Virtual Happy Hour (Brews & Spirits, Pics & Reviews)

[Zardnaar]

Went to student area and trued a different supermarket. They had my favorite Russian beer doh. $4.50 usd a liter double doh.

Came home with these 3.



Think I have done Obolon Strong before Slava Ukraini. The other two are Lithuanian. Throughly enjoyed Volfas Engelmann a Lithuanian beer so high hopes. Gonna crack some open in half hour or so.

 

[Zardnaar]

Ekstra Premium Lager Beer 5.2% 568ml (pint) 2.3 ABV



Found for around $2.30 usd for a large can. Igor couldn't hold the entire can. On the nose slightly sweet grain smell has barley in it.

First impressions reasonably good. Mild grain taste but very smooth, crisp and refreshing. Basically what you want from a macro lager. Was leaning towards a 7.5/10 but halfway through quite enjoying it. 2 for 2 Lithuania well done. See if they can 3 for 3 it.

Gonna be generous 8/10. Very nice generic Eurolager but extra points for easy to drink and nice taste. Might add this to shortlist for drinking again or to take camping.

7/10 BA rated lower than Bud go figure. Brewed in March sealed in a can.

Švyturys Ekstra | UAB Švyturys - Utenos alus

Švyturys Ekstra is a European / Dortmunder Export Lager style beer brewed by UAB Švyturys - Utenos alus in Klaipėda, Lithuania. Score: 70 with 267 ratings and reviews. Last update: 11-14-2023.

www.beeradvocate.com

 

[beancounter]

Three for today. Old So & So, (or is that Old SOnSO ) was a solid barley wine. Not the best I've had, but I'd buy again!

Burlington Stainless Forest - A solid double IPA.

Pantless Thunder Goose - great name, but an underwhelming beer.

 

[Zardnaar]

Pt 2 of yesterdays efforts.

Uteno Pale Lager 5% 2.2ABV in the can.



Another Lithuanian beer. First one was great, next one pretty darn good.

Typical east European pale lager slight grain/skunk smell. First mouthful a bit underwhelming but soldiered on. Gotta drink at least half unless it's terrible.

Getting near the bottom was starting to realize I didn't particularly enjoy it. Quick trip to r/Lithuania and responses generally ranged from typical supermarket beer down to pisswasser. Not sure what pisswasser means but can take a reasonably good guess.

A few mentioned that if you like Heineken,Tuborg and Carlsberg you'll probably like this. But mostly negative.

Compared to the even worse Australian or NZ lager it's an improvement. Wasn't as bad as the Lithuanians were complaining.

Utena is a town of 25k in Lithuania. Guess we're Utenos is brewed?? Go on.

Just a beer 6/10 roughly on par with Heineken. If the other beer was a better Baltika 7 this was a worse Baltika 5.

Wouldn't buy again but acceptable if it was free or something. Hot summer day or desperate student it's fine.

 

[Zardnaar]

Speights Summit 4.2% low carb.


Low carb low taste. Weak and watery with unpleasant flavour. I knew it was bad but had not had it for a while and my tastes have changed.

Still crap. Didn't finish the bottle but part of that was due to being in a hurry. Wasn't worth bottoms up.

4.5/10. Another crap NZ macro lager.

75 on BA. First few reviews are in point. No hop flavour or malt or grain. Pointless watery crap at least bud goes down easy and is 4.9%.

Speight's Summit Lager | New Zealand Breweries Limited

Speight's Summit Lager is a European Pale Lager style beer brewed by New Zealand Breweries Limited in New Zealand. Score: 75 with 12 ratings and reviews. Last update: 05-27-2022.

www.beeradvocate.com

Yesterday's effort much better.

Obolon Strong 6.8% Ukraines first beer.


Think I've reviewed this before. Enjoyed it last night strong as taste but one of the better strong lagers. Developing a taste for it.

 

[Cadence]

I saw the "Prairie Artisan Ales" and "Pumpkin Kefuffle" in big letters... but missed that it was a sour

.

I'm not a fan of sours or IPAs and so don't give them a rating. This one was drinkable for me though and almost reminds me of a really tangy cider. I'm curious what actual sour fans would think.

Beer advocate has it 89=Very Good (4.03/5). "Imperial Sour Beer with Pumpkin Spice Blend and Toasted Marshmallow Flavor". 8.2% ABV.

 

[Cadence]

A break after cleaning up the yard for likely wind and rain tomorrow. Oskar Blues Death By Coconut. Just misses being too sweet, perfect for sipping, and evocative of a dark chocolate haystack candy.

 

[Zardnaar]

Good George Deckchair Hazy IPA 5.2%



Found a 6 pack of Good George at local supermarket. This is a cheap IPA the USA one was three times the price. Not the cheapest.

Anyway very good give it a thumbs up 8/10. Best "cheap" IPA I've found.

That was the other day. We went back to a local Mexican pace for a repeat vist. Bucket of beer (4 Sol beers) has gone up from $25 NZD to $30 ($20 usd approx). Wellm individual beers were $8 NZD a pop so I bought a jug of Tuatara hazy something or other for $16.



A jugs a liter not to many places do them anymore. Last Tuatara I had from a can was very average this one was quite nice to be fair. Whatever it was 7.5/10. washed down a hot sauce very well as I got a bit generous with one one my tacos.

 

[Cadence]

Avery Brewing Rumpkin - "Ale Brewed with Pumpkin and Spices, Aged in Rum Barrels". 16.9% ABV.

Wow is that boozy. Would be good as one of the small glasses in a tasting flight, but that's way too strong for me to finish in any reasonable amount of time. (91=Outstanding, 4.08/5 on Beer Advocate).

 

[Cadence]

Alot if my American friends don't know what it is.

Might be a regional thing?

Very common here eg every supermarket. We gave our soda machine to sister in law for cocktales and I introduced her to CC+ginger ale+lime and she drinks that occasional use Ng the soda stream for ginger ale.

Yea, I think you may be right.

Ginger Ale update -

Restaurant citing at the middle eastern restaurant near us. The Dr. Pepper was out and a decade younger colleague chose that. It's turned self-service drinks and no wait staff since COVID -- I wonder how many would have thought to ask for it when they would have had to check the menu to find it.

In person citing. The cleaning staff member walking down the hall in front of me (two decades younger) had a bottle of it in her hand.