Kaliber

Brewed by St. James’s Gate (Diageo)
Style: Low Alcohol
Dublin, Ireland

Maybe it’s the Irish in me that screams "Give this a good ratin’, ya bastard, lest ye be disgracin’ your homeland!," but this is a respectable N/A offering.

Being of Canadian-Irish descent, I was hoping that Guiness would have made a better effort when they tossed their proverbial hat into the n/a ring. Initially, this beer looks great (strawberry blonde, eh!) and smells very nice. However, it tastes exactly like what Sham said below - a barley soda. For it’s namesake, I’ll buy a quarter-flat every now and again. Call it Irish posterity.

Bottle - Low alcohols are definitely not my favorite, but this is one of the better out there. Light amber in color with very little head. Little hop flavor or aroma. Somewhat malty, but it is pretty weak.

Amber gold pour with a foamy white head and sparse lacing. Very earthy and veggie like aromas. First thing that comes to mind is an english muffin as well. Tastes like preboiled wort. Sweet caramel malts. No hops at all. Very smooth palate though. Refreshing. This is what I would call a barley soda.

Can. Gold, big bubbled foam that soon collapses, low condition. Initial aroma waft of eggs, some sweet fruitiness and then stewed vegetables. Thin and malty in the mouth with a little toffee and a little trace bitterness in the finish.

Call me crazy, but for some reason I don't find some of these low alcohols horrible. I buy them when I'm at home and get tired of pop and juice. This one has an interesting taste that I can't pin down. I dunno....

Bottled. I guess this is no better than I could've expected, but at least it's a step up from, say, an O'Doul's. Pours a soda pop fizziness with no head. But I must admit, it does look a bit like an ale, and there's a slight ale smell, so points there. Taste is still weak and watery, but there are the remains of a slightly malty ale taste here, even a slightly floral hop note. If you don't compare it to real beer, it stands up as something you can drink for lunch that's still less than half the sugar of a soda.

I'm wasting characters due to a lame preset. Average looks, skunky smell, sweet malt taste. Eh.