Tsingtao

Brewed by Tsingtao Brewery
Style: Premium Lager
Qinqdao, China

Serve in Lager glass

Very soft and has some maybe honey taste. On some occasions I taste there just pure alcohol, which is weird. Anyway, very normal taste, nothing bad. Very comfortable soft taste, not at all watery. Though, a bit bitter long time after drinking, and it’s not nice. [330 ml bottle, 4,7 %]

Bottle as shown. Pours a clear golden with small frothy white head that diminishes to nothing. The aroma is a corn malt and wheat grass. Thin mouthfeel with a bitter malt and bitter finish, not much going on with this one.

Nothing special but goes down nice. A bit watered down which makes this a perfect session beer to pound as you cut the grass.

(can) clear, pale golden colour with tiny white head; aroma of sweetish grain; flavour is weak and watery, faintly sweet with hint of short bitter finish

12oz bottle from a local Chinese restaurant
Appearance: Pours a clear light golden with a very small white head, no lacing
Aroma: Pale malts and honey
Taste: Yeasty, corn and sweet malts
Nice Lager, clean and crisp.

bottle - typical oriental lager although not as sweet as most. Great ice cold on a hot day or for washing down fried rice at the local Dimsum joint.

When we think of China, beer is not usually one of the things that come to mind. But if we must name a Chinese beer, Tsingtao is pretty much the only one most people (connoisseurs included) can name. As is the case with most countries, their most popular beer is a completely generic, uninspired, pale lager.

POUR, COLOR AND AROMA

This brew pours rather rough to a bright white gold, clear complexion. It’s bristling with carbonation and forms a one-finger, bright white, fizzy head which dissolves quickly and almost completely. The carbonation also calms down rather quickly. The scent is a bit skunky, which isn’t surprising considering the fact it’s packaged in green bottles. Compared to others of the style it’s actually quite subdued, but otherwise there isn’t much worth mentioning since it’s just a typical grainy “beer smell.”

TASTE

In the United States, certain macro breweries like to market their beers as tasting “crisp” and/or “clean” as if such adjectives were compliments. I would use both to describe the taste of Tsingtao. This is a pale lager, after all, supposedly based on the German pilsner style. Those looking for something distinct in the palate will have a tough time finding anything.

Surprisingly, this beer does not have a rice-like flavor since rice is apparently not used as an adjunct ingredient. The bottle boasts “only the highest quality malted barely, hops, yeast, and pure mountain water…” If this is the highest quality China has to offer, I’d hate to taste what the lesser-quality beers taste like. However, it does have a slightly sweet taste, but it’s extremely faint. Like most lagers of the type, water seems to be the predominant flavor.

FINISH

With a very soft mouthfeel and a smooth, easy finish, it’s not hard to understand why Tsingtao is such a popular brew. I’ve come to the conclusion that drinkers, en masse, would much prefer a smoother brew to a tasty one.

BODY

This beer drinks and tastes like a typical American light lager, and yet it’s a bit heavier at 4.8% ABV and 157 calories per serving. I drank a 22oz bomber bottle very quickly and felt almost no effects whatsoever.

FINAL THOUGHTS

There isn’t much to appreciate about Tsingtao and yet it’s not a beer that’s easy to hate, in fact, my reaction is almost complete indifference. I think it would work fine a session beer, or as a compliment to Chinese food, but otherwise there’s very little here to enjoy.

NOTE: Watch the video version of this review at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9caOYDDaAc

Bottle 330 ml from Casino Supermarket in Cernier (CH). Pale blond without foam, fizzing average to weak. Sweet smell of cereals, cream and vanilla key. It is really thin, watery, but not unpleasant and well made. Final short, sweetish and bitter touch