So, Tsingtao. The import rights were recently picked up by Paulaner USA, which sent out samples, surfacing a beer that I hadn’t considered for quite some time. I don’t believe I’ve even seen Tsingtao on the market anytime in the past few years. So, even as a green bottle pale macro lager, I was curious to try it again.

The last time I had Tsingtao (I believe; it’s possible I’ve had it since) was in 2007, and I wrote about it then. That review was also prompted by a marketing push, and Anheuser-Busch owned 27% of the company back then; since that time, it’s reverted to being a wholly Chinese company. The Wikipedia article has the storied summary of its history, and this short paragraph on its founding gets you started:

Tsingtao Brewery was founded by the Anglo-German Brewery Co. Ltd., an English-German joint stock company based in Hong Kong which owned it until 1916. The brewery was founded on August 15, 1903 as the Germania-Brauerei (Germania Brewery) with a paid-in capital of 400,000 Mexican silver dollars divided into 4,000 shares priced at $100 each.

Tsingtao Premium Lager is a classic international pale lager, brewed with malted rice in addition to barley, and weighs in at 4.7% with 19 IBUs. In short: an easy drinking beer in the pilsner vein. I had a minor bit of worry about the green bottle glass for possible skunkiness, but it was fine.

Appearance: Pale gold, the brilliant clarity of a proper pale lager, active carbonation with a steady stream of bubbles rising up the glass. Fizzy, crisp white head.

Smell: Light, crisp grainy tang, low-to-no hop aroma, a faint hint of sulfur. Dried grain husk.

Taste: Sweetly grainy malt, a hint of earthy hops (bitterness/spiciness) to counteract the sweetness, super clean fermentation profile. The malt character is nice and tastes all-malt though I know there’s rice as well. No green glass damage. It’s a nice international pale macro lager. There’s some hop bitterness here if you look for it, as well.

Mouthfeel: Light, crisp, good dry finish; there’s a light lingering maltiness/sweetness in the aftertaste.

Overall: As expected, and honestly a really nice drinker on a hot summer day.