Himalayan Blue
Yuksom Breweries, Ltd.

Himalayan BlueHimalayan Blue
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From:
Yuksom Breweries, Ltd.
 
India
Style:
American Adjunct Lager
ABV:
4.5%
Score:
72
Avg:
2.76 | pDev: 24.28%
Reviews:
17
Ratings:
20
Status:
Active
Rated:
May 13, 2021
Added:
Jun 14, 2002
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
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Ratings by Mryup:
Photo of Mryup
Reviewed by Mryup from California

2.42/5  rDev -12.3%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2
A: A weak classic yellow with course, quick head that smartly reduces down to a large island with a ring. Unimpressive.

S: Actually not bad. A classic European pilsner malt with significant hops solid in their place. Not complicated. Grassy metallic notes are ever present.

T: Very mellow and watery. Many a persons would call it weak but I think the effect is intended. The malt dominates with the hops carrying the anemic, sickly adventure. Wait...this is definitely intentional. A flavor comes at the end that is hard to place. It is some type of un-intrusive spice that the brewers intentionally tried to bring out. The name makes me certain of this. What a weird beer. But hey, everything can't always be hops, hops, hops.

M: Very light with the CO2 just about non-existent.

D: Like drinking from a Himalayan spring. Coincidence? Probably not. But hell, I WANT BEER, NOT SPRING WATER.

FP: A fantastic beer to have with any food with virtually no spice.

An interesting find and while I can appreciate the attempt at something different, it doesn't quite make it in my book.
Jul 31, 2008
More User Ratings:
Photo of BBThunderbolt
Reviewed by BBThunderbolt from Kiribati

3.17/5  rDev +14.9%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
11.16 oz bottle poured into 16oz tulip. Poured a lightly hazy medium yellow-gold color with 2/3 inch of white head that had moderate retention and no lacing.

The aroma was fairly neutral; light grains and hops, a general "beeryness", and a slight touch of skunk.

Same on the tongue, it tasted pretty much how you would expect it to.

The body was a touch fuller than anticipated, was smooth, and had a semi-sweet finish.

Overall, not a bad brew, but also not one to seek out. Unless one is a ticker. Then grab one. You've ticked worse.
May 13, 2021
 
Rated: 2.57 by BlueSpader from Washington

Sep 14, 2018
 
Rated: 4.56 by anthony-martinez from California

Sep 28, 2014
 
Rated: 2 by kornkid8600 from California

Dec 08, 2011
Photo of Gobzilla
Reviewed by Gobzilla from California

1.76/5  rDev -36.2%
look: 2 | smell: 1 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
A: poured a pale straw yellow with a finger of head and left a little bit of lacing sticking to the glass.

S: the nose reminds me of a water hose with old water still in it: not quite pleasent. I did get sweet malt and grain notes but also very faint citrus.

T: that waster hose character is in the taste as well and is really a turn off cause it taste like water from the hose. There is some slight citrus but for the most part it was all malts.

M: the brew was light in body with a fair amount of carbonation which had a very slight sweet and slight crisp finish: pretty damn simple.

D: it drank decent but was a real turn off due to the stale water hose characteristics in the nose and palate.
Sep 06, 2010
Photo of Schmit
Reviewed by Schmit from Washington

3.35/5  rDev +21.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 4
Poured from a 650 ml bottle purchased at Tacoma Boys on 6th Ave in Tacoma. Clear, yellow-gold color, minimal head--just a few bubbles. Good flavor: crisp and clean with a slight grassy sweetness, reminiscent of a German helles. For a beer that tastes so nice, the lack of carbonation was really disappointing. Low alcohol content means you can drink the whole bottle without getting too tipsy.

Overall, a refreshing (if slightly flat) beer on a spring evening.
May 17, 2010
Photo of merryjoulton
Reviewed by merryjoulton from Arkansas

3.1/5  rDev +12.3%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Enjoyed this from a 22 oz. bomber into a pilsener. Pours a standard crystal clear light straw yellow with a thin head and no lacing. Smells like thin light malt, the slightest fruitiness, noble hops. Taste is just average. These mass produced lagers never seem to surprise me. Mouthfeel is thin, drinkability isn't bad.
Jun 14, 2009
Photo of neenerzig
Reviewed by neenerzig from Ohio

2.93/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Split a bomber of this with my dad at an Indian restaurant in Sedona, AZ on our recent vacation there. The bottle was brought to us by the server along with two frosted mugs. I did my best to warm my mug up with my hands and blew on it some before pouring beer into it. Pours a very clear light, straw gold color. The white head was maybe 1/4 inch when poured and settles to a thin white ring lining the inside of the glass almost immediately. No lace at all here. Has a sort of grainy, musky aroma with perhaps a bit of vegetable and maybe a bit of a slight malt presence. The taste is pretty much the same, has a slight sweet malt flavor along with some corn, rice, or other adjunct, rounded out with a trace of hops. I waited until my food came to drink the majority of this beer. It complimented my spicy Indian food well, but this is certainly not something I would not go out of my way to drink again. Has a clean finish. Has a crisp, light bodied mouthfeel with moderate to heavy carbonation, as expected for a beer like this. Easy to drink in the way seltzer water is, not the way a well crafted beer should be.

Eric
Sep 07, 2008
Photo of scottoale
Reviewed by scottoale from California

3/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
650ml. brown bottle with gold cap/neck foil and fancy foil backed front and rear labels with code date:YB-04. It pours a clear yellow-gold with a thin white head that leaves no lace. The carbonation is active, but fails to keep the head alive.

The smell is sweet cereal grainy pale malt with a hint of hops. Raw grain husk best describes the nose.

The taste is crisp and clean with a nice balance of pale malts and the noble hops. A very average decent lager that would suit the warm Summer months to come with easy drinkabilty.
Apr 30, 2008
Photo of JBogan
Reviewed by JBogan from California

2.38/5  rDev -13.8%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
Poured a light golden color with a small head which disappeared right away and left minimal lacing.

Smelled a bit of grain and corn

Tasted of corn and butter with a small hop presence.

Mouthfeel was a bit thin and flat, not very interesting.

Not a beer I'd try again.
Dec 12, 2007
Photo of theopholis
Reviewed by theopholis from California

2.16/5  rDev -21.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2
Appearance- Pours a clear, golden yellow. Has a decent sized, whote head with some staying power. No lacing at all.

Aroma- It's really hard to describe this aroma. When you first smell it, it smells like wet paper or cardboard. As it settels down, you get a musty, hoppy aroma. Must be some Indian spice I'm smelling in there. After a while, you can discern the grainy, corny, slightly malty aroma you expect from most American macro-lagers.

Taste- Just barely tastes like beer. Some bittering-hops, some malt sweetness. But mostly, you get this odd, off-taste that isn't overly offensive, but not very beer-like. I'm gonna say it tastes like very old, very over-ripe decorative apples (that means they aren't sweet).

Mouthfeel- Medium body for an American macro-lager. Carbonation is just about the right level. No complaintes here, except I don't really care for American macrolagers. At least it's to style tho.

Drinkability- Not very.
Mar 31, 2007
Photo of BuckeyeNation
Reviewed by BuckeyeNation from Iowa

1.72/5  rDev -37.7%
look: 2 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1 | overall: 1.5
Bleached maize containing a stationary dust storm of what I presume (and hope) is yeast. The good-sized head is pure white and drops relatively quickly due to its unsticky nature. It also looks a bit like shiny, melted plastic as it does so. Not quite as bad as your average Bud Light, but far from commendable.

It smells like a lower alcohol malt liquor to me. Grainy, corny sweet and mustily hoppy without a trace of alcohol. It's low on power, but I'm pretty sure that's a good thing. The only real positive is that there's nothing in the nose that is overtly offensive.

Without a doubt, Himalayan Blue is the most metallic tasting beer that I've ever had. Excuse me while I check the bottom of the bottle for metal shavings. The stainless steel nastiness actually doesn't appear until the second half of each mouthful, giving me false hope with each sip that it will have faded. Maybe by now... nope. Surely by this time... uh-uh.

The first half of each mouthful consists of... nothing much at all. It tastes like the ghost of a beer that is undermalted, underhopped, under yeasted and overwatered. It's a gently fizzy, slightly artificially sweetened, beer-like liquid that just sort of lays there under a big beach umbrella, waiting for the heavy metal tsunami to hit. It all fades away in a flash, thankfully, resulting in one of the most abrupt finishes in beer history. If the flavor was stronger and lingered even a fraction longer, it might be undrinkable.

I hate to use the word body, because there isn't one. Think lightly-bubbled spring water and you won't be far off the mark. Again, I'm glad that it isn't more substantial. Without question, less is more. I have a good tagline if Yuksom Breweries is interested: 'Himalayan Blue rehydrates as well as Gatorade with twice the minerals!'

Why? Why on earth did I spend $2.99 for this mountainously bad Indian lager? It isn't as if I've ever had anything from that country that has been more than barely passable. I will consider my money well-spent if this review succeeds in warning off a fellow BA who is in danger of making the same mistake I made. Heed my warning or suffer the consequences.
Dec 10, 2005
Photo of soulgrowl
Reviewed by soulgrowl from England

2.6/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
Appearance: Boring, crystal clear yellow-orange. White, fleeting head. Lame.

Smell: I couldn't get anything from this beer in terms of aroma at first, so I let it warm a bit. Still nothing. A very light lemon scent, and a demi-sec champagne or riesling character. Weak.

Taste: Better than the smell, but still needs help. Definitely white wine-esque, well-balanced sweetness but terribly bland. There is a bit of dryness, but this beer is not hoppy in the least. At least it wasn't skunky. Better than most macros, I'd say.

Mouthfeel: Light, smooth, and inoffensive.

Drinkability: Meh. I ordered this at an Indian restaurant, and I was really hoping for something bolder and more hoppy to match the food. Surprisingly, the beer held its own against my meal, and the spicy chicken I ordered helped bring out its citric sweetness. Still, there are better choices for spicy food, especially for how expensive this was.
Nov 29, 2005
Photo of Zorro
Reviewed by Zorro from California

3.35/5  rDev +21.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Pours a clear dark yellow brew.

Smell is a little sweet and fairly grainy with a hit of corn scent.

Taste is a little sweet and grainy with a little hop bite in the finish. There is a bit of floral flavor in the finish, and it reminds me a bit of a Pilsner more than an Asian beer. No real off flavors in this making it far superior to "Yeti" Beer.

Mouthfeel is good.

Drinkability is much better than expected. This is not going to make Czech Pilsner obsolete but it is a respectable beer.
Jan 21, 2005
Photo of beertaster13
Reviewed by beertaster13 from Washington

2.78/5  rDev +0.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
Pours a pale yellow with a nice frothy white foam head that settles into a lace. The smell is a nice floral aroma with doughy corn mixture, a funky smell that I have yet to experience. The taste is light with a funky corn but a nice floral hop aroma to the light malt smooth taste. Light bodied and decent, not bad.
Oct 21, 2004
Photo of DrewBeechum
Reviewed by DrewBeechum from California

2.8/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Sampled from a 650 ml brown bottle with no dates. Enviromental factor: Brew deck on a sunny southern california day brewing up a Bohemian pils. Thanks John A.

Pale yellow with bright white shiny head with champegne bubbles.

Crisp beer with honey floral notes and an agreesive hop for an asian pils

Dry grainy finish and really nice when its 98F+ outside.
Sep 03, 2004
Photo of RoyalT
Reviewed by RoyalT from Michigan

2.01/5  rDev -27.2%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2
Appearance – Light straw yellow in color with wildly active carbonation and a very temporary head.

Smell – This one has the typical grainy creamed corn aroma that sends chills down my spine.

Taste – The corn is jumped on by a wicked, sweet smell that I’ve never (thankfully) come across before. It reminds me of a flat Diet Sprite.

Mouthfeel – Where’s all the carbonation? This thing was bubbling like a jaccuzi filled with bubble bath in the back of a massage parlor in Inglewood when I poured it. Now, there’s nothing. What a drag.

Sinkability – Now we know what killed the Yeti.
Feb 20, 2004
Photo of Gusler
Reviewed by Gusler from Arizona

2.95/5  rDev +6.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
The pour is a clear golden yellow or straw color; the head is pertinent in size, the color bright white and the resultant lace adequate to cover the glass. Nose is crisp and clean, mostly malt somewhat sweet at the start, top skeletal, and the finish astringent, hops sparse and the aftertaste dry and long lasting. A rather insipid beer, lacks any real character as far as I’m concerned and I guess my review shows my lack of respect for the style in general, but for lovers of lighter beers or the lager style, worth a sample and no disrespect to that group intended.
Jan 04, 2003
Photo of Jason
Reviewed by Jason from Massachusetts

3.62/5  rDev +31.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Presentation: 22 oz brown bottle with a gold foil on top, a manufactured date on the front label for freshness.

Appearance: Crystal clear very pale golden with a minimal and wispy white lace. Bubbly carbonation similar to sparkling wine.

Smell: Refined aromatics of sweet flowery and herbal hop of the noble variety, fresh milled pilsner malt in the nose also.

Taste: Medium carbonation with in the crisp mouth feel, good sturdy middle of the road body. Big fresh pale malt palate going from malt sweetness to a tad husky. Hop bitterness is straight forward yet does not make a huge dent in the malt just merely balances. Touch of sweetness in the hop flavour leaning towards flowers, hint of citric zest and veggie / herbal. Pinch of dryness in the end, though a handful of residual sweetness lets the huskiness of the malt to linger even longer with a faded hop bitterness by its side.

Notes: Good rendition of a German style Pilsner, the noble hops show that trait off for sure. A perfect beer to have with an Pan-Asian cuisine, my preference was with some Singapore fried rice. 4.5% abv.
Jun 14, 2002
Himalayan Blue from Yuksom Breweries, Ltd.
Beer rating: 72 out of 100 with 20 ratings