Hite - Hite Brewery Company LTD

UCLABrewN84

California

2.5/5  rDev 0%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Pours a clear light yellow with a 1 inch bubbly white head that fades to a few bubbles on the top of the beer. No lacing whatsoever. Smell is of grains, rice, and cooked veggies. There is also a sulfur smell that comes out as the beer warms. Taste is of grains, bubble gum, and vegetable broth. For such a bubbly head the carbonation level is on the low side with a somewhat flat mouthfeel. This is a pretty bad beer. Their motto is "cool & fresh" which I would have to disagree with on both claims.

Serving type: can

08-12-2011 01:32:25 | More by UCLABrewN84

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

2.23/5  rDev -10.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Appearance: Pours a clear, pale yellow body with a shamefully thin, white head.

Smell: Vague light pale malt nose with a cereal sweetness to it.

Taste: Light pale malts with the faintest hint of grain and a single, solitary drop of honey sweetness. No real hop character though beyond an altogether mild bitterness. Finishes crisp and clean (as there wasn't anything really there to begin with).

Mouthfeel: Thin-bodied. Medium carbonation.

Drinkability: Ugh. Hite doesn't exactly represent the height of lager brewing.

Serving type: can

10-20-2008 02:01:23 | More by ChainGangGuy

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

2.98/5  rDev +19.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Hite pours a crystal clear straw-gold body beneath a short head of bright-white foam. The head falls shortly to nothing, and there's no lace left behind.

The nose is clean and fresh, but doesn't offer anything more than a generic beer aroma.

The flavor, not unlike the aroma, is clean but basic. It's nicely balanced though, backed by a firm bitterness; and there are some dull herbal hops in there as well.

The carbonation gently bristles the tongue, and it has a medium-light body. Surprisingly, the carbonation does nothing to help with the poor head-retention.

Overall, it's a pretty decent, refreshing golden lager.

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2006 17:09:48 | More by NeroFiddled

metter98

New York

2.45/5  rDev -2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

On-tap at K-Town Chicken, New York, NY

A: The beer is crystal clear light yellow in color and has a light amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a ½-finger high white head that quickly died down and left a thin ring of bubbles around the edge of the glass.
S: There are light aromas of adjunct malts in the nose.
T: Similar to the smell, the taste has watery flavors of grainy malts.
M: It feels light-bodied and thin on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer goes down rather easy and makes a nice accompaniment to the spiciness of KFC (Korean Fried Chicken).

Serving type: on-tap

05-25-2012 23:12:58 | More by metter98

zeff80

Missouri

1.75/5  rDev -30%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2

Had a Tin Can Tavern & Grille - Columbia, MO

A - Poured out a clear, straw yellow color with millions of bubbles of carbonation. It had a small, white, bubbly head that receded quickly and left no lace.

S - It smelled of grains. Really there wasn't much else for an aroma.

T - It tasted of grains and was a little watery. There was an unpleasant aftertaste.

M - Very thin and weak. A light bodied lager.

D - I tried this so I could say I've had a beer from South Korea. That's about all I'll ever say about it though.

Serving type: can

08-04-2010 02:27:58 | More by zeff80

russpowell

Oklahoma

2.68/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Had this with my sushi at lunch today, a blast from the past! I considered this one of the better beers I drank over in Korea, but this also motivated me to homebrew more, enough said:

675 ml bottle pours an effervescent gold with a 1/2" of pearl white head. Minimal head retention 7 zero lacing

S: Sweet malt, some metallic & citric hops

T: Much sweetness up front, a bit of lemon & metallic hops also. Cloying sweetness really grabs ya as this warms. Finishes semi-soapy, cloying & a bit of metallic hops

MF: Medium bodied, medium carbonation & some softness

This drinks slow mostly due to the extreme sweetness, but work well with spicy sushi, i prefer this to BMC

Serving type: bottle

07-23-2008 19:08:43 | More by russpowell

emerge077

Illinois

2.78/5  rDev +11.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Tall 22 oz. bottle served at Chizakaya (RIP) with a highball glass alongside.
Review from written notes. Blue bottle opener activated, it's cold!

Pale transparent gold, rising trails of carb visible. Thin layer of white foam, fairly compact with tight bubbles.

Grainy pils malt aroma and taste, a little bit papery in the aftertaste. Feel is dry and crisp though also a bit bland. Flavor is rather subtle and it's well carbed. Fairly clean and utilitarian.

Overall an average industrial lager with few flaws, but not much defining character either. It was pretty drinkable as I was thirsty, and it paired well with some izakaya-style snack foods like salty pigs ear pork rinds, beef tongue skewers, and hamachi kama.

I've seen this beer in an odd larger format 1.6L plastic bottle also, called the "pitcher" size. The empty bottle may or may not have been thrown at a Wyomingan.

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2012 22:09:13 | More by emerge077

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

2.63/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Weird mirror-world bottle shape, and aquamarine and orange colour scheme. Different is good?

This beer pours a light pale straw colour, with a few fingers of thin soapy white head, which leaves nary a trace of lace as it quickly melts away. It smells like sweet rice grain, a bit on the creamy side, Uncle Ben's-style. The taste is a mildly skunky rice sweetness, with a little bit of herbaceous, weediness as well. the carbonation is thankfully fairly restrained, the body medium weight, and clammy, cloying, and a bit oily, and it finishes dry, with some cooked veggies playing things out.

I surely don't know about the whole "Clean, Crisp and Fresh!" claims on the label. An average Asian macro lager.

Serving type: bottle

10-17-2009 00:03:22 | More by biboergosum

jwc215

New Jersey

2.13/5  rDev -14.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Pours very light straw yellow with a thin, lasting white head that left some lacing. The color was weak, but nice head for the style.

The smell was very thin. Some bittersweet malt/hop something going on, but too thin to tell and a slight adjuct-like aroma was mixed in.

The taste was thin as well. There was a hint of a malt sweetness, but it was flushed out by the "naturally fresh water" that the label announces so proudly. The usual macro suspect - cookie veggie also played a small part. Some hops were there, but were weak and seemingly overprocessed, as they were limp, leaving a flat, watery feeling.

Some body was hinted at, but fell apart rather quickly and left a rather flat feeling in the mouth.

Its relative inoffensiveness was due to thin weakness more than anything else. Any time anything seemed to surface, it was quickly washed away. I had one cold and warm. It was a bit better ice cold - kept some adjuncts in line.

Bottom line - We have enough swill, why import more...and, it's not even decent for the style on top of that.

However, I did see a great poster that advertises this beer. (It was not displayed, but I was fortunate enough to see it.) The great bodies of naked women with body paint on them. If you can, grab the poster, leave the beer.

Serving type: bottle

10-19-2006 02:10:21 | More by jwc215

RblWthACoz

Pennsylvania

2.45/5  rDev -2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

Any beer that costs you $1.50 or less in a store in the NYC area is one to beware of.

Pours a clear straw gold. White head. Blah blah blah. They all pour like this. And the head never stays. Very minor citrus tone it seems on the nose. Flavor is, well, bad. Really. Isn't skunked, but it tastes way dirty. Definitely not cleanly filtered. Feel has a good level of carbonation, and the liquid is a pretty good feel too. But overall this is one mediocre at best lager. Bad. Bad, bad, bad.

Serving type: bottle

01-01-2008 01:35:17 | More by RblWthACoz

Zorro

California

2.45/5  rDev -2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

Executive summary of this beer is that it is a Light Beer in all respects.

Huge brown bottle from the Beverage Warehouse in Culver City California.

Pours a fizzy yellow beer with a decent white head looks like American Macro brew. Very high carbonation level.

Smell is grass and grains with a little bit of a sweet scent. Scents of cooked vegetables, and a fainter perfume scent carried by the alcohol.

Taste is very light. Faint sweetness and stingy carbonation level. Low hop bitterness but it is more than it needs for the sweetness level. Carbonation level gives this a bit of a metallic flavor for an instant. Tastes like a Budweiser light with a little more hops.

Mouthfeel is on the light side.

This isn't a craft beer but I can't say that it is offensive either. This your basic light lawnmower beer with a bit more carbonation and a bit of extra hops. Not a first choice but I could drink this when hot and thirsty if I had too.

Serving type: bottle

11-08-2005 02:27:36 | More by Zorro

Gusler

Arizona

2/5  rDev -20%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

The beer dispenses from the bottle light gold color with the head bright white and modest in size, texture is frothy, the lace a thin velum like sheet to conceal the glass. Nose is malt sweet, crisp and clean; start is sweet, thinly malted, top cadaverous in feel. Finish is mild in its acidity, the hops present but quite subdued in their spiciness, dry aftertaste, a typical thin waisted lager that has little merit in my humble opinion.

Serving type: bottle

01-23-2004 23:00:56 | More by Gusler

woodychandler

Pennsylvania

3.9/5  rDev +56%
look: 5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

My first beer of New Beer Sunday (Abeyance Week 1)! I got this CAN through BeerDocT after I reviewed if from a bottle and realized that it was also available in CANs. I then put some feelers out among previous CAN reviewers and Doc and I set up a small trade to keep The CANQuest (TM) humming along. This is how we do ...

From the CAN: "The open mark turns blue at optimal tasting temperature"; "Clean tasting, Refreshing beer"; "preserved by F.T.K. (Fresh Taste Keeping) System".

Ha! As a retired sailor, any time F (foxtrot) is used as an abbreviation, the default position is "F*c*", so I CAN see this as F*c* This KAN! That's just me, though. Hey, when did FTW become "For the Win", vice "F the World", which is what it always used to mean?

Onward! A Crack followed by a no-holds-barred Glug produced a massive two-plus fingers of fizzing, foamy bone-white head with very limited retention. Hey, if I'd have known you were going to leave so quickly, I would not have bothered showering! Ya hear me, ya jagov?!? Bye! On an up note, the color was a deep-golden yellow to make Midas and Croesus proud, coupled with NE-quality clarity enabling me to read the postcard offering me a a complimentary entree for my birthday. I will be headed to PHL tomorrow to the University City Mad Mex to take them up on their offer. Once again, I digress ... Nose had the sweetish smell of pure unadulterated lager, no adjuncts, and my mouth began to water. I swear, there are more CANned AALs than I would have ever imagined. Mouthfeel was a tad thin and it tasted like lager with Noble hops, slightly tangy, mellow in a grassy way. Yum! Finish was semi-dry and definitely refreshing, so kudos for them for truth in advertising. It really is not a bad beer and I would probably fill a cooler with it for a day at the beach. YMMV.

Serving type: can

02-19-2012 15:38:34 | More by woodychandler

biegaman

Ontario (Canada)

2.53/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Befitting to its Asian origins, Hite's bubble population is profuse and densely packed. Honesty, I doubt even the world's finest Champagnes have such a copious level of those tiny, close-knit balloons floating around. With such large numbers, it's a surprise to see there's no foam percolating over this shimmering, straw coloured body.

I can't help but feel the label's a little presumptuous: "Cool and Fresh!", it boasts. The 'cool' part is ensured by a small picture of a bottle opener that turns blue when the beer is prescriptively cold enough - as if I couldn't determine that on my own. As for 'fresh', last I checked the freight ride from South Korea to south-central Canada isn't exactly speedy...

In a bouquet that makes me second guess the colour of the bottle - wait, this isn't green or clear? - the musty-sweet smell of sprouting grains and cheap sparkling wine hits the nose with the force of a karate-chop. It's the smell of a bottle that sat all day in the sun and heat and it couldn't be much less unappetizing.

Whereas the nose is unappealing the taste is simply plain and trite. Despite the disappointment I've suffered for hoping for a moderately tasteful lager, I cannot fault the beer for being heroically ordinary and flavorless. Water is unarguably the world's most popular beverage and if you want to sell more beer, it makes sense to try and emulate it.

Rice seems to generally make a less offensive adjunct because it doesn't result in the same level of astringency or cloying-sweetness that corn syrup does. In fact, Hite is a relatively clean and painless drinking beer; despite being uninteresting, nothing else about it makes it all that objectionable (at least not as far as beers of this milieus are concerned).

Many Asian countries have substantial history and artisanal proficiency at fermenting beverages made from rice and barley - this surely does not speak to that. The rice in this malted beverage was used because it was more economical and would result in a less distinctive beer. This may be Korea's number one selling beer but let us not overlook that that statement is a reflection of popularity, not of quality.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2010 18:13:34 | More by biegaman

Dogbrick

Ohio

2.48/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

I was actually a little surprised by this one. Surprised it was not vile. Pours a clear gold color with a thin white head. No real lacing to speak of and the head was short-lived. The aroma is lightly sweet which was another surprise. Light-bodied with a barely average hops flavor. The finish is a little sweet and a little fruity. This isn't a beer I would seek out again but I would drink it in Korea over a Bud.

Serving type: bottle

08-12-2003 14:14:44 | More by Dogbrick

Cyberkedi

Georgia

2.53/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Pours a wan straw yellow - not inspiring - with a white head that doesn't stick around for long. OK, maybe it gets better. Aroma is typical of a pale lager, malty with a fruity hint. Flavor is typical, crisp and malty and just a little fruity - nothing special, but OK. Texture has average body and a fair amount of fizziness. Mediocre, but give it a fair shake.

Serving type: bottle

11-15-2011 03:23:43 | More by Cyberkedi

RoyalT

Ohio

1.08/5  rDev -56.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1

Appearance – This was light orange in color with an up-and-down head and a bit of effervescence.

Smell – Oh, this is nasty. The rotten grain and cheap sugars are just horrible.

Taste – This is Pale Lager at its worst. The cheap Gummi-Bear sweetness is retched, and the nasty grain notes almost made me vomit.

Mouthfeel – I couldn’t hold this in between my cheeks long enough to gauge the mouthfeel, but it’s thin I’m sure.

Sinkability – I wouldn’t drink this again if someone paid me to. The s-hite refrence was already used, so I’ll just assume that the word “hite” is Korean for, “nasty-ass crap in a bottle.”

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2004 03:05:21 | More by RoyalT

Tone

Missouri

2.48/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a clear pale yellow. 1/4 inch head of a white color. Poor retention and poor lacing. Smells of adjunct and a lager (cleanliness). Fits the style of an American Adjunct Lager. Mouth feel is smooth and crisp with a high carbonation level. Tastes of lager cleanliness, adjunct, and some pale malt. Overall, a pretty common adjunct lager.

Serving type: bottle

02-17-2009 01:14:06 | More by Tone

beertunes

Washington

2/5  rDev -20%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

According to the label this beer is "Clean & Pure!" , as well as having gone through a " Freezing point filtration system". Uh, OK then. The beer poured a very thin, watery yellow color with about a half inch of white head that dissipated quickly and left just the lightest possible lacing.

The aroma was typically neutral, a bit of grains, no hops and some sweetness. The flavors were the same, bland and neutral, but the beer did have a very slight skunk/funk flavor.

The body was very thin and watery, even for the style. Drinkability was on the "why bother" side of the scale, there are better examples of the style out there. Overall, not a good beer, try it to tick it, otherwise avoid.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2012 17:39:04 | More by beertunes

twiggamortis420

Texas

3.15/5  rDev +26%
look: 3.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Pours a crystal clear pale yellow color with a fizzy white head that dissipates quickly to a decent coating that stays around quite nicely.

Smell is nose wrinkling. Does not smell good at all. Lightly sweet creamed corn nose with something that is most certainly rice.

Taste is thankfully much better than the nose. It is sweet and grainy with a refreshing crispness. There is even a few hints of floral hops in there that along with the fairly high carbonation level leave a dry, clean finish. I dont think I will have much of a problem finishing off my 22oz of this. It would be tasty ice cold on a hot afternoon. I may go so far as to say I might buy this again, and would not be bad with some Korean barbecue.

Serving type: bottle

03-07-2009 23:59:10 | More by twiggamortis420

bluejacket74

Ohio

2.53/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

330 ml bottle, with 11112010 printed on the label. Not sure if that's the bottled or best by date. Also, the "open mark" on the label turns blue at it's optimal tasting temperature. The open mark is still blue, so it must be a good time to drink this! Served in a pint glass, the beer pours a clear pale gold color with about an inch white head that went away quickly. Pretty much no lacing. Aroma is sweet and bready malt. Taste is sweet malt and corn. It doesn't taste or smell bad, but it's not appealing either. Mouthfeel/body is light, it's a bit slick and is well carbonated. For the style it's not a bad overall brew. It's worth trying if you can find a single bottle of it somewhere.

Serving type: bottle

05-15-2011 00:15:49 | More by bluejacket74

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

2.3/5  rDev -8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

640ml bottle poured into pint glass mar2 2010

A clear pale yellow with tonnes of of big bubbles floating up to a fast falling bone white head that left no lace

S mild grassy hops with a sour sweetness that's nothing special

T not much better if anything worse some adjuncts and sweet grains and some sour rice cakes

M its thin and I see more carbonation then I feel

D beers that taste bad are hard to like, I was wishing I bought a smaller bottle

I hope the good people there have more to choose from then this.

Serving type: bottle

03-03-2010 00:34:05 | More by wordemupg

champ103

Texas

1.43/5  rDev -42.8%
look: 2 | smell: 1 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

I worked in South Korea for a few weeks. I had to try at least one Korean beer, and because of my ticking nature I had to take some notes :)

A: Pours a dull, but translucent light yellow color. A tiny white film forms, but fades with no lace what so ever.
S: Overcooked vegetables, adjunct like rice, sulfur, and metal. Pretty offensive to the senses.
T: It does nor get much better. That same overcooked vegetables, sulfur and metal flavor that is in the nose. Sour with some light pale malts. This is bad.
M/D: Thin, watery, week. I could barley finish the bottle. Really bad on this front.

I had to try some just because I was there. Really bad though. I was not expecting much, but US macros are much better than this no matter what kind of beers you like. All I can say is that this was another tick.

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2010 03:33:24 | More by champ103

Mebuzzard

Colorado

2.85/5  rDev +14%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

My first beer from S. Korea. I would guess this more resembles an adjunct than Euro Pale. But, really, there's not much difference anyway. Let's see....

For the style this one isn't all that bad. It has a constant grain sweetness throughout with a bit of a lemony zing on the end. Though this is quite subdued. Thin body feel to it, almost slick. Lingering aftertaste of stale malt.
One bottle is enough

Serving type: bottle

10-08-2012 04:23:08 | More by Mebuzzard

Vancer

Illinois

3.28/5  rDev +31.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours crisply in my Sammy glass, good carbonation tries to keep the smallish white head going.

Whoo! Smell that Euro skunk! But the quaff is light and refreshing - somewhat like a beer club soda, touch of lime bubbles up ½ way though the 22oz bottle. There is not much going on here, but it doesn't present itself as a big hitter, either. It would be a decent summer session brew.

Has a certain sweetness that's not bad on a hot day, either.

Look for the soda style bottle.

Serving type: bottle

08-13-2008 01:05:08 | More by Vancer