It’s been a while since I’ve had a Carlsberg Lager, that’s for sure. I can’t remember exactly when I had my last Carlsberg, but I can say that I used to drink a lot of Carlsberg beers back in the early to mid-1980s. Carlsberg Elephant beer was really a beer I drank a lot more of than Carlsberg Lager, but I did bring home a six-pack of Carlsberg from time to time.

Copenhagen, Denmark based Carslberg is one of the largest brewing conglomerates in the world. I’m on the fence about such entities. As long as they leave the local breweries they gobble up alone to their own devices, I can live with the big brewers. But when they turn once-beloved labels into just another brand, stealing them of their character and identity, I take issue. I don’t see that Carlsberg has done that with any of the brands they own (such as Belgian Grimbergen, Polish Okocim and Russian Baltika).

Anyway, back to Carlsberg Lager. It was a hot early September afternoon and I had just trekked the 2.6 miles to Taco Mac. I was there to watch the New England patriots play their season opener against the Miami Dolphins, and a crisp refreshing lager seemed just the thing. So, I decided to order up a Carlsberg Lager.

This is Carlsberg’s flagship brew, and the brewery offers the following history of the beer on their website:

Carlsberg beer has been produced since 1847. It was first sold in its current pilsner form in 1904. In 1868, Carlsberg began exporting to Scotland. In 1869 samples were sent to Rangoon, Singapore, Calcutta and Hong Kong.

I paid $6.25 for a 20-ounce mug of this 5% alcohol by volume pilsner beer.

My Carlsberg lager arrived a pale golden color with a light whispy head formation and a light biscuit malt nose. Taking a sip I get more of that biscuit malt in the palate as well. There are some light adjunct notes, but not a lot of them and they don’t spoil the experience for me. A surprising grassy bitter hop bite in the finish is a welcome development.

Relative to other mass market pilsners, I like Carlsberg Lager, and I would take it over a Budweiser or Coors Banquet Beer any day. Judged against those beers that is to say, by style) I’ll give this one 4 stars. I would buy again for sure, and it was a satisfying crisp beer to slake my thirst while watching the game. Sometimes, that’s exactly what you want.

And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.

*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.

(B)=Bottled

(D)=Draft

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