Baltimore Sun - New National Premium tastes crisp, smooth and yes, better than Boh

By Sam Sessa
Baltimore Sun

I'm too young to remember how National Premium used to taste, but my former Sun colleague Rob Kasper once told me it was pretty tasty.

As the name implies, it was like Natty Boh, but better. Movie stars used to drink it, he said.

Last fall, when I heard a real estate agent from Easton bought the trademark to the beloved but defunct brand and planned to resurrect it, I was curious but also cautious. How good could it really be?

National Premium hit shelves a couple weeks ago, according to an employee at Wells Liquors, where I picked up a six-pack last night. It was fairly cheap: about $8 for six bottles.

After a really long day at the office, that first National Premium hit the spot.

It was a crisp pale ale, with a little more body than Natty Boh, and a touch of hops.

I closed my eyes and imagined a steaming pile of crabs, slathered in Old Bay and washed down with a cold National Premium. Ah, if only. That beer was gone in minutes.

As a beer snob, I can't say I'll go out of my way to buy National Premium. There's a lot more competition today than there was 50-some years ago, when the old National Premium was at its peak.

But if you're a Natty Boh fan, or a Baltimorean who's old enough to remember what the original tasted like, you're going to want to try the new National Premium. It goes down easy, and definitely tastes better than regular Boh.