Month: May 2011

  • Philippines

    Philippines

    Date Consumed: 2012
    Beer: San Miguel Pale Pilsen
    Brewed: San Miguel, Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, Philippines
    Size: 330mL
    Alcohol Content: 5.0%
    Sourced: Harry’s Bar, Singapore Changi Airport, Singapore
    World Beer Rating: 9/10

    Notes: Lovely citrus notes and a mild carbonation. No wonder it’s the Philippines’ flagship brand, it’s really good!

    San Miguel Pale Pilsen, Philippines

    Date Consumed: 2nd October 2012
    Beer: Red Horse Extra Strong
    Brewed: San Miguel, Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, Philippines
    Size: 355mL
    Alcohol Content: 7.0%
    Sourced: The Beer Cellar, Hamilton, New Zealand.
    World Beer Rating: 5/10

    Notes: My god this beer has malt and alcohol stamped on the flavour like a steel toe-capped boot. It’s supposed to be a Philippine favourite, but I don’t rate it that highly.

    Red Horse Extra Strong, Philippines
  • Nigeria

    Nigeria

    Date Consumed: 2013
    Beer: Star Lager
    Brewed: Nigerian Breweries PLC, Lagos, Nigeria
    Size: 600mL
    Alcohol Content: 5.1%
    Sourced: Falcon Foods and Wines, Bethnal Green, London, United Kingdom
    World Beer Rating: 6/10

    Notes: Nigeria’s #1 Beer apparently, but it’s not exactly #1 in my book. Minerally flavours, especially iron. Very carbonated, aftertaste fades fast. Not unpleasant, but pretty average.

    Star Lager, Nigeria
  • Bulgaria

    Bulgaria

    Date Consumed: 2013
    Beer: Kamenitza
    Brewed: Pivovaren Zavod Kamenitza (StarBev), Plovdiv, Bulgaria
    Size: 500mL
    Alcohol Content: 4.4%
    Sourced: Rosova Dolina, Tottenham Hale, London, United Kingdom
    World Beer Rating: 5/10

    Notes: Not unpleasant, but nothing that grabs you. Little carbonation; it tells you to drink at 3°C, which is probably to hide the lack of flavour. Still, you’d drink this without complaining if served on tap at a pub

    Kamenitza, Bulgaria
  • Uganda

    Uganda

    Date Consumed: 2013
    Beer: Bell Lager
    Brewed: Uganda Breweries, Port Bell, Kampala, Uganda
    Size: 500mL
    Alcohol Content: 4.0%
    Sourced: beersofeurope.co.uk
    World Beer Rating: 7/10

    Notes: Surprisingly refreshing beer, watery but with a pleasantly light hoppy flavour. Like most other African beers I’ve tried, this is not bursting with citrus, floral or complex layers, but this is a very good beer from Uganda.

    Bell Lager, Uganda
  • Malta

    Malta

    Date Consumed: 2013
    Beer: Cisk Export Premium Lager
    Brewed: Simonds Farsons Cisk, Mriehel, Malta
    Size: 330mL
    Alcohol Content: 5.0%
    Sourced: www.beersofeurope.co.uk
    World Beer Rating: 3/10

    Notes: Foul tasting beer. Maybe the hops and water of Malta is not quite up to the task. Tasted bland with a mineral aftertaste.

    Cisk Export Premium Lager, Malta
  • Cuba

    Cuba

    Date Consumed: 2013
    Beer: Cubanero Fuerte (Bucanero Fuerte)
    Brewed: Cerveceria Bucanero, Holguín, Cuba
    Size: 350mL
    Alcohol Content: 5.4%
    Sourced: www.beersofeurope.co.uk
    World Beer Rating: 5/10

    Notes: Pretty average beer, I suspect it’s good in the sweltering heat of Cuba, not South West London. Strong aftertaste of communism and malt.

    Cubanero Fuerte (Bucanero Fuerte), Cuba

    Date Consumed: 2013
    Beer: Cerveza Cristal
    Brewed: Cerveceria Bucanero, Holguín, Cuba
    Size: 350mL
    Alcohol Content:
    Sourced: Premier Wines, Strawberry Hill, London, United Kingdom
    World Beer Rating: 8/10

    Notes: Wow, this is a remarkable recovery from the previous Cubanero. Light, refreshing beer with a subtle aftertaste of hops. This is delicious and I would most certainly recommend this for either drinking with spicy foods or just enjoying after a long day!

    Cerveza Cristal, Cuba
  • Romania

    Romania

    Date Consumed: 2013
    Beer: Bere Timisoreana
    Brewed: Ursus Breweries, Cluj Napoca, Romania
    Size: 500mL
    Alcohol Content: 5.0%
    Sourced: Romanian Food Centre, Edgeware, London, United Kingdom
    World Beer Rating: 7/10

    Notes: Much like the other Eastern European beers, this one is very hoppy, full of flavour with a bitter aftertaste. Very carbonated, which is a slight downfall to an otherwise quite surprisingly good beer.

    Bere Timisoreana, Romania
  • United Arab Emirates

    United Arab Emirates

    Date Consumed: 2013
    Beer: Barbican Premium Malt
    Brewed: Brewed by Aujan Industries Co., Dammam, United Arab Emirates
    Size: 330mL
    Alcohol Content:
    Sourced: Electric Avenue Wholesalers, Brixton, London, United Kingdom
    World Beer Rating: 2/10

    Notes: Wow, I didn’t expect to find a beer brewed in the United Arab Emirates. Barbican Premium Malt is classified as a beer, containing the ingredients of beer without the alcohol. I got the strawberry flavour (in hindsight, what kind of beer is not brewed with anything strawberry but tastes of it?), and this beer tasted entirely of artificially flavoured strawberry. Actually quite drinkable as a strawberry soda beverage, not as a beer.

    Barbican Premium Malt, United Arab Emirates
  • Ireland

    Ireland

    Date Consumed: 2013
    Beer: Guinness Foreign Extra Stout
    Brewed: St. James’s Gate Brewery, Dublin, Ireland
    Size: 330mL
    Alcohol Content: 7.5%
    Sourced: Noble Green Wines, Hampton Hill, London, United Kingdom
    World Beer Rating: 8/10

    Notes: It’s the world famous Guinness and it’s a high alcohol export version from Ireland itself. Should be enough to score high marks and it does… just. Wonderful strong oaky stout flavour, complex but not too overwhelming. Not the best Guinness can produce but I understand the requirement that this beer might remain in the bottle for quite a time and needs to remain drinkable. I would rate the draft version higher, only because it’s fresher.

    Guinness Foreign Extra Stout, Ireland

    Date Consumed: 2014
    Beer: Harp Lager
    Brewed: Dundalk, Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland
    Size: 355mL
    Alcohol Content: 4.3%
    Sourced: The Beer Cellar Website, Hamilton, New Zealand
    World Beer Rating: 5/10

    Notes: Pretty average beer.

    Harp Lager, Ireland
  • Lithuania

    Lithuania

    Date Consumed: 2013
    Beer: Svyturys Ekstra Premium
    Brewed:  Svyturys, Klaipeda, Lithuania
    Size:  500mL
    Alcohol Content:  5.2%
    Sourced: Russkiy Bazar, Cambridge Heath, London, United Kingdom.
    World Beer Rating: 7/10

    Notes: Strong malty flavour, quite unlike it’s neighbouring countries. I feel generous giving this a 7, but the beer has a good aftertaste and perfectly carbonated – two important factors of drinking a good beer.

    Svyturys Ekstra Premium, Lithuania