Rite Aid

Yuengling Lager (six 12 fl. oz. bottles; $4.99), Pottsville, Pennsylvania. A dark amber lager with the faintest of aromas and even less flavor. "A good drinkin' beer," as Jimmy Breslin used to tout Piels.

On numerous later occasions:

Rheingold Beer (six 12 fl. oz. bottles; $4.99), New York. Murky golden color; aroma of corn (or some other vegetable. It's not bitter, not sweet, but it's not an extra-dry treat, either.

I've always liked Necco wafers (1.5 oz roll; 65 cents) because the lemon and orange flavors (though certainly not the chalky texture) remind me of long-ago flavors of Junket. Those other Necco flavors: lime, cinnamon, wintergreen, licorice, chocolate, and clove.

Brooklyn East India Pale Ale (six 12 fl. oz. bottles; $7.49). Medium amber; fruity, hoppy aroma; thin mouthfeel with an insistent, sour aftertaste.

Presidente "pilsener type beer" (six 12 fl. oz. bottles; $7.39), Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Brewed from a "fine selection of malting barley, hops and corn grits." Pale yellow; aroma suggests nothing other than the thin, nondescript taste.

Red Stripe Jamaican lager (six 12 fl. oz. bottles; $7.39), Kingston, Jamaica. Straw colored; smell and taste reminiscent of spoiled vegetables. I recall this beer tasting much, much better, and if only for sentimental reasons, I'll find occasion to give it another chance.

Rite Aid
2833 Broadway (at 110th St.)
(one of many locations)
212-663-3135