Tsingtao

First Brewed: 1903
Brewery Location: Qingdao (Tsingtao), Shandong, China
ABV: 4.8%

History & Availability: Founded by German nationals in China, Tsingtao was originally named Germania Brauerei until it was sold to the Dai-Nippon brewery, a Japanese company that today is split into Asahi and Sapporo breweries. Following World War II it finally became Chinese-owned, and was nationalized in 1949 along with the rest of Chinese private enterprise. It was reprivatized in 1993 and remains so today. The branding "Tsingtao" comes from the old French transliteration of the name of the city of Qingdao. This is largely because China's beer market was severely underdeveloped for many years in the middle of the century, and as a result the majority of production was sold to foreign markets. Despite this transliteration, it's actually pronounced closer to "Ching-dow." The beer was introduced to the US in 1972 and has remained the most popular Chinese beer on the market (not that that's saying much, but come on). Tsingtao also currently remains the most popular beer in China, holding 15% of the market share.

Appearance: A light but rich corn yellow, this beer has very little carbonation and no head at all as a result. Without going into undue detail, it looks almost exactly like every other beer in the past two weeks.

Smell: Surprisingly crisp and sweet. Interestingly, this isn't a malty sweetness at all, which tends to be subdued, or I guess the best way I can describe it is a "dark" sweetness - instead the smell of Tsingtao is a bright sweetness, reminiscent of sherbet (or sorbet if you're a little more sophisticated than I am).

Taste: Again, surprisingly sweet. To be clear, it's not like you're drinking straight syrup, and the sweetness is balanced out nicely with a largely bitter aftertaste, but the sweetness is the most important taste here for sure. Besides the sugary foreground, there's a hint of peanut or cashew flavor that really adds some depth to the beer. I can imagine this pairing wonderfully with some higher-quality Chinese food.

Mouthfeel: Noticeably heavier-bodied than all the American macrobrews. Carbonation stays nice and low while still allowing for enough activity to keep the beer from being flat in the mouth.

Drinkability: You do tend to get the burps from this beer, and it's presence in the stomach doesn't go unnoticed. Nevertheless I found it no trouble at all to put back a couple of bottles. Especially if you're eating a well-paired meal along with the brew - which I highly recommend for most beers, but especially this one - you'll hardly notice how much you've had until you hit the bottom of the mug.

Overall verdict: B, another pleasant surprise this week. This may become my go-to golden lager.