A beer from every country in the world
Beer! The world’s most widely consumed and oldest alcoholic beverage.
Such is the importance of beer in modern society that beer is the third most popular drink in the world, behind water and tea. As such, beer is produced in many of the world’s countries, with little variation on the ingredients used; water, malted barley, hops and yeast. Despite the simplicity of just four ingredients, there are huge variations in the taste of beer.
Whilst it’s true that many countries produce many beers, it is a rather more difficult challenge to consume a beer from every country that produces the stuff. The beer must be brewed in the country of origin and not brewed under license overseas.
This challenge started on 6th March 2011. Each country has it’s own blog post. You will often see multiple beer entries in each country. This is because either 1) the original beer was so horrible the country deserves a second chance 2) I picked up a very obscure beer and it deserves to be listed 3) I wanted to review a spectrum of beers over the course. If you have access to a beer from a country that I have not been able to drink yet, drop me a line at william@wkadams.com and we’ll sort out a reward in exchange!
Date Consumed: 2nd April 2025
Beer: Speak Easy
Brewed: Birrificio Abusivo, Domagnano, San Marino
Size: 330mL
Alcohol Content: 4.7%
Sourced: Suitcase by Jim Cook (thanks Jim!)
World Beer Rating: 4/10
Notes: Quite hoppy for an Italian pils, otherwise a pretty thin mouthfeel. Not bad, maybe better in a warmer climate.
Date Consumed: 4th March 2023
Beer: Dead Sea-rious
Brewed: Carakale, Fuheis, Al Balqa Jordan
Size: 330mL
Alcohol Content: 5.0%
Sourced: Suitcase by Jim Cook (thanks Jim!)
World Beer Rating: 5/10
Notes: Strong grapefruit flavour coming through; noticeable salt. A well made gose, definitely inspired by US brewed recipes.
Date Consumed: 16th May, 2020
Beer: Druk Traffic Lights
Brewed: Namgay Artisanal Brewery, Paro, Bhutan
Size: 330mL
Alcohol Content: 4.7%
Sourced: Suitcase by Jim Cook (thanks Jim!)
World Beer Rating: 7/10
Notes: A mini break from the Covid-19 lockdown with a virtual trip to Bhutan! I did not expect to have this country ticked off. Pineapple and salt go surprisingly well together in a sharp but sweet gose.
Date Consumed: 5th October 2019
Beer: Ngok
Brewed: Brasserie du Congo, Brazzaville, Congo
Size: 650mL
Alcohol Content: 5.0%
Sourced: Les Terroirs du Congo, Rue Labat, Paris, France
World Beer Rating: 4/10
Notes: Brewed by Heineken Congo and tastes a lot like Heineken. Not great, a bland lager with all the hallmarks of an African beer brewed for a hot market.
Date Consumed: 28th August 2019
Beer: St Louis Export
Brewed: Kgalagadi Breweries, Gaborone, Botswana
Size: 330mL
Alcohol Content: 4.7%
Sourced: Suitcase from Botswana. Thanks to Jonathan Rudd!
World Beer Rating: 5/10
Notes: Brewed for the export market. Nice carbonation, refreshing. Not bad at all. Very similar to Carlsberg.
Date Consumed: 28th August 2019
Beer: St Louis Lager
Brewed: Kgalagadi Breweries, Gaborone, Botswana
Size: 330mL
Alcohol Content: 3.5%
Sourced: Suitcase from Botswana. Thanks to Jonathan Rudd!
World Beer Rating: 3/10
Notes: Not as good as the Export version by a long way. Bland, low carbonation, lacks flavour. Lower alcohol, which may contribute to the poor effort.
Date Consumed: 9th January 2019
Beer: Xirdalan Export
Brewed: Carlsberg Azerbaijan, Xırdalan, Baku, Azerbaijan
Size: 440mL
Alcohol Content: 3.6%
Sourced: Suitcase beer from Baku Azerbaijan (thanks James Cook)
World Beer Rating: 4/10
Notes: It’s brewed by Carlsberg and it tastes of Carlsberg. Surprising hop flavour, more like a Polish lager. A difficult country tick!
Date Consumed: 8th January 2019
Beer: Föroya Bjór Classic
Brewed: Föroya Bjór, Klaksvik, Faroe Islands
Size: 330mL
Alcohol Content: 4.6%
Sourced: Keflavík International Airport, Reykjavík, Iceland
World Beer Rating: 6/10
Notes: A true to style dark lager; slightly sweet, not bad at all. I’d enjoy a couple but its not a style I enjoy.
Date Consumed: 12th November 2018
Beer: Stella Lager
Brewed: Al Ahram, Giza, Egypt
Size: 500mL
Alcohol Content: 4.5%
Sourced: Bekya Middle Eastern Kitchen, Harold Park, Sydney NSW, Australia
World Beer Rating: 4/10
Notes: African lager is African lager. Suprised continued use of the word Stella hasn’t got some Belgian lawyers up in arms. Wasn’t expecting much, did not deliver.
Date Consumed: 12th November 2018
Beer: Meister Max
Brewed: Al Ahram, Giza, Egypt
Size: 330mL
Alcohol Content: 8.0%
Sourced: Bekya Middle Eastern Kitchen, Harold Park, Sydney NSW, Australia
World Beer Rating: 5/10
Notes: Wasn’t expecting much as before, but this high alcohol beer wasn’t bad! Oh, its warming up. It’s not as good.
Dependent Countries / Territories are places with their own flag, culture and geographic land, but depend on a sovereign county for international relations; e.g. England (UK), Guadeloupe (FR) or Hong Kong (SAR).
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