OB Lager Beer - Oriental Brewery Co., Ltd

soju6

Missouri

2.73/5  rDev +16.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

The look is a typical yellow with a light head. It had that bland beer aroma. The taste was nondescript, but was somehow a bit refreshing. The beer is drinkable and goes good with Korean food, as it help cleanse the taste buds.

As OB and the now defunct Crown Beer were the only choices when I first went to Korea, OB has survived and holds its own against new Korean beers and imports now available.

Serving type: bottle

03-13-2010 14:50:45 | More by soju6

thekanna

Maryland

2.2/5  rDev -6%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: Pours an extremely pale, clear yellow with a large, white foamy head.

S: Some lagery yeasts but otherwise, no smell at all.

T: Light, light, light... light like the weight of an anorexic girl. Some sweet corn malt, but otherwise, the beer is so light it might as well be seltzer water.

M: Nicely carbonated and crisp.

D: A nice respite from the intensely flavorful Galbi and Bulgogi that I was having, but does not hold its own. Why is it that countries with some of the most delicious cuisines don't have beer pairings that can match?

Serving type: bottle

12-06-2009 03:28:30 | More by thekanna

yesyouam

New York

1.98/5  rDev -15.4%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

OB is a sparkling, very clear, light golden lager with a dense, fluffy white head that has decent retention and lacing. It has a faint, fruity aroma with generic grain in the nose. It's light bodied and quite smooth with a crisp finish. There's not much flavor here. There's not really any bitterness; just a generic grain flavor-- rice, I guess. It's dry and refreshing. I mowed the lawn before I drank this.

Serving type: bottle

05-31-2009 16:29:59 | More by yesyouam

froghop

Washington

1.4/5  rDev -40.2%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1.5

what a bad beer, just like its evil step sister cass fresh only more skunk to it and not as sweet.

pours a pale yellow with a small white head, some lacing.

smell of malt, grain, and funk.

taste is watery, grain, corn, and a very strange aftertaste that is almost a sour.

bad beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2009 03:43:07 | More by froghop

likethetaste

Virginia

3.2/5  rDev +36.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

I got this beer with a variety pack from World Market.
Ok.. This was not an outstanding beer by any means but it was just fine if you compare it to American Macro Lagers. I would have not problem drinking this beer with Kimchi and Bolgogi (however you spell it.) If I have korean food anytime again soon I will order this with it.

Serving type: bottle

12-11-2008 20:29:29 | More by likethetaste

BeerBelcher

Ohio

1.68/5  rDev -28.2%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

I had this from a big plastic bottle...maybe 2 liters. And the beer fit its packaging - cheap, flat, and generally only worthwhile. My body did the recycling of the beer for me, and I imagine the recycled product didn't come out much worse than the raw material that fueled it.

The beer is pale. And flat. And the aroma that is there isn't good. The flavor is a little worse. A touch of corn sweetness, but a weird chemical-ness that does not belong in any beer anywhere prevails.

Steer clear of this stuff.

Serving type: bottle

11-27-2008 00:50:41 | More by BeerBelcher

nrpellegrini

Maryland

2.53/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours a clear pale yellow color with a flimsy white head that fades before its all said and done. Smells watery, some pale hops, and a bit metallic. I fell like this is Korea's Keystone. Mouthfeel was ok and the same with the drinkability. I couldn't pour this one into a glass again and try to enjoy it. More for a party and you'd consume multiples of this guy.

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2008 00:39:54 | More by nrpellegrini

watchnerd

California

2.15/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

22 oz big bottle.

The competing big-bottle Korean macro-lager to Hite. Neither one is particularly good, but if whereas Hite makes errors of omission in this category (veering towards water), OB commits nasty taste errors. In this category and price range, Hite's strategy is the better. OB is the thicker of the two beers, but not in a good way. It's sweeter and with an aftertaste that gets close to cheap malt liquor.

For an analogy, Hite is more like Coors, and OB is more like Bud. If we're going cheap, give me watery but drinkable over nasty every time. If you're in a restaurant that serves both, get the Hite.

Serving type: bottle

02-02-2008 16:39:00 | More by watchnerd

Bookseeb

Washington

2.05/5  rDev -12.4%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Another from Uwajimaya in Seattle. Appearance is a very light golden with no head. Smell of slight hop and grain, adjuncts. Taste reminds me of a club soda having the salty mineraly flavor with a slight hop bite and good carbonation. Mouthfeel is light, not as good as the other Koreans I've had and since I don't like club soda it kind of turns me off.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2008 03:20:48 | More by Bookseeb

SargeC

Japan

3.1/5  rDev +32.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Good old OB.

Appearance: Pale golden yellow. Fizzy head.

Smell: Light hops and spent rice. Chemicals.

Taste: Passable when cold. Matches well with Korean food.

Mouthfeel: Standard macro lager consistency

Drinkability: Makes an excellent opposing sine wave to drinking Soju. More consistent that the good old days.

Serving type: bottle

10-25-2007 06:38:51 | More by SargeC

Damian

Massachusetts

3.03/5  rDev +29.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4

Drank from a 12 fl. oz. bottle at Koreana Restaurant, Cambridge, MA

Poured a pale straw yellow with a fizzy, bright white, one-finger head that quickly disappeared.

The aroma was quite sweet and fruity for the style. A floral bouquet was immediately noticeable along with hints of ripe fruits and bubblegum. As the beer warmed the aromas seemed to subside.

The taste was not as exiting as the nose. A touch of grain and malt sweetness were the only flavors I could detect. The finish was remarkably clean (and practically flavorless). Mouthfeel was medium bodied with an overwhelming, fizzy carbonation.

Drinkability was quite good. This beer was light and refreshing and did not contain any of the "off" flavors or skunkiness found in many other macros.

Serving type: bottle

08-26-2007 05:38:02 | More by Damian

sleazo

New York

2.25/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 1.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2.5

Pours a light light yellow. Almost no head. Disipates rapidly. Smell is slightly skunk. Taste is actually fairly crisp. There is a nice hop bitterness to this which is fairly shocking. Almost no malt whatsover. The mouthfeel would be best described as sodalike. This was however a surprisingly good match for kimchi and some of the other panchan. The beer got worse as it warmed.

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2007 17:39:55 | More by sleazo

brushpig

Illinois

2.98/5  rDev +27.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Had a couple bottles at San Soo Gap San in Chicago.Served in a OB taster glass.

Very light yellow in appearance not much head at all.

The aroma was not too impressive, however it had a nice fresh and clean scent.

Fresh taste, rice flavors, smooth taste, not complex by any stretch of the imagination. But a nice light malty flavor.

I am not one for drinking Amercan Macro Lagers, but this is a very clean refreshing beer that is good with the Korean food that I had.
I think it would be great on a hot day mowing the lawn.
I wouldn't hunt this down, but if you get a chance try it.

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2007 16:04:02 | More by brushpig

MTNboy

Missouri

2.65/5  rDev +13.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

I have consumed enough of this beer to kill or preserve a horse. That is if formaldehyde legend is true. Most Koreans will tell you that it is not. Call me crazy but I believe them. Service Members say that about every drink in Korea. That legend comes from when they would preserve Soju with it back in the day. Every time I would have OB it was different. You have to take it on a batch by batch basis. Some times it would have a strong metlic taste to it and other times it would not. Sometimes it went down smooth and other times it felt kind of harsh. The same went with the smell. I do think their imports to the States stay more consistant or may it is because in Korea they will let a beer go skunk.

Serving type: bottle

12-14-2006 01:20:15 | More by MTNboy

xav33

Michigan

1.73/5  rDev -26.1%
look: 1 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1 | overall: 3

OB Lager
Deuce deuce
Medium pour in a shaker
Recent brewing, sucked down 12/06

Poured a pale aqueous yellow with a moderate white fizzy quickly diminishing head.

Smelt of DMS cooked corn and rusty metal scraps.

Taste was upfront moderate sweet candy corn followed by the taste of sucking on those stupid tiny metal action figures that people paint on and play D&D with, thankfully light though. Short finish. Palate was light, watery and fizzy and metallic.

Overall, it’s cheap Korean beer! My first Korean beer experience ever! Bonus point!

Serving type: bottle

12-04-2006 05:58:10 | More by xav33

therica

Maryland

2.25/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

I've had enough of this in South Korea to make my own river. It has the well-deserved reputation of having the world's highest formaldehyde content, and therefore the world's highest incidence of hangovers and bang-head-on-wall headaches.

Appearance-- medium-light yellow with some crumbling head.

Smell-- first warning-- can clear your nasal hair. Hops, malts, corn, the usual-- plus some toxic pungency.

Taste--- not bad, drinkable if that's all that is around. Lots of carbonation, actually a little better than the flat-stale taste of Budwisser et al. Slight sweetness.

Mouthfeel-- not bad except for the toxic fumes rising from your gastric internals.

Drinkability-- millions of American servicemembers have proven that it is, indeed, highly drinkable. At what cost and health risk? You must answer.

Serving type: bottle

11-22-2006 03:48:53 | More by therica

rhoadsrage

Illinois

2.08/5  rDev -11.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

(Served in a strange)

A- This beer has a pale straw yellow body that is crystal clear with carbonation of huge fast bubbles. The head is a thick layer of big rocky snow-white bubbles that fades after a bit.

S- The smell of noble bitter hops is almost artificial. There is a faint sulfur note in the finish, with a faint corn aroma coming through as it warms a bit.

T- This beer has a very light flavor with a faint sweetness followed by a slight noble hop bitterness. There is a very soft lime bite in the finish that comes through more as crisp sulfur as I drink. There is a slight carbonic bite that starts to take over the hop flavor, leaving a very washed out flavor.

M- This beer has a light mouthfeel with a carbonic fizz in the mouthfeel.

D- This is light, refreshing and non-offensive to the point that it doesn't have a taste at all. The carbonation is probably the strongest flavor in this drink.

Serving type: bottle

03-11-2006 22:47:05 | More by rhoadsrage

Frozensoul327

Michigan

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

Bottle looks like a knock-off of Bud Light. Very pale yellow color with medium carbonation. Some lacing. Smells like corn and watery malt, a trace of hops. Taste? Fair. Nothing special, just typical flavors of adjunct, weak malt, and a slight indication of saltiness. Mouthfeel was bubbly and light. As for drinkability, I guess I could have this again, but I certanly won't seek it out. Average at best.

Serving type: bottle

03-11-2006 19:46:16 | More by Frozensoul327

67cuda

Colorado

2.17/5  rDev -7.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

This beer pours a pale yellow, the infamous "cheap beer" color, with a decent-sized white head. Oddly enough, the head doesn't last long, though there is plenty of carbonation present. It smells a bit grainy, and somewhat like vegetables, fairly standard adjunct smells. As for the taste, it doesn't taste like much of anything to me, a little bit of malt was present, but overall it was quite watery. Sort of what I might imagine Light-Light Beer to taste like, perhaps. The mouthfeel is thin and watery, with too much carbonation. You could drink a lot of this beer, since it certainly isn't filling, but I for one would rather drink beer that tastes like something, so the drinkability is not very high.

Serving type: bottle

10-19-2005 05:54:29 | More by 67cuda

daliandragon

North Carolina

2.55/5  rDev +9%
look: 2 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3

This is definitely my favorite of the ubiquitous big three here in the Hermit Kingdom. I wouldn't drink it if on vacation in Brugges or Prague but its superior to Hite (shudder) and sister beer Cass.
Pouring a plastic 500ml bottle into a tall glass reveals a subpar colored beer, more tannish than golden with a weak, uninspired head.
The smell is likewise poor, all I detected were cereals, and stank cerals at that.
However, the taste is a pleasant surprise after the initial examination process. The beer tastes fresh (ironically much more so than Cass Fresh), with a nearly citrus tinge and possibly wheat flavorings as well. Mouthfeel is a bit gritty though.
This beer does go down pretty easy although reportedly more than a few can give you nasty gas, although I haven't yet experienced this. Overall, this beer isn't great but it' beats the competition hands down.

Serving type: bottle

09-08-2005 12:09:38 | More by daliandragon

Hooker275

North Carolina

2.9/5  rDev +23.9%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

I had more of this beer than one can imagine while stationed in Korea. Bought a six pack the other day at the beer store to see if it was still as bad as I remembered it. It was. But then, it was cheap, plentiful and washed down the questionable Korean cuisine. Many fond memories with this beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-07-2005 21:39:55 | More by Hooker275

TinusTime

Virginia

1.9/5  rDev -18.8%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

Had this at a Korean restaurant this past weekend. Pours a very light gold with an impossible clean white head. The aroma is a bit metallic and overall not that pleasing. Taste is blah. No real maltiness or hoppiness, its just kinda there. Reminds me of sub-premium macros. Not awful, but close. Mouthfeel was thin and abit too carbonated with a weird aftertaste that was a little astringent. A notch below American Macro's. Drinkability -- no thanks I will stick to water. I knew I should have gotten the soju.

Serving type: bottle

06-21-2005 14:35:18 | More by TinusTime

beersarang

California

2.78/5  rDev +18.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Pours a straw yellow with a foamy white head that doesn't retain at all, just like a macro. Sparkling carbonation.

Smells a little bit like rice, veggies, smells that shouldn't come from beer.

Enters the palate with a weak malt profile consisting of husks and grains, rice? Hop bitterness is quick and fairly weak but balances out the malts. Finishes a tiny bit sweet and astringent.

Average thin bodied but drinkable macro lager, but because of the grainy quality it tends to pair with spicy and Korean foods. Overall a good palate cleanser, but not to be enjoyed on its own.

Serving type: bottle

05-03-2005 22:18:08 | More by beersarang

benagame

California

3/5  rDev +28.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

i'm still not sure what i think about this beer, but i wouldn't mind trying another one to try and figure itout. the beer poured with a light head that quickly receded, and left lacing for the duration. the aroma was slightly hoppy and with a clean lager yeast scent. the flavor wasn't exceptional, but it did hit the spot. there was some nice to thin mouthfeel, and a touch of sweet malt flavor, and no unpleasant aftertaste. this beer is very average leaning to the pleasant side. not as skunky as some of it's amercan counterparts.

Serving type: bottle

04-04-2005 15:13:32 | More by benagame

WMBierguy

Maryland

2.33/5  rDev -0.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1 | overall: 4

This is a beer that I have a hard time reviewing... the categories don't really match up with the beer. This is, appearance wise, as average of a beer as you can get, something that you'd imagine being used as a beer prop in a movie. However, taste the beer and you'll discover a the strange world of OB Lager.

I gave this beer a 1.5 in taste, and a 1,0 in mouth feel. This isn't because the beer tastes bad; rather, the beer gets this low rating because it doesn't taste like anything. I'm not exaggerating. I don't mean that this beer tastes like water; that would be Mich Ultra. I'm saying that this beer has no taste. I know that I'm drinking, I can feel that there's liquid in my mouth, but there is no discernable flavor whatsoever. Its a little frightening. I gave the mouthfeel a 1 because it doesn't feel like beer, or any other identifiable liquid.

This beer's label claims that its the "most drinkable beer." Its complete lack of flavor and substance comes close to fulfilling that promise; afterall, its like you're not drinking anything. I give you two reasons to try this beer: 1. Its from South Korea, something that's a bit unusual in and of itself. 2: You must experience this mysterious negative taste effect. Its the 8th wonder of the world.

Serving type: bottle

02-21-2005 03:42:12 | More by WMBierguy