Victoria Bitter

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

Had this in a bottle at All That Beer in Seoul at the end of a bar hopping frenzy. The sad part is that I’ve been wanting to try this forever after talking to some Ozzy’s about their favorite beverage. Standard macro nose of yeast and sulpher. Pours a sparkling golden yellow. The brief frothy white head leaves no lace. Flavor has just a tad of character, otherwise non-descript and non-offensive. Light, watery and fizzy. Slightly better than swill; only slightly.

Thin vanishing near-white head. Clear pale golden colored body. Label says ’Bitter’... No bitterness detected neither in aroma, nor taste. Sweetish corn/maize taste. This is a bland and forgettable macro-lager and only drinkable when lost in an Austrailian desert...

Sampled on Flashy’s tour of LA, New Zealand and Hong Kong of September/October 2007 - I wasn’t expecting much of this as most Australian beers, like their wines, are shit. I was pleasantly surprised by this as was better than I thought, though nothing special. It was a decentish standard carbonated lager. It had a little bit of bitterness in taste, but can’t think why it’s called "bitter" as tastes nothing like a bitter?

375 ml Bottle. Pours golden orange. Mild malt aroma. Pretty simple. It costs more than one of my favourite beers. White head. Pretty average and to be honest not a great beer. As an Australian beer i think the worst, Fosters is better

Ok, alot of people cant stand VB. But honestly I dont understand. Obviously this beer is no top shelf premium beer like Crown Lager, James Boags Premium etc. etc. But for a middle shelf, everyday drinking beer, this is as good as it gets. It holds its head well, can be drank and enjoyed in all climates and has a fantastically rich and robust flavour. This is a true drinking beer. The only place it is let down is in the after taste. it leaves a reminder of its presence long after drinking. Fair dinkum guys, give it a go. VB rocks my world!

I must say that is was a big disappointment for being the number one beer of Australia. I thought that it was an overly bitter generic beer. It’s a step up from Budweiser, but that’s not a difficult thing to pull off.

Called Victoria Beer in the UK, which means it’s only Victoria that they’re offending. The Poms buy it, of course: for some reason the country that brews the best (true) bitter beers in the world are all thumbs and urine when it comes to what they know as lagers. This is the country, remember, that drinks Fosters when no-one in Australia does. Because they’re all drinking VB. Yes, what can I say about VB, Australia’s most popular beer? It’s crap. That’s what I can say. For the first mouthful it tastes of something, and then, before you know it, you’ve blacked out. Aussies drink this beer because a) it’s bloody cheap, and b) they don’t have to think about it. It’s just something to do with your hands - and your lips, because you wouldn’t want to actually converse, would you? The VB drinker that actually has a brain will regret it the next morning, when his or her brain will be thumping against the side of his or her head, wanting to be let out so it can scamper offf down the road and drown itself in the nearest sewage outflow. That said, to not get rat-arsed on VB at least once in your life would be positively unAustralian. And like I said, it is bloody cheap. (This review is for the bottled beer: the tap beer tastes even worse.)

Not great but better than most light beers I found on tap in OZ. The bitter taste is noticeable but it is nothing to write home about. This beer would be a good contender for best of the beasts.