#3 DB Export Beer - The Original Brew

According to the side of the beautifully designed box - this drop was first brewed by The Waitemata Brewery in 1960 to offer New Zealand's working men an affordable option to heavily taxed imported beers. So kind of them.

And now, to celebrate its 50th Anniversary (although I don't recall it being around for at least 20 years - happy to be corrected on that one), DB Breweries has made this award-winning (Supreme Award Winner Brewers' Exhibition London 1968) lager available again. Although it's not so affordable at $12.50 for two 750mL bottles. I did get a limited edition bottle opener with it however.

After cracking the top off with my shiny new opener, DB Export Beer is a crystal-clear pale gold, with a soft head and medium carbonation. It has a subtle sweet, malty aroma that is neither pleasant, nor offensive.

I was bracing myself for a musty cardboardiness.

DB Export Beer has a body and sweetness that coats the entire mouth nicely, and quickly fades to a slight, clean citrusy bitterness.

At 5.35% ABV I was expecting a little warmth but it didn't deliver - so you'd need to be careful if you were picking this for a session. Or not.

As a limited edition, it's not really worth the song & dance, and the huge TV production that went with it. But the packaging was flash.

#2 Stag Lager Beer

Stacked majestically in the front row of the supermarket chiller I found Stag Lager Beer.

Stag pours a pale straw with a nice head and a small amount of carbonation. It's vaguely malty with a touch of citrus but there's an unpleasant aroma of damp cardboard that overpowers the desire to want to savour this beer. It reminds me of the odours that emanate from all night bars in the city - the sweat of old men, cigarette butts and beer soaked carpets; familiar but not very inviting.

Maybe that's what a wild stag actually smells like.

Stag is far from the powerful beast its name suggests, with very little body, 3.5% ABV and an incredibly sweet palate. The sweetness quickly gives way to a watery, unripe mandarin bitterness that lingers for quite some time - much like the smell of those all night bars.

Stag is definitely one to be left alone.

#1 - Carter Original Lager

I expected this beer to be well, awful. It's the cheapest beer I've ever purchased and it comes in a convenient '20 for 20 - drink 'til you spew' box - so I imagined that I'd have to struggle through every can.

To tell you the truth, I was surprised, not pleasantly surprised, just surprised.

Carter Original Lager is not awful - it pours a very pale straw, with the kind of head you'd expect from a mainstream European Lager. It has a very mild malt aroma, a little like plain, unbuttered popcorn that's been left out overnight. Its nose reminds me a little of Corona but not as intensely weighted on the corny side.

The taste was the main reason I didn't think it was awful because it had almost no taste at all (much like its colour and aroma) - just a hint of tart citrus. This hint is about as prominent as a twist of lemon in a large, cold glass of soda water. And the overall mouthfeel (despite being described on the box as full-bodied) is that of soda as well. It's gone as quickly as you can swallow it.

So, Carter is a beer all right because it's 4% ABV, but it's more like a soda than a beer. So I'd recommend it to people who don't really like beer at all.