Beer Love

We're inching towards the near end of September which marks how little time left i have to my final exams =( but on a brighter tastier and more refreshing note it means that octobers just round the corner. So what's so special about october? Oktoberfest of course. Originally celebrated as an 18 day festivity in Bavaria Germany with the help of beautiful globalisation this is one of the many western influences that carved its own home in our country with the first major celebration back in 2008.

So this post which was drafted some ump-teen years ago and its probably more relevant now than ever. Since the conception of this blog 1 beer review and beer based restaurant has been penned. So here's another one to add to that with a few beers some more established than others and a few wild cards added inside.

#1 Corona

A beer which has been in Malaysia for quite a long time i'd reckon but never really did take off in a wide scale. Some people regard it as a 'girls beer' but the very image that disproves this would be Fast and Furious 4 if im not mistaken where Vin Diesel goes up to the bar and orders a corona. Manly much?

Its notably paler compared to regular lagers and comes with minimal amount of head. To me its slightly gritty taste at the end which im guessing comes from the addition of corn into the mix gives it a unique edge over other lagers. Why corn? well maybe perhaps its a staple ingredient in Mexico's culinary heritage with dishes such as tortilla's.

Verdict: Overall a pretty good tasting beer, hate it i dont but as a pairing beer with my meals would be ideal.

#2 Strong Bow

Not a beer to be frank more of a cider, a totally different species altogether. But then again not too distant maybe like a horse's relationship to a zebra.

I got this from cold storage at Rm 9.90 and if im not mistaken it going around for Rm 20 per pint for draught of course in pubs around KL. Ironically its rated as one of the cheapest alcoholic beverage in the UK and the most consumed cider. It has a much paler colour compared to corona. Taste wise its a different animal altogether compared to beer as it doesn't have that overwhelming flavour combination of malt and hops that hit you upon the first draw  but more of a sour flavour with a zesty right hook on your palate.

Best served extra cold! damn straight, probably one of the few things best served cold in life other than revenge.

Verdict: Very easy drink to get use to but with all its mild flavour the most prominent flavour would be its alcohol flavour.

P.s before this i actually had the misconception that women going through menopause should take cider regularly, not too sure on the credibility of this but i sourced this from my mum =P

#3 Light Beer duo

Found these 2 beers going for a promotional price of Rm 5.50 each at Giant supermarket. Both are of South African origin. Never really had beer from that part of the world before but not much harm to my pocket at 5.50.

It was an easy choice here. Hands down castle trumps the latter, Hansa. Castle lite has all the proper properties of a light beer without turning you away. Light, clear and bold flavours with a nice crisp at the end with only a minimal amount of edge of the malt and hops combo.

There's definitely a printing error on the bottle. Pilsener should never taste like this! A little too much carbonation going on from a bottled beer with barely any flavour to really grasp. Another thing i wasn't so sure about was that there was some residues or mysterious tiny objects floating around like a seamonkey in the bottle. Could it be residues from brewing or just dirt?

Verdict: Castle lite Castle lite Castle lite Castle lite!

#4 Bavaria

Mmmm Bavaria the first image that pops to mind:

mmm the memories....Bavaria got its indirect publicity in the previous world cup 2010 when a group of Bavarian girls were subjected to FIFA investigation after pulling off this shenanigan which provoked the official beer sponsor, Budweiser.

Very refreshing beer. Light in flavour in a good way. I’d reckon it’d make a good combination with most pub grubs. Its a good alternative to the generic names that we get here, now im beating myself up for not remembering where i got it from.

Verdict: Im already imagining myself enjoying a nice piece of steak and fries with a bottle of cold bavaria to go with.

I was quite surprise to see the same brewery making non-alcoholic beverages. These beverages to me carries a slight sense of hypocrisy like how vegetarians have "fake meat". Much cleaner cut taste compared to the whole range of hoffenburg alcohol less beverages that i have tried. Very light on flavours with barely any ressemblance in the addition of malt or hops to its composition.

Verdict:  Not something that i’ll walk into the supermarket just to buy. But if your into non-alcoholic beers give hoffenburg a try. Most hypermarket chains carry them. Best flavour so far would be peach and strawberry.

#5 Breda

 I remember updating a facebook status and tweeting about this beer in particular on how it somehow worked quite well as a essential component in a couch potato's diet. The responses i got were rather unusual i had a friend in particular which questioned why i was buy such random corner shop brewed no name piss beer. Breda? what? Never heard of it previously either. But im enthusiastic about trying new beer, its supposedly brewed in Germany Holland. So that settles alot of worries.

Ok so taste? Tastes pretty good actually. A proper full bodied beer with a stronger hops flavour. I remember getting it from Giant supermarket (it seems a little weird at this point but im not endorsing this supermarket name nor am i affiliated to it, it just so happens that i bump into new random beers there.)

Verdict: Proper tasting beer with a relatively unknown name, its like the Beer that Tiger never brewed.

So 5 beers to try in the coming month. Till then stay safe!

Cheers!~

P.s: I wrote this post in a sober state of mind.