Sapporo Brewing Company Premium Yebisu

Premium Yebisu is brewed by Sapporo Brewing Company in Japan. I first had this beer at the Tokyo airport on tap, in a self-pouring multiple-beer machine. You can choose from a few different beers on one tap machine. Then I had it on the plane from Tokyo to JFK in NYC.

This is a 5% ABV malt or Dortmunderc Lager. As far as I know, this beer is only available in Japan; I have not seen it anywhere. It pours deeper gold with a bright two-finger white head. The aroma is sweet from the malts used and a bit bitter. The taste is a little malted with some bitterness. There is less sweetness hitting your taste buds than you get from the aroma. The mouthfeel is light. Then it has a malty bittersweet finish. The aftertaste is pretty bland and unforgettable. I did enjoy this Premium Yebisu, but I think there are better beers, and I give it a high C+. It is good on its own, especially on tap, and slightly better with Japanese foods. If you ever see Premium Yabisu, then I recommend tying it. It is just a maltier version of Sapporo beer. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Oriental Brewery Cass Fresh Lager

I don’t know about macro beer in South Korea. But I was in the Gwangjang market in Seoul, Korea , and had lunch at a spot serving Korean Hot Pots. I couldn’t read the menu because I don’t speak Korean. So I ordered two beers and Cass Fresh Lager appeared. This pale lager is 4.5% ABV. Cass pours a clean and clear gold color with a bright white fizzy head. The aroma is clean, lightly hopped, and crisp. It smells pretty much like every mass-produced lager. The taste is much, but it’s clean, crisp, and has a light metallic taste. The flavor is not so great, but paired with a Korean dumpling hot pot it becomes better. This beer has a very light mouthfeel. Then it has a clean crisp finish. The aftertaste is almost nothing but a light sweet metallic flavor. This is a refreshing lager. Cass Fresh is a D. The fact that it goes well with Korean foods such as a dumpling hot pot helped, otherwise I scoured it much lower. I would not recommend this on its own. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Castlemain Perkins XXXX GOLD Lager

I have never seen XXXX Gold Lager in the US before, and I do not think that Castlemain Perkins imports in to the US. This macro lager is a low 3.5% ABV making it a sessionable lager. XXXX Gold is brewed in Milton Queensland, Australia with pale lager malt, Super Pride, Cluster, and Hop Extract. They also use yeast such as Australian Lager Yeast. This lager pours a gold color with a thin clear two finger bubbly head. The aroma is light and semisweet. The flavor is light bodied and full bodied. It starts light bodied then as it passes over the back of your tongue is becomes full bodied. It is smooth as well with a light metallic flavor. The mouth feel is light. This lager finishes soon with a low flavor. The aftertaste is slight sweet and that fades really quick. This is very easy to drink since it is 3.5% ABV. But this is okay, C- It doesn’t have much flavor and it is easy to forget the overall flavor of the beer. I don’t think I would rush back to have a XXXX Gold Lager. Please stay safe, be kind to each other l, and remember to enjoy responsibly. Cheers!

SABECO 333 Premium Export

333 Premium Export is a Lager brewed by SABECO Brewery in Ho Chi Man City, Vietnam. I have not seen much of this in the US, but I have seen it before. This is the first canned beer in Vietnam brewery first in 1985. 333 uses Hallertau hops from Bavaria and is preserved at 10 Celsius or 50 Fahrenheit. This lager is 5.3% ABV and pours a deeper gold color with a one-finger white head. The aroma is light, sweet, and malty. The flavor is clean, sweet, malty, and light. This is malted the Bia Saigon Special. This has a light mouthfeel. Then it finishes clean with a bit of sweetness. There is not much aftertaste other than a light malt note. This is not bad but it doesn’t blow me away. This a C+ beer. It is worth a try because I don’t see it very often. It has more malt than an average macro lager but it is not overly malty. Please stay safe, be kind to each other and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

SABECO Brewery Bia Saigon Special

We do have Saigon Beer in the US, but we don’t Bia Saigon Special, a one hundred percent barley malt, hops, and water lager beer marketed toward young, dynamic, and successful consumers. This beer is 4.9% ABV and brewed by SABECO (Saigon Alcohol Beverage Corporation). This beer is only sold domestically in Vietnam. This lager pours a gold color with two finger bright white lager head. The aroma is clean and sweet aroma or malts. The flavor is crisp, clean, sweet, and has a bit of malt to it. This lager has a light feel in the mouth. It is a refreshing beer. It has a nice malted sweet light finish and a light clean malt aftertaste that doesn’t stick around long. This is an average beer much like macro beers in the US. But it is slightly better. I give SABECO Bia Saigon Special a C+. It has decent flavors but nothing to write home about. But I had to try seeing that I might never have a chance to have it again. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Paulaner Bräuhaus Singapore Beach Rd. Lager

Beach Rd. Lager is made Exclusively for The Raffles Hotel in Singapore by Paulaner’s Singapore Bräuhaus and is only sold at the hotel. This beer is 4.5% ABV and uses premium Franconian barley malt and Mandarina Bavarian hops. From what my waiter told me, this beer is made right across the street from the Raffles, named after Stamford Raffles, an English colonial official and governor of the East India Company who founded Singapore for the British in 1819. This beer pours an amber color with a one-finger white head. The aroma is malts and some light hay-like notes. The flavor is smooth and lightly malted. It has more carbonation than most lagers I’ve had. But that does not necessarily make this bad or good, it just is. This has a light mouthfeel. The finish is a touch bitter with light malts. The aftertaste is slightly less carbonated. This was not bad. I found this beer interesting, but I give it a C+. It was good, but Paulaner makes other better beers, and that is why I think it doesn’t get any higher than a C+. It is worth a try if you are in Singapore at the Raffles Hotel. You might never have it if you don’t. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Highland Brewing Company Seasonal Cerveza Lime Lager

From Highland Brewing Company in Asheville, North Carolina, Seasonal Cerveza Lime Lager is only available February through June. This beer is 5% ABV with Mt. Hood, Hallertau, Mittenfruh, and Perle hops. There is Vianna, Pilsner, and Dark Munich malts as well as Lime in this Lager. This lager pours a gold color with a one finger white head that fizzes away quickly. The aroma is zesty with lime and crisp on the nose. The flavor is tangy, lime, malty, and crisp with a light body. This has a light feeling in the mouth. This lager has a fruity lime finish and aftertaste of the same lime zest. This is a good crushable beer that is an A. If you like Mexican style beers, then look no further. This beer is good without trying too hard and it’s refreshing. The lime flavor does not overpower the beer in any way. It complements the overall flavors of this lager. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Wrexham Lager

This is an English Lager produced by the Wrexham Brewery from 1881 to 2000, when the brewery closed. Then, two years later, in 2002, Martyn Jones (a former employee), a member of Parliament for the nearby Clywd South constituency, bought the original building for one pound in 2001. Fast forward to 2024, and the current co-owners of the Wrexham F.C., Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, and the Allyn Family purchased the majority stake in the brewery. Now this lager is distributed in the USA and Canada. This lager is 4% ABV. That is lower than the average lager beer. This beer pours golden with a two-finger white head. The head is semi-quicky to face into some lacing. The aroma is barely crisp, clean, and with a light bitterness. The flavor is refreshing and bitter with a clean/crips barley flavor. This has a light feel in the mouth. Then, it has a crisp finish with a slightly bitter bit. The aftertaste is resting and light, with a good, clean flavor that lingers with a hint of bitterness. This Wrexham lager is good but average. I give Wrexham Lager a high C+. It’s worth a try, in my opinion. The bitterness is okay but not something I like in a lager beer, but I’d still return to Wrexham Lager. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!

Westbrook Brewing Co. Festbrook Wiesn-Style Gold Lager

This beer, Festbrook from Westbrook Brewing Co. in Mt. Pleasent, South Carolina, is a Wiesn-style golden lager with CTZ, dry-hopped with Hallertal Mittelfruh hops, German Lager yeast, Munich, Pils, and Vienna malts. This beer is 6.5% ABV. This beer, according to the brewery, is great for drinking by the masses. This feist beer pours golden with a two-finger white semi-quick fading head. The aroma is sweet, with light banana, wheat, and malt. The flavor is malty, sweet, clean, dry, light banana, and light bodies. The mouthfeel is light. This beer finishes with a lightness that is dry with some sweetness. The aftertaste is refreshing with light semi-sweetness. This beer is so delicious and deserving of an A+. I always enjoy Westbrook Brewing beers, and this one is no different, and you shouldn’t miss out on this October seasonal. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly!

Hopfly Brewing Co. Our Time Lager

This is Our Time Lager from Hopyfly Brewing Co., and it is in association with Carolina Ascent FC (Football Club), a women’s soccer team in the USL. I purchased this 4.5% ABV beer at Hopfly here in Charlotte. This beer pours gold with a barely two-finger white head. The aroma is of cereal grain, sweetness, and some bread notes. The flavor is crisp, and the cereal gains light cereal grains and some light white bread. It doesn’t smell like white bread. The mouthfeel is light and crisp. Then, it finishes with a slightly crisp grain flavor and a crisp semi-sweet aftertaste. Lager doesn’t have a great deal of bold flavors. But this one came close. I’d say this is a B+. A solid, delicious, and refreshing beer that is easy to drink and smooth. But for the Hopfly Brewing Co., the taproom has lots of plants, cocktails, and beer. The whole place/taproom gets a B-. I’d recommend going to their taproom and having Our Time Lager. Please stay safe, be kind to each other, and remember to enjoy responsibly! Cheers!