Gold Medal Taiwan Beer - Taiwan Tobacco & Liquor Corporation

Kakaraht

British Columbia (Canada)

2.63/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

A: Pours very pale and crisp, with finger of white head that has decent lacing

S: This is definitely a rice beer, with a faint hop aroma.

T: Not bad, kinda taste like Tusker with a creamy buttery type of flavor. Sweet on the taste buds as well

M: Medium mouth feel with good carbonation

D: Better than I expected but still a mediocre drink. Be OK on a hot day though.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2011 20:51:17 | More by Kakaraht

marshmeli

New York

2.5/5  rDev -3.8%

05-10-2013 20:55:16 | More by marshmeli

MacStinson

Michigan

3.5/5  rDev +34.6%

03-15-2013 00:06:16 | More by MacStinson

t0rin0

California

2.5/5  rDev -3.8%

02-26-2013 12:47:50 | More by t0rin0

matjack85

Illinois

3/5  rDev +15.4%

01-29-2013 14:19:47 | More by matjack85

LJWalker

Alabama

2.5/5  rDev -3.8%

12-04-2012 13:12:17 | More by LJWalker

cfalovo97

Ontario (Canada)

2/5  rDev -23.1%

11-22-2012 01:50:26 | More by cfalovo97

intoxabroad

British Columbia (Canada)

2/5  rDev -23.1%

10-08-2012 12:59:17 | More by intoxabroad

GallowsThief

Florida

2.3/5  rDev -11.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured out of a 22 oz green bottle into a regular old pint glass. Shout out to my buddy Ken for bringing it back for me from Taiwan.

A – Poured out a pale straw yellow. Half a finger of crisp, bubbly white head that faded away quickly.

S - First smell has a bit of a funk to it. Moves over to a light grainy smell with just a hint of sweetness.

T – Much more sweet on the palate then the aroma suggests. Pretty strong sugar taste. Its not unpleasant it just masks every other flavor. Touch of grain peaks through with a hint of malt.

M – Light bodied, crisp on the palate. Good solid carbonation.

O – Drink it while its ice cold because it faded quickly. Its not terrible but not overly impressive either. I can imagine a cold on of these on the hot street of Tawain would be damn refreshing however there are many many more choices to grab here in the states. I would still grab this over a Bud.

Serving type: bottle

09-22-2012 01:22:07 | More by GallowsThief

twiggamortis420

Texas

2.83/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

22 oz green bomber pours a medium gold color with a decent sized white head that pops and fizzes pretty quickly to nothingness.

Smell is sweet and corny. Eerily similar to the regular Taiwan Beer… not much else to report on the aroma. It is not repulsive, but certainly not pleasant. It is distinctive in its sweetness.

Taste is sweet, light malt and plenty of sweet-ish corn/rice adjunct lightness. It tastes like it has about the same amount of malt as a Japanese Hopponshu. Even though I had the regular Taiwan Beer less than a month ago, this tastes exactly the same. Mouthfeel is decent, but that is probably due to the perception of sugar and high carbonation. Perhaps Taiwan has not heard of hops before…cause this one is in serious need of some leafy greens. It actually reminds me a little bit of the Malta Goya drink they peddle south of the border. This one is only for the curious, tickers and masochists out there in BA land.

Serving type: bottle

06-22-2012 00:50:05 | More by twiggamortis420

JohnQVD

New York

2/5  rDev -23.1%

06-03-2012 16:25:47 | More by JohnQVD

barnzy78

Illinois

1.88/5  rDev -27.7%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 1.5

I have a friend living in Taiwan right now, so I thought why not, even though I had a feeling this was a bad idea.

12oz bottle, pours pale straw yellow, thin white head, no lacing. Aromas are sweet corn, wet grain, cereal. Tastes are an initial huge dose of sweetness, wet grain, sugared cereal, rice, cloyingly sweet. Thin body, but is smoother than many in it's style category. Overall, this was far too sweet, and flavors weren't the greatest. Avoid.

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2012 03:58:19 | More by barnzy78

ejh06752

New York

3.5/5  rDev +34.6%

05-04-2012 02:06:51 | More by ejh06752

ElCommodoro

Texas

1.4/5  rDev -46.2%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 3 | overall: 1

This stuff is absolutely vile. I'd rather drink light beer than this crap. This is what I get for being so intrigued by sketchy looking things. The dominant flavour is this nasty flavour that I've come to associate with bad Asian beers (which has been most Asian beers in my experience). It's hard to describe this flavour. It's not quite grainy and it's not quite skunky. It's sort of a rotten taste, maybe even vaguely reminiscent of one profile of soy sauce. My best guess is that this flavour is the result of rice. What I am sure of is that I HATE this flavour in beer. It ruins the beer completely. Corn is a better adjunct than rice if this is what using rice tastes like. A LOT better. Maybe that's why I hate Bud so much. I hear they use rice.
I will definitely never buy this again. I may learn to keep my nose out of Asian beer entirely. The results of trying Asian beers have certainly not been very fruitful. They weren't all as terrible as this. I remember Singha being decent. But decent has so far been the top of the scale.
Anyway, don't get this. It tastes like Taipei's water runoff.

Serving type: can

04-22-2012 11:48:08 | More by ElCommodoro

bambam2517

Arizona

2.5/5  rDev -3.8%

04-14-2012 07:40:37 | More by bambam2517

bwyu

California

3.75/5  rDev +44.2%

04-04-2012 05:28:44 | More by bwyu

jsisko01

Michigan

3.63/5  rDev +39.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Appearance - Pours a clear golden straw color with a half inch head that dissipates after a minute. Looks very crisp. Has thick, creamy lacing.

Smell - Sweet with corn, very bready, rice, and grains.

Taste - Sweet, bready, malty, rice, and a distinctive type of bitterness that I've never tasted before.. Kind of has a zing to it.

Mouthfeel - Medium body with high carbonation.

Overall - Pretty good beer.. something different to try. It mostly tastes like rice. It actually tastes very similar to those gluten-free beers, such as Redbridge.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2012 04:41:20 | More by jsisko01

BeardedBoffin

New Mexico

2.7/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

The beer pours a nice solid golden color with white wispy foam. The aroma initially exudes a skunky not, but that settles into a sweet graininess. Similar notes are evident in the flavor. The beer is smooth with just a bit a bitterness to dash it all away. Better than many of the brews from this part of the world.

Serving type: bottle

08-17-2011 04:21:39 | More by BeardedBoffin

DioS

Georgia

3.33/5  rDev +28.1%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A crisp, refreshing beer that is above average for the style. Pale gold color with a quickly disappearing head. The beer has a prickly bitter and mildly grainy smell somewhat like other beers of this style from Asia. I typically associate this smell with dryness. The taste is actually not too bitter, very thirst-quenching and straightforward. Light bodied but not without substance. While not a terribly interesting beer, it also succeeds in *not* offending the senses, which is commonplace in this style. Quite nice when drunk cold with Asian food.

Serving type: bottle

05-25-2011 19:34:13 | More by DioS

jeranbrews

New York

3.33/5  rDev +28.1%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A - lemon yellow low white head

S - adjunt rice malts and a bit of sour gym sock

T - sweet candy flavors. Sweet green rice. Not unpleasant. Finish is golden honey

M - corn syrup and water

D - much better than expected. If in Taiwan this is a good choice

Serving type: can

02-13-2011 04:40:49 | More by jeranbrews

afksports

New York

2.25/5  rDev -13.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Thanks to my friend Katrin for bringing this brew back from her recent trip to Hong Kong and Taiwan. I feel like a Gold Medal.

The initial pour out of the can has some nice head, about a finger thick, and the appearance is a bubbly straw color with visible carbonation. By the end of the glass almost all the bubbles are gone, and no lacing remains above the clear and watery body. It smells of corn, if anything. Taste has a fruity front, which is interesting. Beyond that, there's whatever adjunct they use, and your typical Miller Lite / Bud Light unenjoyable drink. The fruitiness adds a character to it. A certain sweetness I don't always get with the domestic ones. It feels about average for a light lager in the palate, and is as drinkable as any other beer you'd play flip cup with.

It's just not that good. But I still feel special.

Serving type: can

12-29-2010 19:15:07 | More by afksports

laituegonflable

Australia

2.78/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Pours a fizzy gold lager. Pale golden colour with lots of carbonation feeding a snowy head that sinks quite predictably. Pretty blah, but also pretty expected for the style.

Smells bland - grainy with a slight hint of grassy hops. Has that mild lemon character that is more a nod to detergent than any natural citric aroma. Gentle phenol lingering at the back. Standard for style, but you know, meh.

Taste is largely grainy, with a lot of sticky rice and bread yeast on there and then late-mid gets a touch of that artifical citric flavour. Not a lot, no real twang and then an odd muddy flavour towards the back. It's slightly stale and kind of like the taste of inhaling a helium balloon. Not stale enough to think it's just stale, I think it's just a problem with the beer. Isn't outwardly bad, but it's very unexciting and has some unpleasant characters.

Lots of carbonation sizzle, never gets harsh though, just tickles the soft palate. I guess there's enough malt here to cushion. Stylistically appropriate, and it's not unpleasant at all.

Yeah, it's bland. There are some unpleasant flavours but they're not strong enough to ruin its bland drinkability and ability to go with dumplings.

Serving type: bottle

11-25-2010 02:06:06 | More by laituegonflable

msubulldog25

Oregon

3.15/5  rDev +21.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Although my bottle's label bears little resemblance to the one shown, I have to believe the block type that reads 'TAIWAN BEER' over a miniscule 'Gold Medal' and the curious sub-tag 'World Monde Selection - Bruxelles' (uh, translation...World World Selection?). I tended to doubt the award's legitimacy, but found a 'Monde Selection' via google (a division of the 'International Institute for Quality Selection'. Seriously?) 1 pint, 4.2 oz., poured to a pint glass.

Thanks to my friend, Peter, for thinking of me and my beer passion when shopping at the Fubonn Asian Market. A thoughtful 'studio warming' present on Saturday night...

Back label text, word for word: "With a profound and remarkable history since 1919, Taiwan Beer has successfully won many gold medals from international award for its world class quality. Taiwan Beer is characterized with a full-body, traditional, rich, and smooth taste. It is our mission to bring one of the best and distinctive-flavored lager beers to people throughout the world who enjoy this universal brew." Smile.

A: Golden, pure golden and the definition of 'clear'. Steady carbonation - not a ton of it, but enough life to look typical for the style. After a climb to about a finger deep, a fuzzy white head dwindles to a small creamier cap. It eventually breaks down, lingering in a ring and spritz of lace.

S: Really not much aroma, a little honey/sweet corn. That's about it.

T: Sweet and malty. Adjunct corn/rice sweetness, barely enough grassy hops for balance. Sure, it's sugary, but the flavor is pretty strong (well, better than your 'average' beer of this style) and adds a decent amount of spice to the 'corn pop'-piness.

M: Smooth and sorta creamy, far from the 'full-body' the adspeak proclaims, just a light-medium body and slicker feel. A little malty stickiness left dries on my lips.

D: Not the type of beer to go wild over, but if I'm honestly grading to style...well, this ain't too bad. Gold medal? Maybe there wasn't much competition... For a while this was pleasant to sip on, though the big bottle grew tedious toward the end. 4.5% strength makes it an easier drinker.

Thanks again, Pete...

Serving type: bottle

09-21-2010 03:08:47 | More by msubulldog25

HeyItsChili

China

2.33/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Another beer consumed during my time in the East. Shanghaiist.com ranked this the tastiest cheap beer in Shanghai, and while that's sorta like being the tallest midget in the circus, I still figured I'd give it a shot. Yeah, not awesome.

A - Poured piss yellow with a tiny head.

S - Smells light sugary and weak.

T - Light beer sort of corny watery flavor but with an odd medicinal tinge.

M - Nothing noteworthy.

Serving type: can

08-11-2010 15:49:40 | More by HeyItsChili

Gobzilla

California

2.6/5  rDev 0%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4.5

A: poured a golden yellow with a finger of head that left lots of sticky lacing on the glass.

S: I get rice notes right off the bat with aromas of various grains that also had a mild malt presence and wheat notes; very plain nose.

T: I definitely get corn notes on the taste which also had various grains, very little malt,wheat, and very slight citrus flavors.

M: light body with a good amount of carbonation that had a grainy malty and crisp refreshing finish.

D: very drinkable brew that was also very light in aroma and taste but makes for a great beer for a hot day in the summer poolside.

Serving type: bottle

08-06-2010 04:47:48 | More by Gobzilla