Sunday, August 07, 2011

Two Vietnamese Beers . . .

I'm always on for trying new beers, and since my wife brought home a couple of Vietnamese brews from the Home Plus near Bonghwasan Subway Station (Line 6) Friday, I had something new to taste Saturday after cleaning the apartment.

I've borrowed the Saigon Export image from the blog Friday Beer:


The chap at Friday Beer had this to say:
It's a bit more flavourful than I'd expected, malty at first with hop in the aftertaste. The beer contains rice, which adds sugar from the starch in the rice without adding flavour. Before you say that's a Vietnamese thing, you should know that Budweiser also contains rice.
It's certainly better than Budweiser, so maybe there's a "Vietnamese thing" to the adding of rice, after all. Saigon Export is also better than any of the big-name Korean beers I am often forced by penury to drink. Anyway, I agree with the fellow at Friday Beer. More flavorful than expected, so I had a nice time drinking it. If I'd had heightened expectations, the experience would have been rather different. Beer Advocate rates it as mediocre. And I had to laugh at Beerocrat's remark:
[I]t's not even nearly as bad as Korea's Hite Exfeel-S.
Now, there's a man who knows how to make an apt comparison!

I've borrowed the Bia Hà Nôi image from the blog bpacker:


That blogger was unimpressed:
Here's another local beer that we tried, Bia Hà Nôi. Pale golden colour, no bitter aftertaste, pretty bland. I much prefer the elephant-branded "Halida Beer".
I don't know Halida Beer, but like the Saigon brew above, this was better than Budweiser and all of the big-name Korean beers, including the reputable Hite Exfeel-S. It gets some better comments than the Saigon Export got above at Beer Advocate -- at least at ratebeer. But I suppose one ought to compare more methodically.

Well, you won't get that from Gypsy Scholar! My criterion: I wouldn't turn down either beer for a thirst-quencher after exercise.

But I'd much prefer a micro-brewed Korean beer at the Craftworks . . .

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2 Comments:

At 4:26 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

"But I suppose one ought to compare more methodically."

Yes. Wise suggestion.

I'm doing just that (as can probably be surmised by my comment's timestamp and the difference in our respective timezones).

One could likely and safely also surmise by the lack of obvious spelling errors - Busch NA really and truly sucks. Odorifously speaking it smells pretty much like one would suppose but a bouquet on it's own can be highly misleading.

I did think it kinda unusual my Mom would bring me a 30-pack on a late Saturday afternoon but one doesn't look a gift horse in the mouth - leastwise, right off the bat. Bladderly speaking Busch NA performs as would be expected. But something wasn't just right. So I checked just now the Anheiser-Busch website.

Strictly speaking "methodical comparisons" are likely better done by doing the research first. Here I've wasted nine hours before discovering what that "NA" actually means - and Thanks Mom, nice try, but should you be checking Gypsy tomorrow and Jeff has replied to this comment you'll note what should be an obvious difference should I re-respond.

Yes. The church ladies will probably enjoy your "good joke" but I just cracked the seal on that bottle of Mezcal you'd requested I save for your friend for her cake recipe.

[Jeff, forgive my messaging Mom via Gypsy - there's been a computer "issue" but blogs are immune.]

Incidentally, Budweiser has redisined there can's decine - mey maak the bear taiste more best.

JK

 
At 4:39 PM, Blogger Horace Jeffery Hodges said...

JK, feel free to discuss issues with your mother over beer any time on this blog.

By the way, since we're being personal, you might want to know that Uncle Cran's not feeling well -- as you can see from his comment to my blog entry of August 2nd.

Jeffery Hodges

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