MENABREA

MBIRRA BIONDA

This is a truly fantastic Italian lager, purchased from Morrisons. It's light, crispy and flavoursome. Typical Italian beer just that bit nicer than the rest. I will definitely be seeing more of this Italian beauty!

Country of Origin: Italy
Brewed in: Biella, Italy. 
ABV: 4.8%

9.1 MWB points - “Molto Buona!”

Lager (BIONDA)

Menabrea is matured gently in the perfect temperature of our cave cellars for a taste of superior clarity. This 4.8% ABV pale lager is well balanced between citrus, bitter tones and floral, fruity undertones giving a consistent and refined flavour. It has a complicated malty, hoppy taste with an exceptional head retention due to the quality of our ingredients and maturation process.

History

In 1846, Giuseppe Menabrea travelled to the town of Biella, in the foothills of the Italian Alps. There he discovered an underground cave system, ideal for the traditional process of 'lagering'. Combined with the incredibly pure water and cold fresh air of the region, it was the perfect location to build a brewery.

“IN THE STYLISH BARS OF MILAN AND TURIN, ASK FOR A BIRRA AND THEY WOULD ONLY EVER SERVE YOU A MENABREA BECAUSE IT’S THE NATURAL CHOICE FOR DISCERNING BAR OWNERS AND CUSTOMERS.”

ŻUBR BEER

It's without a shadow of a doubt my new favourite beer!

Brewed at: Bialystok Brewery
Brewed in: Poznan, Poland
Style: Imperial Pils/Strong Pale Lager

Żubr (meaning European Bison) is a polish lager bought in Asda. Wasn't expecting anything special so has sat at the back of the fridge for 3 months.
Had a friend round so cracked them open and Żubr is now both of ours favourite lager.

Strong ABV at 6% but light in colour and taste, lively and crisp it tastes like a good session beer with a big kick. 9.2 MWB....love it.

TATRA BIER

Alcohol by Vol (ABV): 6.0%
Made in: Poland
Brewed by: Zywiec Breweries Plc
Bought in the UK at Asda

Taste: Malty but not overpowering.
Colour: Light and golden
Verdict: Ok would drink again and doesn't taste as strong as the ABV, not sure if this is good or bad?!? 7.9 MWB

FREEDOM LAGER

FREEDOM AUTHENTIC

Brewery: Freedom Brewery Ltd, Bagots Park, Abbots Bromley, Staffordshire.
ABV: 4%
Hops: Challenger and First Gold

Drank this in the Watergate Bay Hotel in Cornwall (February 2017) and although it's classed as a craft beer I'd put it in the "session beer" class. Very crisp and easy to consume I could drink this all day long, an excellent addition to the English Lager market.
8.9/10 MWB

         Drank in The Ol Elm Churchdown, Glos 18th March 2017....and still as nice. 

BREWERS DESCRIPTION
"Freedom Authentic is a truly English craft lager, not compromised in quality, and properly sessionable.

Tasting notes from our Brew Master, Jonathan Smith. “Freedom Authentic has citrus a nose, and sweet malt and toasted cereal aromas. It’s well-balanced, with a bitter finish. Full-bodied, light and refreshing.”

Freedom Authentic is sold in hundreds of independent bars, pubs, restaurants and hotels across Britain."

SKIN DOG CORNISH LAGER

Had a pint of this fantastic local lager while I was in the Bedruthan Hotel overlooking Mawgan Porth beach.
Brewed by SKINNERS BREWING CO. this lager has the classic 'craft lager' taste with a strong hop and malt aftertaste.
ABV: 4.4%
Very enjoyable and would definitely drink again. Scores highly for taste and locality. 8.9/10

 SKINDOG LAGER drank in the Bedruthan Hotel 15th February 2017

BREWERS DESCRIPTION 

"Using the finest Cornish Barley, Wheat Malt and English and American Hops, we have created Cornwall's very own stunning surfbeer. Light, zingy and beautifully balanced with a hint of citrus.

Apres surf, apres anytime."

Feldschlößchen Lager

Country of Origin: Germany
City: Dresden
Brewery: Dresden-Coschütz Brewery, Cunnersdorfer Strasse.

Drank on 3rd December 2016, bought from Asda in Cheltenham by the wife.

A reasonable drink defo in the 'session beer' range, heavily carbonated with a mildly bitter taste but with a healthy 4.5% ABV.
Scores a reasonable 7.9 MWB.


A BRIEF HISTORY
Dresden brewing tradition and the superb beer quality since 1858

The Feldschlößchen brewery site in Coschütz, Dresden is situated on the southern slopes of the Elbe valley, one of the most beautiful landscapes in Germany.
Today Feldschlößchen Aktiengesellschaft is one of the largest breweries in Saxony. The reputation of our beers is founded on a wealth of many years of brewing experience combined with modern, sustainable technologies.

In our modern production facilities our experienced brewers patiently and carefully ensure adherence to traditional recipes in accordance with the German purity law. In our company food safety has the highest priority. We therefore comply with the requirements of the International Food Standard (IFS 6.0).
These requirements are inspected and confirmed by an external organisation in annual audits.

For more info on the brewery click here - http://www.feldschloesschen.de/en/company/history/

SAISON DU JAPON

This has a very 'craft' taste about it, quite bitter but sweet at the same time?? Very fizzy with heavy sediment but an enjoyable drink none the less. 8.2 MWB scored.

Tasted 3rd December 2016

Below are some details about this beer, the Kuichi Brewery brew many different beers and has an interesting history. For more facts click here - https://hitachino.cc/en/brewery/history.html

Volume: 330ml

Style: Saison

ABV.: 5%

SRM : 4

IBU : 16

Serving Temperature: 6 - 9℃

Hop: Perle,Kent Golding,Pacifica,Hallertau

Malt : Lager,Munich,Wheat

Others: Kome Kouji, Yuzu juice

Yeast: Ale

Saison du Japon is brewed with a local wheat and koji (malted rice) which is a vital ingredient to create sake. This beer has a uniquely sweet flavor of rice koji and a naturalacidity caused by the fermentation

FRONTIER - NEW WAVE CRAFT LAGER

Country of origin: England
Brewed By: FULLER SMITH AND TURNER
ABV : 4.5%VOL

Describes itself as a craft lager and it certainly is bitter and perfumed. Nice enough but couldn't consume in large quantities which is a blow. 7.8MBW

Company spiel

"Frontier is crafted using our traditional brewing techniques to create a lager with a refreshing, flavoursome character. The combination of new world hops deliver citrus and spicy notes to reward your thirst for exploration."

CAMDEN HELLS

Country of Origin: England
Brewed By: Camden Town Brewery, London
Alc: 4.6% vol
Malt: Pilsner
Hops: Perle & Hallertrauer Tradition (?)

Quite surprised by this one, was expecting typical craft lager taste but it actually borders on a session beer.
Can taste the strength....nice. 8.3MWB

Commercial Blurb
"Lager was first brewed by Amazonian tribes 201 years ago. Before lager everyone drank a tea made from tree sap, flowers and dried spices, which was disgusting. Lager changed the world and no one has drunk the horrible tea since. "I love lager" said the queen."

Note: I have fully real searched the above comment and found it's all true.

TRIPEL KARMELIET

TRIPEL KARMELIET

Country of Origin: Belgium (where else)
Brewed by: Brouwerij Bosteels in Buggenhout, Belgium
Alc: 8.4% vol.

Typical Belgian abbey beer, very strong taste that accompanies this high ABV.
This ones particularly fizzy and I recommend drinking it v.cold, 3-4°C.
Like it and it scores 8.8 MWB.

This beer is still brewed according to an authentic beer recipe from 1679 derived from the old Carmelite convent in Dendermonde

Commercial description 
"Blond, robust, smooth & fruity 3 grain beer, with final fermentation in the bottle.
Brewed with pride and patience after Carmelite tradition with wheat, oat & barley.
100% Natural beer."

BOBBY BEER

Brewed in: The Cotswolds, England.
Brewed by: Bobby...somewhere in the Cotswolds.
ABV: 4.8% (lovely)

Drank in Crazy 8's, Cheltenham 27/10/2015 with Toby McGregor and Jon Tilstone

VISUAL 
Amber in colour and not overly carbonated.

TASTE
Typical microbrewery taste which I'm not usually a great fan of but this I have to say was great and I could drink again and again.

VERDICT 
Love it, add the fact it's English, even better from Gloucestershire it's scores a deserved 8.8.

COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION 

"Bobby Beer is a 4.8% Great British Lager. It is Micro Brewed in the Cotswolds by a passionate man called Bobby. There are no nasties or additives in his lager which is clean, crisp and lightly hopped."

KASZTELAN

KASZTELAN Niepasteryzowane (non-pasteurised)

Country of origin: Poland
Brewery: Carlsberg Polska
ABV: 5.7%

Bought for me by Don Ward from Outright Engineering (customer of mine) and tried on 22nd October 2015

Visual - Dark Amber in colour and not overly fizzy, head disappeared almost instantly.
Taste - Strong tasting and malty, very drinkable.
Verdict - Would definitely drink again, cheers Don!!
MWB - 8.7


Commercial description
"Kasztelan Niepasteryzowany (Kasztelan Non-pasteurized)

Kasztelan Niepasteryzowane is a unique invention from Carlsberg Polska. The difference is that this beer is not pasteurized (heated) which gives it a completely unique freshness.
But because it is not pasteurized, Kasztelan Niepasteryzowane has a relatively short shelf life of 35 days. However, that means it's always fresh on the shelves straight from the brewery in Siepc in central Poland."

Note: I felt pretty wazzed after just one can, happy days.

Hop House 13

Country of Origin: Ireland
Brewed in: Dublin, Ireland
Brewed by: The Brewers Project at St James's Gate.
ABV: 4.1% (tastes stronger)

I drank this in "The Shannon Knights bar", Shannon, Co. Clare, Ireland.

14th June 2015 - Watching Slovenia v England

New lager brewed by Guinness so what better place to try it than in Ireland.

Appearance: Dark golden colour, very lively with a one finger head that stays all the way down.

First taste: Surprisingly strong malty taste bordering on a craft lager.

Verdict: Too pungent for a session beer but the barman tells me it's very popular with the locals, my next pint will be a Carlsberg.

Score: 7.7 MWB

COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION

"A distinctive golden lager". 

It is brewed with Guinness yeast, Irish barley and a mixture of hops from across the globe - Galaxy and Topaz from Australia and Mosaic from the USA.

"It has a sweet fruity aroma, with hints of Apricot and Peach, and subtle malt notes breaking through. On taste, Hop House 13 is full flavoured while still being crisp and hoppy (but not bitter) with a refreshing clean finish."

Paljas Blond

Paljas Blond
Country of origin: Belgium....where else!
ABV: 6%
Best Served: 5-7°C

Purchase on the Ferry coming home from Disbeyland Paris March 2015

Strong tasting, very bitter with huge malty overtones which I took a liking too instantly. I'm slowly but surely falling in love with Belgium....they're producing half tidy footballers n'all.

More Fellaini than Hazard, scores a barnstorming 9.0 MWB.

BEER DATASHEET

ALCOHOL 6%

COLOUR GOLDEN BLOND

BITTERNESS 30 IBU

HOPS MAGNUM, STRYRIAN, KENT & SAAZ

IDEAL SERVING TEMPERATURE 5-7°C

SHELF LIFE 24 MONTHS

AVAILABLE IN 33CL BOTTLE, 75CL BOTTLE & 20L BARRELu

Argus Beer

Country of Origin: Brewed in Poland for Lidl.
ABV: 4.5%

In the Carlsberg / Carling mould although it's slightly darker and stronger in taste. Not a bad brew and I would buy again.

Note: When did iPhones start auto-correcting Poland to Poundland? That's not gonna go down well?!

I'm gonna go 7.7 MWB

"If ARGOS did lager it would probably be ARGUS!"

Zelta Premium

Country of Origin: Latvia
Brewed by: Aldaris
Brewed in: Riga, Latvia

Drank in Monika Hotel Lobby Bar in Riga, Latvia - 23rd February 2015

First taste of a Latvian Lager so mildly excited. 

Strong tasting golden beer with a mildly bitter aftertaste. Brewed in Riga by The Aldaris Brewery which is part of the ever growing Carlsberg Group, fortunately however it's kept its own flavour which is unique and very drinkable. 
It's 5.2% ABV is a bonus and helps it score a hefty 8.1 on the MWB Snifter Scale. 
Best drunk when served between 6-8°C...apparently. 

Commercial Description

"Zelta (Gold) beer is premium quality lager which has been renowned for its consistently high quality for years. This was underlined by the silver medal it won in 2005 in the face of stiff competition at the prestigious Australian International Beer Awards.

Zelta beer is characterised by a mild malt aroma and slightly bitter-sweet hoppy taste. It is a great companion for the enjoyment of quality leisure time with friends.

Zelta beer is offered in convenient, modern packaging and now its transparent bottle has an easy-to-open pull-off cork."

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%.