Manav India Special Reserve Beer

Brewed by Manav Breweries
Style: European Strong Lager
Ghaziabad, India

Appearance: Pours out a slightly hazy, straw-colored body with a frothy white head. Smell: Lightly floral, sweet aroma of grains and grass. Taste: First of all, there’s a delicate malt body supplemented by some faint grassy notes. Second of all, well, actually that’s all there was to this beer. Mouthfeel: Thin-bodied with a nice effervescent creaminess. Drinkability: As my pal AndoBrew put it, this one’s "absurdly drinkable." Some have accused me of jumping ship any time a brewery dangles a few more ABV percentage points or whacky ingredients in front of my face. This, of course, is not the case, friends! Even I can find some small pleasure in this gift from Ghaziabad, India.

Bottle from Cafe India. Pours a medium golden color. Little foam to be seen. The aroma is quite malty and grainy, with a hint of sweetness. Malts and grain dominate this brew. A little bit of hop character, just barely though.

Bottle at beer barons. Pours clear gold, with a white head. Aroma is corn mostly. Flavor was spice hops, a bit of caramel, and heavy on the malt flavorings. It’s ok, nothing great, but not horrible either.Finishes with a hint of hops.

Poured a clear gold with quite a bit of fizzy bbubbles rushing to the surface and a small white head. Sweet malty grainy aroma with a light floral hop and some fruity notes. Malty flavor with a fair amount of hops. Light bitterness with a crisp clean finish. Decent body.

Mostly clear with some fine haze and a thin white head. Aroma of corn, grain, rice and apple. Taste is the same. Does have a clean crisp texture and finish.

Pours a clear golden with white head and some floaters. Some decent lacing Aroma of grass, light hops, corn. Similar taste, very corny. Very average.

Batch #05: Pours a clear, lively effervescent pale golden with a nicely-lacing frothy white head. Aroma of lightly sweet, pale malt and toasted grains with a touch of light fruit. Body starts with a mild sweetness, quickly drying toward a more earthy noble hoppy balance. Very drinkable and has some pleasant characteristics for a lager.

650 ml bottle at local Indian restaurant. Pale yellow with a fizzy white head. Sweet malty aroma and taste with not much else going on. Pretty good in the spectrum of Indian lagers I’ve head.