Castle Lager

South African Brewery
South Africa
Imported by: S.A.B. USA, LLC
Laguna Niguel, CA

Available: AL, CA, CO, KY, OH, OR

Castle Lager has been brewed since 1895. The original recipe and the art of brewing has been passed through generations of brewmasters.

Alcohol by weight: 3.98
Color: n/a
Bitterness: n/a
Gravity: n/a

A fine example of American light (not lite) lager. Good color, great sound: it is refreshing and satisfying, especially for a hot summer day. Well done indeed. And it should satisfy any Bud or Coors lover, but it's not my own favorite beer style.
- Fred Eckhardt

This beer is very pale bright gold, with an aroma of sweet corn and a touch of fruit. A sizzle of carbonation and a faint prickle of bitterness fall away to reveal some sweetness, and then--nothing. The beer vanishes into thin air--there is no “finish”. This is an American-style mass-market beer, brewed to a fairly high technical standard--it has no particular off flavors. Then again, it has no “on” flavors either. From a land as flavorful as Africa, the cradle of brewing, this is particularly depressing. Fortunately, traditional African brewing lives on.
- Garrett Oliver

Vegetal hop on the nose. Perhaps the Australian variety Pride of Ringwood? Also, for a lager, oddly fruity in aroma. Given that is from Africa, perhaps I am being suggestible, but I thought I found tropical fruits. Paw-paw? Star-fruit? Very light in flavor and body. Hint of gingery dryness in the finish. No doubt a refreshing beer in very hot weather. Castle Milk Stout might have more commercial potential in the US market.
- Michael Jackson

Fred Eckhardt
Fred Eckhardt lives, writes about and drinks beer in Portland, OR. He is the author of The Essentials of Beer and Sake (USA).

Garrett Oliver
Internationally recognized brewer and expert on traditional beer, Garrett Oliver is the brewmaster of the Brooklyn Brewery and the author of The Brewmaster's Table.

Michael Jackson
Author of Ultimate Beer, the Simon & Schuster Guide to Beer and numerous other works on drinks, Jackson has created legions of converts to fine beer.