I saw this stuff in a large plastic bottle at a local Korean supermarket. Plastic bottle? It was enough to pique my curiosity.
Imported from Korea, a product of Hite Brewery Co, it claims right on the label "Fresh taste beer".
Also on the label: 4.5% alcohol. So far, so good.(in California, this level is a special feature).
I took it home, made it cold, and gave a try.
Suprisingly not good.
I put it right up there, so to speak, with any mass produced cheap watered down American lager. Thin and watery, with little after taste, no aroma, and zero mouthfeel.
I imagine it would go well with a plate of kim-chee, but not much else.
You would think if somebody went through the trouble of putting this stuff on a boat, and shipping it thousands of miles to retail, that at least the product would be worthy of the effort and cost (at least in somebody's mind).
I can't see it.
Nope.
10 comments:
What do you think of Peroni, dago?
speaking of beers I have just recently discovered Duvel. 8.5% alcohol is nice. Word of advice though, pour it straight down the middle or it is a bit too bitter for most tastes.
The market for a lot of these imports is driven almost entirely by people who just want a taste of home.
I recently went to a market here that is about 50/30 Korean/Central American (the remaining 20 being odds and ends and generic grocery stuff) in a fairly down market neighborhood here and saw all kinds of beer from Central America that I had never heard of...and I doubt it was for the benefit of the local beer snob (i.e., me)
My general impression is that if the beer is from a country that you don't generally associate with beer making (UK, Ireland, Germany, Belgium, Canada, US, Mexico) there's usually a good reason for that...
I also hear that there's great beer made in Australia, but you have to actually go there to get it...they don't export the good stuff.
Come to think of it this is true of the US as well.
Part of the reason great beers aren't exported is that beer tends to go stale after a month at sea at an average of 90 degrees. So no matter how good it is when it gets on board, it's not quite so good when it arrives in the USA.
Wines don't have the same problem, since they age, and for obvious reasons (like the relative sizes of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans), european beers fare better than Asian ones in transit.
I've been served Australian wine that came in a paper box - kind of like a milk carton. Somebody will buy pretty much anything that has alcohol in it I think.
I don't drink much, although my Irish ancestry should dictate otherwise.
But, when I do drink, I like to get drink like a Mick. I enjoy Smithwick's beer. Guinness is okay, but I like Smithwick's more.
tulley: i sampled peroni. dad brought some home in his baggage from italy, way back when i was 17.
(he got it for me. i been beerin since waaay back). tasted icky. so not impressed.
brian:i have to agree with your general impression.
and there are some great US microbrews. my fav is called 'the horn' from anderson valley (Nor CA), and its not bottled. only tap.
bubba: never thought about the boat ride. makes sense,though.
SA: but i've hear the aussies put out some great wines. too bad i dont drink wine.
kris: do they still sell A-1 in AZ?
last time i had it, it didnt impress. just like bud,or coors.
I don't know what A-1 beer is.
I would love to find some Old Style
I also found Peroni bland and unimpressive- but I figured that was because I find the taste of alcohol in general repulsive.
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