Taj Mahal Premium Lager - United Breweries - UB Group

KickInTheChalice

Illinois

2.73/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured from a 22 oz. bottle into a pint glass.

Appearance: Pours a light straw color. 1 cm white head, not much retention. No lace. Not much character here.

Smell: Very sweet. Some honey aroma, but mostly a sweet processed corn type aroma. Cooked veggies.

Taste: I have no idea how they brew a beer to have this sweet, industrial taste like this. It is like night and day with cleaner, tastier beers. Funky, grassy, metallic taste. Soft sweetness provides the only pleasantness here.

Mouthfeel: Grainy and oily, but a little thin. Medium carbonation.

Drinkability: Actually gave me a bit of a headache. Not as bad as some of the beers I had while I was actually in India, but this is no treat, even as adjuncts go.

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2010 03:58:58 | More by KickInTheChalice

cudmud

Illinois

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

I ordered this at an Indian restaurant, and I was very disappointed.

Appearance: Very pale, one finger of foam that quickly dissipates, and poor lacing.

Smell: Faint hops; wet grass

Taste: Little flavor up front and a faint aftertaste of hops.

Mouthfeel: Thin.

Drinkability: One word: insipid.

Serving type: bottle

05-01-2010 01:09:19 | More by cudmud

tugdriver7

Maryland

2.9/5  rDev +13.3%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

I wouldn't go so far as to say "avoid" this one, but it's definitely not worth the premium price for the larger bottle. Wan yellow sparkling in the glass with a small white head... like Ginger Ale. Euro skunk was present but not overly so and the initial taste was a weak, slightly sweet biscuity malt with a definite euro hops aftertaste. All in moderation and (sad to say) in balance, rendering the whole thing quite drinkable. And at 4-1/2 % ABV, you could put the whole bottle down, at least with food (as I did). Better than some euro macros, but definitely not worth looking for.

Serving type: bottle

04-20-2010 10:54:56 | More by tugdriver7

alysmith4

District of Columbia

2.1/5  rDev -18%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

I was (obviously) not impressed by this beer. It was a toos up between ordering this one and a King Fisher, but I avoided the KF because I thought it might be skunk-y. That's exactly what this beer was. From what I can tell, this is common for Indian Lagers. Not much flavor or aroma. Even my friend commented, "Budwiser tastes better than this!" I would have to agree. It's funny that the label bragged about only the "finest malt and hops," but I didn't detect any of that. I guess Bud claims the same thing though.

Serving type: bottle

04-18-2010 20:00:13 | More by alysmith4

chiefydawg

Ohio

3.13/5  rDev +22.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Bomber birthday gift. Suspecting what I was basically in for, I drank a leftover Beast Ice ahead of time to give the Taj a fair shake.

Yellow, fizzy, clear. White foamy, quickly dissipating head. Seems vaguely familiar. Oh, like 90% of the macro lagers in the USA. I hope nobody paid too much to import this.

Not skunked like I would expect an Indian beer to be; at least they have the sense to use brown bottles. Sweet grain, corny, horse-feed scent. A bit of a perfumy, ripe fruit fruitiness. Fermented too warm? I'm telling ya, there is some caramel here too. Not exactly inviting, but not overly offensive really.

Grainy, corny, and sweeter than expected. There's that toffee/caramel again. Little sharp, chemical fruitiness. I think I almost detected a faint hop taste as it warmed, and there is a tad of bitterness countering the sweet.

Not as clean as our macros; but hey, that may not be such a bad thing. Some lager yeast coming through in fruit and the faintest sulfur. Refreshing, though leaving some residual on the palate. Slick and smooth on the tongue. Not much to balance here, but there is some.

OK, maybe I am being too generous because I did just have a worse beer and because it was free. But I'm going to bet that this got some worse grades than it deserves because it is an American Adjunct Lager. When judging, I believe we should consider the style. That said, I never plan to buy one unless eating Indian Cuisine.

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2010 23:00:11 | More by chiefydawg

budgood1

Minnesota

2.85/5  rDev +11.3%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

pours out a semi clear straw/gold colour with a thin rocky head supported by some huge bubbles from the carbonation. wispy lace. light grainy aroma...a little herbal...euro lager like. taste is more of the same...a stiff pale malt flavour with hints of biscuit and white toast. i swear it's like biting into a loaf of white bread, yeasty and all. after that it's pretty boring and the slight back end hop bitterness only adds a zesty zing rather than any balance to the fleeting sweetness. it has a light beer like mouthfeel and the overall body is like any other typical lager. drinkability is ok...i'm sure it wash down some spicy curry dish admirably.

otherwise, as Officer Barbrady would say..."move along, nothing to see here."

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2010 23:02:19 | More by budgood1

beerthulhu

New Jersey

3.53/5  rDev +37.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

slowed brewed for the Connoisseur. MFD 11/08. Consumed 1/10. Batch 222 US

A: Poured a pale gold with a brilliant clarity and a quickly rising 3 finger snow white head that was well lasting with a equal mixture of foam and froth. A near full sheet coating sticks nicely to the glass walls while a visible carbonation provided a strong showing with a medium density of rapidly rising bubbles. Overall I thought this was a really nice presentation of a pale lager with the head leveling to a solid creamy whipped capping that remained so for the entire drink along with the solid carbonation.

S: The nose was pale grains with a good supporting scent of both hay and straw highlights. There is a sense of fresh greenery leaves and vines that give this an earthy appeal as well. For a lager this showed a pretty decent nose strength wise, with nice grainy attributes.

T: The initial flavor starts off with some sweet pale grains, slightly dry, with lightly buttered bread. Dry lemon grains along with hay and straw also add to the drinks grainy appeal. There is a soft sense greenery and fresh flowers as well balancing the initial sweetness that soon moves in as well with a slight hint of buttered fresh croissant. The grains are truly the focus here while the hops add more then there share of fresh greenery and flowery appeal. Overall I thought this was a nice change of pace, the flavor was clean and crisp, with a slight buttered touch that was balanced very well with a soft essence of herbal hops.

M: The mouthful provided a nice tingle like a good lager should, giving this a nice bite from the carbonation. The texture was buttery smooth with a surprisingly near medium full body that sits pretty well on the tongue per style.

D: Drinkability was fairly decent. I certainly wouldn't turn one down. At 4.5% abv was a light refreshing lager making for a good picnic beer that both craft and micro drinkers should both be able to enjoy with little complaint. A nice clean crisp quality that showcases the good brewing technique. Should hit the spot well on a hot summer day for a light affair. Definitely worth checking out if you respect the style and just want to put back a few and not get filled up.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2010 01:08:39 | More by beerthulhu

BeardedBoffin

Minnesota

2.17/5  rDev -15.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

The label declares: "Slow Brewed for the Connoisseur" We'll see.

It pours a very light golden color with a few centimeters of white foam. Surprisingly visible lacing was left on the glass.

The aroma, however, did not broadcast a positive harbinger for things to come. The aroma was dominated by, what I interpreted as, corn. Light and slightly grainy on the palate, but not much flavor overall. It finished with the slightest bitterness. As it warmed more corn starchiness emerged.

I think I will pass next time.

Serving type: bottle

01-15-2010 00:30:41 | More by BeardedBoffin

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

1.63/5  rDev -36.3%
look: 1.25 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.75 | feel: 1.25 | overall: 1.75

Pours almost invisibly. Pale straw color, little bubbles, smells like a dive bar. Tastes like, a dive bar. Imagine if they tweeked Bud Light just a little, with ah, maybe more water. Easy drinking beer, but for the price your probably paid for it, you're thinking that Pabst is much more worth it. You could drink a lot of these in a sitting, but why you'd ever want to, I have no idea.

Do they get any points for a cool label?

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2009 17:41:04 | More by Beerandraiderfan

wahhmaster

Virginia

1.7/5  rDev -33.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Poured from a 22 oz. bottle into a 0.5L Pilsner Urquell-branded pilsner glass.

Appearance: Pours a translucent, very pale (almost white) yellow color. The head is large and fizzy and leaves considerable lacing on the glass as it quickly dissipates.

Smell: Has a slight whiff of hops but it's very fleeting. Besides that, corn and other adjuncts dominate.

Taste: This is one of the worst-tasting beers I've found. I don't even know where to begin. It starts with a grainy bitterness and finishes sickly sweet. This actually tastes worst than most American macro and light lagers. I actually would prefer some light American lager to this. This is terrible.

Mouthfeel: Thin and watery with waaay too much carbonation.

Drinkability: Ugh...This beer is barely drinkable. It might be better with food, but I doubt it. Stay away!!

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2009 17:05:22 | More by wahhmaster

dstc

Florida

2.9/5  rDev +13.3%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3

Pours a golden color with a big white head. Head falls slow leaving very decent lace.

Does not smell as good as it looks. Aroma is of grains and very metallic.

Tastes like an adjunct lager but with a little more there. Not great, just average.

Medium bodied in the mouth with plenty of carbonation.

Does it's job of washing down curry.

Serving type: bottle

10-10-2009 21:07:59 | More by dstc

srandycarter

California

3.23/5  rDev +26.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Indian restaurant and the guy had no clue regarding the 8 Indian beers they had. I picked blind.

A - Clear straw, .25 inch thick, densly bubbled white head.

S - Grainy, very light and muted.

T - rice lager flavor. Interesting slight twang at end.

M - Light bodied and well carbed.

D - Very easy, if not boring.

Serving type: bottle

10-08-2009 05:45:33 | More by srandycarter

wertperch

California

2.53/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

I had one of these at a local curry house. Poured into a pilsner glass, it had a skinny off-white head which didn't hang around very long. The colour is pale straw, fairly bubbly, and if you like that sort of thing, I suppose it looks quite good.

What little nose there is doesn't bode well. A hint of grain and very little hop, faintly musty. It drinks like any other lager, with a fairly thin dry body, a light maltiness and the faintest tang of hop and grassiness. I did find it a little sour rather than sweet, which detracted from the overall enjoyment for me.

It's quite effervescent, not at all sweet, and sadly devoid of character. It's a simple and fairly refreshing brew, simple and unassumingly refreshing, as I would expect from the style.

I'm afraid I have little to say about this, other than it's an American-style adjunct lager that didn't make me retch, and washed down a chicken jalfrezi quite easily.

Serving type: bottle

10-05-2009 23:06:44 | More by wertperch

biboergosum

Alberta (Canada)

2.88/5  rDev +12.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

A new hole-in-the-wall Indian restaurant opened up a few months ago, right across the street from my place, and I think I've waited the appropriate amount of time to let them settle before sampling their culinary offerings. As for the beer, they actually offer more than the ubiquitous Kingfisher on their Indian Beer list, which is nice.

Into a Rani mini pint glass, this beer pours a clear medium yellow hue, with a minimum of thin, soapy white head, which leaves absolutely no lace behind. It smells of musty white grain, and skunky, weedy hops. The taste is sweet rice, and earthy, musty hops. The carbonation is average, the body on the lighter side, and it finishes fairly dry, some vegetal essence lingering.

While not something I would ever choose to have again on its own merits, some kind of brain-palate association made this beer go down well enough with some very decent lamb vindaloo, which I suppose is the point of the geographical food/beverage connection, real or imagined.

Serving type: bottle

09-30-2009 17:19:02 | More by biboergosum

gfreed

Massachusetts

1.45/5  rDev -43.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 1

Let's see... it didn't ruin a great Indian meal... it rinsed the food into my gullet... its low ABV didn't leave me feeling like I couldn't drive... it came in a pils glass... it wasn't the worst thing I've had to drink. Was it beer? It was yellow (but then, so are a lot of other things); it had almost no carbonation; it had a puffy head for a short while; it was cold. No aroma, no taste.

Pass.

Serving type: bottle

09-23-2009 02:33:21 | More by gfreed

laituegonflable

Australia

2.55/5  rDev -0.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Pours with a large plume of white head, pale golden in colour with frantic, chaotic bubbling dashing here, there and everywhere. A slight haze in the glass as well, lacing is thin but sticky.

Nose contains a whiffy grain smell with rice and sweet corn, plus a slight chemical character. Rather syrupy on the malt and a tad insipid. Hops are predominantly metallic, but not dominant. That's all there is here, very blah.

Taste is alright for the most part. Malt underlies with a biscuity character, blended with a sweet rice character and descends into a mid-palate which has some semblance of character - a sour apple flavour with a vinegar hint as well. This goes well with the back-palate which has mild acid on the hops with more of that coppery bent. Nasty yeast sneaks in at the back to spoil the party.

Mouthfeel is okay, quite chewy actually, not as thin as some and has a nice fuzzy foamy texture from the light bubbling. Drinkable - has that sourness and the yeast aftertaste that lowers its clean Asian lager character, but is a touch more interesting than others I've had.

Serving type: bottle

08-19-2009 02:45:07 | More by laituegonflable

Clydesdale

District of Columbia

2.78/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: Pours a clear, bright yellow with some active carbonation. The white head is moderately large, foamy, and reasonably firm. Retention is average, with some wispy lacing.

S: Some grainy malts. A mostly herbal hop aroma is coupled with some definite adjunct/vegetal notes.

T: Again, some solid graininess up front. Some herbal hop flavor and mild bitterness, along with a somewhat musty note. It actually struck me as fairly similar to many pale Euro lagers. Unfortunately, there's a significant adjunct presence of cooked corn and rice that doesn't help things much.

M: A touch on the light side, although not by much. Somewhat crisp and fairly refreshing.

D: A pretty uninspired lager. That said, it accompanied my fish curry well enough. Not many uses for this beer other than that; there are better macro lagers available and likely at a cheaper price.

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2009 02:31:06 | More by Clydesdale

thekanna

Maryland

2.53/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: Straw yellow with a large, fluffy white head.

S: Yeasty and sour with the underlying tinge of steamed, frozen veggies.

T: Somewhat sweet, honey-like malts end abruptly in a metallic bite and heavily carbonated, bitter finish.

M: Over-carbonated and watery.

D: Drinkable only to cut through the more flavorful Indian curries. Otherwise, quite run-of-the-mill for a lager and definitely not catered "to the connoisseur", as the label indicates.

Serving type: bottle

08-11-2009 03:52:33 | More by thekanna

tone77

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev +27%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

From a brown 22 oz. bottle. Pours a pale yellow color with a 1/2 inch head. Aroma has a touch of sweet malts to it. Taste of malts and grains, finishing a tad bitter. Feels light in the mouth and has decent drinkability. Overall this is an average beer.

Serving type: bottle

08-10-2009 22:59:01 | More by tone77

flagmantho

Washington

2.75/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 22 oz bottle into a pint glass. The label says "slow brewed for the connoisseur", and though I'm not really a connoisseur of adjunct lagers, I'll give it a try.

Appearance: very light straw color with a pretty thick head, but that dissipated relatively quickly and left no real lacing.

Smell: grainy, slightly metallic. This one's in a brown bottle so there was no skunk smell ... perhaps one day the Europeans will learn something from India.

Taste: well, it tastes like grain and water. There is absolutely nothing offensive about this beer, but it really doesn't taste like much.

Mouthfeel: pretty much nonexistant. This would be a 1 if it were any style other than adjunct lager, where this kind of thing is expected.

Drinkability: it is neither impressive nor offensive. I think on a sufficiently hot day, I would not mind putting a few of these back.

Serving type: bottle

08-08-2009 00:53:19 | More by flagmantho

DwnTwnBwn

California

2.8/5  rDev +9.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

A - Pours a straw golden clear liquid. With a white 1 finger head. Some lacing on the way down

S - It is like most pilsners, not much smell. a touch of sweet grain.

T - Its a sweet grain taste, clears the tongue with a slight hoppy finish. Some sort of peppery spice at the finish.

M - Light body. Strong carbonation.

D - Its a decent adjunct lager. goes good with Indian food as its about the only beer offered. I'll order it again.

Serving type: bottle

08-03-2009 22:07:13 | More by DwnTwnBwn

GRG1313

California

2.45/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Pours a light honey yellow color with a very thick and pillowy white head. Nose of sweet peaches and stone fruit.

Pleasant light bodied with floral light flavors and a hint of light honey. Very thin; no real character. Very short on body, flavor and character. Light carbonation amplifies this lager's simplicity and shortcomings. Would likely be one of those refreshing summer drinks one would have simply in lieu of water. Nothing special.

Serving type: bottle

07-15-2009 01:19:27 | More by GRG1313

TheTrevor

New York

2.5/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

This beer was a big disappointment. At least the mediocre American beers this beer is trying to ape don't claim to be "premium". This beer poured a light straw color with a big head that didn't last long. The smell was like your average American macro-brew with a lot more skunkiness that I'm not sure if it was supposed to be there or if it was a byproduct of shipping it with a similar amount of skill as it took to brew it. The taste was strictly average, a bit of sweet corniness that gave way to a watery finish. The only thing this beer has going for it is the mouthfeel, and if you ignore the smell and taste it could be downright refreshing. Unfortunately this beer came in a big bottle, which meant I felt the need to finish it and that was downright unpleasant.

Serving type: bottle

06-13-2009 00:59:36 | More by TheTrevor

deanhead

Vermont

2.83/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Straw colored beer with a nice white one fingered head. It's a nice looking beer, looks adequate for the Indian food it is matched with.

Aroma is faintly yeasty and minty with hints of adhesive tapes
Taste faintly grassy, with citrusy notes, and hints of starfruit.
Grainy and persimmon like.

Light bodied and bubbly, clean and dry finish, with a slight metallic aftertaste.

This beer was marginally drinkable,. Clearly past it's prime. It was bottled in October 2008. Nine months seems like a long time for a lager to be sitting around.

I don't think I would recommend this beer.

Serving type: bottle

05-10-2009 13:04:07 | More by deanhead

bmwats

Louisiana

1.9/5  rDev -25.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2

Poured from the 22 oz. bottle into a nonic.

A: Bright golden color. Heavy carbonation pours into a 1 finger, bubbly, white head. Settles pretty quickly, but leaves a layer of foam as residual. Scant pockets of lacing, but nothing to speak of here, really.

S: Light malt, hay, and freshly cut grass. The nose is a bit soapy and musty.

T: A strange grassy, musty, malt. It tastes old for lack of a better way to put it. Kinda' tastes like I think licking a tire might. A soapy aftertaste.

M: Distinctive bitter palette. Your mouth really can't escape it no matter how hard it struggles to. Offensive aftertaste.

D: It was tough. . .

Atosphere suffers do to the nose that makes you want to find a clothespin. Unfortunately for this brew, it tastes like it smells. The feel really can't pull this palette out of the fire. I would recommend. . . avoiding this quaff.

Serving type: bottle

03-22-2009 02:21:16 | More by bmwats