Victoria Bitter Midstrength

Brewed by Carlton & United Breweries (CUB)
Style: Pale Lager
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

This is quite simply one of the worst things, liquid or otherwise, to pass my lips. My friends and I purchased a case for schoolies (an Australian school-leavers holiday/coming-of-age rite for those who don’t know) and drank about three cans between eight of us. This is how I would imagine the oily film that forms on road surfaces after rain would taste, although this is perhaps marginally worse. I don’t recommend drinking this at all, but if you must do, drink it warm, for a truly masochistic experience.

Out of the can while fishing the GBR. Not bad in context, but otherwise tasteless beer.

Although still pretty pathetic, this is more drinkable than regular VB. I guess the fact that it’s a weaker version serves to make it more drinkable - it’s only half as offensive. Less beery and more like a soft-drink, complete with huge CO2 bubbles. No surprises - it’s as crap as you’d expect.

Mildly better than VB for some reason (not as much metallic aftertaste). Still cheap and nasty though. An pretty poor attempt to counter Tooheys XXXX Gold. Shocka of marketing... puke yellow to go with the puke taste.

Wow-- good job Carlton! You managed to preserve all the shittiness that the full strength VB delivers, but with less alcohol. Avoid.

Truly awful drink. I can’t call it a beer, because it’s not. It’s a liquid, so therefore I can only refer to it as a drink. Tasteless filth. I am proud of myself for having finished the bottle. I usually buy two to try just in case the first one doesn’t give me an accurate indication. I didn’t get to the 2nd bottle. This is as vile as it gets.

I thought it would be possible to write the review before I actually tasted it. You know, the usual boring metallic bland tastes connoted by a poor midstrength alcohol content and merely another poor attempt by an out of touch brewer sort of thing. Well, I was right. Except that it is the first beer I’ve had in a week and so apart from being the usual boring metallic bland tastes connoted by a poor midstrength alcohol content and merely another poor attempt by an out of touch brewer it is the usual boring metallic bland tastes connoted by a poor midstrength alcohol content and merely another poor attempt by an out of touch brewer. I repeat.............

I could write a lengthy tome over how crap this beer is and the fact it is a cynical ploy by CUB to get in the mid-strength market that they have failed to do up to this point in time. However the following statement of "This is more or less like the full strength VB but won’t get you as pissed" That is an accurate-ish reflection, bitterness is not as high, it is a bit sweater and has a metallic flavour. I don’t know how many you would need to receive the "green death" hangover, but i don’t know if anyone would try. Awful stuff.