Carib Lager - Carib Brewery Limited

Redrover

Illinois

2.3/5  rDev -17.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.25

This was one was on “special” for $4 at my hotel in Fort Lauderdale.
It came in an 11.16 oz. clear bottle and was poured into a pilsner glass.

The beer is gold with a fairly dense white head. Good clarity.

It has some grain and cooked corn in the nose.

Taste is slightly sweet, a bit grainy and then a jolt of something unpleasant and off. It becomes hard to force down as it hits mid-glass. It is not a skunk note but more an earthy overcooked vegetable thing.

Would not try this one again unless I could get it closer to the source.

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2013 15:06:50 | More by Redrover

djura

Serbia

2.88/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 1.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Found it in Greece,0,33l bottle. Some company from England import it to Europe.
It was exotic for me to have one Trinidad beer,so it is first plus for now.

A-Golden color,white foam lasting few seconds,medium carbonation.
S-Citrus and corn,grains,positive aromas.
T/M-Well,it is good cold,on some sunny beach i guess,but not that good in urban jungle.
A bit usual pale lager taste,drinkable. Could easily drink it all day.

O-Really nothing special,but decant lager.

Serving type: bottle

11-26-2012 18:15:06 | More by djura

thehyperduck

Ontario (Canada)

3/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

330 mL bottle purchased as a single at the LCBO; best before March 2013. Served ice cold - and I mean that literally, it actually froze in the freezer. My bad, hopefully this will still be ok (it's not like the bottle exploded) - and besides, 30 seconds under a hot tap plus some quick rotating thawed it with little effort (while keeping the actual beer nice and cold).

The pop and pour goes off without a hitch, other than the whiff of skunk I get shortly afterwards, no doubt thanks to the clear bottle. The brew itself is pale straw-yellow in colour, and topped with one finger of frothy white head. It dissipates over the next few minutes, leaving behind some scant lacing. The aroma is unfortunately dominated by skunky stank, grainy pale malts and corny adjunct. One of the worst-smelling beers I've had in a long time.

Thankfully, it actually tastes rather good - for the style that is. Grainy malts form the backbone, with some light corny adjunct sweetness that doesn't detract too much from the flavour. There is a faint brush of floral, lemony hop bitterness at the end of the sip, leading into a relatively clean aftertaste. Decent balance for the style; not vegetal or sickly sweet. Light-bodied and watery, with a solid bite from the carbonation. Basically, it's a standard issue lawnmower beer.

Final Grade: 3.00, or a C grade on the letter scale - the very definition of mediocre. Carib Lager is drinkable enough, but worlds away from interesting. If this didn't smell so rank I'd probably call it an above-average lager. The flavour is at least acceptable, but I can come up with no other meaningful praise.

That being said - imports can be costly, and there's no reason to pay a premium for this level of quality when there are equally good (and far less skunky) domestic alternatives. I don't regret trying this, but if you are looking for a decent Caribbean pale lager, I would recommend Red Stripe before this.

Serving type: bottle

06-19-2012 07:27:14 | More by thehyperduck

dbrauneis

New Jersey

2.98/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

A: Pours a crystal clear medium yellow in color with very light amounts of visible carbonation. The beer has a half finger tall white head that quickly reduces to a patch of thin film in the center of the surface of the beer with a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Light lacing is observed.

S: Moderately strong aromas of corn adjunct malts with the associated sweetness and lighter amounts of skunk.

T: Quite a bit of sweetness from the corn adjunct malts, not unexpected for the style. Very little hop presence but there is also a light presence of bready malts.

M: On the lighter side of medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation.

O: Refreshing, easy to drink, and sessionable - this would be an easy beer to have more than one of during a session, especially in the hot weather or hot climate. Nothing special from a flavor or aroma perspective, but that is not unexpected in the style. I really wish they would get rid of the clear bottle as it definitely does not help the beer.

Serving type: bottle

06-12-2012 00:01:25 | More by dbrauneis

kylehay2004

Florida

2.6/5  rDev -6.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5

A: clear bright golden body with a thin head.

S: typical adjunct lager pale malt aroma. Little else.

T: pale malts with little bitterness. Very simple beet.

M: moderate to high carbonation and light body.

Overall: may be the most drinkable and refreshing of all of these Caribbean adjunct lagers. Therefore like the rest it skips out on flavor.

Serving type: can

05-03-2012 12:12:54 | More by kylehay2004

tdm168

North Carolina

3.98/5  rDev +42.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a bright yellow with a half of an inch of soft, soapy, white head that has decent retention. The nose has strong aromas of sweet corn and faint, subtle grassy hops. The taste is surprisingly malty though a little sweet and there are notes of corn. The finish is smooth and grassy with a subtle hops character. The mouthfeel is light, smooth, and well carbonated.

This is a smooth, drinkable, enjoyable beer. For the style, it's incredibly good. There are few if any off characteristics and it's surprisingly flavorful. For the style it's better than most.

Serving type: bottle

02-29-2012 21:24:19 | More by tdm168

Duff27

Illinois

2.88/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Light golden body with a short white head. Minimal lacing, low head retention.

Can't say I care a lot about the smell of Carib. Kind of like a lemony funk.

The taste isn't quite as bad as the aroma. Biscuity malt sweetness. Low hop profile.

Medium mouthfeel. Higher side of carbonation.

Certainly worse beers out there, Carib offers a little uniqueness wirh its sugar-like sweetness. Worth seeking out if you're looking for a Trinidad tick.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2012 01:02:17 | More by Duff27

speter

New Jersey

2.83/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: Pours a golden yellow with a two-finger, large-bubble head that leaves decent lacing on the glass.

S: Lightly skunked (clear bottles, anyone?) and otherwise aromatically challenged.

T: Definitely a corn-based adjunct beer. It's not offensive, and in the proper setting (on draft at a Caribbean beach), might be decent. Bottled and shipped to NJ, it's not so hot.

M: Light in body and decently carbonated. Yellow fizzy water, you might even say.

O: A perfectly serviceable, average adjunct lager.

Serving type: bottle

10-31-2011 22:27:23 | More by speter

NightINgale

Quebec (Canada)

3.28/5  rDev +17.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Clear 330ml bottle, poured into my tall Pislner Urquell glass...

A - Pours a typical pale golden body, with some head that almost entirely dissipates. Not a lot of visible carbonation. No lacing.

S - The smell was not very skunky, once I had poured the beer into the glass; yet it was still far from appealing. Quite metallic, which was very odd, even dusty (also odd, since my glass was very clean). Some grain, maybe a very faint hint of citrus.

T - The taste is where things start getting better. This beer builds up from a typical grainy "beer" taste into something a little more interesting, with hints of lemon and/or lime, some bitterness, and enough sugary qualities. The after-taste is grainy and has a subtle pleasant tartness to it.

M - Light-to-medium bodied, definitely has more body than your typical pale (adjunct) lager. Average level of carbonation for a lager; quite crisp. Not bad!

O - Overall, this is pretty good. You get what you pay for, essentialy: a crisp, refreshing lager, with just a little more body and sweetness to it. Also, the ingredient list has no corn or rice in it, which is definitely a plus.

Serving type: bottle

10-21-2011 01:16:53 | More by NightINgale

ktrillionaire

Florida

2.85/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Carib pours gold and fizzy just like the rest of the AAL heap, but it has a different flavor profile than the average. For one, it smells somewhat like tortillas, and in the aroma and flavor there seems to be the ghost of a lime note, even though the fruit has not touched this beer to my knowledge. Skunkiness is not particularly observed, nor is it terribly sweet. Corn chips, tortillas, mexican food; these are the elements that come to mind. Overall, run-of-the-mill beer that is neither offensive nor endearing.

Serving type: bottle

07-31-2011 23:10:16 | More by ktrillionaire

GarthDanielson

New Hampshire

3.33/5  rDev +19.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a bottle into a pint glass, the beer is a very pale, crystal clear saffron-gold coloring with a tall, dense, foamy white head. Aromas of roasted corn and toastiness. Flavors are light and mild, with a smooth malt backbone and toasty highlights that are very balanced and blended. Light bodied and smooth, with a minute toast and sour aftertaste and a crisp, clean finish. Not bad for the style.

Serving type: bottle

06-19-2011 20:38:25 | More by GarthDanielson

Stunner97

New Jersey

3.7/5  rDev +32.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Appearance- yellow with very low carbonation not much bubbles to be seen, thin white lacing

Smell- toasted grains is the main smell component i get, not bad nose though

Taste- very light and crisp, slight toasted grain and malt, overall simple flavor but pretty refreshing flavor, simple yet decent

MOuthfeel- very crisp light and refreshing feel

Drinkability/overall- overall this beer is the good for the american adjunt style, its non skunked simple yet very refreshing and very crisp, i actually think this beer is nice for the style and with out a doubt a superb summer brew, kicks corona in the proverbial nut sack,

Serving type: bottle

06-19-2011 04:34:23 | More by Stunner97

mizzouguy

Missouri

3/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This was the go-to beer in St Maarten because it was cheap and everywhere. Looks, tastes, reminds me of Corona or any of those beers that you are supposed to drink on a deserted island. Not much to say about it, yellow fizzy and fine to drink while you are at the beach and need something to cool you off. It actually pretty darn refreshing, just kind of boring. Would never have a problem drinking, just would choose something else over it.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2011 16:23:16 | More by mizzouguy

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

2.28/5  rDev -18.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

This beer comes close to being just like a Landshark or a Corona. I'm just not much a fan of these types of beers I guess. This beer pours out basically the same as most lagers. It's yellow, clear and has a decent head for a little while. The smell is typical hops and malts, mostly malts. The flavors would have been much better with some lime I think. The taste is just too boring without it.

Serving type: bottle

04-08-2011 00:05:41 | More by Knapp85

spinrsx

Ontario (Canada)

2.8/5  rDev +0.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

330ml Bottle

Appearance - Clear gold/yellow colour with an average size frothy and fizzy white coloured head. There is an above average amount of carbonation showing and there is just a fair amount of lacing. The head lasted for around five minutes before it was gone.

Smell - Grains/bread, oatmeal, corn, lots of skunk

Taste & Mouth - The beer has an above average amount of carbonation. I can taste light hops mixed with grains and a bit of a oatmeal flavour. There are also notes of corn and a skunkiness. It finishes with a grainy slightly sweet aftertaste.

Overall - I can imagine that this might hit the spot perfectly while sitting a beach somewhere. Once I got past the initial blast of skunkiness it actually became pretty drinkable. But there are many other refreshing beers that I'd rather be drinking on the beach.

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2011 17:57:32 | More by spinrsx

TMoney2591

Illinois

2.25/5  rDev -19.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Served in a Sam Adams sensory pint glass.

Thanks (I guess) to VDubb86 (and his awesome girlfriend) for sharing this bottle!

The mini Caribbean cruise continues on to Trinidad & Tobago. Full disclosure: This bottle came to us more skunked than any beer I have ever encountered. It seriously smelled as though a skunk crawled into the bottle, died, and decomposed at an accelerated rate. Lovely. Still, many things could be gleaned from around the skunk, as well as from past experiences. So here goes, then:

It pours a clear very pale sallow topped by a quick-dissolving finger of white foam. The nose comprises light wheat, light corn, and hard water. The taste does not deviate too far from this recipe, though the corn and wheat are slightly beefier than before. Not much, though. The body is quite light, with a light moderate carbonation and a watery feel. Overall, a sad little lager, though not necessarily as offensive as it could be. Just not something I really wanna go after again.

Serving type: bottle

04-03-2011 23:19:35 | More by TMoney2591

Vdubb86

Illinois

1.93/5  rDev -30.8%
look: 2 | smell: 1 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

Served in a snifter...cuz that's how I roll!

This beer was given to me by my island hopping girlfriend who was certain I'd never had a beer from T&T. She was right as per usual. This beer was yellow. There was a fizzy white foam to the top of it, but honestly, not the most desirable appearance. Now I know that you're not supposed to review skunked beers, but I felt that this beer probably didn't smell much better even having not been skunked. The aroma of this beer taught me truly what the full force of skunking can turn into. I at least hope that it was skunking, because it smelled like skunk roadkill. It was REALLY FUNKY. I caught the whiff when opening the bottle and was afraid to continue. I trudged forward. Maybe it was because it smelled so bad, but I thought the taste was okay for the style at least. It really wasn't all that pleasant, but with how bad it smelled it was a gigantic improvement. The fizzy yellow water went down pretty easy, I wasn't impressed with it at all. This made the room smell like a skunk was spooked outside, thumbs down.

Serving type: bottle

04-03-2011 05:52:25 | More by Vdubb86

corby112

Pennsylvania

1.18/5  rDev -57.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1

This was everywhere in the three port stops of a recent carribean cruise so I decided to try it in St. Martin.

Pours a clear, dark golden yellow color with a half finger white foam head that quickly dissipates into a thin lasting ring. Minimal spots of lace left behind.

Slightly earthy, metallic aroma with faint hints of hops but it's overpowered by a a very grainy corn/adjunct presence. Smells pretty bad.

On the lighter end of medium boded with a dry earthy bitterness up front that lingers over the sweet corny, metallic body into an astringent dry finish. Funky and metallic with lots of grainy sweet corn flavor. A below average adjunct lager that is tough to drink even on a hot day in St. Martin.

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2011 06:14:47 | More by corby112

beerprovedwright

Georgia

3.85/5  rDev +38%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Good two finger head of thick foam. Nice lace with good cling. Color is a 5 on the SRM beer color chart. Smell of many grains, rice, corn, and malt. Taste is bold and flavorful with corn, wheat, rice, citrus, and malt. Mouthfeel is better than water, with some creaminess and perk. Good thirst quencher with a mild punch. When I travel back the islands, I will have many more.

Serving type: bottle

03-30-2011 16:07:35 | More by beerprovedwright

TheBrewo

Michigan

3.08/5  rDev +10.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

We pour a brew of watery yellow. It holds a three to four finger head from a relatively mild pour. The head is of stark white bubbles, and is quite soft and fluffy. It retains nicely and leaves intermittent lacing as is disappears, at a crawl. The beer is entirely translucent, with no sediment noted. The carbonation looks highly active. The aroma is full of grains, which seem to stem from sources varying in quality. There are standard malts, some stark barley, and some floury adjuncts. There is a faint sweetness that hits far back on the nose, and is attributable to distant floral hops, and some limey citrus fruit. As we sip bitter malts touch up front. They also show a strong floury component that seems to dry any other potential flavors out. There is a slight balancing sweetness, again of faint fruit and citrus. Moving to the middle produces a cleaner progression, with more malts and band-aide phenols hitting the very front of the palate. We end on plain notes of graininess. There are kisses from alcohol and citrus at times, but for the most part, this is the cleanest, smoothest part of the sip. The aftertaste breathes mildly, of lime and adjunct malts. The body is light to medium and the carbonation is on the higher end. The feel to each sip is light to the touch and little coating or drying occurs, with the most prominent thing about it being the carbonation. The abv is standard and the beer sips with relative ease.

Overall, what we enjoyed most about this brew was how light it is, and the accessibility. Here on St. Maarten you can find this one anywhere. For the dirt cheap price and the somewhat smooth and refreshing quality to it, this is not a bad beer to buy a case of and hit the beach with some friends with.

Serving type: bottle

03-18-2011 23:14:03 | More by TheBrewo

WeezyBoPeep

Florida

4.25/5  rDev +52.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a bottle into a standard pint glass.

A: Clear golden with a pale quality and a superior effervesence, nice little head that is soda-like hangs around for a bit. A little bit of lacing.

S: Biscuits, crackers, sourdough, lemon zest and popcorn. Smells GREAT for the style. Maybe the best adjunct I've smelled.

T: Miles better than any adjunct I've tasted recently, this beer is best described as a cross between a pale wheat ale and a pilsener if that makes any sense...has qualities of both. But only the good qualities. No bitter finish, no thick, syrupy body...light and pleasant.

D: Gimme more.

Value: I paid $5.50 for a sixer. Excellent value at that price.

This beer will suffer from bad ratings as most American adjunct lagers do because most members fail to review within the STYLE. You can't name a better, easy-to-find adjunct out there.

Serving type: bottle

03-04-2011 00:06:11 | More by WeezyBoPeep

andrenaline

Ontario (Canada)

2.8/5  rDev +0.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

A - Pours a pale golden colour, thin layer of head with little retention and no lacing.

S - Sweet corn and grassy hops with a bit of a sour citrus scent that comes off the finish.

T - Much like the scent, the sweet corn and grassy notes come through strong, a bit of a metallic skunkiness that lingers.

M - A little light on the carbonation, coming off a bit watery.

D - Nice to toss back while hanging out in the sun and the sweetness provides a unique twist to traditional Caribbean light lagers. Nothing spectacular, but easily poundable.

Serving type: can

03-03-2011 23:25:13 | More by andrenaline

chinchill

South Carolina

3.03/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

12 oz bottle -- plenty fresh: BB date of July 2011. Appears to be from Puerto Rico rather than T&T, but I cant' tell for sure.

Clear golden yellow with a modest amount of white head. Except for some thin islands, head doesn't last long.

Aroma: typical mass-produced light lager. Not promising but not bad even with a slight skunkiness.

Better taste than expected, given the appearance and aroma. No off-tastes detected, flavor not too subtle, and the finish has some decent duration.

Notably smooth; Light/medium and a bit watery in body,; with moderate carbonation.

Very similar (and perhaps identical) to a "house-brand" beer of unknown origin I drank repeatedly in the Bahamas. Like that one, this would make a good accompaniment to mild seafood and hot days.

Serving type: bottle

02-10-2011 00:46:55 | More by chinchill

WVbeergeek

Ohio

4.13/5  rDev +48%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

This must be self punishment, pours a hazed straw golden it might have a UTI look to it with a bright white head rising high with decent retention. Nose was pretty pungent when I popped the cap on this Caribbean standard. I was really nervous about the first sip, after smelling a strong grassy herbal hop kick. Not much grains going on a bit of light biscuit malts, and a touch of light struck hops evident. Flavor isn't half as bad as I was getting ready for, actually decent qualities for light clear bottled mass produced lager. Refreshing served pretty damn cold, semi sweet balanced with grassy herbal hop flavors, some adjuncts might be in use but there's just a nice cereal/biscuit malt flavor that rides through each sip. Out of all Euro/Island/foreign mass produced beers this is definitely a solid drinkable thirst quenching offering. No heavy skunkiness even with the clear bottle, this is pretty solid stuff. Next time I hope to be on an island in the right setting drinking this super fresh and super cold in the hot sun closer to the equator. Mouthfeel was of course a bit over the top with carbonation, body was light but not too thin. Damn it, I like this beer. If you see it and never danced with the clear bottled Caribbean creation, than maybe you should go there. I'm actually regretful that I've never had this beer before now.

Serving type: bottle

01-10-2011 08:06:50 | More by WVbeergeek

morebeergood

Massachusetts

2.95/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

Besides Amstel Bright and Presidente, this was the third beer that seemed to be everywhere in St. Martin/St. Maarten. Pale yellow color, with the smell of a slight corn aroma. Lots of carbonation. Taste was mild, yet pleasing. Another super watery beer that was made to be just gulped down. A nice beach beer. But since this beer was usually a $1 more than Amstel Bright and they tasted the same to me, I only had a few. But, a decent hot weather beer nonetheless.

Serving type: bottle

11-18-2010 22:59:21 | More by morebeergood