Schlitz Red Bull Malt Liquor

The Schlitz Malt Liquor Bulls are from the Stroh's Brewery which is now owned by the Pabst Brewing Company who has all their beers contract brewed.  I vaguely remember Schlitz Blue Bull being very popular in the late 1970's.  They even had national television ads where the bull would crash into some place and they had some celebrity endorsers.  You can find some of the old commercials on You Tube.

All the Schlitz Bulls now have some letter "code" and not just their color.  Red Bull is "X.L." for Xtra Long Malt Liquor. It is 5.9% ABV and pours a medium golden in color with an inch of foamy white head and a tornado of carbonation in the glass.  The head leaves medium lacing down the glass.  The aroma is slightly sweet, some toasted grain, cooked corn and green apple.  The taste follows the aroma pretty closely, sweetness, both grain and fruit, a bit of toasted grain, with a semi-sweet and tart finish. The beer drinks smooth and moderately carbonated.  It gets a bit better as you move through the 40. Interestingly, their website says the extra long means it is aged longer, yet it has far more green apple off-flavors in it than Blue Bull.  Apparently the green apple off-flavors are from bottling a beer way too soon. 

The Blue Bull is still the best of the Bulls.