Victoria Bitter (VB)
Carlton & United Breweries, Ltd.

Victoria Bitter (VB)Victoria Bitter (VB)
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From:
Carlton & United Breweries, Ltd.
 
Australia
Style:
American Adjunct Lager
Ranked #272
ABV:
4.9%
Score:
59
Ranked #28,503
Avg:
2.45 | pDev: 33.47%
Reviews:
160
Ratings:
356
Status:
Active
Rated:
Dec 25, 2023
Added:
Feb 16, 2002
Wants:
  19
Gots:
  51
No description / notes.
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Ratings by laituegonflable:
Photo of laituegonflable
Reviewed by laituegonflable from Australia

1.03/5  rDev -58%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1
Pours a thick frothy cushion of purely white head. Masses and masses of swirling carbonation. Beer shouldn't fizz that much, it'll have me farting my arse off. The beer is the most dull, uninspiring colour. Bo-o-o-o-o-ring.

Nose is almost foul, but the foul smell is completely weak, dulled and absent. I know beers are meant to have smell, because I've smelled them, so this is bad. But it's worse because whatever smell is there is quite horrible on its own.

Taste is horrible and flavourless. It tastes like dirt dissolved in water and then filtered many times to get the flavour out. The taste is terrible but the flavour is so weak you can't even taste the horrible taste, if that makes sense. Mouthfeel is sharp and drying and horrific. Like eating nails.

An abysmal, unconscionably bad drop of beer. Flavourless, horrible and harder to get down than a truck full of cement. Avoid, avoid, avoid!
Mar 10, 2008
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 2.5 by BrisLoganite from Australia

Dec 25, 2023
 
Rated: 3.25 by SSGCujo from Wisconsin

Nov 26, 2023
Photo of BillyNoonan
Reviewed by BillyNoonan from Ireland

3.27/5  rDev +33.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Don't get the hate honestly! Enjoyed this baby for years in Australia. Great after work delight. Needs to be ice cold however to mask slight chemical taste due I think to the reduction in ABV.
Jul 29, 2023
 
Rated: 2.24 by flagmantle

May 16, 2023
Photo of 6stubbies
Reviewed by 6stubbies from Florida

4.63/5  rDev +89%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
My favourite Aussie’adjunct’ beer. Tastes like most Australian beers used to taste like before the ABV taxation pushed beers to lower their ABV (and flavour). Best ice cold and not a session beer at 4.9%, but if I want a couple of thirst quenching beers after work this is my choice.
Feb 15, 2023
Photo of Jugs_McGhee
Reviewed by Jugs_McGhee from Colorado

2.9/5  rDev +18.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
On-draught at Gilligan's, Cairns, Queensland, Australia. ~$7.5 AUD per pot.

Okay, it's not a bitter so there's a definite misnomer there, but it's a pleasant easy drinking brew for what it is.

C / AVERAGE
Dec 10, 2022
 
Rated: 1.75 by fthegiants from California

Jun 22, 2022
Photo of ANIMOUL
Reviewed by ANIMOUL from Vermont

3.48/5  rDev +42%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
A bit of a nostalgia beer (for me). Drank a watering holes throughout the NT (Darwin, etc). Burnt firewood taste coupled with a flat formadehyde back note. Refreshing but dangerous. Not bad for what you get.
Jun 18, 2022
 
Rated: 2.16 by JonnoWillsteed from England

Jun 02, 2022
Photo of IPickleTHey
Reviewed by IPickleTHey

1.06/5  rDev -56.7%
look: 2 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1
The WORST beer in the world! I am ashamed to be a Melbournian when it comes to this Vile Bile. I remember getting drunk on this turd-foam when I was 17 back in the late 80's. The beer scene in Melbourne was a lot cruder back then, and the variety was pretty abysmal. But hey, we were none the wiser. I discovered Coopers Red back in 1990, and never looked back. Glad to say that now, and just like everywhere else, we have a wonderful variety of beers that I would have died for back then. But - back to Vomit Bombs. I had the misfortune of drinking a Vermin Belch the other day, and I couldn't even finish it. It's like the recipe is - get some hops, bung it in a huge vat made of aluminum, wee into it, stir it around...and wait. About a day. Hey presto! the most pitiful beer every produced.
Oct 01, 2021
Photo of Nath91
Reviewed by Nath91 from Australia

3.09/5  rDev +26.1%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Victoria Bitter. VB. The Virus Beater. The Very Best. The Vomit Beer. Victor Bravos. There's almost as many analogies for Victoria Bitter, as litres of this stuff drunk on a daily basis. It's arguably Australia's most famous beer - piss off Fosters - and is certainly the most popular. There's hardly a pub where you can't find it either in tap or can/stubbie, and the words to the jingle are more well known than the lyrics to the national anthem (is it girt by sea, or gird by sea?)

You either like VB, or you don't. There's no room for sitting on the fence with this beer. It's either something more sacred than holy water, or if your mum was on fire, you wouldn't even use it to try and extinguish her. I used to hate VB, I used to hate the bogan connotations that came with drinking this beer. I used to hate people who drank it. I was a downright snob, and used to look down on people who drank it - especially religiously. But my palate is diversifying, and let's give it a go, to see if I still hate it, or whether it's something that is at the very least tolerable.

Look: This is going to be my 11th beer review, and all but 2 so far have been Aussie adjunct lagers. I will get to the better beers eventually. Poured into a pint glass, we've got a lovely honey gold liquid, clean, filtered. A thin finger of foam has accumulated at the top, but it didn't froth up. It's a little darker than your standard Aussie adjunct lagers, and it actually looks more appealing.

Smell: The classic Aussie adjunct lager smell. Heavy earthy grassy notes come courtesy of the Pride of Ringwood hops, sweet pale malt, slightly sour. Am I overreacting by saying the sourness almost smells like Orange peel? I remember thinking it used to smell offensive. I no longer do. it just smells classically Australian.

Taste: Malty sweetness, nice bitterness. Getting that grassy citrus peel flavour coming through on the bitterness. Smooth, easy drinking. Flavours are mellow, but prominent. Subtle sour tang with a dry finish that makes me want another sip. Slight adjunct taste but not overly powering.

Feel: Fairly highly carbonated, which makes it convenient to slam down that ice cold beer. Ice Cold it is extremely refreshing. Body is medium,

Overall; Either I've lowered my expectations, or I've diversified my palate, and I'm no longer a snob. I can't hate this beer any more. I'm not saying I necessarily love it, but I have grown to appreciate it. It's a part of Australian culture, and it's not going anywhere soon. It's certainly more drinkable than I remember it, and whilst I probably won't go buying slabs of this stuff, I certainly won't hesitate to go for it if I'm at the pub and there's nothing else worth drinking.

Will say, the beer has to be drunk cold. Ice cold. You can't afford to let these warm up,. Once it's creeping up to room temperature, the bitterness from the hops seem to curdle and you get all sorts of nasty flavours going on. That's where I think most people go wrong with VB. It's simply not served cold enough. Most lagers should be ice cold, and ice cold is where the respectable flavours come out to play. Once it starts warming up, grab another one, or just drink em quicker.

#️⃣1️⃣1️⃣
Aug 24, 2021
Photo of Sigmund
Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway

2/5  rDev -18.4%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
2004: (375 ml bottle, in Norway.) Sweetish orange-like aroma. The flavour is mostly bitterness - more than in Foster's and Castlemaine, but not really pleasant. Will not be a regular beer of mine this one.
Jul 20, 2021
Photo of Bier70
Reviewed by Bier70

3.35/5  rDev +36.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Sure it's just another commercial lager, but with it comes good memories of a broke youngster partying at the local RSL, hence the higher score. One thing it has going for it (for an average to sh*tty lager) is that its slightly heavier in taste, not a totally watered down commercial lager as many are. Would I recommend it, probably not, but if you're in Oz, have a few just to blend in:)
Jul 20, 2021
 
Rated: 2.32 by Daneve76 from Australia

May 26, 2021
Photo of jjholmes
Rated by jjholmes from Australia

1/5  rDev -59.2%
look: 1 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1
Disgusting.
Dec 18, 2020
Photo of vanweyden
Reviewed by vanweyden from Maryland

4.65/5  rDev +89.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
This is my favorite beer after Satanic Chimp from Monkey Paw. I understand why so many people hate it, I just like that. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find it in the US. Maybe it's nostalgia for drunk port visits back in my navy days.
(I'm trying to get my list together.)
Oct 12, 2020
Photo of hamptonbrandon
Reviewed by hamptonbrandon from Wales

3.46/5  rDev +41.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
I've had it numerous times in pint glasses, stubbies, straight out of the can, even off the ground on one drunken evening. It tastes average at best regardless of what you do with it. It's a middle-class beer that's supposed to be pounded on a hot summer evening after a hard day's work in the trenches, or from your couch.

The look is like any other dime-a-dozen lager, that classic piss-yellow tint. The smell has hints of alcohol and rice. The taste is well, I don't know; Like a Budweiser but with more tang. The feel is below average. Very carbonated and watery.
Sep 12, 2020
 
Rated: 1 by RiceOwls27 from Texas

Jul 15, 2020
 
Rated: 3.91 by The_Kriek_Freak from Pennsylvania

Nov 07, 2019
Victoria Bitter (VB) from Carlton & United Breweries, Ltd.
Beer rating: 59 out of 100 with 356 ratings