Battle of the Brews......The Empire Beers

I have no doubt it is no longer taught in school, but back in the day everybody knew that the sun never set on the British Empire. Of course this also meant that there was always a frothy cold one being served in the lands coloured pink, as they invariably were on the maps that were used in schools. So stiffen that lip, raise a glass and rodger the cabin boy, as we sample the brews of the Commonwealth...

Red Stripe
Jamaica's finest beer, and widely available throughout the world. It's popularity isn't as high as it was a few years back, but you will not struggle to find it, and any self respecting Caribbean club will have it on draught. My early experiences of this worthy brew came in the late 1980's at the Capricorn Club, aka Bibbys, down Manningham. This establishment was home to Bradford's first, and most infamous "Rave" club, and was run byu the equally infamous Bibby, a rascally old Jamaican. It wasn't the kind of place one went to hit the bar, there were other more exciting distractions, but if you did fancy whetting your whistle, the choice was Red Stripe or Red Stripe. I will give the man his dues, it was always ice cold, even though the temperature inside the club was only a couple of degrees cooler than the core of the sun. It has a healthy ABV of 4.7%, and is a fine choice on a fine sunny summers day.

Tiger Beer
A 5% ABV lager first brewed in Singapore. The Boy Dazzler first introduced me to this brand in Whetherspoons a few years back, and has remained one of the Boys favourites. Its a bit gassy for my liking, and apart from the chain pubs, is only really found in supermarkets, or Indian and Chinese restaurants. I don't really have much else to say on this one. As you may have gathered it is not one of my preferred brews, although the label on the bottle is pretty cool.

Kingfisher
The first Indian lager to make inroads in the UK, thanks in large to the number of more upmarket Indian restaurants that stocked it. For me it is a hard one to rate, as let's be honest, curry makes any lager taste good. That spicy hotness, offset by a nice frosty lager is one of the delights that truly make life worth living. And the combination also allows one to emit the most fragrant and boisterous of belches. It was not long before it was joined in the marketplace by Cobra, and with the Indian economy booming, I can see more brews from the sub continent becoming readily available, but for the purpose of this exercise I am sticking with the original.

Castle
South Africa's effort to crack the UK lager market hasn't really taken off. It is easy enough to find, particularly if you live in the vicinity of a Barracuda theme bar, and your the supermarkets always seem to have it on some kind of special offer. But I think there is a reason it has never taken off. It is shite. Now I appreciate this has not prevented either Carling or Fosters shifting units on a vast scale, but that is because in an awful lot of pubs there is no other choice. Until Castle can achieve blanket coverage in pubs and clubs to rival the two beers mentioned, it will thankfully remain stuck in the bargain section at Morrison's. This may however change next year, as South Africa hosts the World Cup, which is bound to raise the profile of everything South African.

Steinlager
Representing the Antipodes is Steinlager, New Zealand market leading lager. I have already reviewed Fosters earlier, and have no intention of revisiting Australia, a land I consider to be bereft of any beer worthy of inclusion. So we take a short hop across the Tasman Sea to the land of the White Cloud, or something like that. The pub scene in NZ is excellent, but the local ale offerings are pretty bland. Steinlager is the only Kiwi beer I can recall seeing on these shores, and then it isn't the easiest to find, usually in 'Spoons on some kind of promotion, or in a New Zealand run business, such as the Gourmet Burger Kitchen. It isn't disgusting, bit neither is it great. it is what it is...

Labatts
Our final stop on this tour of the former colonies is to the second biggest country in the world, and one of its most sparsely populated. Canada. Due to its close proximity to the USA, which is one of it's biggest importers, the vast majority of beers offered by the Canucks cater for the American palate, which means there is a preponderance of light beers. Even Labatts have one, but for this competition I am nominating Labatts. At one time this brand could be found in most pubs, but over the last few years has retreated into the beer section of the big four supermarkets. it isn't anything special, but in comparison to the majority of offerings on this thread, it is a giant. If you are planning to travel extensively in North America, this would be my recommendation.