Flying Horse Royal Lager - United Breweries - UB Group

NeroFiddled

Pennsylvania

3.48/5  rDev +16%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Flying Horse pours an absolutely crystal-clear, deep-golden body that teems with swirling clouds of tiny, effervescent bubbles beneath a long-lasting head of frothy bright-white foam that holds quite well and leaves some nice lacing about the glass. The aroma offers a soft, grainy maltiness and a mildly herbal and grassy hoppiness that's very European. The body is medium with a fine-bubbled carbonation that's crisp on the tongue before allowing it to smoothly fade away. The flavor delivers a unusual maltiness that's a touch sweetish and grainy with an odd, nuttiness to it (as if some wheat was included in the grain bill). The grassy, herbal, and delicately spicy hop flavors are perfectly balanced against the malt and backed by a solid bitterness that could be a bit sharper but still gets the job done. (It's less bitter than most German pilseners, but there's definitely something going on). It finishes dry with a lingering maltiness that's bumped by a swirl of hops and then residual bitterness. It's an impressive lager considering that it's coming out of India (a country not known for it's beer!). And interestingly, this "pils" has a softness and lingering quality to it that works really well with Indian foods. It pairs exceptionally well with the creaminess, delicate spiciness, subtle raisin fruitiness, and cashew nuttiness of Navratan Korma. More of a "food beer" than a Friday night quaffer, but still pretty good regardless.

Serving type: bottle

07-03-2004 16:39:54 | More by NeroFiddled

WesWes

New York

3.48/5  rDev +16%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

The beer pours a pale gold color with a thick frothy white head that slowly fades to lacing. The aroma is decent. It has a light pale malt scent along with a slight bitterness. It's clean with a dry lager yeast aroma. The taste is decent as well. It has a smooth pale malt flavor that seems a bit grainy and slightly earthy on the finish. It's crisp and refreshing, but lacking any real character. The mouthfeel is decent. It is a low bodied beer with good carbonation. This is a good lager. It has a flavor that I enjoy as well as good drinkability.

Serving type: bottle

10-21-2005 00:52:25 | More by WesWes

whynot44

Missouri

3.43/5  rDev +14.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Light bodied, clear light gold with a disappearing white head.

Little aroma - mild malt, bread.

Taste is sweet malt, slight yeasty flavor with a nice hops bite, though no real hops flavor, somewhat dry finish.

Crisp, refreshing, well balanced, very drinkable. A very decent lager

Serving type: bottle

10-05-2005 03:42:57 | More by whynot44

Weissenheimer

New Jersey

3.4/5  rDev +13.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

During lunch at Chicago's Khyber Pass I take a taste of Flying Horse. It proves to be a great match for the Indian food, so I order a bottle of my own. A fairly gentle pour yields a good head for a lager; the slightly yellowish white foam quickly subsides into a wispy film and leaves a decent lacing on the glass. The beer itself is a crystalline golden yellow. It smells fairly unremarkable, which is no surprise for an Indian lager. The scent is hoppy, astringent, and not very complex.

The initial taste is smooth, and a little sweeter than the average lager. Then a crisp, dry, tingly bitterness centers on the middle of my tongue. This moves to the back of the tongue for an astringent and hoppy finish. There's a pronounced metallic bitterness here, but with a hint of woodiness which blunts the metallic tang so that it's not off-putting.

The taste is fairly subtle, but decent. Like most Indian beers I've had the taste is not all that broad. However, elements such as the slight woodiness and sweetness round out the taste enough to bring it up one notch above average. It has a lovely way of bringing out a kind of pepperiness in the Indian food, but aside from that pairing I doubt I'd seek out this beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2003 00:36:55 | More by Weissenheimer

srandycarter

California

3.38/5  rDev +12.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Took a chance and ordered this one at a restaurant.

A - Clear light straw, small head, sudsy lacing.

S - Macro type smell of light malt and hops. Very subtle.

T - Taste follows smell. Fine enough, just not much there.

M - Average. Fairly thin.

D - Easy enough to drink, just not very interesting.

Serving type: bottle

11-19-2008 17:30:58 | More by srandycarter

BadBadger

New York

3.38/5  rDev +12.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Flying Horse Royal Lager is a descent beer to enjoy while dining on Indian Cuisine. Stand alone, I would not buy it off the shelf. It pours a nice golden color out of a 22oz bottle, with a moderately sized foamy head. Smell is somewhat yeasty. Taste is pleasant, with a crisp.

Serving type: bottle

02-23-2009 18:28:46 | More by BadBadger

Jason

Massachusetts

3.35/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Presentation: 22 oz slender brown bottle with a manufactured date on the back label.

Appearance: Clear pale yellow with a thin broken lace that barley sticks to the glass at all.

Smell: Dry hay and cooked veggie in the aroma, other than that it is quite clean.

Taste: Light bodied and thin with a semi-forceful carbonation. One sided malt flavour with a graininess that lingers far, mild cooked cereal grain flavour within. Even yet prickly hop bitterness though there is no hop flavour. Hint of smokiness ands an interesting twist to the clean palate. Dry and grainy in the finish.

Notes: A decent pale lager that does a good job of cleansing the mouth for the next sip beer or bite of food.

Serving type: bottle

07-14-2002 11:03:55 | More by Jason

oberon

North Carolina

3.35/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Wasnt expecting much,but I was somewhat pleasantly suprised.Poured straw color with good head, smelled rather yeasty and breadlike.Tasted like a traditional lager was somewhat floral and to me very yeasty.To me it was the equivalent of Molson in a lotta ways so it was to bad got it for free so I am not complaining.

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2003 15:40:23 | More by oberon

scottoale

California

3.35/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

650ml. brown bottle with a MFD 12/05 and Batch No.1476. It pours a liquid GOLD with 1/2inch of white bubbly that dies rather quicky, then re-builds itself a bit with it's carbonation. Nice, delicate bubble lace with this one.

Nice malty nose, grainy pale malts with some yeast and grassy hops in the background. It actually smells more like a Czech Pilz, than an American macro, nice aroma.

Taste is mildly sweet malt upfront, then quenches through to a crisp, slightly dry, bitter hop of a finish. Definitely a warm to hot weather beer, low enough in ABV and light enough in body to consume in large quantities to keep you cool and happy.

Mouthfeel is round with a little bite on the tongue. A very refreshing, lighter style of beer, that's worth a try...cheers.

Serving type: bottle

04-26-2006 07:40:35 | More by scottoale

smcolw

Massachusetts

3.35/5  rDev +11.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

For an Adjunct Lager, this is not bad: The body is thicker; the carbonation is less; the flavor leans toward malt and less toward raw grain; there's even a hint of hop.

All that said, it is an Adjunct beer. The flavors are mild, but for a lawnmower beer, it is good. So, I would order it again in a pinch.

Serving type: bottle

10-08-2011 00:27:26 | More by smcolw

Zorro

California

3.33/5  rDev +11%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Pours an ultra clear pale yellow.

Smell is very grainy and grassy. Strong sweet buckwheat smell to this with some perfume.

Taste is rustic and grainy with an almost smoky flavor to it; a slight sour flavor shows up in the background later on.

Mouthfeel is OK.

An OK brew drinkable yet different

Serving type: bottle

04-11-2004 04:42:27 | More by Zorro

spointon

Illinois

3.33/5  rDev +11%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

I had this beer at an authentic Indian restaurant - poured from a 22oz brown bottle into a pint glass.

A= =This lager poured a clear and pale golden color. Very little head and no lacing to speak of.

S= Faint, dry malts. Some minor sulfur in keeping with the style.

T= I found malt flavors, relatively dry and grainy. No hop biterness present.

MF= Crisp an clean. Light bodied, medium carbonation.

D= An ok macro style lager that paired well with spicy Indian food.

Serving type: bottle

08-27-2008 07:03:51 | More by spointon

riored4v

Colorado

3.33/5  rDev +11%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Reviewed on 2/11/11

Poured in to a pint glass. Crystal clear, golden body. Egg-white like head that faded fast.

Aroma had some slight diacetyl, buttery aroma. Mild malt. Clean smelling overall, not much aroma though.

Taste had a light floral aroma. Mild presence of diacetyl. Light floral biterness. Very mild flavors, slight off-flavor.

Mouthfeel was light body and high carb. Crisp finish.

Drinkability was good. Clean and light profile.

Serving type: bottle

02-25-2011 23:49:13 | More by riored4v

Gruntlumber

Missouri

3.3/5  rDev +10%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

I went to pick up my Indian carry-out order a few minutes early so I could belly up to the bar and drain one. I initially picked Taj Mahal, but at the last minute changed my mind to this one. I don't think I've had it before, and in comparison I was getting an extra 0.3% ABV (bang for my buck!). It's to the point now where any new lager I try is expected to be fairly boring, but I'm always hoping for some unique characteristic to shine through. With Flying Horse, there is a noticable hint of sweet corn. The morning-urine yellow appearance reinforces this trait, which is normally a reminder that I'm drinking cheaply produced swill. It reminds me a lot of Red Stripe which I think also imparts this same sweet grain flavor, but Flying Horse is more extreme in this regard. Did I just use the word "extreme" in a lager review? Well, not extreme, but very noticable when put up against any other standard import lager from Europe or elsewhere. I rather enjoyed this beer, though in the "Macro Lager" catagory it doesn't take a whole lot to impress.

Serving type: bottle

08-15-2005 04:32:15 | More by Gruntlumber

neorunner

Virginia

3.28/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Grabbed a bottle of this at Cork and Fork in Gainesville. 650ml bottle poured into a Eggenberg pilsner glass. Paired with chipolte apple glazed steak over rice with green beans. Aroma is sweeter and more fragrant than expected from an adjunct lager. Carbonation is beautiful, thick two inches of pure white head and continual fine streams of bubbles throughout the beer. Flavor is a bit too sweet and has a strong corn backbone. Almost no hop bitterness in this beer. This is a beer I would buy again, and great to get a cautious BMC drinker into deeper waters.

Serving type: bottle

09-04-2010 22:35:03 | More by neorunner

scruffwhor

Illinois

3.25/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 5

Poured a pretty normal head with poor retention. Decent lacing mixed with a noon day sun color. Smell is avery grassy with pilsner malts. Taste is a watery, yet natural malt character. Tastes like Indian sunshine. The palate is pretty light and refreshing, making this beer very easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

04-16-2006 17:33:24 | More by scruffwhor

aquatonex

New York

3.23/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Yet another Indian lager, but compared to most I'd rather drink this one.

Pours a pale yellow with a light foamy head of 2-3 fingers easily that quickly dissipates. Nose is not skunky, but not complex. Taste isn't skunky, either, and light but good. Reminds me of the Steel Rail of Indian beers. I could kick back a few large bottles without a problem.

Serving type: bottle

01-25-2008 04:20:22 | More by aquatonex

DrDemento456

Pennsylvania

3.23/5  rDev +7.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Went to an India restaurant and had a pour of each of their house lagers.

Nice yellow golden in color, fuller than expected for a lager with a 1/4 inch of bubbly head that quickly fades. Smells of common cereal grains, mild lager yeasts, and a bit of fruity corn. Taste was better than expected for an average beer with good sweetness and a crisp bite. Not something I would seek out again but worth trying lagers of India.

Serving type: bottle

04-13-2012 19:16:24 | More by DrDemento456

ADR

Pennsylvania

3.2/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Pretty well-charged, a big fizzy head of an inch on a slow pour. Vanishes quickly though. Medium gold and clear appearance. Little lace, mostly dots on the glass. Straw aroma, quite a bit of green apple skin. Some honey to the malt, but very fruity flavor, tart and with more decided apple tones, approaching fermented cider mid mouth. Light body, medium carbonation. Hands off to a crisp hoppiness near the close but with tangy notes remaining. Has a little character, not a favorite of mine, but makes more of an impression than other United Breweries Lagers like Taj Mahal.

Serving type: bottle

10-01-2004 14:13:39 | More by ADR

Bitterbill

Wyoming

3.2/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

$3.95 for the 650ml bottle, mfd 09/10, batch no 1275. grin.

A bright and clear straw gold colour, huge head of foam, some lacing. It's very pale but doesn't look bad at all.

It smells of corn, lightly sweet, slightly of some lemon and perfume. What I expected.

The taste is more of the same though the corn is more subdued than the smell suggested. Light sweet notes, some fairly assertive bitterness, not a bad tasting Lager.

I'd say the mouth feel was pretty good if it was so highly carbonated. It makes me want to burp every time I finish a sip.

Good drinker but again, too spritzy!!!

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2010 23:29:16 | More by Bitterbill

homebrew311

Illinois

3.2/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

A: pours clear gold, no head, cascading bubbles

S: nose features faint sweet malts, hints of grape nuts, some caramel and bread

T: mildly sweet, notes of cereal grains, mild fruity sweetness

Mf: light body, mild carbonation

O: a little more character than I'm used to for the style, not something is go back to, but good its own right

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2012 00:08:43 | More by homebrew311

BitteBier

Indiana

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

Perfectly clear and golden straw in color. Topped with frothy white head that quickly dies out and leaves little lace. Sweet grains dominate the rather nondescript nose--not unpleasant but lacking depth and daring. The same is true of the taste, which is dominated by the almost syrupy malts that far overshadow the hops, though there's a pleasant bit of crispness at the outset. The mouthfeel is reasonably well-balanced, and this beer is surely quite drinkable. But I'm bound to reach for something that promises more character.

Serving type: bottle

01-06-2004 01:35:23 | More by BitteBier

Tang07

California

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

I went for some Indian food so, when in Rome...

It was served in a 22 oz. bottle with a little booklet on it saying how great it was.

The beer poured well. It was a pale gold/yellow with a nice head for a light(er) lager. He head vanished pretty quickly, but still laced the glass nicely.

The beer was very lightly hoppy, with a hint of fruit. The beer definitely complements spicy Indian food. It cleanses the palate well, and has a very nice mouth feel and finish. (which is nice if you are eating several different dishes family style.)

I look forward to ordering more of these.

Serving type: bottle

09-30-2004 01:10:19 | More by Tang07

shadow1961

Minnesota

3.15/5  rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Flying Horse Lager pours a big stiff head over a clear
yellow brew. Carbonation is steady and constant, and
the nose is lager yeast and a bit of malt. the flavor is
slightly sweet light barley malt up front and a tint but of
some kind of hop in the finish. Really, really simple stuff,
but still and all, well made and refreshing. The mouthfeel
is crisp and clean, and that's about it. Only 4.5% alcohol,
this is a good brew for sessions, lawnmowing, watching
Cricket, eating curry, or summertime porch rocking. Good
stuff.

Serving type: bottle

06-26-2007 15:43:05 | More by shadow1961

Hibernator

Massachusetts

3.13/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Flying Horse Royal Lager Beer
22 oz brown bottle
MFD: 03/08 BATCH NO. 124-US
Served in a pilsner glass

Pours a golden yellow with a decent head on top leaving some trails of sticky lace on the sides of the glass. Mini carbonation bubbles race to the top of the glass.

Not much to speak about in terms of the nose - light whiffs of cereal and grains. Perhaps some hops mixed in there too.

The flavor is rather clean with the emphasis on cereal grain flavors. I like the carbonation level that prickles the tongue. The finish is provides a mini hop snap. A middle of the road lager that is quite drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

08-22-2008 22:03:12 | More by Hibernator