Canned Beer

Always curious about beers in cans, I ran across this the other day and picked one up: Southern Star Pine Belt Pale Ale. Being from Texas, I had some fears that it would be an Alamo-ish lame lager-y beer. It is not. When I popped the top, I was immediately greeted by an almost overwhelming hop smell that made me much more optimistic. Unfortunately, the flavor didn't quite measure up to the smell. It's an oddly soft and watery taste, with a flavor that is just slightly off...something I associate with mediocre homebrews (Don't worry - I'm not implying anyone here would make a beer with this flavor). Another strange quality is that it has an initial taste and an aftertaste, but it somehow manages to completely disappear in between ... there is absolutely no "middle taste" if I can coin that phrase. Overall, its not a bad beer, its just not great. It will not be challenging Furious or Ten-Fidy for the canned beer crown, but I wouldn't turn it down if offered one in the future. Overall: B--