Palau

Red Rooster Beer Light

Brewery: Palau Brewing Company
Style: Lager
ABV: 5.0%
Country number: 160
Bought at: Traded with Graham Burrows in Kesgrave, England. Massive thanks to Graham!
Date: 17/02/2024
My Untappd rating:

As mentioned in the previous entry there were two packages waiting for me when I got home from work in the start of February. The second one was from Graham in England, which I have traded with before. He has previously supplied with beers from Jersey, Rwanda and Vanuatu. And this time he is back with another rare country, namely Palau. One again huge thanks to Graham.

The beer is light yellow in colour with a heavy foam top. It tastes malty and bitter before a short burst of sweetness towards the end. Last weeks beer was a bit of a positive surprise while this one is back with a lot of the other lagers which taste similar. But as with some of the others probably a lot better when tasted in its home country.

Eswatini

Sibebe Premium Lager

Brewery: Eswatini Beverages
Style: Lager
ABV: 4.8%
Country number: 159
Bought at: Traded with Matthias Nickel in Böblingen, Germany. Tusen takk Matthias!
Date: 09/02/2024
My Untappd rating:

When I returned back home from work last Sunday I was greeted by two packages of beer, so it seems like we are off to a great start of 2024. The first package was from a trade I made with Matthias in Germany. He is a returning name here on the blog as he has previously supplied me with beer from Eritrea. Love it when the community helps each other in the same quest to taste beer from as many countries as possible. Be sure to come back next week for the other of the two packages.

The beer is clear golden in colour with a thin foam head that dissipated rather quickly. It smells sweet but the initial taste is crisp and malty. The sweetness then comes back towards the end and it lingers around for quite some time. One of the better tasting African lagers I’ve had recently.

Cayman Islands

Island Session

Brewery: 19°-81° Brewing Company
Style: Kölsch
ABV: 4.0%
Country number: 158
Bought at: Traded with Fredrik Wolff. Tack så mycket!
Date: 12/01/2024
My Untappd rating:

I managed to finish the year strong with a Gabonese beer enjoyed in Gabon, and I start the new year with a new entry as well. I’ve actually had this beer for some time now but haven’t had the chance to cross it off the list. This beer is part of a trade I made with Fredrik Wolff, who I have traded with before, back in July last year. I was able to bring with me some cans of Régab from Gabon so hopefully more trades coming up. As previously on this blog territories that are self governing or similar will be listed under other states or territories in its respective continent.

When it comes to the beer it is nice to try something else than the regular lager. It has a faded yellow colour with a massive foam head that I had to wait to settle before trying the beer. The smell is a little fruity and the same goes for the taste. Hard to describe the finish, but soapy and metallic are words that come to my mind, although very subtle.

Gabon

Régab

Brewery: Société des Brasseries du Gabon
Style: Lager
ABV: 4.5%
Country number: 157
Bought at: Radisson Blu Okoumé Palace Hotel in Libreville, Gabon
Date: 18/12/2023
My Untappd rating:

I finished the last post saying that it hopefully wouldn’t be as quiet in the coming months, and luckily I am able to squeeze in one last entry of the year (unless my workschedule changes…). And for once it is a different story than the usual trading story as has been the norm lately. I am actually in Gabon and had to have a night before continuing flying to Nairobi. I of course seized the opportunity and had a cold Régab in the bar the evening we arrived.

When it comes to the beer there is no surprises. It is golden in colour with a bubbly white foam head. Taste is typical for African lagers. A little crisp and bitter in the start before it tastes more watery and has a very short finish. Far from the worst African lager I would say!

Belize

Belikin

Brewery: Belize Brewing Company
Style: Lager
ABV: 4.8%
Country number: 156
Bought at: Traded with Matthew Head in Gorleston, England. Massive thanks to Matthew!
Date: 13/10/2023
My Untappd rating:

It’s been all silent here since the last beer back in February this year, but I can assure you that I am still hunting for new countries to try beers from. Today I am finally back with a new entry on the list: Belize! As before trading is the way to go to get new countries unless you actually travel to the different countries. I got this beer from Matthew, who’s been featured here on the blog before. He helped me get Zambezi from Zimbabwe, a beer I was able to enjoy in it’s country of origin a couple of months ago.

The beer is well carbonated and looks and smells like your typical lager. It tastes light and crisp with a sweet finish. Nothing too special, but a decent lager nonetheless. Hopefully it won’t be as quiet in the coming months.

Jersey

Shipwrecked

Brewery: Stinky Bay Brewing Company
Style: New England IPA
ABV: 4.8%
Country number: 155
Bought at: Traded with Graham Burrows in Kesgrave, England. Massive thanks to Graham!
Date: 11/02/2023
My Untappd rating: 

Same story as last entry as this one was also part of the trade I did with Graham. When it comes to the matter of listing Jersey as a country it will be included in my country number count but listed under other states or territories as it is a Crown Dependency. Actually Untappd has Channel Islands as a country and Ratebeer has Jersey so at least on those to pages it will count as a country.

When it comes to the beer I can tell you that this is not a New England IPA. I would say it’s more like a regular IPA or session IPA. The colour is dark golden with a very slight hazyness to it. It smells of hops and citrus, and taste similarly with some floral notes as well. Not alot of carbonation and a short sweet to bitter finish. Not to bad actually, but when you are expecting a NEIPA it is kind of dissapointing.

Rwanda

Virunga Gold

Brewery: Skol Brewery
Style: Lager
ABV: 6.5%
Country number: 154
Bought at: Traded with Graham Burrows in Kesgrave, England. Massive thanks to Graham!
Date: 03/02/2023
My Untappd rating:

I’m back home from work which means I can continue the adventure with another new country. Just like Tusker from Vanuatu this beer was part of a trade I did with Graham. Rwanda is one of the many countries in Africa where I have landed but then continued once we were finished offloading/loading. Now if I could only get a beer every place I landed 🙂

The beer is dark golden in colour with a thick foam top. It smells malty and tastes of malt and grains. Dominantly sweet before a short bitterness towards the finish. Not too bad but a little to sweet for my liking.

Bonaire

Bonaire Blond

Brewery: Bonaire Brewery (Brewed at De Noord-Hollandse Bierbrouwerij)
Style: Blonde Ale
ABV: 4.5%
Country number: 153
Bought at: Traded/bough from Marek Orzechowski in Warszawa, Poland. Thanks Marek!
Date: 06/01/2023
My Untappd rating:

I’m starting the new year just like I finished the last one, with a new country tick! The story also stays the same as this was part of the shipment I got from Marek in Poland last year.

The beer is hazy golden in colour with a thin sticky white foam layer on top. It tastes sweet and grainy with a hint of citrus. Slight bitterness towards the end with some taste of spices. A very decent tasting beer after so many lagers lately.

Vanuatu

Tusker

Brewery: Vanuatu Brewing
Style: Lager
ABV: 5.0%
Country number: 152
Bought at: Traded from Graham Burrows in Kesgrave, England. Massive thanks to Graham!
Date: 30/12/2022
My Untappd rating:

We have a new contributer to the blog! But the story is very similar to the previous ones. Thanks to the online trading community I am able to keep this blog alive, and this time with a very hard to get country. It is actually the first time I review a beer from Oceania since SP Lager from Papua New Guinea back in January 2019. This is the first beer of three that was part of this trade so make sure to come back for the other two 🙂 Huge thanks to Graham for this trade!

The beer is golden in colour with a one centimeter foam top when poured into the glass. It tastes malty sweet with a crisp but metallic end to it. Short bitterness in the aftertaste that ends quickly.

And with that another year comes to an end! 13 new countries this year. Hopefully next year can follow in the same fassion! Cheers and Happy New Year everybody! 🙂