Landshark beer is the housebrew for Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville and Cheeseburger in Paradise restaurant chains. Don’t be fooled by the “Margaritaville Brewing Co.” indica on the bottle, this beer is brewed by Anheuser-Busch. Does it taste like an AB-InBev product? What do YOU think!?
Landshark Beer: Appearance
Typical adjunct lager straw yellow with much carbonation present. Forms a bright white, soapy head which evaporates completely, but does leave a small amount of lacing on the glass (interesting).
Landshark Beer: Smell
Since it comes in a clear bottle it’s no surprise this beer is skunky. It’s not quite as bad as Heineken and those other green bottle Eurotrash pilsners, but it’s quite strong. Otherwise there’s a generic fizzy yellow beer smell with some grain and corn.
Landshark Beer: Taste
The first swig is the test to see if you can get past this beer. The sourness from the skunk hits you in the finish like a ton of bricks. But what’s interesting is that only the first swig is so Heineken-like, and after that it’s more like a generic pale lager. There’s noticeable toasted corn and perhaps some rice to impart a subtle sweetness. Otherwise it’s by-the-book macro fizzy yellow lager “taste” all the way. I use “taste” lightly because this beer is much more bland than it is bad-tasting. There’s noticeable wateriness to the palate. I could see drinking this straight from the bottle with a lime wedge like Corona – which is exactly how I think this beer is intended to be drank.
Landshark Beer: Drinkability
If you can get past the skunkiness you can drink Landshark beer. It’s fairly clean in the finish with little residual sour aftertaste. It’s crisp and bubbly in the mouth, but not obnoxiously so. A light-bodied beer to the core at only 4% ABV – it’s easy to envision sucking down a six-pack of these on the beach or around the pool on a hot summer’s day.
Landshark Beer: Final Thoughts
Overall, not a horrible beer, just a lame one. It might actually be a hidden gem among the “economy beer” selection at gas stations and supermarkets everywhere as I have drank many beers worse than this that cost more. Unless you’re a huge Jimmy Buffett fan there’s no reason to drink Landshark beer.