A Moose From the North: Moosehead Lager

Today I give you a North American beer, originating in the country of hockey, maple leaves, and (as you can see on the label) moose (or is it mooses, meese, … :))

• Name: Moosehead Lager
• Brewery: Moosehead Brewery
• City: Saint John
• Country: Canada

Moosehead Lager comes in a clear and golden color, and is topped with a small white head that tries its best to stick around for a while. The carbonation is high in this one, both in the body and the head actually. After opening the bottle, a skunk runs out, but it’s in minimal amount and not offensive. Following it is the typical grainy and malty aroma, which has that neutral feel. The taste starts sweet, followed by a grainy body and slightly bittery finish. Nothing special, but exactly as I like it. A very drinkable and refreshing beer, which will chill you down in a hot summer’s day. But just one, may not be enough, so bring out a couple of these mooses (meese, moose).

• Style: Pale Lager
• ABV: 5%
• Ingredients: water, malt, maize, hops, yeast

RATINGS

• Appearance: 4 / 5
• Smell: 3,5 / 5
• Taste: 3,5 / 5
• Overall: 3,5 / 5

Bombs Away: Wells Bombardier

From the heart of England to my favourite supermarket, here is an English beer with a nice name, but sadly I can’t say the same for its content.

• Name: Wells Bombardier
• Brewery: Wells & Youngs
• City: Bedford
• Country: England

The content of this attractive bottle pours out with a nice copped color and a medium tan head. The sweet smell is not too strong nor too weak. There are aromas of roasted malts, caramel, and also some others which I couldn’t really point out. The taste starts with a hoppy bitterness, with some roasted addition, and perhaps some caramel (if you use your imagination). It finishes with a medium bitterness.

A typical English bitter, although perhaps slightly less on the bitter side (as some other claim). I am not really a fan of this style of beer, so Bombardier didn’t really leave a good impression. If you’re a lager lover (like myself) maybe you should keep away, or save it for some special occasions when you’re feeling more “English”. A fans of bitters will definitely love it, so give it a chance.

• Style: Premium Bitter / ESB
• ABV: 5,2%
• Ingredients: water, malted barley, sugar, hops, yeast

RATINGS

• Appearance: 4 / 5
• Smell: 4 / 5
• Taste: 2 / 5
• Overall: 2,5 / 5

Can I Interest You in a Game of Poker: Cerveza Poker

This beer was brought from its native land by a friend of my friend, in a package together with the only other Colombian beer I have, Cerveza Aguila, which is by the way produced by the same brewery.

• Name: Cerveza Poker
• Brewery: Grupo Empresarial Bavaria (SABMiller)
• City: Bogota
• Country: Colombia

So let’s start the game. This poker beer pours out with a pale yellow color and is topped with a thin white head that falls down pretty quickly. The aroma is very light and includes the familiar smell of grains and very little malts. It’s very drinkable, although nothing special. The slightly watery taste starts sweet, followed by some hoppiness, finishing with a pretty neutral finish.

When it is chilled it’s quite nice and easy to drink, although again nothing special, but rather average. I have no idea why it is called Poker beer, but I can see myself drinking it during a game of poker.

• Style: Pale Lager
• ABV: 4%
• Ingredients: water, barley malt, cereals, hops

RATINGS

• Appearance: 2,5 / 5
• Smell: 3 / 5
• Taste: 3 / 5
• Overall: 3 / 5

The Celebrity: Heineken

Everyone has probably heard of this beer, since you can get it almost anywhere in the world. One of the most well-known and marketed beers needs no other introduction, really.

• Name: Heineken
• Brewery: Heineken Nederland
• City: Zoeterwoude
• Country: Netherlands

Although, this is one of the most popular beers around the world, this doesn’t necessarily guarantee its quality. The (sad) truth is, Heineken is just an average beer, or even worse, a below average one. It has a nice golden color and a thin white head, which settles down pretty quickly. There’s not much to say about the smell and taste, to be fair. Heineken has a grainy aroma, and that’s basically it. The taste is sweet and malty, with the addition of some grainy taste, but without the needed bitterness.

All in all, it’s pretty watery (too watery actually) and doesn’t offer any real taste. It can be refreshing and drinkable, but so can be a glass of plain water. What’s even worse about this beer. It’s being offered in “top-end” clubs as a fancy beer, meaning it is consumed by all those wannabes, thinking they are all that. That’s the worst thing about it.

But let’s rather focus on the positives. Despite not being the best beer around (well, besides being unoffensive), it does have some of the best and funniest beer commercials out there. Some of my favourites are down below (warning: once you start watching beer commercials, it’s almost impossible to stop).

• Style: Pale Lager
• ABV: 5%
• Ingredients: water, barley malt, hops

RATINGS

• Appearance: 3 / 5
• Smell: 2 / 5
• Taste: 2 / 5
• Overall: 2 / 5

THE LIST OF BEST HEINEKEN COMMERCIALS (in no particular order)

A True Portuguese: Sagres

Here comes another very popular Portuguese beer brand (in addition to Super Bock). According to a friend who travelled across the country, it is most popular in the southern part of Portugal, as oppossed to the other Portuguese super brand.

• Name: Sagres
• Brewery: Sociedad Central de Cervejas – Centralcer
• City: Vialonga
• Country: Portugal

Although I myself prefer Super Bock to Sagres when t comes to Portuguese beers, I have to say the latter is still a pretty decent beer, even slightly above the avergae lagers on the market. Sagres has a thin white head topping the golden colored body. The aroma is very familiar – a mixture of malt and grains. The taste is decent – it has a sweet and malty start, a slightly grainy body, and a weak finish, which can be hardly described as bitter.

All in all, it a nice and refreshing drink, slightly watery by the way, which is easy to drink, especially during the summer months. And that’s about it.

• Style: Pale Lager
• ABV: 5%
• Ingredients: water, barley malt, non malted cereals (maize or rice), hops

RATINGS

• Appearance: 3,5 / 5
• Smell: 3 / 5
• Taste: 3 / 5
• Overall: 3 / 5

My Champion: Sarajevsko Pivo

I don’t know what it is with these “Balkan” beers (probably the fact that I grew up with this sort of beers, and the number of meetings with them, but still), but I believe they are the best tasting lagers out there (together with Czech beers). Well, at least most of them. Among them is also my favourite beer (most likely to be the favourite, tough to say for sure, though), named after the Bosnian capital of Sarajevo.

• Name: Sarajevsko Pivo
• Brewery: Sarajevska Pivara
• City: Sarajevo
• Country: Bosnia and Herzegovina

Sarajevsko Pivo may not seem anything different from most of the other lagers, but there are some differences, although subtle but no less important. And these subtle differences make this beer so great. It has a clear, golden color with a pretty decent white head that tries to stay with you for some time. The smell includes gentle aromas of malt, hops and some grains. So far, nothing really to set it apart from others. The taste starts with a sweetness of the malts, and is followed by a pretty decently hopped body, which offers just the right amount of taste. The finish is pleasantly bitter. Not too much or too little bitterness here.

It is an extremelly drinkable lager and it also makes a great refreshment. As some other lagers from this area, it is perfect to wash down some of the local foods (yes, I0m thinking čevapčiči again). You have to taste it, to really see what I’m talking about. Probably there are some other better beers, but for now, it remains my top beer.

• Style: Pale Lager
• ABV: 4,9%
• Ingredients: water, barley malt, hops

RATINGS

• Appearance: 4 / 5
• Smell: 4,5 / 5
• Taste: 5 / 5
• Overall: 5 / 5

The Dragon: Union Pivo

Today, another beer from my home country of Slovenia. Actually, the entire Slovenian beer market is divided between Union (red) and Laško (green), which I already talked about. Before merging together into Laško group, the battle between red and green was much more obvious and interesting. But as everywhere, some prefer other and hate the other, whereas the truth is they are quite alike.

• Name: Union Pivo
• Brewery: Pivovarna Union
• City: Ljubljana
• Country: Slovenia

Like it’s former foe, Union pours out with a good looking golden color, completely clear, which is then topped with about a finger of white head, settling down immediately. There’s not much to the nose – there are aromas of grains and hops mixed together into a pretty weak smell. The taste starts on the sweet side (of course), which is followed by a quite watery body. The finish is fairly weak with just a slight bitter aftertaste.

Compared to Laško, it’s less bitter and more watery. The differences are quite subtle, but in general, Laško offers more taste. I myself am a green man, but I don’t usually say no to a glass of red one either. It can still be a pretty nice refreshing drink, which can run down your throat very easily. And if you have a bit too many of them, there’s no headache the next day.

• Style: Pale Lager
• ABV: 4,9%
• Ingredients: water, barley malt, unmalted cereals, hops

RATINGS

• Appearance: 3,5 / 5
• Smell: 3 / 5
• Taste: 3 / 5
• Overall: 3 / 5

Bionda Sardegna – Ichnusa

Here is another beer I picked up some time ago when I was visiting the Italian capital of Rome. I have to say that Sardinian beer was among the better ones that I have tasted during that week of Italian beers.

• Name: Ichnusa
• Brewery: Heineken Italia
• City: Milan
• Country: Italy

Ishnusa looks like another typical lager. It’s clean and golden in appearance, complemented by two fingers of white foamy head on the top, which dissipates somewhat quick (but not too quick). The smell is again typical and nothing special – a pretty neutral malty and grainy aroma that is. The taste – again something we have seen so many times. Slightly watery, it has a sweet beginning, followed by a slightly hoppy continuation. All this comes together for a pleasant slightly bitter finish.

It may not seem special, and the truth is that it really isn’t, but drinking one of these on a hot and tiring day, really makes everything seem much better. A nice and refreshing lager which runs very smoothly down your throat.

• Style: Pale Lager
• ABV: 4,7%
• Ingredients: water, barley malt, hops, corn

RATINGS

• Appearance: 4 / 5
• Smell: 3 / 5
• Taste: 3,5 / 5
• Overall: 3,5 / 5

A Russian Classic: Baltika #3 Classic

Beer is not really the first drink one considers when hearing Russia. But the “vodka nation” did produce this today’s beer, which is actually so far the only Russian beer in my collection.

• Name: Baltika #3 Classic (Балтика № 3 «Классическое»)
• Brewery: Baltika Breweries
• City: St. Petersburg
• Country: Russia

Baltika pours out with a clear and yellow color along with a decent carbonation. The head is white and foamy, and although it’s quite generous at the beginning (two fingers) it quickly settles down to only a thin ring around the edge. The aroma is nothing new – a malty and grainy smell, which is quite moderate. The taste feels just slightly watered, but otherwise straightforward lager sweetness up front, followed by some grains and only a minimum bitterness in the finish.

Baltika has a very subtle taste, nothing out of the ordinary and nothing to remember it by, but it’s still pretty enjoyable and easy to drink. I’ll certainly give it another go.

• Style: Pale Lager
• ABV: 4,8%
• Ingredients: water, malt, hop extract

RATINGS

• Appearance: 3,5 / 5
• Smell: 3 / 5
• Taste: 3 / 5
• Overall: 3 / 5

My Goodness, My Guinness

One of the most famous beer brands throughout the world, and I almost forgot to mention it. Well, never mind because here it comes now. Thanks to Sir Arthur Guinness, today we can enjoy this “black stuff” as people like to call it.

• Name: Guinness Extra Stout
• Brewery: St. James’s Gate (Diageo)
• City: Dublin
• Country: Ireland

There is a reason Guinness is one of the most popular beers around the world – that is because it tastes great. Some time ago, I didin’t really care about it, I considered it just an average beer (I didn’t really like any of the dark beers). That is until I had a couple of pints at the top of the Guinness Warehouse in Dublin. It was just perfect.

When served correctly (double pour) Guinness becomes on heck of a beer. As it’s nickname suggests (and as everybody already knows) it pours out with a deep brown almost black color, and is topped with a decent tan head. The aroma is malty with some roasted malts, with the addition of coffee and caramel smell as well. The taste follows the nose with a bitter and roasted beginning, turning into a nicely sweet creamy beer. The finish contains traces of caramel and coffee in addition to the mild bitterness.

Overall, Guinness is a very enjoyable dark beer, which can run very smooth although it gives you that filling taste. And, drinking it at your local bar, you will look much cooler next to the pint of that black stuff. Sláinte.

• Style: Dry Stout
• ABV: 5%
• Ingredients: water, malt, barley, roasted barley, hop extract, yeast

RATINGS

• Appearance: 4,5 / 5
• Smell: 4 / 5
• Taste: 4 / 5
• Overall: 4 / 5