This
week: Bintang Belly
There’s an
image I just can’t get out of my head as I choose my beer this
week. Whenever I go to the gym, or the beach, or out in town
(basically wherever youth congregate), I see this. Rat-tailed,
singlet-wearing young hooligans masquerading as men.
You know the
type. They have bulging biceps from countless hours ‘pumping iron’.
Driving around in their ’87 VN Commodore with a 6-speed, 4.8L V8
turbo diesel engine, complete with beer in hand. I cringe every time
I hear them screech “oi mate” in that peculiar idiosyncratic
accent unique to Aussies.
But what does
this have to do with Exotic Beer of the Week? I hear you ask. Well,
it’s an all too common sight for the singlet I made mention of to
be sporting a large, bright, Bintang logo. At the risk of alienating
some of you, my dear reading several, I have come to associate
Bintang with Bogan culture. So I have to drop my prejudices, widen my
view of the world, and review this week’s beer as objectively as I
can.
Bintang, an
Indonesian pilsner, is actually produced by a subsidiary of Heiniken,
which explains the similarity, in bottle and in taste. The thing that
strikes me about Bintang, is that it’s just like every other beer.
If I didn’t have the bottle, I don’t think I could readily
differentiate it from say, Toohey's New.
Not that
there’s anything bad about it, it still has that light, deliciously
bitter flavour, with no bad after taste, but there’s just nothing
special or unique about it. Like a trip to Bali, it begins with all
the promise of good times, but you leave feeling slightly
disappointed because you got Bali Belly from drinking the water [and
only half your pirate DVDs work – Ed.]. It’s a shame, what
should have been a good beer, really was bland and boring. Maybe
that’s what the kind of people who wear Bintang singlets want, but
not this reviewer.
I award
Bintang Pilsner 2 singlets out of 5
No comments:
Post a Comment