OK, so it’s been eight years since I tasted this beer, but at one time I drank quite a lot of it. When I arrived in Eritrea for the first time in 2002, the country was still recovering from Ethiopian occupation a decade earlier, to such an extent that the beer didn’t even have a label. There was something very nourishing about drinking a beer from an unadorned brown bottle in a country that hardly had electricity. My score for appearance (4/5) is for the sight of a few mls of beer hitting the concrete floor of the bar you were in - it was custom to pour a little onto the floor to make sure it foamed up. Foam = drink, no foam = send it back for another one because this one had gone pear-shaped in the production process. When there was foam, Asmara Lager was a very clean, crisp lager beer and one I never tired of drinking.

Several bottles, 33cl, back in the 90s. I was in asmara 3 weeks on a IT infrastructure job, and even back then I found pleasure in beer, and new exotic beer. The brew was somewhat similar to faxe fad, a little less bitter than HOF, and a little bit smoother. Also very slightly sweeter, but it is more or less just like any other macro lager. At the time i found it pretty good, as it was definetly drinkable. I ususally only rate from notes, but this is an exception - i’m not going back to asmara, eritrea anytime soon, although it is a nice town, located on a plateau on the mountain with very nice climate due to the high location.

The bottle looks good, the beer in the glass also, but not much foam. Aroma sourish and a bit sweet. Tastes washy, a bit malty, finish a little bit drier. Very drinkable and good lager!

Bottled. Cloudy golden, small but perisistant head. Bready aroma, turning towards raisin. Fresh, sweet and very soft, very doughy. A vague touch of grassy hops. Figs and more dough in the finish. Feels fresh and alive - though too sweet and raisiny it’s probably the best 0.0% beer I’ve come across.

Bottled. Quite a misearble sight upon pouring: Pale yellow, a mere dozen or so of bubbles tries in vain to form a head, but of course fails to do so. Neutral aroma. Sweetish with clean rounded mouthfeel where the limited carbonation creates an almost velvetty sensation. Fruity with notes of melon. Low bitterness. This is not really every day industrial lager stuff, and it’s actually quite refreshing, and almost meadlike with it’s soothing fruitiness and complte lack of malt flavour.