Скачать или смотреть What Is an "ICE BEER"? | Natural Ice vs Icehouse

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Natural Ice and Icehouse are both American “ice” adjunct lagers that live in the same bargain-bin, high-ABV corner of the beer world, but they come from rival macrobrewers and have some interesting differences. Natural Ice is brewed by Anheuser-Busch as the stronger cousin of Natural Light, while Icehouse is a Molson Coors (ex-Miller) brand that was launched under the old Plank Road Brewery imprint. Both are designed to be cheap, cold, and potent, but they go about it with slightly different recipes and flavor profiles.

Historically, Icehouse got to the US market first. It was introduced in 1993 and heavily marketed as America’s first domestically brewed ice beer. Natural Ice arrived a bit later, in 1995, as Anheuser-Busch’s answer to the growing ice beer craze and as the high-gravity extension of the Natural Light family. So Icehouse has the “original US ice beer” bragging rights, whereas Natural Ice was positioned as a direct competitor that leaned even more into higher alcohol content.

On the brewing and ingredient side, both are classic American adjunct lagers that use an ice-brewing step. After fermentation, the beer is chilled below freezing so that ice crystals form. By removing or managing those crystals, the brewer ends up with a slightly stronger beer and a marketing story about smoothness. Natural Ice typically uses barley malt along with multiple adjuncts such as corn, corn syrup, and often rice, plus hops or hop extract and yeast. Icehouse is a bit simpler on paper: water, barley malt, corn syrup (usually specified as dextrose and maltose, and explicitly not high-fructose), yeast, and hop extract. In other words, both are adjunct-heavy, but Natty Ice leans into a mix of corn and rice adjuncts, while Icehouse is more of a barley-and-corn-syrup pairing.

In terms of strength and nutrition, Natural Ice is usually listed at about 5.9% ABV, which is noticeably stronger than typical American macro lagers and just a hair stronger than Icehouse. Icehouse generally sits around 5.5% ABV. Calorie-wise, they’re both firmly in “not a diet beer” territory: Natural Ice is roughly in the low-130s calories per 12-ounce serving with under 10 grams of carbs, while Icehouse is usually clocked around 150 calories and roughly 10 grams of carbs for the same volume, depending on the specific nutrition source. So the pattern is: Natural Ice has slightly more alcohol, Icehouse tends to show slightly more calories.

Flavor-wise, they’re similar but not identical. Natural Ice usually pours a very pale straw color with a light body and high carbonation. The aroma and flavor lean toward sweet grain and corn, with a noticeable adjunct character and very little hop presence. Bitterness is extremely low, so it drinks soft and slightly sweet when very cold, with more alcoholic warmth and some rough edges showing as it warms up. Icehouse, by comparison, is often described as a touch fuller in body for a macro lager, with a grainy, corny malt base, a bit more breadiness from the barley, and slightly more hop bitterness. It still isn’t a “bitter” beer in any craft sense, but compared directly, Icehouse tends to taste a bit sharper and less sweet than Natural Ice.

Putting it all together, you’d usually grab Natural Ice if you want maximum ABV per dollar and don’t mind a softer, sweeter, very low-bitterness profile that’s built to be slammed ice-cold. Icehouse is the better fit if you prefer the Miller/Coors grain character, want a beer that feels a little fuller and slightly more bitter, and maybe like the idea of drinking the “original” US ice beer. Neither is aiming for nuance; they exist to be inexpensive, strong lagers. The choice between them really comes down to whether you prefer a slightly sweeter, smoother, stronger beer (Natural Ice) or a slightly grainier, marginally more bitter one (Icehouse).