Pistonhead Lager

Country of Origin: Sweden

Brewed by: Spendrups Byggeri

Brewed in: Grängesberg, Sweden

The can scared me a tad but nothing to fear as this is a friendly nice and crisp lager with malty hints, well carbonated making it pleasant to drink. 

Good strength at 4.6% ABV, would drink again but reckon the manufacturer would do better with a bit of rebranding as it looks like a novelty drink and it's far better than that - 8.1MWB. 

COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
"Crafted in our brutal brewing workshop. The Kustom Lager is a smooth, no-nonsense brew. It’s dry hopped with cascade and amarillo hops to offer a spicy citrus edge. Plus it’s organic, and it glows in the dark, need we say more."

Didn't realise it glowed in the dark!!! Would only be fair to prove this, better buy some more. 

DIEBELS Alt Beer

Country of Origin: Germany
Brewed in: Issum, Germany
Alc: 4.9% ABV

'Alt' meaning 'old' is a dark beer traditionally served cold. Very malty in taste but this is balanced by the temperature its served at. I'm a great fan of Altbeer as this is the drink served in the 'old town' in Dusseldorf which I visit every couple of years on training courses..... which loosely translates to getting drunk whilst occasionally talking about our product. 
MWB 8.8

COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION"DIEBELS Alt is brewed according to the German Purity Law of 1516. Under this "Reinheitsgebot", only four ingredients are allowed: Barley malts, hops, yeast, and water. The dark-roasted special malt lends DIEBELS its unmistakable amber glow.Dark and Delicious. For a dark, flavorful beer, DIEBELS is surprisingly light and drinkable - a beer you can enjoy all night long. It isn't bitter like many ales, and it doesn't have the strong aftertaste of certain

 imports."

Caesar Augustus

Country of origin: Scotland
Type: Lager/IPA hybrid
Brewed by: Williams Bros Brewing Co.
Brewed in: Kelliebank, Alloa.
ABV: 4.1%

Hmmm, nice idea but not for me, more IPA than Lager. Quite bitter and too flat. Scores 7.5 MWB.

Commercial Description
"This Lager /IPA hybrid is a revolution in refreshment and flavour. All the crisp clean notes of the finest lager but with the discrete bitter finish of a well balanced IPA. It's not confused about what it wants' to be, it's just the best of both worlds."

SKOL

Country of origin: UK
Brewed by: Carlsberg Group
Brewed in: Worldwide
ABV: 2.8%

Thought I'd try as it's been around as long as I can remember but have been put off by the low ABV however much to my surprise this ain't a bad tasting Lager and steals the no.1 spot in the 'session beer' division.
Only minus is it made me pee like a horse!!

8.2 MWB, 'cos you can drink about 40 cans of the stuff!

Interesting Fact:
1) The name is related to the Scandinavian toast "skål". For a period, the Hagar the Horrible cartoon character was used for promotion.
2) It is the no.1 Lager in Brazil.

History:
In 1930 Allsopp's Brewery acquired Arrol's, and four years later entered into a merger with another Burton-based brewer Ind Coope. This merger became favorable for Ind Coope as it eventually grew into Britain's biggest brewery at that time, with its own flagship beer Graham's Gold Lager being the top beer brand there. In 1959 Ind Coope introduced a new brand: Graham's Skol Lager.

Graham's Skol Lager eventually became Skol pilsner lager as part of Ind Coope's marketing strategy, aiming to focus the younger generation of drinkers in particular.

Ind Coope then entered into a merger with two other brewing companies – Leed-based Tetley's and Ansell's from Birmingham – to form Allied Breweries (UK).

Skol was initially created to be a global beer brand with an ABV of 4.6-5%.

Allied Breweries (UK), Labatt (Canada), Pripps-Bryggerierna (Sweden) and Unibra (Belgium) formed a new company called Skol International in 1964. Its aim was the creation of a world-wide beer brand, Skol.

In 1992, the merger between Allied Breweries and Carlsberg created Carlsberg-Tetley's, who used to brew the beer at their brewery in Leeds until the brewery was closed in 2011.

It continues to be distributed in the UK, with an ABV reduced to 2.8%.

Flensburger Pilsner

Country of origin: Germany
Brewed by: Flensburger Brauerei
Brewed in: Flensburg, Germany
ABV: 4.8% ABV

Not to be confused with Flensburger Gold which I tried back in 2012, made by the same brewery this is a slightly darker beer and more malty. Hard to appraise as drank in 2 hefty gulps but worthy of 7.7 MWB

Best thing about this lager is it's the start of another batch bought by Pappa Pete, may the fun continue!


Commercial Description
"Brewed according to the German Purity Law of 1516"

Harp Lager

Country of Origin: Ireland.
Brewed by: Guinness Brewery.
Brewed in: Dublin
ABV: 4.3%

Very light tasting lager in the Carling/Fosters mold, reasonably pleasant and a definite session beer.
7.7MWB

Martin Knapman at Durty Nelly's, Bunratty. August 4th 2014

History (Wikipedia)

"Harp Lager was first produced in 1960 as a bottled beer by the Guiness company (now Diageo), in response to the trend among drinkers in Britain and Ireland towards continental lager. Guinness converted its Dundalk brewery into a modern lager production plant with the guidance of Dr. Herman Muender, a distinguished German brewer. Various names were considered for the brand, includingAtlas, Cresta and Dolphin, before Harpwas chosen. The brand was marketed with the Brian Boru harp as its emblem.

The manufacturer states that Harp is made with pure water from the Cooley Mountains, Dundalk."

Strange Fact: Harp is the largest growing lager in Nigeria. (2014)

Koenigsbier

Country of origin: France
Brewed by: Brasserie de Saint Omer, France.
Alc: 4.2%ABV

Benodet, Brittany, France July 2014

Interestingly this beer is French, Koenigsbier means Kings Beer in German. Possibly a similar thing that we did with Hofmeister. Pretty non de script standard light beer, easy to drink and easy to forget. 7.5 MBW

Lancelot Bière Blond

Country of Origin: France
Brewed by: Brasserie Lancelot Brewery
Brewed in: Le Roc-Saint-André, France

A 6% wheat beer drunk on holiday in Brittany, strong tasting and worth a try. Better name than drink I fear. 7.8 MWB

Drunk in Benodet, Brittany, France on Holiday July 2014

Historical Description

"The brasserie Lancelot is a French brewery founded in 1990 by Bernard Lancelot, located on the site of a gold mine in Roc-Saint-André in Morbihan. It produces seven top-fermented, unfiltered, naturally-produced and unpasteurised beers, named after figures from the history and literature of Brittany."

Budweiser - World Cup Special Limited Edition

Country of origin: USA
Brewed in: UK (heckles rising)
Alc: 4.8% ABV

Actually the can/bottle is special the lager is still it's same old dour self.
I don't know what it is about the American Budweiser but I'm not a fan, it has no bite or aftertaste and defo sits in the 'Generic Lager' genre. I'm convinced I can't get drunk from it so scores a conglomerate corporation deserving 7.0 MWB (it gets no lower).

Leffe Blond

Country of Origin: Belgium
Brewed by: InBev Belgium
brewed in: Leuven.

At home

Currently my favourite beer, strong tasting with a bitter aftertaste.
Packs a healthy 6.6% ABV which helps up it to 9.2 MWB

On Holiday

COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION

"Leffe Blond is a pale abbey beer, with a full, sunny, golden colour. It has a smooth and full bodied taste and a rich creamy head. Like all the Leffe beers, it is a ’connoisseur’ beer that is easy to drink."

Franziskaner Hefe-Weissbier

Country of Origin: Germany
Brewed by: The Spaten‑Franziskaner‑Bräu GmbH Brewery
Brewed in: Munich, Bavaria, Germany.

Very fruit wheat beer, nice but far superior options.

7.9 MWB

COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
Deep golden color. Natural cloudiness, with yeast Crispy, refreshing, spicy and fruity.

Point Amber Lager

Country of origin: USA
Brewed in: Wisconsin
Brewed by: Stevens Point Brewery
Alc: 4.7% vol.

Amber by name amber by colour, very strong malt aroma when poured. Quite a unique taste and could only drink a couple.
7.7 MWB

Meantime London Lager

Country of Origin: England
Brewed by: Meantime Brewing Company
Brewed in: London
ABV: 4.5%

Golden yellow, no head or carbonation to speak of. A very nice lager that doesn't have that typical microbrewery taste. Would sit in both the specialist and the session beer camps.

8.1 MWB

COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION
"The countryside surrounding London provides the world's finest brewing ingredients: Kentish hops and East Anglian malting barley.
At Meantime's state of the art microbrewery we combine the two to produce the definitive London Lager."

Budvar Original

Country of Origin: Czech Republic
Brewed in: České Budějovice
Alcohol: 5% ABV

The original and most definitely the best. First drank this in Cafe Tabac in Cheltenham (approx 1990) purely because it was different to the American Budweiser but loved it. Spent the next 10 years periodically working in the Czech Republic so drank this many times.

Budvar in a Jar

It's an old friend who's company I enjoy greatly but be warned if you spend too much time together the next day your head will be thumping like a Jack-hammer!

Strong tasting typical Czech Pilsner scores a  'Velmi dobře' 9.3 for taste, good memories and banging headaches!

Commercial Description

"By far and away the best known beer in the Budvar portfolio ABV5 Original is available on draught and in two bottle sizes, 330ml and 500ml as well as in 500ml cans. Brewed from nothing but local natural materials in a 100 days brewing cycle (90 spent fermenting) it is universally regarded as one of the world's great lager conditioned beers."

Tsingtao

Tsingtao pronounced "Ching Dow", this beer is actually named after the city in China where it is made. 

Country of Origin : China. 
Brewed by : Tsingtao Breweries. 
Brewed in : Qing Dao, China. 
ABV : 4.8%

Light, crisp and full of life I found it compliment's a Chinese meal perfectly. 

Drank with Mikey in 'Real China', Cheltenham. 5th June 2014

Commercial Description 

"Tsingtao Beer has a pleasant aroma and a well-balanced taste. It has high-malty flavor and well-hopped character. Tsingtao is produced with spring water from Laoshan, a mountain area famous throughout China for the purity of its water. The domestically-grown hops used to brew Tsingtao are of such high quality that they are also exported to European breweries. Tsingtao also uses the finest yeast and barley imported from Australia and Canada in its brewing process."

Starobrno

Country of Origin: Czech Republic
Brewed by: Starobrno Brewery
Brewed in: Brno

A dark golden lager served in most of the bars and restaurant's in Brno, very nice and easy to drink. Drank copious amounts during a 4 day stay in the town and didn't get bored of the taste, which is a first.

Scores a well deserved 9.0 MWB

DAAS WITTE

PREMIUM BELGIAN ORGANIC WHEAT BEER

5.0% ABV

Typical cloudy and flat appearance. Slightly bitter aftertaste but very drinkable. Definitely not a session beer.
If there was a lager World Cup Belgium would walk it....fact!!

Scores a friendly 7.8 MWB

Freedom Pilsner Lager

Country of origin: England.
Brewed in: Staffordshire.
ABV: 5%

Bought from the new 'Gloucester Service Station' farm shop. Classed as organic lager suitable for Vegans, whatever that means!
All that said and done a very palatable lager with strong Malty overtones which I like.

7.7 MWB

Sampled during England's emphatic 2-2 draw with Ecuador. 

Commercial Note:-
"Craft brewed by hand, not mass produced by machine. 
International Award Winning English Lager brimming with flavour".

Pegas Light Beer

Country of Origin: Czech Republic
Brewed by: Pegas Brewery
Brewed in: Brno

Drank this while visiting the Pegas Brewery during a Football Tour to Brno. There were a couple of beers available but I stuck to the Pegas light which like all their beers was brewed on site.
A golden lager with plenty of depth and taste, kept its head all the way to the bottom. I went back the next day just to double check the beer and it was still lovely.
MWB 9.1 highly recommended.

Toby McGregor in the Pegas Brewery April 2014, Westbury Football Tour. 

Note: Don't try with strawberries.....long story.

Affligem Blonde

COUNTRY: Belgium
BREWED BY: Brouwerij Affligem / De Smedt (Heineken)
BRAND: Affligem
ABV: 6.80%

Golden in colour, lively and great tasting.
Double Fermented which accounts for the high ABV, somewhere between a Pilsner and a Wheat Beer.....a wheatner maybe? 9.0 MWB

Joe McGregor at Rose Cliston Campsite May 2014, Toot Toot!

Commercial Description
"Affligem Blonde, the classic clear blonde abbey ale, with a gentle roundness and 6.8% alcohol. Low on bitterness, it is eminently drinkable."

DUVEL

Duvel (Devil to me)*

Country of origin: Belgium
Brewed by: Duvel Moortgat Brewery
Brewed in: Breendonk, Belgium

Very strong lager, 8.5% ABV, so has a very strong aftertaste which is not to everyone's liking, this is down to the brewing process which is still occurring after the beer is bottled. Also has a 7 step recommended pouring technique, that shiz floats my boat!

Scores a hefty 8.5 MWB purely based on strength, aftertaste is like a slap in the face with a ruler that you strangely want to try again.


Producers info

"Duvel is a natural beer with a subtle bitterness, a refined flavour and a distinctive hop character. The unique brewing process, which takes about 90 days, guarantees a pure character, delicate effervescence and a pleasant sweet taste of alcohol.
A team of beer specialists checks the process daily by means of taste analyses. It is only after 90 days, when it has achieved its rich range of flavours, that Duvel may leave the brewery.
Thanks to its surprisingly high alcohol content (8.5 %), enormous head, fine effervescence and silky smooth feel in the mouth, Duvel stands out clearly from other Belgian beers."

*just found out its Brabantian, Ghent and Antwerp dialect for devil, so there!

Pacifico Clara

Papa Pete brings home the bacon again!

Country of origin: Mexico
Brewed by: Cerveceria del Pacífico Brewery
Brewed in: Mazatlán, Mexico
Alc: 4.5% Vol.

Never seen or heard of before....perfect.

Pale and full of life, very palatable and easy to drink. Could slot into the 'session beer' genre so scores 8.3MWB for taste and uniqueness.

"Cerveza Pacífico Clara, better known as Pacífico, is a Mexican pilsner-style beer. It was first brewed in 1900 when three Germans opened a brewery, the Cerveceria del Pacífico in Mazatlán. Cerveza Pacífico is named so because the Pacífico brewery is located in the Pacific Ocean port city of Mazatlán, in the state of Sinaloa, México. Its label includes a picture depicting a lifesaver"

Cotswold Premium Lager

Country of origin: England 

Brewed by: The Cotswold Brewing Co.

Brewed in: Bourton-on-the-Water, England.

Alc: 5.0 % Vol

.


Very typical micro brewery style lager, golden in colour, very strong aftertaste of malt with minimum carbonation.

Definitely not a session beer but definitely worth a try.
Scores 8.2 MWB due it it's uniqueness and locality. 

Waterside Cafe, Bourton-on-the-Water. 18th march 2014 with Pete, Pauline, Amy, Iz, Mikey & Me.

Singha

Singha Premium Import Lager Beer

Country of origin: Thailand
Brewed by: Pathumthani Brewery Co.
Brewed in: Pathumthani, Thailand

Very pale lager with a sweet taste, not too unpleasant. Like most Thai women this beer's got some balls and scores 8.1 MWB

"Rich, yet refreshing, Singha is the perfect accompaniment to Asian cuisine. Brewed exclusively in Thailand since 1933."
 

Tennents Lager

Tennents Lager

Country of Origin: Scotland
Brewed by: The Wellpark Brewery.
Brewed in: Duke Street, Glasgow.

The Bell Tree Pub, Broughty Ferry, Dundee. 12/03/2014

As much as it pains me this is actually a surprisingly nice lager, much nicer than the usual 4% draught beers you get our side of the wall. Nice and lively with a bit of taste, they must also be respected for being the brewers of Tennents Super (tramp juice) which is soon to be tried.

Scores 8.1MWB as a tidy session beer for when you're on the 'Pish!'

Brewers Quote

"Our dedicated brewers at the Wellpark Brewery use the water of Loch Katrine, hops and barley to bring you a pint with a crisp taste and refreshingly clean finish. "

Asahi

Asahi 'Super Dry'
Country of Origin: Japan
Brewed by : Asahi Breweries
Brewed in : Sumida, Tokyo
Founded in : 1889
Asahi Dry was introduced in 1987 and by 'Dry Beer' they mean Pale lager.

One of the Japanese powerhouses.

I love this lager as I do all of the big Nippon 3, all have a similar yet unique taste, very light but refreshing, very good on the headache/hangover front. Standard 5.0% ABV if an imported beer.
Cheeky 8.8 MWB

Brewers facts

"Since its debut in Japan in 1987 as the first ”KARAKUCHI”(dry) beer,ASAHI SUPER DRY has set a new de facto standard in Japanese brewing. Over the years ASAHI SUPER DRY has continued to expandits popularity while offering refreshing good taste and drinking pleasure. Behind its overwhelming popularity among people regardless of age, as well as among those restaurateurs and professionals who keenly discern good taste, lies the story of the three secrets of ASAHI SUPER DRY:"

These 3 secrets are the yeast, the ingredients and the technology. 

Baltika No.7

Country of origin: Russia

Brewed by: Baltika Breweries in St Petersburg

5.5% ABV

Scores a very average 7.7 MWB, uninspiring beer but a tidy ABV up's it's score. 

No.7 is their pale lager, I'd quite like to try No.3 (wheat beer).

I do like the ring pull cap tho so I'm upping to 7.8MWB

History

Brewery opened in 1990 in St Petersburg. In 2008 became part of the Carlsberg group which might explain its bland, generic taste as Carlsberg seem hell bent on owning every boring lager on the planet. 

I'm going to call it a 'generic lager', you heard the phrase here first!

Kronenbourg

Kronenbourg (old Kronie)

Hard to judge this one as I drank bucket loads of this starting out on my lager journey as young man.
More memory taste than genuine taste and that memory's huge hangovers, vomit and fag ash.
5% ABV and a very chemical aftertaste.
Scores 8.0 MWB as it's one of the lager giants and made me think I was being sophisticated 25 years ago.

Update: ......and the headaches, I now remember the headaches!


Facts:-

Kronenbourg Brewery is a brewery founded in 1664 by Geronimus Hatt in Strasbourg as the Hatt Brewery. The name comes from the area where the brewery relocated in 1850. The company is owned by the Carlsberg Group.....Quelle surprise! 

Pilsner Lager - A brief History

Pilsener Lager (Pils)

The City of Pilsen began brewing in 1295, but until the mid-1840s, most Bohemian beers were top-fermented. The taste and standards of quality often varied widely.

The officials of Pilsen founded a city-owned brewery in 1839, called Měšťanský pivovar Plzeň (Citizens' Brewery - now Pilsner Urquell), which should brew beer according to the pioneering Bavarian style. Brewers had begun aging beer made with bottom-fermenting yeasts in caves which improved the beer's clarity and shelf-life.

The Pilsen brewery recruited the Bavarian brewer Josef Groll (1813–1887) who, using new techniques and paler malts, presented his first batch of modern pilsner on 5 October 1842. The combination brighter malt prepared by English technology, Pilsen's remarkably soft water, local Saaz noble hops from nearby Žatec and Bavarian-style lagering produced a clear, golden beer that was regarded as a sensation.

Improving transport meant that this new beer was soon available throughout Europe, and the Pilsner style of brewing was soon widely imitated. In 1859, “Pilsner Bier” was registered as a brand name at the Chamber of Commerce and Trade in Pilsen. In 1898, the Pilsner Urquell trade mark was created to put emphasis on being the original brewery.

Carlsberg Lager

Carlsberg Lager

My favourite 'Session Beer' due mostly to it's lowly 3.8% Alcohol Volume and the fact that out of all the other run of the mill Lager's it tastes the least of chemicals and it's relatively hangover free.

Brewed in Northampton it's about as English as lager gets, everywhere else in the World it's known as Carlsberg Export and has a higher 5% ALC VOL.

No great taste to talk of but still scores a respectable 8.0 MWB because it does a great service to mankind i.e me.

The History Bit:- In 1847 J.C. Jacobsen founded Carlsberg, named after his son, Carl and the Danish word for hill, bjerg, on which the brewery was built, and set out to follow his dream to brew the perfect beer.

Jacobsen's journey first started in 1836 when he tasted his first bottle of Bavarian lager. Convinced that this beer would pioneer the market, Jacobsen made the long journey to Munich, successfully returning with a pot of lager yeast in his hat box. Back home he used his mother's bath tub to experiment with making his new style of beer and after many attempts he decided to open the Carlsberg Brewery."

Tucher Nürnberger Pils

Tucher Nürnberger Pils
Extra KALTGEHOPFT (Cold Hopps)

Country of Origin Germany
Brewed in Nuremberg
5% ABV

(Testing out the new 'Drinking Jar')

Very strong tasting bordering on pungent, pale yellow, keeps it's head and perfect carbonation.

So typically German it should come wearing Lederhosen! 8.6 MWB

Suppliers Comments:-

TUCHER PILSENER

"Bottom fermented using the special Pilsener method, Tucher Pilsener has a strong hops flavor that is intensely and yet subtly bitter.

Tucher Pilsener is brewed using light barely malt and selected hops. 

Alcohol content: 5.0% abv"

Mahou Cinco Estrella

Mahou Cinco Estrella

Country of Origin: Spain
Brewed in: Madrid
Brewed by: Mahou-Grupo-San-Miguel
Alcohol: 5.5% Vol.

Nice and strong but the taste is a touch overpowering for me but still a quality beer so scores 7.9 MBW.

I have 3 bottles left which may find their way into someone else's fridge!

Producers notes

"Mahou Cinco Estrellas has the beer flavour par excellence. It was created for those with a selective palate. It is made with the best varieties of hops and brewer's yeast, which give it its distinctive flavour, character and quality. Mahou is a five-star flavour.

Mahou, is proud to be the official beer of Real Madrid. Mahou's history is closely linked to the club and both are leaders in their respective fields. Madrid fans can enjoy a wide range of Mahou beers, each with its own original recipe that gives them an exclusive character with the distinctive Mahou flavour."

Pabst Blue Ribbon

Pabst Blue Ribbon
Country of Origin: USA
Brewed in: Milwaukee
Alc: 4.8% Vol.

Hmmm interesting one, nicely carbonated and good strength with a unique after taste which I quickly grew to like.

Not normally a fan of lager from the States but this one I am, luckily I have 6 cans to sample. Scores a Yankee Doodle Dandy 8.4 MBW

Producers History. 

"Founded in 1844 by German Immigrant Jacob Best. In 1860 Frederick Pabst buys a share in the Company and in 1872 becomes President if the brewery. Pabst’s Best Select lager wins a gold medal at the Centennial Celebration, marking the first of many awards the beer will win throughout its 150+ year lifespan.
Having earned awards at US and international competitions, Pabst begins hand-tying a blue silk ribbon around the neck of each Best Select beer to identify it as a first-place winner. You know, because it was.
Pabst follows in his father-in-law’s footsteps, changing the brewery’s name to honor himself. The Pabst Brewing Company is born."