Harbin Lager - Harbin Brewery Group

Morris729

Texas

2.83/5  rDev -1%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Bottle is notable as it came wrapped in an unusual silky paper sleeve. Pours a light golden amber color with a bright white head. Nose is probably the highlight of the beer with notes of piney hops and perfume. The carbonation is nice but the beer is too thin—it comes across like watered down champagne. Taste is watered down grain and a bit of grassy hops. Might be acceptable on a hot day, but that’s about it.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2006 23:43:48 | More by Morris729

Bill235

Ohio

3/5  rDev +4.9%

05-12-2013 22:51:12 | More by Bill235

randylangford

Pennsylvania

2.75/5  rDev -3.8%

04-09-2013 00:48:51 | More by randylangford

weerezboy

Washington

3/5  rDev +4.9%

03-14-2013 03:15:38 | More by weerezboy

JeffSuttonTX

Texas

3.5/5  rDev +22.4%

03-11-2013 03:55:09 | More by JeffSuttonTX

ejimhof

Pennsylvania

2.5/5  rDev -12.6%

03-09-2013 13:45:22 | More by ejimhof

matjack85

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev +22.4%

01-29-2013 13:11:23 | More by matjack85

cliff1066

Virginia

2.75/5  rDev -3.8%

12-27-2012 21:17:10 | More by cliff1066

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

2.43/5  rDev -15%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

500ml can poured into pint glass 7/12/12

A clear straw yellow with a few tiny particles and some giant sized bubbles feeding a finger of foam that sizzles out like a cola leaving zero lace and no evidence at all that there was foam.

S cardboard and soggy cracker with a little sweet malt and a faint chemical aspect that's hard to place with a little dry hay

T tastes like our macro lagers, much like the smell but everything's toned down, perhaps not a bad thing

M watery and the bubbles quickly pop in your mouth leaving it feeling flat, not much for aftertaste and I'm not sure if that's good or bad

O hey at least its not skunky, no real reason to bother with this one just another macro only this ones from China

it could be worse but it could be better, everything's faint and boring, don't bother

Serving type: can

12-08-2012 06:44:33 | More by wordemupg

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

2.48/5  rDev -13.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

500ml can, 4.3% ABV, a not unsexy Oriental-lite presentation. Apparently imported by the Budweiser China Sales Company, from a different city than listed here. I'm too tired to actually look up or investigate that shit right now.

This beer pours a clear, pale straw colour, with two thinly foamy fingers of off-white head, which leaves a very low ebb of bubbly lace around the glass as it quickly fades from sight.

It smells of mineral water, a mild grainy corn grist, slight plastic essence, and little else. The taste is a fair bit sweeter, increasingly so in the same gulp, geez, of the sugary corn variety, natch, alongside a mild indistinct fruitiness, and thankfully very soft industrial metals.

The carbonation is more or less there, just there, the body a relatively meaty medium weight for the style, and generally smooth, nothing really egregious in the offset. It finishes on the sweet side, but hardly overly so, putting it a mile or so ahead of its average competitor, unfortunately with the tiniest of lingering, indicative plastic wrap twinges.

Probably the best lager, so, beer, that I've tried from China, and while it saddens me that it's from the AB/Inbev arm there, it also doesn't surprise me. This is pretty much Bud, since the usual runoff skank I get from this country's beers seems to be absent. So, considering the many degrees of degradation, um, good?

Serving type: can

11-20-2012 04:29:36 | More by biboergosum

cfalovo97

Ontario (Canada)

3/5  rDev +4.9%

11-11-2012 01:26:40 | More by cfalovo97

bzach

Indiana

2.25/5  rDev -21.3%

10-16-2012 04:40:42 | More by bzach

Kopfmeister60

Florida

3.5/5  rDev +22.4%

09-21-2012 15:40:10 | More by Kopfmeister60

beerpadawan

California

2.25/5  rDev -21.3%

08-25-2012 20:28:14 | More by beerpadawan

cammo84

Australia

2.25/5  rDev -21.3%

07-14-2012 11:59:36 | More by cammo84

MouthfulOfchris

Texas

3/5  rDev +4.9%

05-05-2012 22:14:20 | More by MouthfulOfchris

FriedGold2112

2.5/5  rDev -12.6%

05-02-2012 03:33:37 | More by FriedGold2112

OldTime

Georgia

2.5/5  rDev -12.6%

04-08-2012 19:20:01 | More by OldTime

HamGlade10

Oklahoma

2.5/5  rDev -12.6%

02-24-2012 21:21:56 | More by HamGlade10

Stoffel

Texas

3/5  rDev +4.9%

01-05-2012 04:12:58 | More by Stoffel

valkyre65

Texas

3.98/5  rDev +39.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

I used to get this beer in a 22oz bottle from our local sushi joint and it was one of my favorite lagers. Unfortunately when that place closed I was forced to seek it out at our local suppliers for purchase and can now definitely understand the low reviews it is getting here on BA. All of the Harbin I can find to buy is in 12oz bottles only and tastes nothing like the larger ones I used to get at that restaurant. Maybe they got them imported directly from China in lead lined shipping containers to protect them? ;)

The 22oz variety I used to get had a wonderful crystal gold shine to it and when poured would create about a one and a half inch micro foam head. The head provided nice lacing through almost the entire time there was still beer in the glass. There was a very clean and mildly astringent smell to this beer with just a hint of the Qindao Dahua hops and German lager yeast. The taste was very mild but crisp and refreshing, interestingly what you thought would be an impending aftertaste simply vanished before it could really develop. This beer had a big carbonation profile which lent nicely to the overall mouth feel/crisp note which made long draws very rewarding.

I will continue to seek out these larger(fresher?)Harbin's and hope that anyone aware of a direct supplier of them please let me know, as I really enjoyed this beer but refuse to drink the sub-standard 12oz variety that seems to be the only thing available at this point to me. So if you can find a source of the 22oz Harbin's, definitely chill one good and give it a try...goes great with sushi too :)

Serving type: bottle

12-08-2011 19:34:58 | More by valkyre65

schlimenhaumer

New York

3.3/5  rDev +15.4%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

Poured from a 11.2oz green bottle into a pint glass at low altitude.

A: Pours a wheat color a shade or two darker than a typical American adjunct lager with a fizzy white head -- little retention and no lacing worth mentioning.

S: Some malt and yeast notes mixed with a faint fruitiness and a some metallic notes. Not a very strong smell overall.

T: Malty notes up front followed by some surprisingly clean fruit notes. The metals from the nose thankfully didn't come through here. My only real complaint here is that it's almost entirely absent of any bitterness.

M: Light bodied with a good deal of carbonation -- very dry. The dryness was the feature that stood out to me most about this beer, but not necessarily in a good way.

D: The carbonation and extreme dryness of this beer make it a little hard to take down. I feel like I would need some water after a couple bottles of this.

Serving type: bottle

08-04-2011 01:34:53 | More by schlimenhaumer

ChrisCage

Alberta (Canada)

2.68/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 5

I've had this while in China, but this was a present given to me from a trip made Aug '10....canned product, still fine! This is also direct from China, and the can states that this brew is greater than or equal to 3.6% alc/vol.

A- Love the logo and coloring on the canPours with a clear grassy color...very clear, and with lots of big bristly looking carbonation. The head is thick and super white in color initially but fades quickly into virtually nothing...just a half ring around the glass....nothing special here...just another standard looking Chinese lager.

S- Dry, very adjunct-ish...primarily of boiled corn water, dry graininess, and not much else. I suppose there is some sweet malt noticeable but it seems unnatural. No hop bitterness to be smelt for miles!

T- More of the same here....just lots of sweet corn adjunct goodness! This flavor lingers after the swallow as well. Mixed in here there is some mild malt sweetness as well but is overshadowed by the corn. Absolutely no hop bitterness available to the palate.

M- Very thin, and with lots of palate scrubbing carbonation. These two characteristics keep this a crisp, relatively clean tasting brew, but there is the aforementioned aftertaste. There is also a bit of a cloying oiliness that gives this a real unique feel...watery yet oily....

O- Honestly, I remember this being better while on vacation, but then again, it was humid and warm. Again, like pretty much all other Chinese lagers, this one isn't anywhere near special, but for thirst quenching purposes, this hits the spot. It's pretty standard fare, but I'd drink it again and will at some point I'm sure

Serving type: can

06-08-2011 03:15:12 | More by ChrisCage

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

2.65/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

This beer pours out as a golden color with some quick fading head. The smell was hardly noticeable at all. The Taste was just about the same as the aroma, very light. The mouthfeel was carbonated and light. Overa this beer wasn't that great. Nothing to rave about.

Serving type: bottle

05-28-2011 23:40:29 | More by Knapp85

bucklemyshoe

Georgia

3.23/5  rDev +12.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

600 mL bottle at 42 degrees into a pint glass. $2.99 @ Vineyard.

A: It pours a coppery-yellow color with a two-finger head of egg-shell color that turns rocky yet does not hold or lace very well.

S: Sweet grains, light berry fruit, and a little toast.

T: Sweet grains (I'm noticing a trend), faint noble hops, and a dry, lightly bready finish.

M: The body is medium-thin with average to high carbonation and a crisp finish.

O: It is easy drinking and is not offensive enough to mind downing the entire large bottle.

Serving type: bottle

03-17-2011 18:44:42 | More by bucklemyshoe