Super Bock

Brewery: UNICER Uniao Cerverjeira S.A
Style: Lager
ABV: 5.2%
Country: Portugal

Pale yellow, bordering clear. Thin and white head dissipated quickly. Herbal and skunky aroma. Malts are carry a hint of sweetness and a bit of lemon, but that is about it. Crisp bite from the carbonation is the majority of the finish. No bitterness and vague herbal notes are also found in the finish. This doesn't pack enough to qualify as a bock and there is nothing super about this so the name is wrong on both counts. D+

Orion Premium Draft Beer

Brewery: Orion Beer Company
Style: Rice Lager
ABV: 4.7%
Country: Japan

Went out for a sushi dinner, what better time for a Japanese beer? This came as a big 22oz bomber served in a chilled glass. Pale yellow color with a thick foamy head that was stark white. Mild aroma that was grains and rice. Taste was also mild, more grain and more rice. Nearly no bitterness to speak of. Finish was dry, sweet, and almost fruity and apple-like. Highly carbonated and crisp. A perfectly average beer, nothing to write home about and not worth seeking out, but quite drinkable. C

Ed Hardy Premium Beer

Brewer: Cerveceria Mexicana
Style: Lager
ABV: ???
Country: Mexico

Saw this at Total Wine and figured what the heck? This is the same Ed Hardy known for covering every conceivable surface in gaudy tattoos. At checkout I noticed that the clerk had the title "Lead Beer Consultant" on his name tag. I told him I was surprised he didn't say anything about the Ed Hardy. He told me that given the other beers I was purchasing, he figured I was playing a joke on someone. So yeah... playing a joke on myself here.

Poured a golden yellow color. Had a bright white head about a finger thick that dissipated quickly.

The aroma was of sour grains and damp straw, not terribly pleasing.

A bit of sweetness and not much else. A bit grassy. No bitterness no aftertaste. There really isn't anything to be found here. Not as bad as I expected it to be, but I don't want to have to drink this again. I didn't pour it out so I wont give it an F. But still, there is nothing premium about this beer. D-

Blue Point Toasted Lager

Brewery: Blue Point Brewing Company
Style: Lager
ABV: 5.3%
Country: USA, New York

Bright amber and gold color. Big and fluffy white head. Crystal clear body.

Sweet aroma, similar to caramelized sugar.

Tastes similar to the smell, sweet and sugary but not overstated. True to its name, there is a nice toasted toffee-like taste. Finishes clean with a biscuit malt taste. A few times I noticed some alcohol which is a bit surprising given this has an average amount in it. Body is well endowed for a lager which is a nice change of pace. An enjoyable drink that is a step above the average lager. B

Victory Lager

Brewery: Victory Brewing Company
Style: Lager
ABV: 5.2%
Country: USA, Pennsylvania

First brew from the nice eight pack mix I got for Christmas. Second beer from Victory to make the list, first being the Prima Pils.

This poured a pale golden yellow. Body is crystal clear with few bubbles to see. Head is thin and white, about half a finger, and dissipates quickly.

The aroma is faint but pleasing. Some grains typically found in lagers along with a bit of lemon

Good clean taste, light body but a bit thicker than a standard macro lager or pils. Light carbonation. Light bitter grain flavor, finished sweet and flowery with a hint of citrus. Quite refreshing. B

Samuel Adams Boston Lager

Brewer: Samuel Adams
Style: Vienna Lager
ABV: 4.9%
Country: USA, Massachusetts

The flagship brew for Sam Adams, I had my expectations set high.

A bright coppery color poured out leaving a nice and big fluffy white head. Head lingered a while and left a good looking lace.

Aroma was wonderful. Sweet caramel upfront with plenty of citrus and floral hop notes throughout. I honestly didn't expect this much aroma making this a nice surprise. Certainly an enjoyable beer to sniff.

First sip brought plenty of the sweetness in the aroma to the forefront. Some nice spiciness was present as well, cloves perhaps? A good mix of hop presence throughout, grapefruit and nectarine. Less pronounced than in a pale ale or IPA, but adds a nice touch. Ends with a the biscuit malt presence and bitterness that I've come used to in these Sam Adams brews.

This was quite an excellent beer. Much more taste than a standard lager but not enough to drive away drinkers not used to the more potent styles. I'd have to say this my favorite lager I've had so far. Since this is also easily found on tap in many places, this will make a good default beer when out and about. A-

Sapporo Premium Beer

Brewer: Sapporo Premium Limited
Style: Lager
ABV: 5%
Country: Japan

The last of my first round of international beers brought to you by the land of the rising sun. Standard12oz bottle poured into my standard pint glass. Head was about a finger thick and white. Dissipated quickly leaving nearly no lace. Color was a pale straw yellow ans was crystal clear. Aroma faint and grainy. Taste was similar, plenty of grain and rice. Good mouth-feel, not as watery as I had expected, still plenty of carbonation. Finished quick and crisp. Overall, there isn't much to this beer. There is enough taste to get the job done, but not enough to be interesting. The best thing it has going for it is that it goes down easy. C+

Tusker Premium Lager

Brewery: Kenya Breweries
Style: Lager
ABV: 4.2%
Country: Kenya

Not much to say about this one. Pours pale yellow with a thin white head. Light aroma of sweet grains. Good mouth feel, and decent malt presence. Finishes quick and clean with not much else. Its drinkable, but nothing special. Completely average. C

Pacena

Brewer: Cerveceria Boliviana Nacional S.A.
Style: Lager
ABV: 5.2%
Country: Bolivia

I had picked this one up at Total Wine when trying to find more beers outside of the US Microbrew/Belgium Ale circle that a large number of out beers a part of. Not that there is anything wrong with that circle, but a little diversity never hurt. That being said, it looks like a mad a mistake in picking this one.

Pour was a pale straw color, perfectly clear, and with a thin, wispy head that vanished quickly. This was the first red light, no color = no taste.

Second red light, this beer didn't pass the sniff test. The aroma almost non existent, some grain but not much else.

Final red light was the taste. Bland and watery taste with a poor finish. Some grain, barely any malt or bitterness. This is nothing more then cheap watery beer. Crisp carbonation makes it drinkable but this is not any more tasty than a glass of seltzer water. D-

Stiegl Goldbrau Lager

Brewer: Stieglbrauerei zu Salzburg
Style: Pale Lager
ABV: 4.9%
Country: Austria

According to the bottle, the Stiegl brewery dates back to 1492. "Brewed from malt, hops, yeast, mountain spring water according to the 'Purity Law of 1516'" This law limited the ingredients to only barley, water, and hops. Yeast, though a critical component of brewing beer, was not on this list simply because at the time its presence in the fermentation process was unknown. The yeasts that fermented beers would have been naturally occurring in the area. The other method for obtaining the unknown yeast would have been to use sediment from the previous batch of beer. The goal of the original purity laws was to keep cereal grains other than barley cheap for human consumption. The fear was that demand for wheat, rye, oats, etc in beer would drive up prices for people needing to eat said grain or bakers using the grain.

Poured a light, golden-brown. Clarity was very good, I could see straight through the glass. A thin white head dissipated leaving no lace.

The smell was sweet and grainy. Plenty of maltiness with a bit of honey in the mix.

Fruity sweet malts were present up front, taste of apples. Sweetness was not overpowering and very delicious. Body was light with plenty of carbonation. The finish was full with the taste of the grains and almost no bitterness. This was incredibly refreshing and well balanced, no single flavor or taste dominated over the others. It would be easy to drink a lot of these in a row. This would certainly make a good session beer. B+