Tsingtao

Brewed by Tsingtao Brewery
Style: Premium Lager
Qinqdao, China

Serve in Lager glass

We oz bottle pour. Thin pale gold with pure white head. Says lager, smells of pilsner. Taste is thin with a little bitter on the end and some sweetness in the middle that tastes fruity. Really did remind me of a pilsner.

In bottle. Pours a blonde colour with a thin white head. Aroma of bready yeast, caramel and barley. Very light with mild bitterness. Thin with similar flavours. Mild carbonation and CO2 prickle. Inoffensive.

355ml bottle. Bottle in Canada at 5% ABV so I hope we’re following the rules here. Had it some time ago from the NSLC, I remember kind of liking it and thinking it reminded me of a fresher Eurolager. I’d try it again if I had the chance.

pours fizzy gold with some white head. smells like generic lager, tastes like generic lager although the malt is slightly more dominant than in other Asian beers I have recently drank. dry finish, light body.

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. Pours a thin gold with minimal head. A pretty unremarkable beer. Not much flavor of any kind. It isn’t bad, just kind of dull.

I bought this beer just for the fun of it - shipping beer all the way from China to Norway seems like the ultimate absurdity, if the beer isn’t something extraordinary. This beer isn’t. But Tsingtao is not outright bad either - it just isn’t very interesting. Heineken-like aroma, neutral flavour, overly carbonated, no lasting head. Sure it would be refreshing on a summer’s day in China - exporting it to Europe should be considered a waste of resources.

Nice grain in the aroma. Quite a sweet malty lager with not much in the way of bitterness. Not too bad.