Victoria Bitter

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

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

I must say that is was a big disappointment for being the number one beer of Australia. I thought that it was an overly bitter generic beer. It’s a step up from Budweiser, but that’s not a difficult thing to pull off.

Called Victoria Beer in the UK, which means it’s only Victoria that they’re offending. The Poms buy it, of course: for some reason the country that brews the best (true) bitter beers in the world are all thumbs and urine when it comes to what they know as lagers. This is the country, remember, that drinks Fosters when no-one in Australia does. Because they’re all drinking VB. Yes, what can I say about VB, Australia’s most popular beer? It’s crap. That’s what I can say. For the first mouthful it tastes of something, and then, before you know it, you’ve blacked out. Aussies drink this beer because a) it’s bloody cheap, and b) they don’t have to think about it. It’s just something to do with your hands - and your lips, because you wouldn’t want to actually converse, would you? The VB drinker that actually has a brain will regret it the next morning, when his or her brain will be thumping against the side of his or her head, wanting to be let out so it can scamper offf down the road and drown itself in the nearest sewage outflow. That said, to not get rat-arsed on VB at least once in your life would be positively unAustralian. And like I said, it is bloody cheap. (This review is for the bottled beer: the tap beer tastes even worse.)

Not great but better than most light beers I found on tap in OZ. The bitter taste is noticeable but it is nothing to write home about. This beer would be a good contender for best of the beasts.

(can) light amber. Mild malt aroma. Flavor is mild malt and a hint of hops. I had it on an airplane - it beats most beers available on a plane.

simple lager. Refreshing but not much to this beer. Enjoyed drinking it out of a can though. Seconde best can beer i have had after dales pale ale.

37.5 cL bottle. Pours golden yellow to orange with a white head. Aroma is hay, corn and slight metallic. Metallic, corn and bitter flavour. Dry bitterness in the finish. Bland bitter.

Pale yellow/gold in colour with a frothy white head. Thin to medium bodied with average carbonation. Rather watery. Moderately bitter, more so in the finish which is also a bit metalic.

Bottle. Pours a golden colour. Aroma of malt and hops. Bitter hoppy flavour with some maltiness and some graininess. For a mass produced beer its a quite drinkable bitter lager.