Victoria Bitter

Brewed by Carlton & United Breweries (CUB)
Style: Pale Lager
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Serve in Dimpled mug, English pint, Lager glass, Shaker

When I was in Australia at the age of 17, everyone told me that this beer was much better than Foster’s. I didn’t realize it at the time, but that was sort of like arguing whether dog or horse urine was more palatable. I think Foster’s won this one by a nose. VB was golden-yellow in color with a small, quickly dissipating white head. Macro-esque aroma with malt, corn, and some unpleasant bitterness. That unpleasant bitterness really asserted itself in the flavor. Watery as hell. Good for getting drunk, not much else.

Bottle at Coco’s Outback, Amsterdam. Light golden body with almost no head. Malty and hoppy nose. Bitter flavour with some malt and hop in it. Watery and not much taste to it. Goes down easily. (Then again, don’t they all?)

Had a few of these in Australia. Really flat beer. Pretty usual commercial beer with no real aromas or flavous to pick up. Not my favorite

When poured there was no aroma to pick up. The head was gone before I could get the glass to my lips . Not much of a taste to describe.

Bottle. Light golden colour, short lasting thin white head. Some pale malts and strong hop characters on the nose. Very weak malt flavour and minimal hop flavour. Medium but nearly pungent bitterness with no distinctive finish. Some times feels a bit watery.

UPDATED: APR 27, 2011 Not great, but not all that bad either. Pale golden color. Bitter flavor, with a touch of the metallic, though this can vary from bottle to bottle--more pronounced in some than in others. Light on the palate. Sort of the Australian version of Budweiser, but you could do worse than a cold VB on a hot Australian day.

This beer confirms the reason behind the cultural cringe prevalent in Australia. With this macro muck the best selling beer in the country, it is hardly surprising that many Australians consider themselves inferior to the rest of the world. This tastes almost, but not quite, entirely unlike beer. Chief sensation on both the nose and the palate is water, and this is the overwhelming feeling throughout the beer. There is, however, an unpleasant metallic note that lingers throughout. To me, this suggests that this is actually merely tapwater, the metallic hint and yellowish colour being due to rust in the pipes. As an Australian beer drinker, I must end by launching an appeal. Although this is the most popular beer in Australia, please do not judge Australian beer in general based upon it. We do make some things that are worth drinking.

Bottle, 375ml. Pours pale golden, with rapidly vanishing head, no lacing. Hops on the nose, yeast notes on the palate. Overall, however, a flat macro.