KEO

Drinking this brings back memories from a fantastic week on Cyprus...

• Name: KEO, 4.5%, Cyprus
  
• Appearance: Yellowy golden. Tiny amount of fizzy head.
  
• Aroma: Some grain and hops. Not much.
  
• Taste: Hops and malt, quite sweet. A bit watery.
  
• Bought: Beers of Europe, 330 ml, £1.19
  
• Overall score: 2/6
  
• Info: 29/6-2008

Also country number 50.

Brugse Zot

Forgot to buy this one when we visited the brewery in January, but got hold of it now :-).

• Name: Brugse Zot, 6%, Belgium
• Appearance: Orange golden. Little bit of off-white head. Lots of bubbles. Slightly hazy.
• Aroma: Nice fruit and hops. Citrus? Yeast.
• Taste: Citrus and slightly bitter. Some malt and spices.
• Bought: Beers of Europe, 330 ml, £1.85
• Overall score: 3/6
• Info: 29/6-2008, 21/300M

Carib Lager

Country number 49:

• Name: Carib Lager, 5.2%, Trinidad and Tobago
  
• Appearance: Dark yellow to light golden. Little bit of head.
  
• Aroma: Not much. Some grain and hops.
  
• Taste: Sweet and unpleasant aftertaste. Watery.
  
• Bought: Beers of Europe, 275 ml, £1.25
  
• Overall score: 2/6
  
• Info: 27/6-2008

San Miguel Premium

• Name: San Miguel Premium, 5.0%, Spain
  
• Appearance: Light golden. Good amount of white head. Tiny bubbles.
  
• Aroma: Malt and hops, some fruit. Slightly lemony.
  
• Taste: Fresh. Nice malt and slight bitterness. Not bad
  
• Bought: Beers of Europe, 330 ml, £1.09
  
• Overall score: 3/6
  
• Info: 27/6-2008

Saigon Export

For some reason I wanted to try a different beer from Viet Nam (tried Hue already)...

• Name: Saigon Export, 4.9%, Viet Nam
  
• Appearance: Clear, light golden. Little bit of white head.
  
• Aroma: Some light fruit and rice aroma.
  
• Taste: Not much. Hint of malt and hops, I guess.
  
• Bought: Beers of Europe, 355 ml, £1.35
  
• Overall score: 2/6
  
• Info: 25/6-2008

So not quite "like a mouthful of mown grass a rat has pissed on" as someone commented on ratebeer.com...

Krusovice Imperial

• Name: Krusovice Imperial, 5.0%, Czech Republic
• Appearance: Clear golden, OK amount of white head.
• Aroma: Fruit and malt, some hops.
• Taste: Fresh, quite sweet. Hops and malt.
• Bought: Beers of Europe, 500 ml, £1.79
• Overall score: 3/6
• Info: 23/6-2008, 20/300M

Aperitif.no imported lagers/pilseners

Norwegian Aperitif.no last month blind-tested 25 lager/pilsener beers with an ABV higher than 4.75%. This means that they cannot be bought in normal shops, but have to be purchased in the state-run Vinmonopolet shops.

Their top 9 (of 20) imported beers:

1. Anchor Steam Beer (88p)
   
2. San Miguel Especial (87p)
3. Krusovice Imperial (87p)
4. Staropramen Lager (87p)
   
5. Furstenberg Premium Lager (87p)
6. Super Bock (87p)
7. Samuel Adams Boston Lager (86p)
   
8. Stella Artois (86p)
9. Vedett (86p)

And the wooden spoon went to:

• Glutaner (68p)
  

Silenrieux Sara Blonde (Bio/750 ml)

Last bottle from our Bruges-trip in January, and to my pleasant surprise this one was Blonde, not Brune :-). Well, that was until I tasted it.

• Name: Silenrieux Sara Blonde (Bio/750 ml), 6%, Belgium
  
• Appearance: Hazy, pale golden. OK amount of white head, lots when warmer. Sediments and floaty bits.
  
• Aroma: Wheat, lemon, slightly sour.
  
• Taste: Lemony, quite sour. Quite bad
  
• Bought: Bier Tempel, 750 ml, €5.60
• Overall score: 1/6
  
• Info: 18/6-2008

Silenrieux Sara Brune (Bio/250 ml)

Another Bruges-beer:

• Name: Silenrieux Sara Brune (Bio/250 ml), 6%, Belgium
  
• Appearance: Cloudy, dark redish brown. Lots of longlasting tan head. Bit of sediments.
  
• Aroma: Malt and some wheat. Metallic.
  
• Taste: Malt and some sourness. Quite unpleasant.
  
• Bought: Bier Tempel, 250 ml, €1.50
• Overall score: 2/6
  
• Info: 16/6-2008

The 750 ml version will be tested later this week.

Anchor Smooth

New country (number 48).

• Name: Anchor Smooth, 4.5%, Malaysia**
• Appearance: Clear, light golden. Little bit of white head.
• Aroma: Not much. Bit of hops and malt, I guess. Grain.
• Taste: Quite sweet, not pilsener*. Malt and bit of fruit. Forgettable.
• Bought: Beers of Europe, 330 ml, £1.35
• Overall score: 2/6
• Info: 12/6-2008

* Says "Pilsener beer" on the label...

** Originally put as Singapore - changed 2014-07-08 to Malaysia as per Ratebeer.com

Moorhouse's Pendle Witches Brew

Finally another beer from the 300-book. The previous one was 111 days ago, which means that if I'm not able to speed up I will finish the 300-project in 2046. Wow.

• Name: Moorhouse's Pendle Witches Brew, 5.1%, England
  
• Appearance: Orangy brown. Little head. Hazy.
  
• Aroma: Hops and malt. Pear?
  
• Taste: Again, hops and malt. Bitter aftertaste. Standard stuff.
  
• Bought: Beers of Europe, 500 ml, £1.95
  
• Overall score: 3/6
  
• Info: 9/6-2008, 175/300

Rogue Dead Guy Ale (Maierbock Ale)

I went to Utobeer in Borough Market today, and bought a few 300/500 beers! As this bottle expired in February I thought I'd better drink it today. This one is by the way currently called Dead Guy Ale, but was called Maierbock Ale in the 500-book. It is slightly stronger than the 6.0% listed in the 500-book.

• Name: Rogue Dead Guy Ale (Maierbock Ale), 6.3%, United States
  
• Appearance: Dark orangy-red brown. Little bit of head.
  
• Aroma: Not much, actually. Bit of fruit and malt.
  
• Taste: Sweet and some bitterness. Earthy aftertaste.
  
• Bought: Utobeer, 650 ml, £4.70*
  
• Overall score: 3/6
  
• Info: 7/6-2008, 193/500

* Too expensive, and the other bottles I bought from the shop were quite expensive as well...

Silenrieux Joseph Spelt Ale (x2)

Two of the last beers from the Bruges trip.

5.4% 250ml version:

• Name: Silenrieux Joseph Spelt Ale (5.4%), 5.4%, Belgium
  
• Appearance: Cloudy, very dull orange. Sediments. Good amount of white head.
  
• Aroma: Lemon and wheat. Some yeast and hops.
  
• Taste: Wheat and citrus. Hops and spices. Not the best aftertaste.
  
• Bought: Bier Tempel, 250 ml, €1.50
• Overall score: 2/6
  
• Info: 2/6-2008

5% 750ml version:

• Name: Silenrieux Joseph Spelt Ale (Bio/5%), 5%, Belgium
  
• Appearance: Corked. Cloudy, pale orange. Lots of sediments. Lots of white head.
  
• Aroma: Lemon and wheat. Herbs.
  
• Taste: Wheat and lemon. Some spices. Slightly dry. OK aftertaste.
  
• Bought: Bier Tempel, 750 ml, €5.60
• Overall score: 3/6
  
• Info: 4/6-2008

I originally put these as separate entries as only one might be the Bio (Organic) version, and they also have different ABVs. In addition, they also taste a bit different. But in the end they are too similar to justify separate entries.

Adnams East Green Carbon Neutral

I think it is great that Adnams have produced a Carbon Neutral beer, and hopefully more brewers will follow suit. I just wish the beer tasted nicer. As someone commented, "this was more flavour neutral than carbon neutral".

• Name: Adnams East Green Carbon Neutral, 4.3%, England
  
• Appearance: Golden brown. Little bit of white head.
  
• Aroma: Sweet, quite fruity. Some malt.
  
• Taste: Sweet, malt. Some hops. Quite standard.
  
• Bought: Tesco, 500 ml, £1.43
  
• Overall score: 3/6
  
• Info: 31/5-2008