Foster's Lager - Foster's Group Limited

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

1.75/5  rDev -32.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

When I was a kid I had a beer can collection and the Foster's 'oil can' was one of my favorites. I've never had the beer though and I'm interested to see what the stuff tastes like. An Australian beer was pretty cool (at least I thought so) in those days, but I see that Foster's is now brewed in Canada, as is Sapporo. Is nothing sacred?

Perfectly clear bright amber with a dirty white, medium-sized head. The cap is a little more substantial than expected. It's actually firm, stays humped in the middle as it falls and leaves a fair amount of lace. Will wonders ever cease? Standard macro lager nose with a pungeant, skunky smell that is way below average while stopping short of offensive.

The flavor has little to recommend it. Foster's Lager is worse than the vast majority of lagers I've had recently and I've had some pretty bad beer. It isn't horrible at first, but once the beer leaves my mouth, a foul, sour, chemical flavor starts to seep across my taste buds, causing me to wince. Only Bud Light has had that effect on me of late. Thin, watery body.

Sorry to say, this is a drain pour. The label on the back of the bottle says that Foster's Lager is 'the definitive Australian beer'. I've had very few beers from the land down under, but that has to be the biggest load of bollocks that I've heard in a very long time.

Serving type: bottle

06-18-2004 00:26:00 | More by BuckeyeNation

mikesgroove

South Carolina

1.78/5  rDev -31%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

Wow, is really all I can say, and not in a good way,LOL. Poured rom an oil can in a pilsner glass, no real head, no lace, just pale golden nothing. Smell was must and moldy grain. The feel was too light, essentially non existent with just a light bread like taste. Overall this was just not very good, it tastes old and has no life or character. Dont know whay I drank this wehn I was younger.

Serving type: can

05-23-2007 23:26:18 | More by mikesgroove

Thorpe429

Illinois

2.3/5  rDev -10.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Reviewed from notes.

Pours a clear golden color. A bit darker than many of the style. Visible carbonation and a white head. The nose is grain with a bit of light adjunct. The taste is slight grain but most of the taste is washed away by carbonation fairly quickly. Crisp and light. Drinks decent enough and will quench your thirst, but not a particularly good beer.

Serving type: on-tap

11-11-2010 13:50:00 | More by Thorpe429

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

2.58/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2

12 ounce bottle - $1.29 at Total Wine & More in Kennesaw, Georgia.

Appearance: Pours a clear, golden body with a foamy, frothy, white head.

Smell: Sweet-smelling aroma with mere, vague hints of barley and little else.

Taste: Sweet light pale malts with faint, fleeting grain hints. Incredibly small amount of floral hops and bitterness, leaving this one to finish sweet and somewhat crisp.

Mouthfeel: Light-bodied. Medium-plus carbonation.

Drinkability: Pass this one by, folks. Foster's has very little to offer beyond a simple, basic sweetness and some carbonation -- like a soda!

Serving type: bottle

11-23-2009 18:40:01 | More by ChainGangGuy

UCLABrewN84

California

2.73/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Best by 10/1/12.

Pours a clear light yellow with a 2 inch foamy off-white head that settles to a film on top of the beer. Random patches of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of grain, corn flakes, and sugar. Taste is of grain and sweetened corn flake flavors. There is a very mild bitterness that quickly fades after each sip and turns into a slightly medicinal flavor. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty poor beer in the main area: flavor. The sweet corn mixed with the medicinal flavors on the aftertaste aren't too tasty in this one.

Serving type: can

05-22-2012 05:27:20 | More by UCLABrewN84

Phyl21ca

Quebec (Canada)

2.53/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

On tap Canadian version - Clear yellow brew with a nice head. usual macro brewery taste of malt/sugar/water. Maybe a tad too much water. This is drinkable but overall a middle of the road lager for hot summer days. I get the feeling this might not even be imported ber bu brewed under license in Canada.

Serving type: on-tap

11-11-2003 19:18:51 | More by Phyl21ca

BEERchitect

Kentucky

2.85/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

A pretty good beer after that Labatt Blue that I just had. Looks vibrantly yellow. Nice carbonation and head retention. Left traces of lacing. Smells mildly malty and vegetable like and earthy. A bit yeasty. Tastes also lightly malty, corn like, grain like, powder sugar like. Light butteryness. bittered a bit by mild hopping. A bit astringent, but mostly clean. Slightly slick mouthfeel. Lightly creamy. Finishes modestly sweet, cornlike and and bitter. Not bad, unless you paid retail for it.

Serving type: on-tap

07-18-2005 00:45:11 | More by BEERchitect

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

3.38/5  rDev +31%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

As brewed by Molson. Oil can. Crystal clear gold. Fairly good head retention. Some nice lacing. Aroma is clean and lightly sweet with some malt character (although there's an obvious use of adjunct here). The flavor is somewhat sweet with a husky/grainy/hay-like/biscuity malt character. The huskiness actually helps to balance it along with the sulphur from the yeast. Firm/solid bitterness seems as if it's out of a can. Minimal non-descript hop flavor in the background.
It's pretty much as I remember it prior to '83 when Carlton and United was bought by Elders, but it's smoother now. And maybe that's just my changing palate; I'm not sure where it was brewed then.

Serving type: bottle

08-25-2006 00:38:00 | More by NeroFiddled

WesWes

New York

2.42/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

The beer pours a very pale gold color with a thick frothy white head. The aroma is average or slightly less than. It is of pale malts and lager yeast. It is dry and musty. It must have something to do with the can from which it came. The taste is weak and bitter. The musty flavor is bold. It is a bit grainy and simplistic. I sense the presence of brewing adjuncts. The mouthfeel is decent. Like most commercial lagers the body is low and the carbonation is high. It drinks awful. I must admit this one was had only for the beer karma.

Serving type: can

01-19-2004 04:20:30 | More by WesWes

drabmuh

Maryland

2.93/5  rDev +13.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

GIANT CAN! Pick this up when I got my Bad Beer Thursday selections for the next few weeks. Ughh....

Well it's clear and heavily carbonated but no staying power with the head.

Aroma is grassy and sweet.

Beer is medium to light in body and decent. Minimal aftertaste...is "cold" a flavor. It is very underwhelming, but maybe that's the point. I'm interested in trying the lager...but I won't have it again.

Serving type: can

02-25-2011 04:56:40 | More by drabmuh

zeff80

Missouri

2.65/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

A - Poured out a pale gold color with a two-finger head. Highly carbonated.

S - It smelled of grains and malt.

T - Tasted of grains and wheat. It starts sweet and then finishes with a slightly bitter hoppiness.

M - It was crisp but a little flat. A light-bodied beer.

D - Not bad for the style. It has a little more hops than most of this style.

Serving type: bottle

03-07-2007 01:14:24 | More by zeff80

metter98

New York

2.4/5  rDev -7%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75

A: The beer is clear yellow in color and has a moderate amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a half finger high white head that died down, leaving a bit of lacing on the surface and a small collar around the edge of the glass.
S: Faint aromas of grainy malts are present in the nose along with some hints of corn adjuncts.
T: The taste is similar to the smell, except that the flavors aren't as prominent because they are somewhat masked by a light amount of bitterness from the hops.
M: It feels rather light-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: There's nothing overly special about the taste of this beer, but it seems to be a little more palatable compared to other beers in the style because the bitterness helps to mask some of the flavors of adjunct malts.

Serving type: can

03-15-2013 01:12:04 | More by metter98

TheManiacalOne

Rhode Island

2.25/5  rDev -12.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

On-tap 2/23/07 at The Celtic Pub in Pawtucket, RI, served in a US tumbler pint glass.

A: The beer is a light gold color, with a large white head that fades quickly and leaves a thin lace.

S: The aroma is of light malt, corn and other adjuncts, with a faint bit of hops.

T: The taste is predominantly heavy flavors of corn and grain. It has a thin malt character and is not as sweet as most macros, but has very little hops.

M: Crisp and not too smooth, kind of watery, light-to-medium body, medium-to-heavy carbonation, clean finish.

D: Not very tasty, goes down ok, not filling at all, doesn't seem to have much of a kick, I wouldn't stick with this beer if I had another choice.

Serving type: on-tap

02-24-2007 16:00:09 | More by TheManiacalOne

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

2.68/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

This is what I ordered the first time I ate at the Outback Steakhouse. I ordered it simply because I hadn't tried this beer yet. I knew going into it that it was a standard lager and wouldn't be overly amazed by this. The beer is basically what I expected. It's yellow and clear with a pretty good head on it, the head actually leaves some nice lacing. The flavors are of the standard hops and malts. This beer is a little bit heavier on the belly than something like a Coors original or Budweiser. Apart from it's fuller body this beer isn't much different than the rest of the lagers in America.

Serving type: on-tap

04-07-2011 03:03:13 | More by Knapp85

Halcyondays

California

2.78/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

25.4 oz. big oil can, just finished watching Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles, so I had a hankering for this,

A: Pours a typical, pale yellow, but the head is really nice initially, and has pretty good retention, a nice, soapy white.

S: Very light, faint, some malt notes.

T: Light malt notes are backed up by a surprising amount of hops for this style of beer, definitely not an IPA or pilsner, but for an American macro lager, it's got a bit of a crisp hop bite.

M: Light and a bit fizzy, I find that the oil can is less carbonated than the bottle, which is a good thing, since when I had Foster's out of the bottle, it felt way over-carbonated, which made it difficult to drink, overall though I found the mouthfeel a bit watery and vapid.

D: Fine, though that big oil can has a lot of beer in it, as much as a wine bottle, 750 mL, so about halfway in, I found myself not drinking any for about 30 minutes, I found it just disinterested me, for an American Macro Lager it's not bad, but compared to some of the better European-style lagers, it just doesn't stand up.

Serving type: can

10-07-2007 17:20:57 | More by Halcyondays

jwc215

New Jersey

2.78/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Pours straw yellow with a foamy, one-finger white head that slowly descends to half-size and stays around. A bit of broken lacing sticks to glass. Pretty impressive for a macro.

The smell is mild - faint grassy sweetness and cereal adjuncts.

The taste is of sweet grain and cereal adjuncts. Husky. Some rather bland, almost tasteless, hops balance out the sweetness somewhat. Fairly clean, though a tad soapy, in the abrupt finish.

It is light-bodied with a touch of astringency.

Outside of the head retention, this is pretty much a run-of-the-mill macro at best (with a bit more astringency than normal). Why pay the import price on it? In fact, not one to bother with anyway. Not horrible for the style, but nothing special either. Canadian...I mean Australian for ... beer.(?) Whatever...

Serving type: bottle

09-14-2007 17:39:56 | More by jwc215

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

2.9/5  rDev +12.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A sunny afternoon on the strip, looking for a decent patio to enjoy the weather and the sights, and lo and behold, the old standard student pub has morphed into an Aussie-themed pub! The Outback now has competition in the kitschy 'Down Under in the Great White North' booze biz...

I couldn't sit down for the first time in such a place and not have a draft pint of that most famous of Australian potables in this part of the world. The beer arrives at the table, in the appropriately labeled glass, and appears a clear pale golden hue, with a minimum of thin white head, which leaves no lace. It smells of sweet white grain, and mildly skunky herbal hops. The taste is sweet, corn-flakes-like cereal grain, and mild earthy hops, somewhat acrid. The carbonation is moderate, the body kind of weak, and the finish off-dry. For a sunny patio, not a bad choice, but overall, nothing special - I don't think I'd order it again in different circumstances.

Serving type: on-tap

05-19-2009 23:16:55 | More by biboergosum

WVbeergeek

Ohio

2.3/5  rDev -10.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Appearance: Fizzy golden with a nice sized frothy white head with decent scattered patches of lacing. Aroma: Grassy hop character with a mild sweet tone, not bad just clean and decently hopped for most lagers. Taste: A trickle of bitter sweetness here some corn and rice is probably present doesn't seem all grain not a bad hop profile decently bitter for a lager, too bad this is the biggest knockoff of an Australian beer considering it's brewed in Canada. Other than that it finishes clean and unoffensively, take it for what it is a mass produced lager. Mouthfeel: Is thin and artificially carbonated not cloying pretty smooth just uninteresting. Drinkability: As much as you can put down before you can't handle the flavor anymore not filling and doesn't make me yearn for another yet I can't tear it apart.

Serving type: can

09-18-2003 20:23:35 | More by WVbeergeek

Wasatch

Utah

2.5/5  rDev -3.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Pours a light yellow color, nice carbonation, small white head, with some sticky lacing left behind. The nose is malty, with some hops, slight caramel. The taste is slightly sweet, malty, slight hop note. Light body. Not drinkable, would not buy again.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2010 15:08:58 | More by Wasatch

jdhilt

New Hampshire

2.2/5  rDev -14.7%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Pours a white, three finger-head that vanishes quickly but leaves some lace. Clear, very pale amber color. Light carbonation and very light bodied. Nose is faintly hoppy. Starts with more malts than hops, finish is smooth but there is not a lot a flavor. $1.50 for a 12oz bottle from Colonial Spirits Acton, Ma.

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2005 23:20:38 | More by jdhilt

rhoadsrage

Illinois

2.53/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

(Served in a small strange)

A-This beer pours a pale light translucent yellow with a big pure white spongy head. A gentle carbonation of big bubbles rise to the surface.

S- The smell of hops is noble hops with a stale or putrid almost cheesy aroma. There is a faint pale malt backbone under the hops

T- This beer is pretty crisp and clean with a slightly sweet finish but that is very faint. The finish bitterness is more from carbonic acid than hops.

M- Very light body with a somewhat watery or slippery feel. There is a carbonic bite in the finish but it is pretty gentle.

D- It is a very mild flavorless beer but the hops taste a bit off and would really benefit from a more typical hop character. It would be nice to have more of a malt note to balance the hops. I will have to put a lime in this one to enjoy the rest of this oilcan.

Serving type: can

09-19-2005 23:02:17 | More by rhoadsrage

Jason

Massachusetts

3.13/5  rDev +21.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Presentation: 25.4 oz can with no description of the beer and no freshness date.

Appearance: Pale sunny clear golden colour, good frothing of a white head when first poured. Yields a rocky and slowly dissipating two fingered head that soon enough is virtually gone.

Smell: Hint of malted grain, traces of cooked veggies and husky undertones make up the aroma which is relatively clean.

Taste: Crisp and grainy with a slightly refreshing smoothness. Light to moderate body. Sweet grain leans towards husky with light biscuity and powdery flavours. Even hop bitterness that couples well with the fresh graininess. Vague astringent flavours are mild and hard to trace back to their grain and hop origins. Husky finish that gradually dries.

Notes: A pretty drinkable lager, nothing to go “beer crazy” over. A good beer to wash down a working man’s meat and potatoes meal.

Serving type: can

03-31-2002 21:46:20 | More by Jason

Billolick

New York

2.75/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

12 oz bottle, no freshness dating.
Pours clear and light, gassy/cabadgy nose. watery, no body, typical macro lager, no malt, no hops, tasts like alot of corn. Lawn mower beer from Down under, nothing more, nothing less. skip this stuff if you can. A shameful waste of good water.

Serving type: bottle

04-23-2004 00:11:32 | More by Billolick

Zorro

California

2.53/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Pours a clear golden brew.

Smell is mostly just grain with a mild amount of malt smell.

Taste is mildly sweet and a bit of grain. There is a little malt and hop present but you have to let it sit on your tongue to bring it out.

Mouthfeel is good.

It is OK drinkable if you are in need and US Macros are the only choice. There are better brews for the price like a Sam Adams.

Serving type: can

02-29-2004 05:16:23 | More by Zorro

Bighuge

Minnesota

3.43/5  rDev +32.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

The Bigass Oil Can! The Master Fucking Cyliner! The King Kan! Whatever you want to call it, there's always something alluring and reminiscent about this beautiful big blue can.

Pours a light shade of golden with a thick crop of egg white colored head. Retention is very good. And lace is quite full. The aroma consists of grainy notes and corny adjunct-like sweetness. Not bad, but nothing that stands out either. The flavor is a little better than the nose. Nice refreshing quality to it. It's sweet, but not overly corny or adunct-like. I'll have to admit it. A nice little maltiness to this one. Body is about medium. Maybe a little better. Carbonation isn't overly fizzy as "macros" can get at times. This is one of the better "macos" I've had in a while.

Serving type: can

06-21-2005 02:45:18 | More by Bighuge