Tsingtao

Tsingtao is the most popular beer in China.  When you consider the population of China, this is saying something.  Big.  Sales.  So how does it drink?

Poured from a green bottle with no freshness date.  Beer is golden, with good carbonation, and a bit of head that disappeared faster then an election promise.  Aroma is a sharp hop, with a bit of a grainy sweetness.  Almost reminds me of Mill St Organic.  Some folks might accuse it of being “skunky”, but it’s not.  Taste is a bit thin, but more of the same.  Sweetly malty, though the hops are a bit less present.  The one thing I’ve always found interesting about this beer, is it has a bit of a mineral feel/taste to it.  It is assumed that this is likley a side-effect of a fairly hard-water source for the brewing.  Some bottles have more, some less; this one is on the heavier side.  The mineral taste also leaves your tongue a bit clean/dry.  It’s an interesting effect.  The body is pretty thin, but then again, this is China’s equivalent to Bud, so what are we to expect?  With that in mind, Tsingtao is a great beer.  Macro for sure, but tasty.  I enjoy this beer more then most of the big ones.  Plus it’s fun to say:  “JING-dao”