Tibet Lhasa Brewery Company
Lhasa, Tibet
Imported by: Dzambuling Imports, El Cerrito, CA
The only Tibetan beer on the world market; and has grown in production in recent years investment internationally by Carlsberg. Pure Himalayan spring water, Tibetan barley, Saaz hops, and yeast.
ABV: 4.6
ABW: 3.66
COLOR: 6.1
BITTERNESS: 21
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 1045
AVAILABLE: AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, LA, NM, NV, OK, OR, TX, WA, AR, IA, KS, MO, MT, NE, NC
Yep, it’s a light-colored lager. And, yep, it’s fizzy. But that’s about all Lhasa has in common with your typical light adjunct lager. For starters, it’s an all-malt lager, brewed with 30 percent hull-free Tibetan barley, which purportedly boosts the body a bit and cuts down on astringency. The aroma is light and sweet, creating a nice foil for the surprisingly forward Saaz hops to come in with a crescendo. The Saaz linger long after your sip is finished, reminding you that this is not your typical American lawnmower beer. But it’s still as refreshing on a hot summer day.
The Jimmy Cagney of beers, straight from the top of the world. The exuberant label is childishly playful, all bright colors and oriental imagery. The beer itself is more worldly-wise, a hazy yellow creation that opens with a pleasant and slightly sour, grainy aroma tinged with gentle melon and herbal notes. The haze in the appearance is reflected in the slightly chewy taste that is again herbal and bittersweet, before a dry, increasingly bitter finish. I’d really like to taste this fresh on its home patch, but that ain’t going to be easy!
Lisa Morrison, aka The Beer Goddess, writes about beer whenever and wherever she can and also gets to talk about it on a weekly radio show in her hometown of Portland, OR.
Author of the Good Bottled Beer Guide and The Book of Beer Knowledge, Jeff Evans is an eight-time editor of the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. More of his writing can be found at www.insidebeer.com.
Wed Jul 3rd, 2013
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