TATRA ~ GRUPA ŻYWIEC 

Tatra is a Euro Pale Lager made by Grupa Żywiec, a subsidiary of Heineken. Sampled from a tin, the beer poured clear golden amber with a thin head. The head left quickly leaving patches of lace. Nose is fairly mild with bready grains, light sweet malts, hay, and a tiny hint of lemon and very mild grassy hops. Flavour follows as expected: it tastes like a light Euro Lager. Sweet grains, pale malts, slight earthiness with a hint of hops. The finish is quick and has a strange sweetness about it. The alcohol is barely noticeable. The mouthfeel was fairly light and the carbonation was lively. Overall, I would prefer this to an American Macro; it had a little more backbone. The beer is drinkable, but it is very innocuous, and average.

5.5% from Żywiec, Śląskie Poland

HEINEKEN LAGER BEER

MACRO BREW ~ The local bar was giving out six packs as a prize, which how I ended up drinking Heineken – at least they were imported from Holland, not the ones made on licence in North America. Sampled from a bottle this Euro-lager poured a clear golden yellow with a thin white head. It was highly carbonated and the head left thin lacing around the top of the mug. The aroma is very mild as is the taste . There are faint grains and very mild unobtrusive floral hops. The flavour consisted of light grains, cereal, grass and pleasant noble hops. This is a really inoffensive beer that goes with a ton of foods and would be good for a backyard BBQ. Compared to Bud and Coors, I would pick this any day. Interestingly enough, Heineken was the first European import after prohibition was lifted in the US. Now the Heineken group owns numerous breweries around the world and is sold in more countries than any other beer. They produce well over 16 and a half billion litres of beer annually.

5% from Zoeterwoude, Holland Netherlands 19 IBU