Harp Lager

Brewed by Dundalk (Diageo)
Style: Pale Lager
Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland

Serve in Dimpled mug, Lager glass, Shaker

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On keg @ 442 Bar, Milano - Had this forced on me by a rather worse-for-wear Irishman in Italy. A rather bland, yet tinny, flavour, so much like the many fizzy amber generic beer for the masses in so many other countries. It was wet, refreshing, but ultimately forgettable.

500 ml. can. Pours a nice sudsy head, moderatley full. Aroma is pretty faint- some hints of barley- typical lager aroma. Taste is very smooth- with hops and malt, and slight hints of toast, corn, and barley, some fruits; however these were not over-powering. I love everything about this lager; it’s not overkill and it’s simple and genuine. Nothing heavy, but certainly not watered down. Light, easy drinking finish. Good lager.

Bright pale golden; fruity nose; crisp and clean, slightly bitter up front, smooth aftertaste.

Clear Yellow, Good Head, Some Lacing. Standard lager, that does not really stand out from others. Slightly sweet, mild bitter. The only thing that was surprising, had some sour notes at the end. Nothing special, it was OK on a warm weekend afternoon. Just a side note, not sure why they switched from classic label to current hideous green label. While classic label had Guinness’s DNA, this new label reminds you more of Dundee than anything else. Rather dumb and mind boggling marketing error...

Bottle. Ran out of beer and this was something different at the corner store. As you would expect from a macro, but a bit more flavor than the US macro suds. This one is pale golden easy drinking and unchallenging. Some hint of malt and hops but generally weak. OK for a summer afternoon session if nothing else is around. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

Bottle. Pours yellow with some decent head. Sweet aroma with a nicely bitter taste.

On tap @ Royal Oak Ottawa. Pours a clear pale straw yellow with a small white head. Aromas are hay and perhaps a bit of Taste is straw, corn, mild grain, a touch of alcohol, and mild hop bitterness. Light body to the point of being thin and watery but not unpleasant. Standard mass produced lager. ---Rated via Beer Buddy

Bottle at mahoneys. Clear golden pour with sticky white head. Bitter and boring lager. Easy to drink though

Pours a pale yellow with a fluffy head. Bubbles rising constantly from the bottom of the glass tells me this is probably going to be far too carbonated. The aroma is somewhat that of a typical American lager, but Harp has a bready, yeasty note that tells me there’s something more there. There is also a floral aroma from the hops. The taste is slightly sweet with a faint bitter in the finish. Mouthfeel is definitely overcarbonated, yet creamy with more body and less dryness than most beers of this style. You’d expect a beer so lacking in flavor would be thin and watery, but not so with Harp Lager. Overall, this isn’t a bad beer, there’s just not enough flavor to satisfy my palate. I should note that the flavor has become a little stronger since it’s warmed, but only a little. Personally, I’m not one to choose beer when I’m hot and thirsty, but I suppose Harp could hit the spot on a Summer day. Certainly, there are hundreds of worse choices.

Pale gold, thin head. High carbonation. Nose is Reminiscent of the first grass clippings of spring. Starts with a bland bitterness finishes a bit sweet, not a lot going on. I have a fonder likening for this, compared to other industrial swills (the Irish clearly make a better industrial swill than us Canadians). I would certainly drink it again, but have a hard time giving it anything higher in the scores.