Effen Premium Lager

Brewed by Southern Bay Brewing Company
Style: Pale Lager
Moolap, Australia

Good head clear gold pour aroma biscuit little fruit flavour malty biscuit citrus taste that is sharp like peel a light fizz goes together well this beer sweet malt bitter hops finish great session lager,

I’ve really gotta stop making assumptions. I read an interview with the brand owner a while back and was really turned off by (1) the fact he thought ’effen’ was a really smartr play on words, and (2) thought he’d make a fortune through selling branded caps and t-shirts. So, doesn’t set me up well for this beer. But, I have to say this thing is, well, not fantastic, but pretty bloody tasty. It’s all about malt; caramel sweetness, a fruity confectionary core, really attractive. Kinda like a fruity golden ale with a more obvious malt kick. Some fizz here, and not at all heavy, yet seems relatively weighty for a sub 5% beer. I wound have thought this was well beyond Southern Bay, ven as a contract job, but very happy to have been proven wrong.

Initial pour is a darkish amber with low carbonation and coarse head that dissipates quickly. Aroma is a slight confectionary sugar and a bizarre medicinal/damp cardboard note. Flavour is initially reminiscent of a redskin lolly, the sweetness remains and eventually some bitterness comes through, but not enough to balance.

Amber pour with small head. Quickly fade to thin layer. No lacing. Very fruity and floral aroma, strong sweet malty backbone, with cereal, musk, confectionery. Some spicy hops would have been good. Taste is pretty boring. Sweet malt, faint corn, low hop bitterness. A bit of hallertauer or something. Again, needs more hops. Light body, medium carbonation. Pretty good for a lager. Interesting aroma makes this better than many other pale lagers around... but the taste is ’same old, same old’.