Tsingtao

Brewed by Tsingtao Brewery
Style: Premium Lager
Qinqdao, China

An ok beer from China. I think this will be my first beer from that part of the world. Similar to Japanese beers I guess. I can’t tell the beers apart. Skunky smell, but taste is fine.

Lacy, wispy, creamy head. High-maltiness to the nose and to the taste buds as well. Rich tasting. A clear, golden hue. Taste is ultimately thin and sweet. Watery. Reminds me a little of a Riesling wine. Similarly, it also makes a pleasant companion to eclectic and spicy Chinese or other Asiatic cuisines.

bottled: ive had this several times with my chinese food or sushi or even thai. good clean beer if your drinking spicy stuff...my friend call this the 'happy' beer, go figure. if you drink too many of them your 'happy'. this one has that kinda skunk smell to it always?? nothing to say about the look , its typical. however, the taste is a bit more sweet here then in the other asian style pilseners. and of course there is some adjunct taste going on...always a good guess would be rice. ya di ya da ya da.

Pours a lasting white head over a pale straw beer. Aroma of hay and malt. Crisp and light. A bit of hop character (Saaz?) that gives it a snap. I think it is way better than US macros. I think it’s skunkiness varies with it’s handling and age. I’ve had some really fine ones and others that are really bad.

12 oz at the evocatively named szichuanese restaurant in the id. pours a crystal clear slightly burnished medium gold. tons of sparkling nucleation columns and a fizzy, short lived white head. mildly skunky, somewhat corny aroma. fizzy, watery body with slippery bits here and there. nutty, corny, corn nutty and slightly skunky mid palate. mild finish. i happily inhale these at chinese places, despite a rather striking mediocrity. i always like to pretend i know how to pronounce the name like a real mandarin speaker. maybe that adds to it.

Bottle from the LCBO. I think it’s hilarious that one of the first things the Germans did when the Chinese city of Tsingtao became a German colony (1897, until 1914) was set up this brewery! That’s not feeding the stereotype at all, now is it? Anyway, for a standard lager, it’s not bad at all, especially since I’m not a big fan of lagers. As I poured it, I was amazed by the lack of a head - it completely vanished in less than 10 seconds, leaving me staring at a glass filled with what suspiciously looked like apple juice. Personally I liked the appearance quite a bit - a crystal clear, healthy looking golden colour with almost no bubbles. The smell took me by surprise too, in that there was almost none at all. The taste is fairly subtle as well. There’s initially a slight harshness due to the carbonation, but that quickly subsides and there are no unpleasant side flavours or gross aftertaste. A decent beer, especially on hot days.

Definitely a bit of a surprise with its crisp tart taste and refreshing finish

kinda water for me. But I liked it enough to buy a six pack later. I’m more of a European Beer guy.