Kotimaista Vaalea Lager
Olvi Oyj

Purchased at a Sale store in Kuopio, Finland.

CAN: Aluminum. Gold colour label. Standard pull-tab. 56.8cl. Best before: 5/02/16.

40 kcal/100ml. 4.50% ABV.

Served cold into a mason jar at low altitude in Kuopio, Finland. Expectations are low. Reviewed live as a pale lager.

No bubble show forms as it's poured.

HEAD: White colour. Foamy and frothy, with a decent consistency and complexion. Not real soft or creamy looking. Thickness and fullness could be more robust. Leaves no lacing as it recedes.

Retention is average - ~2 minutes.

BODY: Clear pale copper of average vibrance. Clean; devoid of visible yeast and sediment. Translucent and transparent.

Appears overcarbonated. Looks pretty typical for a supermarket-branded pale lager. Lacks any unique or special attributes.

AROMA: Sweet Munich malts. Cheap barley. That's about it.

No overt hop profile. No yeast character. No esters. No rich malt backbone. No off-notes. No obvious alcohol.

Aromatic intensity is average.

Suggests a brew which is slightly too sweet, but is highly drinkable. To its credit, I detect none of the usual pale lager pitfalls - there's no metallic off-note, diacetyl, off-putting cereal emphasis, cloying sweetness, or watery hints.

TASTE: Munich malts, clean barley, neutral malts...that's it.

Has no hop notes, yeast character, esters, or interesting specialty malts. I find no off-notes or booze.

Simple and shallow, with middling balance. Average flavour duration and intensity. Not gestalt, subtle, intricate, deep, or nuanced.

TEXTURE: Smooth and wet. Unrefreshing. On the lighter side of medium-bodied. Overcarbonated. Fair heft and weight on the palate for the style.

There's no harmony of texture and taste. This doesn't elevate the beer as a whole or accentuate specific notes from the flavour profile.

OVERALL: A downable but boring pale lager from Olvi. It's a nice budget brew, and surpasses many other Finnish beers in the style in terms of quality - while remaining lower in price. Its neutrality is its key asset, and it's highly drinkable. I'll take a neutral plain beer over one riddled with off-notes any day. The discerning drinker will find it approachable and even sipid, but it won't impress.

Perhaps the best "student beer" in Finland, with respectably average quality for the price point. I'd buy it again if I was after a cheap buzz, but otherwise it's worth passing over.

Low C (2.80)

Quite bland taste on general. Easily drinkable. Good first feel, but abit of too sweet aroma on aftertaste. Generally, no any big thrill, just passable budget beer.