Pilsner Urquell

Today I will once again be reviewing a beer. This time it is Pilsner Urquell, which I purchased from a local liquor store in a bottle. It is an imported beer from the Czech Republic, which is brewed as a Czech Pilsner with 4.4% alcohol.

The Appearance:
When poured the beer produces a clear dark golden colour with a one centimetre of white head that will soon reduce to a small island of foam in the middle of the glass. Sipping the beer leaves scattered leggy lacing and a ring of foam along the glass for each sip.


The Smell:
The aroma gives a pleasing mixture of biscuity or grainy malt as well as earthy and floral hops.


The Taste:
This has a malt backbone which provides a nice biscuity taste for the earthy and slightly floral hops that have a light touch of a salty taste to them. The balance is smooth and the hops are noticeably present.


Drinkability: The beer is actually quite nice and would defiantly say that I would order another. The finish is clean, crisp and has a dry lightly bittered ending which helps give it a great taste.

Overall it is a great beer, and I’m sure if it was on tap would be even better, or even if you were drinking it overseas. I give the Pilsner Urquell a 4 out of 5 “Thumbs Up”!


-Gabe


Image sourced from: http://kd59.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/pilsner_urquell2.jpg

Ready To Drink (RTD) Review – Smirnoff ICE Double Black

Today I will be reviewing Smirnoff ICE Double Black. I purchased the RTD from my local Liquorland store. It is an RTD which means it is a mixture of spirits and soft drink that is ready to drink without having to prepare it. It is produced using Smirnoff vodka and a tangy citrus flavoured soda. Being an RTD they are meant for larger consumption compared to wine and spirits, so it has alcohol content similar to beer with an average of 5%, but Smirnoff ICE Double Black is aimed at a higher percentage of 6.5%, so you can drink less but be drinking more. The tasting was from an aluminium can.

The Appearance:

The idea of the RTD is to drink it straight from the can as there is no need for preparation, but I decided to pour it into a glass. When pouring the drink into the glass, it had a crisp clear lemonade style look to it. It has a constant bubble and has to sit down for a while before the fizz will slow down.

The Smell:

The RTD has a clean citrusy smell, which was not overpowered by a smell of vodka.

The Taste:

When first tasting the RTD I assumed with the higher alcohol content compared to the regular RTD’s that it would have a strong vodka taste to it, but I was pleasantly surprised. It had a strong sweet taste, which was almost too strong, but you could barely taste the vodka.

Drinkability:

This is definitely a drinkable RTD, even though it has a strong citrusy taste, but I would see this as being used to combat the stronger vodka content. It has a clean crisp taste and smell which helps to give you an easy drinking experience.

Overall I have tasted many RTD’s and this one is definitely one of the best I have had. To have such strong alcohol content and keep a sweet taste that you can keep drinking without noticing seems to achieve the goal of what they are looking to do with this drink. This would be excellent for people who don’t like the taste of alcohol, but what to drink with their friends and have a good night out. I give the Smirnoff ICE Double Black a 5 out of 5 “Thumbs Up”!

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog and if you are looking for drinking alcohol but without having the strong taste of alcohol, I would defiantly recommend you try Smirnoff ICE Double Black next time you go out.

-Gabe



Image sourced from: http://danmurphys.com.au/media/DM/Product/140x375/329005_0_9999_med_v1_m56577569833250996.jpg

Beer Review - James Squires Golden Ale

Today I will be reviewing James Squires Golden Ale. I had the privilege of tasting this fine micro brew beer at the James Squires Brew House located on King Street Wharf in Sydney. The beer is a microbrew which means that it is a beer that is produced by a small local brewery, or microbrewery. The beer is styled in an American Pale Ale fashion with 4.5% alcohol content. This tasting was from a tap.

The Appearance:

When poured the beer comes out a beautiful clear golden amber colour which when poured correctly will give you a half centimetre white head. Although the head does not persist long, it does leave some modest lacing.

The Smell:

The aroma of the beer contains a fine blend of light citrus, floral hops and some gentle bready malt.

The Taste:

The flavours can be a little bland, but have traces of fruity, honey style of sweetness which produces a balanced flavour without anything dominating. The hops help to give a light citrus character.

Drinkability:

While it was drinkable I found that the flavours and the aromas are a little lacklustre and mundane. It seems that to give a balanced taste, it has not given it a distinguishing character.

Overall it is a nice beer, but if it had a stronger more defined taste to it the beer could rank up highly on a list of microbrew beers. I give the Golden Ale a 3 out of 5 “Thumbs Up”!

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog, and don’t be afraid to try James Squires Golden Ale down at the James Squires Brew House.

-Gabe



Image sourced from: http://www.jamessquire.net.au/images/beer/james-squire-golden-ale.jpg