Beer Reviews by SIGMUND

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# Beer Origin Style Score Date
6826 Gaymers Olde English Cyder United Kingdom Cider 1.2

Aroma: 2 | Appearance: 3 | Mouthfeel: 2 | Flavor: 2 | Overall: 3

500 ml can. Bought by mistake in a London store when I was in a hurry just before closing time - thought it was an unrated beer! Fizzy sourish stuff. Watery mouthfeel. Gave me a heartburn - and I didn’t even finish the can! Industrial ciders like this one seem utterly pointless to me. Avoid!

May 14, 2005
04:56:14 PM
6827 Sheppy's Oakwood Special Cider United Kingdom Cider 3.5

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

500 ml bottle, now available in Norway. Clear golden colour. Pours fizzy & sparkling, but carbonation in the glass is moderate. No lasting head. Oaky aroma with hints of leather, dominant late harvest fermenting apples, notes of apple cider vinegar. Flavour is oaky, medium dry. Quite pleasant and refreshing. A decent cider

May 13, 2005
08:00:13 PM
6828 Westons Original Perry United Kingdom Cider 3.6

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

330 ml brown bottle, bought at Vaaland Ølutsalg, Bryne. ABV is 4.5%. Crystal clear pale golden colour, sparkling when poured but very little carbonation in the glass. No head. Lovely aroma and flavour of fermenting pears and apples, notes of oak. Quite sweet. I like it, but one bottle is enough. Might buy again though, probably palatable for guests who don’t like beer.

May 13, 2005
07:03:13 PM
6829 Westons Oak Conditioned Medium Sweet Cider United Kingdom Cider 3.5

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

(500 ml bottle). Light golden colour, heavy initial carbonation that diminishes rapidly. Aroma of apples (not surprising!), oak and leather + hints of cowshed. Sweet apple flavour with hints of oak. I'm not really a cider man, but this decent oak conditioned stuff is infinitely better tasting than the industrialized crap that normally is marketed as "cider" these days.

May 13, 2005
06:55:13 PM
6830 Svyturys Ekstra Lithuania Helles / Dortmunder 3.0

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

330 ml bottle, now available in Norway. Golden colour, large foamy head. Strong perfumed aroma of shampoo, flowers, molasses and green apples, not entirely pleasant. Flavour is grassy with lemon notes, some sweetness. Low bitterness. Drinkable, but no masterpiece.

May 13, 2005
04:16:13 PM
6831 Furstenberg Premium Lager Germany Lager 3.3

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 6

330 ml bottle, now available in Norway. ABV is 5.3%. Clear pale golden colour, decent to moderate head. Flowery aroma of aromatic hops, notes of honey, grass and fresh plums. Flavour is less interesting - moderate grassy hops with a certain fruity sweetness. Easy drinking, but no masterpiece.

May 13, 2005
02:39:13 PM
6832 Eggenberg Svetlý Lezák (Premium Lager) Czech Republic Bohemian / Czech Pilsener 3.8

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

330 ml bottle, now available in Norway. Golden colour, large to moderate head. Strong flowery aroma with notes of honey and butterscotch. Made with "modified hops and hop extract", hmmm .... Clean pilsener flavour with flowery elements and a respectable hoppy bitterness. A solid pilsener in my book.

May 13, 2005
02:04:13 PM
6833 Aass eXo Norway Lager 2.6

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

(500 ml can.) Aimed at younger consumer groups, this "Extraordinary Spesialøl" ("special beer") is just slightly darker and sweeter than an average bland lager / pilsener. Nothing to write home about.

May 12, 2005
04:37:12 PM
6834 Baltika 8 (Wheat) Russia Hefeweizen 3.7

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

330 ml bottle, now available in Norway. Some sediment in bottle, pours with a typical enormous weissbier head. Pale straw coloured, just a slight haziness. Strong typical hefe-weissbier aroma, distinct cloves and banana-flavoured sweets, very nice. Light bodied, thinner mouthfeel than many German hefe-weissbiers, but refreshing. Cloves and moderate hops in the aftertaste. Not bad for a Russian macro brewery.

May 12, 2005
04:18:12 PM
6835 XO Beer France Biere de Garde 2.3

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

(330 ml bottle, ABV 5.9%). Weird beer! - but then, mixing cognac in beer IS a weird idea! The result: Aroma and flavour neither of beer nor cognac - but of RASPBERRIES!! and boysenberries. Rather sweet, but not as sweet as the aroma makes you fear. Not really godawful, but definitely not a beer I'll buy again. Beer is beer, and cognac is cognac - and never shall the two meet (again)! BTW, I think the beer used in this blend is a lager, not an ale - but I'm not 100% sure.

May 12, 2005
03:37:12 PM
6836 Kaltenberg Konig Ludwig Weiss Germany Hefeweizen 3.8

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

(500 ml bottle. As "Prinzregent Luitpold Weissbier" in Germany it contains more "hefe" and is more carbonated than the international König Ludwig version). Cloudy blond colour, large head. Lovely aroma of ripe bananas and cloves. Light bodied, some cloves in the flavour, refreshing. Like most weissbiers a short aftertaste, but what there is, is good.

May 3, 2005
07:40:03 PM
6837 Younger of Alloa Sweetheart Stout United Kingdom Stout 2.6

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

(Bottle). Extremely sweet low ABV (2%) Scottish stout, traditionally recommended for nursing mothers and convalescents to regain their strength. Scotsmen drink it mixed half & half with Guinness. Might be a good idea. I had it on its own at room temperature, and found it way too sweet, nearly undrinkable. Would probably be better at cellar temperature.

May 3, 2005
06:57:03 PM
6838 Tennents Special 70 United Kingdom Scottish Ale 3.7

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

The nitro version is known as Tennent's Velvet. I had a few pints on nitro tap in Glasgow, must have been Tennent's even if the glass just read ’Velvet’. Well, the pints I had certainly deserved their name, velvety, smooth and creamy indeed. The beer may not be outstanding, but GOOOOD, to be sure! Moderate grapefruity elements with hints of caramel.

May 3, 2005
06:49:03 PM
6839 Tennents Extra United Kingdom Pale Lager 3.0

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

Bottle, bought in Norway at Vinmonopolet. Pale lager. Simply called "Tennent's" here, but the ABV (5%) tells me it's not the British standard Tennent's Lager, so it must be the Extra. An ordinary lager, easily drinkable without too much of anything. However, I won't buy it again of two reasons: a) In Norway, the price is twice that of domestic lagers / pilsener, while the beer isn't that much better (well, it's 0,3 - 0,5% stronger). b): When in Scotland, I will most certainly prefer a good Scottish ale to any lager!

May 3, 2005
06:40:03 PM
6840 Harboe Pilsner Denmark Bohemian / Czech Pilsener 1.6

Aroma: 3 | Appearance: 3 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 4

500 ml can, bought in Norway. ABV here is 4.6%. I suspect Harboe Pilsner and Harboe Premium (Premium Pilsner) is really the same beer, with just a slight change of ABV depending on where it's sold. This is just another yellow fizzy beer, low head, little aroma, some corn sweetness and a touch of metallic bitterness. Quite uninteresting.

May 3, 2005
06:18:03 PM
6841 Harboe Bjorne Bryg Øl (Bear Beer) Denmark Lager 2.0

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

A cheap Danish pale swill lager sold at budget supermarkets. Cheap taste, too. Totally forgettable. The Harboe brewery specializes in cheap lagers, nearly all of them get low ratings and I feel no urge to search most of them out.

May 3, 2005
06:11:03 PM
6842 Sol Mexico Pale Lager 1.7

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 3 | Flavor: 3 | Overall: 3

There are so much better beers "under the sun" - there's really no reason to buy Sol. Same category as Corona, same silly lime slice gimmick. Unbelievably, this swill is imported to Norway. Only for idiots who think they look "cool" when drinking it out of the bottle. Pass.

May 3, 2005
05:57:03 PM
6843 Castlemaine XXXX Draught Lager (English version) United Kingdom Pale Lager 2.0

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 4 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

500 ml can, bought in London, named "Castlemaine XXXX Draught Lager", brewed under license in the UK by Interbrew. ABV was 4.0%. This version seems not to be brewed in Australia at all. Drank it ice cold, like the Aussies would prefer it. Pale golden colour, moderate head. Weak sweetish aroma. Little taste at all, just a hint of boiled vegetables and a faint bitterness. Better than water.

May 3, 2005
05:29:03 PM
6844 Tuborg International Gold Label Denmark Lager 3.1

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 6

A quite acceptable medium-strong golden lager (Danish "guldøl" style), nothing extraordinary. Called Tuborg Guld in Denmark. Duplicate at BeerPal needs to be amalgated: Also listed here as Tuborg Gold Premium Lager. Same beer.

May 3, 2005
05:14:03 PM
6845 Ringnes Extra Gold Norway Strong Lager 3.3

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Formerly known simply as "Ringnes Gold", and before that (many years ago) as "Ringnes Export". Ringnes Gold was renamed "Extra Gold" when the Ringnes brewery discontinued their short-lived 5.3% ABV medium strong "Ringnes Extra". Ringnes Extra Gold is a strong and fairly malty golden lager in the Norwegian "eksport" style, closely related to Danish "gulløl" and German "Heller Bock". Quite acceptable, but no masterpiece.

May 2, 2005
07:19:02 PM
6846 33 Export France Pale Lager 2.5

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

I had this beer French brewed (it IS also a French brew originally, not Vietnamese, even if it's also brewed under licence in Vietnam and most Americans know it in that version). Also brewed at Heineken's brewery in Morocco. It worked well in the summer heat of the French Riviera, but it's really a very average lager, at the best.

May 2, 2005
06:45:02 PM
6847 Kanterbräu France Pale Lager 2.9

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

An average standard French pale lager, in the Alsacian German-influenced brewing tradition. Seems to have a more local Alsacian following than Kronenbourg and Kronenbourg 1664, which you get all over France. In later years Kanterbräu seems to have become more of a discount beer than the other two. Nothing special. Kronenbourg 1664 is slightly better.

May 2, 2005
06:22:02 PM
6848 Kronenbourg France Pale Lager 3.0

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

Average French lager - easily drinkable, but Kronenbourg 1664 is better. Light bodied, nothing offensive, nothing remarkable. This has for decades been the standard pale lager you get on tap everywhere in France, but 1664 seems to taking over more and more, esp. internationally.

May 2, 2005
06:09:02 PM
6849 Double Diamond Original Burton Ale United Kingdom Extra Special Bitter 3.5

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

A decent pale ale, not outstanding in any way. Rerate 500 ml bottle: Moderate malty aroma, golden brown colour, good head. Pleasant, malty, well rounded flavour. Decent. A bit alcoholic, in a blind test I would guess it was stronger than it actually is.

May 2, 2005
06:02:02 PM
6850 Regal Christmas Belgium Belgian Strong Ale 4.5

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

750 ml corked bottle conditioned, cool label! Brown colour, slightly hazy, good initial head but not lingering, lovely spicy aroma, yeasty, malty and spicy flavour - a real treat for the Christmas table.

May 2, 2005
05:45:02 PM