Tsingtao

'Master brewers use only the highest quality malted barley, hops, yeast and pure mountain water to produce Tsingtao, the finest beer from China'

I ordered this beer at a restaurant a few years ago and enjoyed it but have had the hardest time getting a non skunky bottle at liquor stores. I will chalk this up to the fact that is in green bottles, is made very far away from Chicago and is not very popular. Those three things make for a lot of different temperature storages and light damage to the beer itself. So when a new store opened up by me I grabbed a six pack from the back row of the cooler right away to see what it really tastes like.

Well, it tastes like a lot of beers. Tsingtao is a very smooth lager that is very refreshing to drink that takes very few chances. A very good sign of balance is when a beer tastes just fine but does not have a characteristic that overtakes the others. A slightly malty aftertaste is one of the few defining flavors that Tsingtao brings to the table. Because of this I almost want to rate Tsingtao as a mediocre beer but that isn't the truth at all , it is so very balanced that it is almost subversive. I think this is one of the most masterfully well rounded beers I have had in a long time. Too bad its almost impossible to get a bottle of this stuff that isn't stale, but that might be changing with its new importer. I will have to check on that soon because after a long days work Tsingtao definitely hit the spot. Recommended... but wary due to past experience.