Beer – #461 – Tsingtao – Tsingtao

A bit of a quick comedy run of cheaper more accessible beers (i.e. from a supermarket). This one Tsingtao. Beer from China.

In a gigantic bottle format: 640ml, and it’s 4.7% ABV, so about 144 calories a serve, this is 2.37 standard drink units in NZ equivalent.

Brewed by Tsingtao Brewery, in the Style of a  Premium Lager and they are in Qinqdao, China

Tsingtao Beer has a pleasant aroma and a well-balanced taste. It has high-malty flavor and well-hopped character.

I’m shying away from this

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.

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.

This is fairly commonly available in Restaurants  too and is often picked for “Authenticness”, like “Kingfisher” or “Tiger” might be for instance.

Lightly hopped, malty aroma, nothing much really, just a standard lager nose.

Really pale pour, but it does with a head, I imagine that his would be required and expected after so many years brewing, and not my prowess in the pour.

This drinks like lightly flavoured cold water, but has a linger of hops or malt at the end just enough to remind you it’s a beer you’re drinking.

I last had this in Australia, in a Chinese restaurant – see what I mean about ‘authentic experience’.

Easy low engagement beer to drink, which is fine if you want something cold and you’re not fussed.

The pdubyah-o-meter rates this as 5 a of its things from the thing. It’s a middle of the road beer with middle of the road taste, some hops and familiar lager roughness, but not a lot by way of engagement in the experience, it’s a commercial beer that plays to its core audience who want beer, cold, and without frills. Beer Lite.

The double dip review

1. Am I enjoying it? In a simple way yes.
2. Would I have another? I probably would, it’s priced ok
3. Would I share with a friend on a porch and set the world to rights? You could work up a head of steam after a few of these I imagine, It’s good ‘domestic’ beer.

Listening to the Album “Trouble will Find Me” from the “National” This is the track ‘Graceless’

I was thinking that it sounded better on the Vinyl than it does on the iPod, which of course dur! I gave myself an uppercut and enjoyed it the more. Even MrsPhil wanted a dance, can’t be all bad.

PREMIUM LAGER

A beer that straddles between the mainstream Pale Lager and Pilsner. Not all beers that call themselves Premium Lager are, but those that are will typically have a deep gold to light bronze colour, and distinct influence of malt and hops. They should be free of adjuncts and will have a softer carbonation than Pale Lager or Classic German Pilsner. IBUs will typically range in the 20’s, and lagering times will typically be 4-6 weeks, more in line with what pilsners have. Overall accent will be malty-to-balanced, alcohol in a slightly tighter range than either Pale Lager or Pilsner (4.5-5.5%). Most often the product of a microbrewery or brewpub, but macrobreweries can make this style if they jack up the hops a bit and make it all-malt.