Castle Lager

Brewed by South African Breweries (SABMiller)
Style: Pale Lager
Sandton, South Africa

330. Thanks, Maria! This gives me a South Africa when I haven’t had one in the past. Pours nearly transparent pale straw color; this is the apartheid of pale lagers, evidently. Thin fizzy white head. Very mild nose of ever-so-slight perfume and maybe a bit of must. Gentle attack: watery, lightly fizzy, subdued flavors. Not much happening on the mid-palate...a little corn flavor (though, thankfully, no DMS seems evident), a little perfumey acridity, and kind of a messy bitter bite to the finish. Kind of puts me in the mood to watch a Springboks game.

Smells of hops and grass. Nice shade of yellow. Slighly bitter, almost no carbonation. Lacklustre.

This beer is everywhere in S. Africa, and so I felt compelled to try it. Yes, it’s a typical international lager akin to Budweiser in many respects. The difference is, you get to enjoy Castle Lager in Cape Town, S. Africa. Straw flavors and a light golden color. Corny adjuncts.

Canette de 450 ml achetée à la LCBO de North Bay, Ontario. Arôme: Odeur de maïs et de gazon. Apparence: Couleur jaune foncée. Large col mousseux. Moyenne densité des bulles. Large dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût de céréales avec une légère touche de sucré. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture crémeuse. Moyenne effervescence en bouche. Arrière goût d’houblons. (Rating #252)

Clear gold, white foam head, moderate retention and lace. Metallic tang initially, but some faint fruity hop notes in there somewhere (FAINT!). Flat malty palate with an almost-pineapple fruit essence that I couldn’t quite pin down. Not bad, at least gave me something to think about.

Bottle, while in Tanzania: Pale yellow with a white head. Syrupy and thin; carb. was just OK. Sweet and husky malts, with sweet corn following strongly. Herbal bitterness. Stark aftertaste, perhaps a bit skunked. Typical boring light lager ...

Grass, marzipan, rice, rubber. Golden, wet and headless. Tastes like watered down Special Brew. A stinker.

This was pretty miserable stuff. Aroma was pretty standard, with a hint of fruit (albeit an artificial bubblegum type fruit), and the aroma disappeared after the head dissipated. The worst part was the limpness in the mouth--limp despite apparent carbonation. The taste on its own was very plain, with a fading finish. The taste was tolerable with food; without it, it was a dreary beer.