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Refresh! Case Buy the case, print-off this page, and compare your notes with Tom's! Eichbaum, Ureich Premium Pils (Germany) This Pils pours a pale to medium gold colour, with a persistent, creamy white head. Clean, herbal and floral on the nose, there are nettle and leafy summer garden aromas as well as aromatic hints and just touches of malty biscuit aromas. On the palate it has a typical hint of sweetness, then quite complex flavours of fresh, bitter, oily hops and very zesty citrus cut through. There is really good hopping here, with a very adult bitterness of chicory and bitter leaves in the finish, in a moreish, fresh style with plenty of bite and contrast. 4.8% ABV Nymburk, Gold Bohemia Lager (Czech Republic) This beer has a medium gold colour and thinnish white head. On the nose there is a delicious and tantalising aromas of honey that strikes one immediately. The aromas are very pure and fruity, with sweet malt and hop notes present, but all subsumed within the rich, honeyed character. On the palate it has lovely presence. The mouth filled with plenty of slightly sweet, fruity flavours of orange and ripe pear, all wrapped in that trademark honey note. It is medium-bodied, and a streak of peppery, green hops begins to bite into the finish, where some biscuity malt supports and leaves this satisfyingly rich, yet refreshingly clean. 5.0% ABV Tyskie, Gronie (Poland) Brewing since the 17th century, this is Tyskie�s best-known beer, brewed from Gronie spring water. Now part of the SAB-Miller group, the beer pours a light golden colour with a thick white head of good retention. This beer is dominated by hops on the nose, with a nice leafiness and nettle-bed quality. There is a some orange and biscuit malt, but it is a fresh, clean style. On the palate there is a sense of fullness and richness to this. There�s a hint of sweetness that is mouth-filling and flattering, with good fruit through the mid-palate and then those fresh citrus and hoppy notes brightening the finish. A fine, well-made lager. 5.6% ABV Duyck, Jenlain No Six (France) This beer bears the inscription �Biere Blonde Speciale� on the label, and indeed it is a rather nice interpretation of a Blonde Pilsener style, that pours a medium gold with fluffy white head. The nose has lots of biscuit and caramel malt, and a nice undertow of nettly hops that are really quite grassy. On the palate this is a full-textured, strong tasting beer, with quite vinous notes and plenty of oomph, marrying mouth-filling, sweetish, fruity flavours with a pillowing weight of malt and plenty of hoopy, resinous notes in the finish. 6.0% ABV Alhambra, Reserva 1925 (Spain) This is a very striking package, with all information on the green bottle embossed onto the glass and no label as such. With a very slow fermentation for 57 days, it is definitely a premium beer. The beer pours quite a dark amber colour with a thick, fluffy head that is just off white and really persists. On the nose this is immediately powerful and rich, with dark caramel-like malt aromas and a great depth of oily hops and meaty, earthy notes. In the mouth it is full-textured, but has such immediate bite and crisp, clean, beautifully refined hop oil and chicory flavours that it is clean and refreshing. There is a touch of sweetness in here, and plenty of complex malt notes, in a very, very stylish and enjoyable beer. 6.4% ABV Alhambra, Mezquita (Spain) Mezquita is a different sort of animal. Mezquita is not Mosquito, but "Mosque", signifying this beer is Alhambra's homage to the temples of the city of Cordoba, made in the style of an Abbey beer. It has a striking ruby-red colour and a high-rise, persistent white head just tinged with pink. There are cherry and floral notes on the nose, with a hint of old roses and fine, malty notes beneath. On the palate There's a mocha-coffee richness, and plenty of sweetening, Belgian Trappist-style notes, with a great thrust of grapefruit pith acidity adding balance. This is a big mouthful of beer, with its 7.2% alcohol making its presence felt in a long, grippy finish. 7.2% ABV Cereuro, Tagus (Portugal) I had only previously been aware of the very good quality beers from Sagres and Super Bock from Portugal, but this brand new product has just arrived in the UK. Tagus declares itself as �Pure Malt� on the label, so presumably no corn, rice or other grains and starches are used. It pours a very nice gold/amber with a good white head. It has a lovely nose: a clean, pure array of caramelly malt aromas with a fruitiness and nice perky zest of oily, green hops. On the palate it is zesty and refreshing, with lemon and endive flavours, a real bittering bite in the finish and obviously well-hopped character. Quite a full, powerful style this, that elevates it above the easy drinking, and a really very good strong lager style beer. 5.4% ABV James Boag's, Premium (Australia) This Tasmanian lager is aromatic, with hoppy and lightly malted notes, and a creaminess on the nose. That impression really follows through on the palate, which is quite thick-textured and very rich, with a rolling, milky quality, and only very gentle effervescence. Its flavours are clean and dry, with a nice bite on the finish, but this is a very gentle and grown-up style of beer that I really enjoyed. 5.0% ABV Orion Beer, Premium Beer (Japan) Imported direct from the brewery on Okinawa, a sub-tropical island that is the 47th prefecture of Japan, and a Pacific Ocean travel destination. This golden beer pours with a very high-rise, fluffy head. The nose has a little note of rice and a starchy element, and a touch of sweetcorn. In the mouth more malty flavour comes through, and a real grapefruit pith and endive bitter note that helps this pleasant if unexceptional lager stand out from the crowd a little. 5.0% ABV Saigon Beer Co., Export (Vietnam) This Vietnamese beer is brewed with barley and rice, and pours a bright gold colour with a thick, creamy white head. The nose is very clean and lemony, with some biscuity richness melding with clean, fresh, citrus and bright, fruity aromas. On the palate it has a touch of sweetness at first, and then a kick of those more herbal, endive and chicory-like hop notes comes through, giving this a bit of bite. It finishes with some grapefruity bitterness in a fairly grown-up style. 4.9% ABV Casta, Bruna (Mexico) Labeled as a "Pale Ale" on the neck collar, this pours a dark, ruby/tobacco colour with an off-white, quite thick head. On the nose there is an aroma of chestnuts and a dry, ashy note, with quite a pungent, herbal background. There's just a touch of chocolate too. On the palate it is quite sour, with a sour cherry and plum fruitiness, and a little less malt than I expected from the colour. It has a medium-body, and a little bit of very bitter dark chocolate, but no great hop character. Quite complex and enjoyable all the same. 5.5% ABV Casta, Triguera Wheat Ale (Mexico) This beer has a light to medium golden colour and avery thin and quickly dissipating white head. The nose is immediately fruity, with banana and ripe pear joined by a hint of clove. On the palate it has low carbonation and a medium body, with lots of orange fruit and a clean, citrus acidity. There's a little hoppy crispness and a gentle warmth, with a background note of honey in the finish of this easy-drinking wheat beer that went well with spicy Chinese food. 5.4% ABV  24 X bottles for �32.90   Price includes delivery to UK mainland postcodes

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