Philippines (2)

Beer: San Miguel Pale Pilsen
Brewed: San Miguel, Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Alcohol Content: 5.0%
Size: 330ml
Sourced: Harry's Bar, Singapore Changi Airport, Singapore

World Beer Rating: 9/10. Lovely citrus notes and a mild carbonation. No wonder it's the Philippines' flagship brand, it's really good!

 

Date Consumed: 2nd October 2012
Beer: Red Horse Extra Strong
Brewed:  San Miguel, Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Alcohol Content: 7.0%
Size: 355mL
Sourced: The Beer Cellar (online), Hamilton, New Zealand.

World Beer Rating: 5/10. My god this beer has malt and alcohol stamped on the flavour like a steel toecapped boot. It's supposed to be a Philippine favourite, but I don't rate it that highly.

Nigeria (1)

Beer: Star Lager
Brewed: Nigerian Breweries PLC, Lagos, Nigeria
Alcohol Content: 5.1%
Size: 600mL
Sourced: Falcon Foods and Wines, Bethnal Green, London, United Kingdom

World Beer Rating: 6/10. Nigeria's #1 Beer apparently, but it's not exactly #1 in my book. Minerally flavours, especially iron. Very carbonated, aftertaste fades fast. Not unpleasant, but pretty average.

Bulgaria (1)

 







Beer: Kamenitza
Brewed: Pivovaren Zavod Kamenitza (StarBev), Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Alcohol Content: 4.4%
Size: 500mL
Sourced: Rosova Dolina, Tottenham Hale, London, United Kingdom

World Beer Rating: 5/10. Not unpleasant, but nothing that grabs you. Little carbonation - it tells you to drink at 3°C, which is probably to hide the lack of flavour. Still, you'd drink this without complaining if served on tap at a pub.

Uganda (1)

 







Beer: Bell Lager
Brewed: Uganda Breweries, Port Bell, Kampala, Uganda
Alcohol Content: 4.0%
Size: 500mL
Sourced: Beers Of Europe (http://www.beersofeurope.co.uk)

World Beer Rating: 7/10. Surprisingly refreshing beer, watery but with a pleasantly light hoppy flavour. Like most other African beers I've tried, this is not bursting with citrus, floral or complex layers, but this is a very good beer from Uganda.

Malta (1)

Beer: Cisk Export Premium Lager
Brewed: Simonds Farsons Cisk, Mriehel, Malta
Alcohol Content: 5.0%
Size: 330mL
Sourced: Beers Of Europe Website (http://www.beersofeurope.co.uk)

World Beer Rating: 3/10. Foul tasting beer. Maybe the hops and water of Malta is not quite up to the task. Tasted bland with a mineral aftertaste.

Cuba (2)

Beer: Cubanero Fuerte (Bucanero Fuerte)
Brewed: Cerveceria Bucanero, Holguín, Cuba
Alcohol Content: 5.4%
Size: 350mL
Sourced: Beers Of Europe Website (http://www.beersofeurope.co.uk)

World Beer Rating: 5/10. Pretty average beer, I suspect it's good in the sweltering heat of Cuba, not South West London. Strong aftertaste of communism and malt.


Beer: Cerveza Cristal
Brewed: Cerveceria Bucanero, Holguín, Cuba
Alcohol Content: 4.9%
Size: 350mL
Sourced: Premier Wines, Strawberry Hill, London, United Kingdom

World Beer Rating: 8/10. Wow, this is a remarkable recovery from the previous Cubanero. Light, refreshing beer with a subtle aftertaste of hops. This is delicious and I would most certainly recommend this for either drinking with spicy foods or just enjoying after a long day!

Romania (1)

Beer: Bere Timisoreana
Brewed: Ursus Breweries, Cluj Napoca, Romania
Alcohol Content: 5.0%
Size: 500mL
Sourced: Romanian Food Centre, Edgeware, London, United Kingdom

World Beer Rating: 7/10. Much like the other Eastern European beers, this one is very hoppy, full of flavour with a bitter aftertaste. Very carbonated, which is a slight downfall to an otherwise quite surprisingly good beer.

United Arab Emirates (1)

Beer: Barbican Premium Malt
Brewed: Brewed by Aujan Industries Co., Dammam, United Arab Emirates
Alcohol Content: 0.0%
Size: 330mL
Sourced: Electric Avenue Wholesalers, Brixton, London, United Kingdom

World Beer Rating: 2/10. Wow, I didn't expect to find a beer brewed in the United Arab Emirates. Barbican Premium Malt is classified as a beer, containing the ingredients of beer without the alcohol. I got the strawberry flavour (in hindsight, what kind of beer is not brewed with anything strawberry but tastes of it?), and this beer tasted entirely of artificially flavoured strawberry. Actually quite drinkable as a strawberry soda beverage, not as a beer. No notes of anything but horrible fake strawberry.

Ireland (2)

Beer: Guinness Foreign Extra Stout
Brewed: St. James’s Gate Brewery, Dublin, Ireland
Alcohol Content: 7.5%
Size: 330mL
Sourced: Noble Green Wines, Hampton Hill, London, United Kingdom

World Beer Rating: 8/10. It's the world famous Guinness and it's a high alcohol export version from Ireland itself. Should be enough to score high marks and it does... just. Wonderful strong oaky stout flavour, complex but not too overwhelming. Noticed a distinct alcohol flavour which doesn't do the stout any justice. Not the best Guinness can produce but I understand the requirement that this beer might remain in the bottle for quite a time and needs to remain drinkable. I would rate the draft version higher, only because it's fresher.


 
Beer: Harp Lager
Brewed: Dundalk, Dundalk, County Louth, Ireland
Alcohol Content: 4.3%
Size: 355mL
Sourced: The Beer Cellar Website (online), Hamilton, New Zealand

World Beer Rating: 5/10. Pretty average beer.

Lithuania (1)

 
Beer: Svyturys Ekstra Premium
Brewed: Svyturys, Klaipeda, Lithuania
Alcohol Content: 5.2%
Size: 500mL
Sourced: Russkiy Bazar, Cambridge Heath, London, United Kingdom.

World Beer Rating: 7/10. Strong malty flavour, quite unlike it's neighbouring countries. I feel generous giving this a 7, but the beer has a good aftertaste and perfectly carbonated - two important factors of drinking a good beer.

Latvia (1)

 
Beer: Cesu Premium Alus
Brewed: Cesu Alus Daritava (Olvi), Cesis, Latvia
Alcohol Content: 5.2%
Size: 500mL
Sourced: Russkiy Bazar, Cambridge Heath, London, United Kingdom

World Beer Rating: 7/10. Hoppy flavour, much like the famous pilsners that the Czech Republic produces. Not quite as good but I have to admit I would definitely drink a pint of this if this were on tap in a local pub sometime in the future.

Ethiopia (1)

Beer: St George Beer
Brewed: Kombolcha Brewery (BGI Ethiopia), Kombolcha, Ethiopia
Alcohol Content: 4.5%
Size: 330mL
Sourced: Addis Restaurant and Bar, Kings Cross, London, United Kingdom

World Beer Rating: 6/10. I expected this country to be in the list of Islamic and/or war-torn countries that doesn't produce a beer, but here is one of the three brands that they brew! Sadly it's a dull affair, very light on the hops and a distinct lack of any real taste. Quite carbonated, which makes that the only memorable point, other that the novelty of drinking Ethiopian beer.

Estonia (1)

Beer: Viru Beer
Brewed: Tartu Õlletehas (Olvi), Tartu, Estonia
Alcohol Content: 5.0%
Size: 300mL
Sourced: The Bottle, York, United Kingdom

World Beer Rating: 6/10. Inoffensive, but definitely drinkable at a pub or bar. Doesn't have much flavour, aftertaste or anything of note apart from the clearly Soviet inspired octahedral bottle, which is brilliant. Onwards!

Trinidad and Tobago (1)

Beer: Carib Lager
Brewed: Carib Brewery, Champs-Fleurs, Trinidad & Tobago
Alcohol Content: 5.2%
Size: 330mL
Sourced: Costcutter, Southwark, London, United Kingdom.

World Beer Rating: 7/10. Not sure why I rated this beer so high, but I think it's because I like floral and fruity tasting beers that remind me of topical soft drinks and I was drunk. This beer is exactly what I like in such a soft drink, and it's alcoholic! Mind you, I wouldn't have too many of them.

Finland (1)

Beer: Lapin Kulta
Brewed: Hartwall Brewery, Helsinki, Finland
Alcohol Content: 4.5%
Size: 330mL
Sourced: Noble Green Wines, Hampton Hill, London, United Kingdom

World Beer Rating: 7/10. Very carbonated, although some flavour pushing through. Nothing really stood out other than a mild hoppy bitterness.

Jamaica (2)

 







Beer: Dragon Stout
Brewed: Desnoes and Geddes, Kingston, Jamaica
Alcohol Content: 7.5%
Size: 284mL
Sourced: Bubbles Off Licence, Twickenham, London, United Kingdom

World Beer Rating: 8/10. Hello Dragon Stout, where have you been hiding? Lovely stout from Jamaica with caramel and malt flavours ending in a smooth satisfying aftertaste. Was quite thin for a stout, if this was of a slightly thicker consistency then you're looking at a 9.

Beer: Red Stripe Lager
Brewed: Desnoes and Geddes, Kingston, Jamaica
Alcohol Content: 4.7%
Size: 330mL
Sourced: Half Time Beverage, Poughkeepsie, New York, USA

World Beer Rating: 5/10. It's almost sacrilegious, but I prefer the brewed under licence version made in the United Kingdom. This beer has nothing inoffensive about it, but it's bland with a slight corn flavour.

Sweden (1)

Beer: Crocodile Original Export Lager
Brewed: Krönleins Bryggeri, Halmstad, Sweden
Alcohol Content: 5.2%
Size: 330mL
Sourced: Noble Green Wines, Hampton Hill, London, United Kingdom

World Beer Rating: 5/10. This beer is pretty average. No distinct flavours and no aftertaste to speak of. Tasted like a mass produced beer from the domestic Australian market.

Morocco (1)

Beer: Casablanca Casa Beer
Brewed: Société des Brasseries du Maroc, Casablanca, Morocco
Alcohol Content: 5.0%
Size: 330mL
Sourced: The Bottle, York, United Kingdom

World Beer Rating: 5/10. This beer is intensely weird. The initial flavour is quite average, even slightly unpleasant, however suddenly from nowhere there is a lovely citrus aftertaste that makes up for it's previous sins. Not enough to make up for the actual flavour however.

Cyprus (1)

Beer: Keo Premium Beer
Brewed: Keo Breweries, Lemesos, Cyprus
Alcohol Content: 4.5%
Size: 330mL
Sourced: Bethnal Green Food Centre, Bethnal Green, London, United Kingdom.

World Beer Rating: 6/10. Refreshing flavour but quite a sharp, mineral aftertaste which limits it's rating.

Peru (2)

Beer: Cusquena
Brewed: Cervecera del sur del Peru (Grupo Empresarial Bavaria), Arequipa, Peru
Alcohol Content: 5.0
Size: 330mL
Sourced: Revolution Vodka Bar, York, United Kingdom

World Beer Rating: 4/10. Was looking forward to this beer, since the beer claims the water is sourced from the Andes and contains all the flavours of Latin America. Sadly, it's generically plain, bitter but not offensively bad.

Beer: Premium Cristal
Brewed: Backus y Johnston, Lima, Peru
Alcohol Content: 5.0
Size: 355mL
Sourced: Half Time Beverage, Poughkeepsie, New York, USA

World Beer Rating: 6/10. Does not warrant the 'Premium' prefix, but not too bad at all. Clean and refreshing, this beer has potential.

Slovenia (1)

Beer: Lasko Club
Brewed: Pivovarna Lasko, Lasko, Slovenia
Alcohol Content: 4.9%
Size: 500mL
Sourced: International Beer Shop - Thanks Jim Cook!

World Beer Rating: 7/10. Very drinkable beer with a smooth aftertaste, although not drunk at the same time as eating those lemon and thyme roast chickens in the picture on Good Friday!

Serbia (1)

Beer: Lav
Brewed: Carlsberg Srbija D.O.O. Pivara, Celarevo, Serbia
Alcohol Content: 5.0%
Size: 330mL
Sourced: Liquor Stax, Bonnyrigg, NSW, Australia

World Beer Rating: 7/10. Unlike the citizens of Serbia, this beer doesn't go on the offensive (in terms of flavour). Very drinkable, I would definitely enjoy a six pack of these on a hot/cold/warm/any day.

Macedonia (1)

Beer: Zlaten Dab Svetlo Pivo
Brewed: Prilepska Pivarnica, Prilep, Macedonia
Alcohol Content: 4.5%
Size: 330mL
Sourced: Liquor Stax, Bonnyrigg, NSW, Australia

World Beer Rating: 1/10. No real flavours, too much carbonation, aftertaste left a 'toilet smell' in your mouth. You were lucky to score 1 because you were just a thirst quencher after work.