Africa – Gulder Lager

Beer is not the first thing you think of when you hear Africa. Heck, it’s far down the list, even. So, consequently, there is also a bit o a problem getting these beers. Luckily, I was able to find an African shop during a short trip across the border and there it was, Gulder Lager – a pearl of Nigeria.

A quick trip to wikipedia tells us that the producer, the Nigerian Breweries, is the pioneer and largest brewing company in the country, which produced its first Gulder Lager in 1970s, but has brewed some other brands wven before that.

This beer is also featured on my FB collection page Beer Bottles Collection.

DETAILS

• Name: Gulder Lager

• Brewery: Nigerian Breweries PLC
• City: Lagos
• Country: Nigeria

• Style: Pale Lager
• ABV: 5,2%

RATINGS

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

DESCRIPTION

Another quick trip to my favourite beer page, ratebeer.com, also tells us that all Nigerian beers are made with a portion of sorghum and lower portion of malt in the product. Sorgum is a kind of a grass or grain that is cultivated in Africa. This is also probably the reason for Gulder Lager having a bit different aroma, which is still hoppy, but on a grainy side. The taste of this golden colored beer is bitter and slightly acid with kind of hoppy aftertaste. It could be drinkable, but for that metallic feel in the end ruining this taste of Africa.

Cerveza De Peru: Franca

During my period of beer collecting I have come across many expressions in different languages for the word beer. There is the word pivo in my native Slovenian language, as well as in its Slavic friends Croatian, Bosnian, Czech and Slovakian.  Similarly in Polish as piwo, and in Russian and Serbian where it is written as пиво. In Scandinavia we have olut in Finnish, öl in Swedish, and øl in Danish. The Greeks drink μπύρα (don’t know how to pronounce it really), the Hungarians drink sör, the Chinese 啤酒 (help with pronunciation) and the Japanese ビール (help again). In Germany, Austria, Switzerland and the Netherlands there is bier, in France biere, and in Italy birra.

But my favourite word for beer, among them all, is cerveza. I just love this word. Una cerveza, por favor. No wonder I brough so many beers back from Spain, because it was fun ordering them. So today, I give you a cerveza from South America. Franca – Cerveza de Peru.

• Name: Franca
• Brewery: Ajeper S.A.
• City: Lima
• Country: Peru

What to say about this Peruvian beer? Well, it pours with a typical clear golden color with a decent white and foamy head that settles down relatively quick. The aroma is nothing special – some malt and quite some grains. That’s it. The taste starts with some sweetness which is followed by grainy body in somewhat watery body. The end is a bit bitter, but only just. It lacks some of the needed bitterness. All in all, this beer is nothing special. Refreshing, easy to drink with a limited amount of taste offered to the drinker. I’m not saying it’s bad, but there’s hardly anything to set it apart from other mainstream lagers – it’s average, which is too bad, because my hopes were much higher. Well, at least the bottle is crafted nicely.

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

RATINGS

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

• Bottle: 4,5 / 5

No Sleep Till …: Brooklyn Lager

Originating in the Big Apple, this beer is New York’s hometown beer, first produced before the prohibition era. Today, it may not be as popular as some other American superbrands, but what it lacks in popularity, it makes up for in quality.

• Name: Brooklyn Lager
• Brewery: Brooklyn Brewery
• City: Brooklyn, New York
• Country: USA

This New Yorker pours with an almost completely clear amber color. There is a medium white head which has a quite good resistance. The smell is mild and sweet, with the addition of some caramel and a little yeast. The taste is not too strong, but still strong enough to let you know what you’re drinking. The taste is an interesting combination. Slighty sweet and fruity at first, followed by some yeatines and breadiness in the body (also some toasted feel), finishing with a nice hoppiness and bitterness.Makes a nice break from other typical lagers.

• Style: Amber Lager / Vienna
• ABV: 5,2%
• Ingredients: water, barley malt, hops, yeast

RATINGS

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

• Bottle: 3,5 / 5

The Bulgarian: Kamenitza

Kamenitza was my first and only (so far) taste of Bulgarian beers. I have to say it was quite difficult to get, so I guess I’ll have to make a trip to this country very soon in order to samle more local brews.

• Name: Kamenitza
• Brewery: Pivovaren Zavod Kamenitza (MolsonCoors)
• City: Plovdiv
• Country: Bulgaria

Kamenitza is a nice beer, which makes a great refreshment during the hot summer days. But, it doesn’t really distinguish itself from other lagers. The typical characteristics are all here, starting with teh appearance. There is the clear and golden color, topped with a medium white and foamy head which dissipates fairly quick. The nose picks up some malt and some grains. The taste is therefore no suprise. Sweet at first, grainy in the body with a slight bitterness in the finish. Pleasant and non-offensive, but nothing more than this.

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

RATINGS:

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

• Bottle: 3 / 5

A Polish King: Tyskie Gronie

I haven’t presented another Polish beer for a while now. I brought this one back from my New Year’s trip to Cracow a couple of years ago.

• Name: Tyskie Gronie
• Brewery: Kompania Piwowarska (SABMiller)
• City: Poznan
• Country: Poland

According to wikipedia, Tykie Gronie is one of the most popular Polish beer brands. This is a big deal since I can say Polish people make some really nice beers. Tyskie has a completely clear, golden color, and is topped with a relatively generous white foamy head. The aroma is expected – the nose picks up the aromas of malt and grains a moment after opening the bottle. The taste is delightfully sweet in the beginning, followed by a lot of grains in the body, as well as some hops in the back. The finish is generously bitter nad slightly dry, which goes great with the light, but not watery body.

I can see why this beer is so popular in Poland (and around). It’s a great beer which will really make a good start to a day of exploring Poland. I definitely recommend it.

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

RATINGS

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

• Bottle: 3 / 5

Mexican-Czech Connection: Bohemia Clásica

Time for another Mexican beer, which actually borrowed its name from the old Czech name of Bohemia. So a mixture of Czech and Mexican influence – this should be interesting and tasty.

• Name: Bohemia Clásica
• Brewery: FEMSA – Cuauhtémoc-Moctezuma
• City: Monterrey
• Country: Mexico

This Bohemia beer is a lager, and it definitely looks like one. It has the traditional golden color, and about a finger of white and quickly dissipating foamy head. The nose won’t fool you, it’s definitely a lager aroma with a slight skunkiness, faint hopps in the back and predominantly grainy aroma. The taste is iitially sweet and malty, followed by a grainy/hoppy body, coming together with a nice and bitter finish.

I would be lying if I claimed this is a special beer. But I would also be lying if I said this beer is no good. In fact, it’s one of the better Mexican beers I have had so far. Plus, it goes extremelly well with Mexican food, let’s say chimichangas (gotta love the word) . All in all, a very decent beer from the land of the Aztecs.

• Style: Pale Lager
• ABV: 5,3%
• Ingredients: water, barley malt, hops

RATINGS

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

• Bottle: 3,5 / 5

Crouching Tiger: Tiger Beer

Throughout the time of my beer collecting, I have discovered that Asian beers really suit me. So I was quite excited when I found this one, especially since it meant adding a new country to my collection. Originating from the business and financial centre in Southeast Asia, this world acclaimed Tiger Beer calls the tiny country of Singapore its home.

• Name: Tiger Beer
• Brewery: Singapore Brewery (Asia Pacific Breweries)
• City: Singapore
• Country: Singapore

Tiger beer, despite it’s ferocius name, looks just like another lager out there. It has a typical pale yellow color, completely clear, and is topped with a very weak foamy head which runs away immediately. A malty and mostly grainy aroma dominates the nose. Nothing new, but not bad. The taste, on the other hand, is (surprisingly) nice. The beginning is familiar, with the sweetness upfront, followed by a grainy (corn) body. But there is also the addition of some hops and the finish is pleasanty bitter (just bitter enough).

Although Tiger Beer isn’t really anything you haven’t tried before, it still offers enough taste to make it a fine and smooth refreshment. I would definitely give it another chance, but haven’t seen it for a while now.

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

RATINGS

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

• Bottle: 4 / 5

Born in the USA: Miller Genuine Draft

Here is another famous American beer, although this one is much less known in our part of the globe than its fellows countrymen Bud and Coors. But I have to say that I prefer Miller to both of the other famous American lagers.

• Name: Miller Genuine Draft
• Brewery: Miller Brewing Company (MillerCoors)
• City: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Country: USA

The transparent bottle holds a clear and golden beer, which is topped with a medium white head when poured into a glass. The foamy and quite bubbly head settles down to a small ring around the edges quite quickly. The aroma is very familiar, although quite mild – there is some malt and some grains present. It smells like it should. The taste is similar to the aroma – mild, slightly watery, and grainy.

It is a nice and smooth beer, although to be completely fair it could use a bit more bitterness, especially in the finsih. But overall, a pretty delightful and refreshing. As the American big brands go, so far this is my favourite.

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

RATINGS

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

• Bottle: 4,5 / 5

My Guilty Pleasure: Foster’s Lager

Australia is actually known to produce some very nice beers. Whether Foster’s is one of them is very disputable. If you ask the locals, the answer is almost sure to be “No“. If you ask the foreigners, the answer is more likely to be “No” but you may also hear an occasional “Yes“. For me, this beer is a guilty pleasure. I know a lot of people don’t consider it a top quality beer, but I can’t help myself not to love it. It’s one of my favourite lager out there, definitely among the top 3. I can’t really say why this is so, but it just is.

• Name: Foster’s Lager
• Brewery: Fosters Brewing (CUB)
• City: Southbank
• Country: Australia

This Australian beer pour with a typical lager looks. It has a clear and golden color, the body is decently carbonated, and the head is medium in size, foamy and white. The aroma is predominantly grainy and slightly malty, so it smells like a regular lager. The taste is sweet and malty ar first, followed by a grainy and slightly hoppy body, finishing with a nice and bittery finish.

Foster’s runs down your throat extremelly smooth, with the carbonation and hoppy taste giving you the necessary refreshment. The taste is light but not really watery, although it is true you could have a bunch of these in a row, especially when the day and the setting is right. I can’t really tell you what makes this beer so special for me, but it just tastes great. Simple as that.

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

RATINGS

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

• Botlle: 3.5 / 5

The Most Interesting Beer in the World: Dos Equis XX Special Lager

This Mexican beer is probably most famous for it’s commercial series featuring The Most Interesting Man in the World, and the slogan: “I don’t always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis.” Maybe you haven’t heard of this commercial, but I bet you saw this guy at least once, since it has recently become the inspiration for several internet memes. Just google it, and you’ll see.

• Name: Dos Equis XX Special Lager
• Brewery: FEMSA – Cuauhtémoc-Moctezuma (Heineken)
• City: Monterrey
• Country: Mexico

This Mexican lager, accidentally found in one of the kebab joints on the local train station, pours out with a typical lager appearance – golden color, clear and bubbly with a medium white foamy head which settles down almost immediately. The aroma is slightly malty and mostly grainy – like we are used to with lagers. The taste is light and grainy. The beginning is pleasantly sweet (not too much) and the finish is moderately bitter. The body is perhaps slightly watery, but still pretty nice and refreshing. Nothing bad about XX but also nothing worth remembering. Still good enough to accompany that midnight kebab.

• Style: Pale Lager
• ABV: 4,3%
• Ingredients: water, barley malt, hops, yeast

RATINGS

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

• Bottle: 4 / 5