Let’s be clear: Hamm’s Beer hasn’t been itself since 1983, and maybe before that. Hamm’s began a long tradition of brewing in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1865 thanks to German immigrant Theodore Hamm. Hamm inherited St. Paul’s Excelsior brewery and changed the name of the brewery to the Theodore Hamm Brewing Company.

Hamm’s beer became famous in the Midwest, and the brewery was one of the few American brewer to survive prohibition. Everyone wanted to drink the beer “From the land of sky blue waters”, and many did. Hamm’s operated independently for a century, until it underwent a series of acquisitions. Heublein bought Hamm’s in 1965, then sold it to Olympia Brewing ten years later. Pabst bought Olympia in 1983, and sold the St. Paul brewery to Stroh. Today, Miller Coors owns the Hamm’s brand, and produced the draft Hamm’s Beer I enjoyed recently.

I did enjoy it, too. I bought a draft at Harrah’s Valley River Casino because, quite frankly, I couldn’t recall I had ever had one before. A quick check of my database reveals I have, likely in a can somewhere. I seem to vaguely recall being handed one in the 90s at a neighbor’s house. Perhaps that was it.

Hamm’s lists corn syrup as an ingredient in addition to the traditional barley malt and hops. The beer has an alcohol content of 4.7% by volume, and I paid $4 for my draft at Harrah’s. You can buy a case of 24 cans for $13.99 at Total Wine.

I love retro beers and this one is actually good. At least for the style, American Light Lager (which is not light beer), and considered against other examples of the style. Hamm’s Beer was pale yellow in color with a light head of foam and soft malt aroma in the nose. Mine was served quite cold, but no adjuncts came through. Surprisingly, soft bready malty did, although there were not many hops in the finish.

I enjoyed it, and I would very likely drink it again on tap.

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