Coopers Sparkling Ale

This is another one of those beers that you hear people say is their 'favourite beer'. This time though,
I would say it's justified. Given that it's a relatively mainstream beer nowadays, Coopers Sparkling Ale
is a top notch beer.

More expensive than a standard big brewery beer, but cheaper than a boutique microbrewery batch... Coopers Sparkling Ale is the much needed middle man. Like that rare band that attracts a huge audience without selling it's soul. I've probably neglected this beer a bit lately, I probably havent' had one for at
least a year maybe two.

It has the attributes of a micro, all the ingredients are natural and it's bottle fermented... it just hasn't
done anything outrageous. And really, that's fine, because it fills a spot in the market that is much needed.
An easily accesible, natural, full flavoured ale.

On top of that, it has an elevated alcohol content which is barely noticeable.


8.5/10

Tiger

Tiger is a Singaporean beer that is frequently found at Asian restaurants across the city, and generally goes
down alright with some dumplings. Tonight I'm drinking it with pizza, so we'll see how she fares. The label
calls it the 'World Acclaimed' Lager. Nothing wrong with a bit of chest puffing I guess. If you can walk
the talk.

In terms of a mass produced, heavily exported lager... it's good. It's nothing new, it's nothing out of the
ordinary, but it's a fairly balanced lager with some decent flavour. It straddles the fence on the malt
and hop flavours with neither being too prominent. It's a bit neutral all round. A Switzerland beer.

So rating it is a bit tricky really, because it's just a lager that plays a straight bat. Still, it has more
depth than the Euro Lager crowd and is good company with some chilli based dinner.

7/10

Tecate

Here we have a Mexican beer, and really in my experience, they aren't amongst the world's best brewers of beer.
They seem to have a penchant for making watery beers like Corona and Sol, that require a wedge of fruit to be placed in them to give the flavour some depth. So the stakes are low at this point.

It only came in a can which was a bit of a bummer, the design on the can also looks like something that came
from an early 90s timewarp. Almost as if the fridge that the beer resided in contained a portal to a land
of slap bands and hammer pants.

What we have there though, is a bit of a tangy lager. The can was very cold in the fridge, so i don't know
whether that's having a negative or positive effect on the beer as it's the first time I've tasted it. It
goes down easily enough, it is a bit light on the flavour though and what's there is... as is tradition...
a bit watery.

I imagine one of the reasons that Danny Trejo is so angry all the time is because this is about as good as it
gets with Mexican beers. There's some alright flavours there, some novelty, but not much depth. Kind of like
Trejo's acting I suppose. Don't tell him I said that.

5/10

Boag's St George

I've gone through most of the interesting beers at my local bottle shops and now have to start going for the beers
from the bigger breweries I've been trying to avoid. Boag's is an overrated brewery in my opinion, some people really
like it... I don't see the attraction.

I'd never had this before but it's kind of Boag's version of a crisp lager, it's a little bit like an Extra Dry
with some citrus tones to it.

For me, that just makes it worse. I didn't enjoy this at all. When I think, "Gee I'd love a beer", I'm not really
thinking about a watery lager with citric acidity.

3.5/10

Carlton Natural Blonde

I have to say I really wasn't expecting much from this 'low carb' offering from Carlton. Maybe those low standards
helped, but it's really not a bad beer! It's a malt driven lager, with a fair amount of flavour given it's a low
carb offering. The aftertaste is less crude than say, a Draught, and doesn't really taste as cheap and tacky as you
might think.

It's by no means a great beer by all standards, but it was better than expected.

I haven't really had that many, but as far as a low carb mainstream lager goes this one is a winner. Still, for me,
it's not something I would go out and buy, but if it's handed to me I'll be happy to drink it.

6.75/10

Steinlager

'Steinlager' sounds like a beer that Hitler would drink

This is 'New Zealand's Finest Lager' according to the bottle. I will say it has a fairly cool logo/bottle design, but
as for the beer, it's really a bit of a Euro lager copycat in the vein of Beck's and co. It doesn't hold a candle to
Monteith's and Mac's.

It claims to be - Crisp. Clean. Full Flavour. It is crisp, it's clean at the start, but it certainly is not full flavoured.

It does have that light, crisp taste to it to begin with, but the aftertaste is a bit crude with that sharp carbonation
to close it out. If you like Euro lagers, and this is cheaper at the bottle shop then go for it, but that's the only
reason I would suggest this beer.

It's a bit light on flavour, some subtle malt tones, and the the carbonation is poor.

6/10

Matilda Bay Fat Yak

Ahh the Fat Yak. This is a personal favourite, always been a fan. It's a very well rounded versatile beer. You
can knock one back after work, drink one with dinner, or just drink them all night long.

It's a full flavoured Pale Ale that is, just about, perfectly balanced. It's very hoppy, with some subtle citrus
tones to it with a clean slightly bitter aftertaste.

These type of beers are what turned me into a beer drinker. In terms of regular sixers that I pick up, Fat Yak and
James Squire are probably the most common.

Matilda Bay used to also have a wheat beer called Redback I think, which seems to have vanished from my bottle shop's
shelves. It was also a favourite of mine.

So yeah, if you've never tried one give them a go. They even sell them at the Liquorland at Coles now.

9/10