Castle Lager - South African Breweries plc

Thepumpkinpiper

3.3/5  rDev +32.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

First time ever trying this beer. Apparently if the liquor store runs out of it, there's a small cadre of customers who get quite upset.

A: Pale golden colour, lacey and rather foamy head.

S: Hoppy, slight bit of apples, little bit floral and herby.

T: A clear punch of refreshing taste at first, much like a Tiger or other smooth-drinking lager. Very clear and crisp, but then gives way to a distinct bitter aftertaste faintly reminiscent of a German pilsner.

M: Great - not too carbonated. Makes for easy drinking.

Overall: I really like this beer - it goes down very easily, but packs enough flavor to make for a satisfying drink. Not so big on the bitter aftertaste, but the beer goes down so easily that I can forgive that aspect. A great hot weather beer.

Serving type: can

08-09-2012 21:25:14 | More by Thepumpkinpiper

cdaddie

2.58/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

First time trying this beer, 440 ML can, very chilled. Looked quite good as it was being poured, smell seemed good as the pint glass was coming up, but the taste was merely "ok". Very plain, nothing overly distinctive about it. So not a really bad beer, but certainly not a really good one either. A good "hot day outside and I just finished cutting the grass" kind of beer, to quench a thirst, but nothing special.

Serving type: can

05-12-2012 23:23:47 | More by cdaddie

jazzyjeff13

United Kingdom (England)

2.28/5  rDev -8.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

A 330ml can with no visible BB date. Given to me recently by a friend visiting from South Africa. The blurb on the can specifically mentions the addition of maize to soften the palate.

Poured into a Sam Smith's pint glass. A clear straw colour with plentiful fine carbonation. Forms a decent head of creamy white foam that lasts for a few minutes before subsiding to a surface layer. Aroma is very weak - a faint hint of stewed veg/hops and little else.

Tastes of not much at all. Watery light malt with a hint of stewed leaves and corn. A harsh bitter note in the background. Pretty dry. Mouthfeel is smooth and tingly. Quite good body for the style. Lightly astringent. Faint bitter aftertaste.

Hmmm - bland, watery and almost tasteless. At least it's clean; nothing too offensive going on. I guess this would be acceptable in a hot climate where no alternatives presented themselves. Otherwise, give it a miss.

Serving type: can

12-28-2011 22:13:31 | More by jazzyjeff13

DaftCaskBC

British Columbia (Canada)

1.55/5  rDev -37.8%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

A: 1 1/2" white head that left a nice lacing over straw coloured liquid with excellent clarity.

S: Metallic, citrus, yeast.

T: Metallic and bitter, this beer leaves an acidic aftertaste.

M: Thin viscosity and low carbonation.

O: Not very drinkable at all. I thought it was stale, but it was within the expiry date period. Avoid.

Serving type: can

08-27-2011 06:01:32 | More by DaftCaskBC

mdfb79

New York

1.9/5  rDev -23.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

From 03/27/11 notes. The third canned beer from Africa shared by Travir (RB).

a - Pours a clear golden color with an inch of white head and light carbonation evident.

s - Smells of corn, grain, and bready malts. Not good, but not as offensive as the Ndovu.

t - Tastes of grain, corn, bready malts, light sourness. A step down from the nose and a bit like a skunked BMC adjunct.

m - Light body and high carbonation.

d - Not as bad as the Ndovu, but not a good beer at all. Wouldn't want to have again.

Serving type: can

04-01-2011 14:59:20 | More by mdfb79

Thorpe429

Illinois

1.15/5  rDev -53.8%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1

Thanks to travlr for sharing this. Consumed in a SAVOR snifter.

Pour yields a very light-colored brew without any head or lacing. The nose is approaching awful, with some creamed corn, canned vegetables, and quite a bit of metal. The taste is even worse; the beer was quite hard to swallow. Slightly-rotten vegetables along with loads of aluminum. Pretty gross. Really thin with a metallic finish.

Serving type: can

03-28-2011 10:38:24 | More by Thorpe429

drpimento

Wisconsin

2.65/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

Sure looks good with the pour! Which is a huge, foamy, frothy, sudsy, billowy, white with lots of lace. Color is a clear yellow gold with several small bubble trails. Aroma is a scant scent of bitter hop. Flavor is a mild corn beer with slight bitter sweetness and a hint metalic. Body is ok and so is carbonation. Finish is like flavor and over quick. Best thing about this beer is having it in South Africa!

Serving type: can

01-06-2011 16:33:56 | More by drpimento

DoctorStrangiato

Alberta (Canada)

2.5/5  rDev +0.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Poured a 440-ml can into a tall draught glass.

Appearance - bright golden colour with a bright white head that doesn't really last. There's some minimal lace that hangs around as I drink it.

Smell - very starchy, corn-grain smell. Light smell of alcohol. Not a very complex malt aroma.

Taste - very basic, neutral-sour bready kind of taste. Fairly empty aftertaste which is a bit wet and metallic.

Mouthfeel - I will say the beer is fairly smooth. Not in a great way but there is flavour and mouthfeel consistency from start to finish.

Drinkability - not too great. I've had a six pack of these 440-ml cans for over a month and they are dwindling one by one. I've reviewed the 4th brew as there has been little excitement to share what this beer had in store.

Serving type: can

03-15-2010 02:31:23 | More by DoctorStrangiato

wordemupg

Alberta (Canada)

2.6/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

440ml can poured into pint glass oct15 2009

A straw yellow with crazy amount of carbonation that makes this one look alive. big fluffy two finger head that slowly falls forming an island leaving a fair amount of lace well down the glass

S corn, grass and skunk

T as it smells and that's not the greatest thing

M thin and too much carbonation

D perhaps I drank a bad beer, this one just looked so good I find it hard to believe I was so weak in other areas

I doubt I'll be drinking this one anytime soon, it looks much better then it tastes

Serving type: can

10-16-2009 04:35:43 | More by wordemupg

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

2.68/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This half-litre can pours a clear medium golden hue, with lots of puffy white head, which leaves fairly consistent webbed lace in its wake. It smells of sweet white grain, and skunky, vegetal hops. The taste is husky white grain, a bit of corn sweetness, fusel oil, and metallic, weedy, mildly skunky hops. The bubbles are average here, the body decently heavy, but a bit oily too, and it finishes with some more muted cooked veggie stank.

None too pleasant, but about bang-on for the style.

Serving type: can

09-15-2009 00:16:16 | More by biboergosum

masgniw

Washington

2.88/5  rDev +15.7%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

This is a pretty standard lager. It seems to have a bit more character than your standard American lager, but to difference is not very noticeable. It's fine for a cheap, drinkable beer, but don't expect much more than that. South African nostalgia is the only reason I go back to this one.

A: A clear, golden yellow with a head that fades quickly.
S: Mildly sweet with some fruity notes.
M: Moderately high carbonation that can overstimulate the tongue and cheeks.
D: Very drinkable. Easy to have one after another, after another.

Serving type: can

05-03-2009 16:43:43 | More by masgniw

AKBelgianBeast

Alaska

2.42/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 4

Standard macrapo lager in a different package. SAB breweries provides this budweiser esque lager for swilling on hot days after tracking buffalo. Thin yellow gold with corn and rice adjunct taste. Drinkable in the heat, but defenitely nothing special.

Serving type: can

05-26-2008 08:59:37 | More by AKBelgianBeast

Shadman

Alberta (Canada)

3.03/5  rDev +21.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

decent looking macro..maybe a touch darker in hue than most...impressive head considering I poured it striaght from the beer coller. Big gobs of lacing left behind as well. Smell is fairly average...grainy, bordering musty malt and a hint of floral hop. Light on the malt side, but a bitter, almost astringent taste really rules the roost here. Luckly some malt sweetness combined with the bitterness morphing into a more citrus-like taste rescues this brew from it's more medicore macro brethern. Mouthfell is medium-lite and is moderately carbonated.

@ $13 cdn/six pack it's not a bad value per millilitre, I may use this a bridge beer in the summer for my domestic beer friends

Serving type: can

01-17-2008 02:21:51 | More by Shadman

pirates

South Africa

3.73/5  rDev +49.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Being a South African, I drink Castle quite frequently. As a matter of fact it is my fav South African beer. Castle is sometimes bitter and sometimes dry, depending on the brew. I tend to favor the dry variety. Why this variation exists, I donot know. Overall, a great beer with a proud South African heritage.

Serving type: can

12-09-2007 11:23:42 | More by pirates

ThatWineGuy

Ontario (Canada)

2.95/5  rDev +18.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Yellow in the glass with a white frothy head, about a finger's worth. Retention wasn't bad, some good lacing. Nicely and steadily carbonated. Smells of melon, cantaloupe. The taste was sharp and bitter with a snappy hop presence, some malt. Carbonated mouthfeel, gassy. It was bitter sour on the finish with a dry, lemony aftertaste. Overall this is an acceptable lager on a hot summer day but the finish doesn't make you want to grab another. The words on the label, "Brewed in Perfect Balance" didn't seem to apply to my can of beer but it's worth a try.

Serving type: can

10-05-2007 02:45:07 | More by ThatWineGuy

cyrenaica

Ontario (Canada)

2.65/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

I tried this on July 2, 2007 after purchasing it from my local LCBO store. It poured nicely into the glass with very little head, what head there was was gone very quickly. The colour is a medium gold colour, and translucent. Carbonation is constant. The aroma is malty and was constant throughout. The mouthfeel is crisp with mild carbonation. The taste is mellow with hints of malt and grains. An enjoyable beer.

Serving type: can

07-02-2007 05:29:18 | More by cyrenaica

Onslow

Texas

3.8/5  rDev +52.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This was my starter beer so i'll start with it...Pours pure gold with a shimmer and a healthy hearty head. The taste will have a slight bitterness,and a complimenting smell, while at the end of the can it tends to leave a dry yet smooth after taste. It does the trick at your next braai and I personally like the taste, but most will label this as just another mass produced lager..

Serving type: can

04-15-2007 12:50:25 | More by Onslow

trevorwideman

Manitoba (Canada)

2.63/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

450ml can poured into a Pint Glass.

Poured with a 1/4in head that sticks around and leaves a bit of lacing. Farly well-carbonated. Very pale in colour. Smell is definitely soapy with very sweet corn adjuncts in evidence. A slight floweriness, but not much exciting.

Taste has a bit of alcoholic and metallic acidity mixed with a slight nutty malt character. The soapiness is in evidence, as are some earthy hops, but all in all this is a very light tasting lager. Thin and watery in the mouth, overcarbonated with a slight dryness in the finish and a bite on the tongue. Not offensive really, and drinkable in large quantities I'm sure, but not a flavourful beer in the least.

Serving type: can

08-25-2006 01:11:29 | More by trevorwideman

fisherman34

Manitoba (Canada)

2.58/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

Canned sample. Straw gold in colour with high carbonation. Aromas are of sweet pale malt, and a little bit of herbal German noble hop. The flavors are of very lightly toasted grains, minerals, Golden Deliscious applem and a bit of cherry pit. Watery body. Overall, it tastes like a low end European macro pils, but at least it finishes fairly clean and didn’t taste like corn.

Serving type: can

07-17-2006 21:14:14 | More by fisherman34

funkengruven

Ontario (Canada)

3.53/5  rDev +41.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This poured a very pale yellow with a half inch head that sits nicely on top. Smell is slightly metallic, a little corny, but not awful. This stuff is slightly sweet, a little corny, a slight hint of barley malt. The combination is not disgusting at all like some other adjunct macro brews, This one is actually not too bad. Fairly smooth and pretty easy to drink too.

This is not a compex brew, it doesn't pretend to be, and it doesn't have to be. It's actually pretty good for what it is.

Serving type: can

07-12-2006 01:22:22 | More by funkengruven

hunteraw

China

2.13/5  rDev -14.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Spent the last three weeks in South Africa and had quite a few of these - the most widely distributed beer in SA by far.

Pours with a big head, a wet straw (almost orange tinted) color, some lacing... Cans seem extra heavy in South Africa, almost universally - I kept thinking there was some more left in the bottom.

Aroma is of corn (it's listed as the second ingredient on the label), with a bit of alcohol present too...

Taste isn't anything to write home about. Slightly astringent, bitterness is harsh, a mild malt sweetness. I have to say it grew on me, though, the bottle I had the next day wasn't quite as bad.

Mouthfeel: high carbonation, which fits for the style, very thin... I don't think it finishes particularly well either.

Drinkability is low! Not the worst beer I had in South Africa, but close. In my experience, it tasted better out of a bottle, but I don't know how universal that might prove. Windhoek is almost as widely available and much better - if you're in South Africa, I'd suggest choosing it over Castle at every opportunity.

Serving type: can

06-07-2006 13:49:31 | More by hunteraw

BDTyre

British Columbia (Canada)

2.68/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Ehhh.... Looks okay, but smells foul. Tinny, skunky smell with only trace malt sweetness and hop bite. Corn mash hints. They even list "maize" on the ingredients.

Taste is almost as bad. Corn mash, grass and a little bit of malt. Can taste, and an acid overtone. (Maybe that's just because I'm quite parched).

Okay mouthfeel, decent drinkability.

Serving type: can

05-12-2006 06:58:11 | More by BDTyre

CrazyMike

Alberta (Canada)

3.35/5  rDev +34.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Didn't mind this beer at all, the taste is refreshing, smooth and sharp. A bit sweet. Leaves a nice dry aftertaste.

Does not contain the same chemical-like you get with most popular Macro Lagers and overall better taste..

Appearance, meh, yellow. The smell was a bit sweet and hoppy. An overall solid beer, would recommend.

Serving type: can

03-03-2006 20:17:39 | More by CrazyMike

Viggo

Ontario (Canada)

1.65/5  rDev -33.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Pours a pale yellow/gold, big fluffy white head, some decent lacing and retention. Smell is almost non existant. Some sweet maltiness, little bit of citrus and floral, maybe some vanilla. Doesn't really taste like anything. Little bit of malt, some iron flavour but otherwise completely devoid. Mouthfeel is light bodied with low carbonation. Completely tasteless, but as refreshing as water.

Serving type: can

02-16-2006 22:33:19 | More by Viggo

jayc333

Ontario (Canada)

2.35/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Pours a golden yellow with a 3-finger white head. Head vanishes slowly, leaving behind generous lacing. Tiny bubbles rose throughout, and looked very inviting.

Herbal grassy/leafy aroma. Pleasant, ad quite strong.

Dank, metallic taste. Not pleasant at all.

Thin, smooth mouthfeel, with decent carbonation.

This one doesn't do it for me. Not recommended.

Serving type: can

09-29-2005 20:38:59 | More by jayc333