Vergina
Macedonian Thrace Brewery SA

VerginaVergina
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From:
Macedonian Thrace Brewery SA
 
Greece
Style:
European Pale Lager
Ranked #276
ABV:
5%
Score:
70
Ranked #28,045
Avg:
2.87 | pDev: 22.3%
Reviews:
41
Ratings:
67
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jan 10, 2024
Added:
Feb 28, 2002
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  11
No description / notes.
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Photo of Nath91
Reviewed by Nath91 from Australia

3.06/5  rDev +6.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
When I saw the label in the fridges of singles at my local bottle shop in Glenfield, Sydney, I thought my eyes were deciving me. "Vagina?" I found myself muttering, like some sort of deranged sexaholic. Upon reaching in and grabbing the bottle, I was equally amused at the spelling Vergina. "Hehe Vergina" I found myself chuckling. There was a lady a few feet away looking at fridge wines, who looked at me alarmingly, like I was some deranged sexaholic.

On a whim, and my childish mind choosing my purchase, I then thought this was a Macedonian beer, but upon further investigation, it's Greek. I won't delve too deep into Verginas origins (giggle), wars have been started over much less.

The mature person (buried deep in the far recesses of me) realised that it can't be pronounced Vergina either. And it's not, but for immaturities sake, I'm drinking Vergina.


Vessel: 330ml brown glass bottle. Best before sadly is June 2023, so it's over 6 months out of date. I hope this Vergina doesn't have too many off smells.

Appearance: Pale Golden. Frothy white head. Typical Euro Lager experience so far. 100% filtered, some carbonation bubbles. Standard, par the course.

Aroma: Sweet toasted malt, giving a slightly burnt toast and corn Initially it smelt 'dusty', but it's very malt driven and forward. Some floral hop notes are evident. But it's sweet and corn mostly.

Taste: Sweet with a slightly funky bitter finish. Definitely a strong corn base adjunct used in this beer. It's not overly offensive, but some more flavoursome and prominent hops for a crisper finish would improve this.

Feel: Light body, the sweetness adds a bit of body. Highly carbonated.

Overall: Would probably pair alright with a nice fresh Gyros or sitting by the Mediterranean without a care in the world, but the lack of hop crispness means it get bland quickly. Not terrible by any means, but definitely strikes me as a mass produced adjunct lager, maybe even a Greek supermarket beer.

#️⃣1️⃣2️⃣1️⃣
Jan 10, 2024
 
Rated: 3 by NorbertB1974 from Germany

Sep 23, 2023
 
Rated: 2.84 by TrojanRB from Texas

Sep 01, 2023
 
Rated: 2.74 by Catalinmunteanu from Romania

Aug 24, 2023
Photo of AzfromOz
Reviewed by AzfromOz from Australia

3.12/5  rDev +8.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
Grabbed out of the Old Man's fridge in July 2023 and drunk immediately.

L: Brilliant yellow gold, bright-white head and busy carbonation flowing up the glass. An undeniably pretty beer!

S: Sweet malt, corn, DMS, skunk. Ok, so it's gone downhill a bit from the visuals...

T: Very sweet, corn from a can, long finish. Classic lower-tier Euro pale lager, but worse.

F: Very mild. This beer is built for quaffing.

O: Even marking this one to style it's got too much sweet corn aroma and taste in it. Would be palatable on a hot Greek beach but nothing going for it otherwise.

Cheers!
#280
Jul 28, 2023
 
Rated: 2.25 by altrio

Jul 20, 2023
Photo of Ant777uk
Reviewed by Ant777uk from England

3.43/5  rDev +19.5%
look: 2 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5
The first time I bought this, I actually couldn't find it on beer advocate, because this is a Greek version, in Greek writing. And I had no idea what beer it was when translated to English.

I am a big fan of Greek produce in general. The best ever fruit, tomatoes and olive oil that I ever have had, were either in Greece or Greek Cyprus. They are masters at growing and producing things. I liked Mythos, hopefully this too.

So this is called Vergina. Ok. With a lion on the label. So maybe the beer helps lions to make virgins into non virgins. Cool design.

Lots of effervescence but quite large bubbles. Pale. Fresh aroma. I love the aroma. It's sweet but still healthy. Like fruit, not sugar. Bitterness perfectly complements the sweet maltiness.

Complex hops. Unique and different to Czech, German and Eastern European hops. This reminds me of an Efes pilsner a bit. Mouth feel is quite thin, effervescent, but with some complex hop bitterness in the aftertaste.

It's a beautiful and refreshing pilsner. Better than Mythos? I think Mythos is more smooth with less effervescence and a more subtle refresing flavour. This is less smooth and unfortunately there is too much carbonation. But the hops are amazing and it's still a great beer.

Why there is a lion on a beer called Virgin is a little strange. But it's less strange than the baby in the beer glass, in a Berliner Kindl. But anyway, I like this. The hops are amazing. It's not too sweet. And it tastes healthy. Just a little too much carbonation for me, when straight from the bottle.

Great beer though, will buy again. Hopefully in the sun next time and not in the night.
Jun 29, 2023
Photo of Danzifer
Reviewed by Danzifer from Ohio

2.75/5  rDev -4.2%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5
Litttle color. lot of stagnant floaties. smells like day old budweiser. actually tastes alright due to the malts. Not bad, but not great either. Comparable to beers like Amstel, Peroni, Heineken
Mar 03, 2023
Photo of Sigmund
Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway

2.02/5  rDev -29.6%
look: 2.25 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
October 2004: (33 cl can, bought in Greece). Pale golden colour, low head. Weak aroma, weak "neutral" flavour. Poor, but not offensive. Not something I'll buy again though, unles I'm extremely thirsty.
Oct 26, 2022
 
Rated: 4.25 by heerboth from Pennsylvania

May 28, 2022
 
Rated: 2.65 by ALeX117

Apr 12, 2022
 
Rated: 3.34 by Boone757 from Virginia

Jul 27, 2021
 
Rated: 3.5 by youxtas from Greece

Feb 21, 2021
 
Rated: 2.88 by Robertas from Lithuania

Jul 18, 2019
Photo of WoodBrew
Reviewed by WoodBrew from Ohio

3/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
I tried this beer in the city of Athens whilst vacationing in Greece. It poured a clear golden with white head that did not leave any lace. The scent had grain notes. The taste was nicely balanced and easy to drink with grain and biscuit presence. The mouthfeel was lighter in body with good carbonation. Overall its a good beer.
Jun 29, 2019
Photo of patre_tim
Reviewed by patre_tim from Thailand

3.32/5  rDev +15.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75
Pale gold and clear filtered with moderate fine bubble carbonation and a finger of white head.

It smells of malts , molasses, and drying hay.

The taste follows the nose.

Light, crisp body, with moderate carbonation.

I bought this one on the coast in Greece, and brought it back to California where I am drinking it on the night of my graduation May 7, 2019.
May 08, 2019
Photo of Beginner2
Reviewed by Beginner2 from Illinois

3.5/5  rDev +22%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Bought in Greece, Vergina (much under-rated by the average) I much prefer to this brewery's other pale lager, Hillas.
While Vergina has average Looks (blonde and bubbly) and Smells (sweet malts), its Tastes appeal to my malt-centric palate (with just enough hops to balance.) Vergina is very soft on the mouth, not too bubbly.

I went on this brewery's website and was impressed by their marketing prowess. They claim to be the pioneer in Greece's craft brewing industry and present their case clearly. They seem to experiment a bit, making styles unusual to Greece's mainstream limited portfolio. Between the crafting and the marketing, Macedonian Thrace seems to me to be the Sam Adams of Greece. (That is intended as a compliment within context.)
May 04, 2019
Photo of Thisdrinkinglife
Reviewed by Thisdrinkinglife from Switzerland

2.82/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 3 | smell: 1 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Review: 500ml can of Beptina Lager Beer: 5% vol.

On pour we get a light yellow coloured beer with a small white head.

Head maintains a little, and there is some lacing present.

Overall its an ok looking beer, not bad.

Aroma is one of light malts, some barley, not strong on the nose.

First impression on the taste is positive. Lovely crisp initial mouthfeel and taste. Nice and cool straight from the fridge, very crisp, nice light lager tastes, very smooth and with mild bitterness.

Very malty for sure. Also getting the fresh grains and some fruit.

Ok, overall it is a bit of a light beer to chug with not much depth to it. No need to think too deeply about this beer.

Goes down easy, with a light finish. Taste is pure grounded malt, Not bad, refreshing with a very lagery taste, does the business as I watch the sun go down on a lovely Corfu beach side setting. Keeping it simple sometimes works.
Feb 28, 2019
Photo of JustCamIt
Reviewed by JustCamIt from Virginia

2.47/5  rDev -13.9%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5
Got a bottle on the recommendation of a server in a little neighborhood cafe in Athens. Appearance was a clean golden with quickly dispersing head. Not much aroma except for a hint of grass. Taste was about the same as smell. Mouthfeel was as light as plain water. Overall it was better than plain water but next time I’ll go for the house wine.
Apr 08, 2018
 
Rated: 3.5 by kylehay2004 from Illinois

Jul 08, 2016
Vergina from Macedonian Thrace Brewery SA
Beer rating: 70 out of 100 with 67 ratings