether or not to consider this a true craft brewery. The truth is, they produce a great lager with real ingredients and the folks that brew the beer are dedicated to what they do...which is brew beer. I think we can agree that good beer is good beer and leave it at that. 

From the AC Golden site:

"Nestled against the foothills of the Colorado Rockies is the AC Golden Brewery, where in the time-honored tradition of craft-brewers, we create limited production beers in small 30-barrel kettles imported from Germany. No Super Bowl commercials. No magazine spread ads. Just a commitment to brewing great beer."