Date Consumed: 2011 Beer: Locher Appenzeller Balik Beer Brewed: Breuerei Locher, Appenzell, Switzerland Size: 11.0% Alcohol Content: 330mL Sourced: Caviar House & Prunier, Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (International Terminal), Sydney, NSW Australia World Beer Rating: 6/10
Notes: My God this beer is strong. Fruity, almost like wine with medium carbonation. Sweet flavour, dominated by alcohol. I love this beer, but only because I had one (A six pack would happily knock you out) and felt quite jolly afterwards!
Date Consumed: 2011 Beer: Korça Pils Bjonde Brewed: Birra Korça, Korça, Albania Size: 330mL Alcohol Content: 4.5% Sourced: A local supermarket, Albania (thanks to Candace Richards!) World Beer Rating: 7/10
Notes: This beer is pretty good. Strong metallic flavour leading to a hoppy finish. Typically European in bottle size and carbonation, I would happily buy this in a six pack.
Date Consumed: 2012 Beer: Fiji Bitter Brewed: Fosters Group Pacific, Walu Bay, Suva, Fiji Islands Size: 375mL Alcohol Content: 4.6% Sourced: Food4Less, Nadi, Fiji (thanks to Desmond Singh!) World Beer Rating: 7/10
Notes: Surprisingly good, tastes similar to domestic Fosters brewed in the United Kingdom except a slightly fruity aftertaste. Lovely refreshing beer in the 32 degree heat of Fiji.
Fiji Bitter, Fiji
Date Consumed: 2013 Beer: Vonu Pure Lager Brewed: Island Brewing Company, Nadi, Fiji Islands Size: 330mL Alcohol Content: Sourced: Prouds, Nadi, Fiji World Beer Rating: 10/10
Notes: I was absolutely blown away by this beer, it’s simply wonderful. Light floral and citrus notes, lightly carbonated. A world class craft beer brewed in Fiji? Indeed it is. I would love this to be eventually exported worldwide.
Vonu Pure Lager, Fiji
Date Consumed: 2013 Beer: Fiji Taki Beer Brewed: Fosters Group Pacific, Walu Bay, Suva, Fiji Islands Size: 750mL Alcohol Content: 4.6% Sourced: Prouds, Nadi, Fiji World Beer Rating: 6/10
Notes: Boring “Clean Crisp Taste” translates to “Nothing to write home about”. Tasted like Tooheys New. Typically mass produced Fijian beer and served cold for thirsty tourists.
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.
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.
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
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.
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!
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.
