Star Beer
Guinness Ghana Breweries Group

Star BeerStar Beer
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From:
Guinness Ghana Breweries Group
 
Ghana
Style:
American Adjunct Lager
ABV:
5%
Score:
73
Avg:
2.5 | pDev: 28.8%
Reviews:
7
Ratings:
10
Status:
Active
Rated:
Aug 11, 2016
Added:
Mar 22, 2007
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
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Ratings by magictacosinus:
Photo of magictacosinus
Reviewed by magictacosinus from California

1.12/5  rDev -55.2%
look: 3 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1
This was given to me by a relative from her trip to Ghana. Now, while I always am open to trying new beers, I immediately shivered at the though of opening one that had a "best by" date of "October 2005." Yes, TWO THOUSAND AND FIVE. What was this beer's story? I hid this at the back of my fridge before I realized that it was time to try this and get it over with. Still, something deep inside of me felt that this would hold up well, somehow. Poured out of a 12oz bottle into a pint glass.

The color is not bad as far as the style goes - unfiltered, with sediment floating about, as well as a ton of carbonation and a creamy head that rises to the top yet dissipates faster than that belonging to a cream soda. Straw color, looks a bit like a home brew. No doubt the "aging qualities" have played its part in the decent appearance.

Smells of cornbread, cereal grains, and baking soda. Delicious.

The flavor, however, reveals something more sinister to the palate. Upon my first sip, I was surprised to find that it's still, indeed, drinkable, and there's nothing rotten, sulfurous, or off about the flavor. Vivid notes of wet cardboard, corn, and seltzer water immediately coated my mouth, leaving behind a watery, thin, cleansing sensation that is perhaps akin to chugging the new and improved flavorless and odorless cleaning agent on the market. Then, a solvent-like, paint thinner flavor starts to rise, not in a necessarily explosive way, mind you, but rather in manner that gives me the impression that it is slowly and meticulously planting its seeds of evil in my mouth. Also, it's over-carbonated, has no hop profile, and the grains that are here taste like musky, old dried white grapes. Truly delightful!

And so, 8-year-old American adjunct lager, your journey has reached its end here. I feel its voyage should meet a fate better than the deep recesses of my kitchen sink, but, alas, it's perhaps the most humane manner for its departure. I feel it tastes exactly this way fresh, and the aging perhaps has only mellowed out (or simply hidden) the horribleness of whatever that solvent-like flavor was. The worst thing is how unforgiving the baking soda/cleaning agent flavor lingers nearly an hour after consumption. My hope is that this won't be my final beer in life. If it is, I'm fortunate that in the real world, people make wine and spirits, and more importantly, actual great beer. This, however, is a bottom of the barrel offering. Avoid.
Dec 17, 2013
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.21 by entenduintransit from Tennessee

Aug 11, 2016
 
Rated: 2.25 by DucksFan16 from Tennessee

Jul 13, 2014
 
Rated: 2.75 by stinkydaddy from Tennessee

Jul 04, 2013
Photo of Lawl3ss
Reviewed by Lawl3ss from Texas

2.66/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
(From memory)

Drunk chilled straight from the bomber, as it was meant to be. Glassware rarely even offered upon purchase.

What can be said? American college students tend to take to it like fish, homing in on the Guinness-owned Budweiser approximation. Often cheaper than bottled water and readily available, it owns the majority of the market in Ghana and goes down well enough in the heat. Not terrible, but definitely my least favorite of the Ghanaian brands.

For those who care, adjunct grains are quite present and there is little hop presence worth taking note of. And it's carbonated out the wazoo.
Jan 01, 2012
Photo of mjw06
Reviewed by mjw06 from Pennsylvania

3.78/5  rDev +51.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
This is Ghana's Budweiser and nearly perfect to style. Few imperfections with this beer and very drinkable and refreshing. In Ghana's climate, this hit the spot perfectly when I grew tired of drinking Guinness Foreign Extra. Had this beer served a number of ways, but when I had it on-tap, it took me by surprise and left a great frothy lace. There's not much more to say about this beer, simple and fitting.
Dec 16, 2010
Photo of bishopgary
Reviewed by bishopgary from Utah

3/5  rDev +20%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Sounds like some of the other reviewers of this brew would have preferred the tap water? When you are at or near the equator in a near third world country, what should you expect? To me Star and Club both were like a bottle of Heineken you could pick up at the corner store. A color, smell, and odd funk that you could expect, and probably more refreshing than nothing at all.
Dec 06, 2010
Photo of Nickls
Reviewed by Nickls from District of Columbia

2.11/5  rDev -15.6%
look: 2.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5
(From notes)

A - Very light clear yellowy color; poured with a minimal head that barely registered an appearance

S - Some light cooked vegetal aromas; corn; some sweetness; barely any hint of bitterness; just bland; a little bit of cereal as well

T - I think the adjunct flavors just dominate this brew way too much; a little mineral and cooked corn; faint malt sweetness

M - Thinner, not as watery as expected; crisp carbonation

D - Worst case scenario type of brew here; drinkable in the absence of anything better around

A pretty bad example of the style in a category full of terrible brews. Bleh.
Nov 22, 2009
Photo of Mit
Reviewed by Mit from Canada (ON)

2.4/5  rDev -4%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3
So a friend of mine actually brought this back from Ghana and gave it to me when they found out I had an interest in beer. I was very flattered to say the least.

Honestly I don't think that it's fair to rate this beer right now as its below zero out there and this was clearly meant for an extremely warm climate.

Both smell and appearance were pretty average...smell was very similar to a MoCoorbats...but slightly hoppier.

Taste was pretty average although I have to say that I found it tastier than an average macro. This prob would have gotten a half point higher if I had come in from the back yard after doing 3 hours of yard work in the sun.

Mouthfeel was pretty average...nothing special here very much like drinking a glass of water.

Drinkability...I could drink these bad boys all day if they were served from a cooler going into a frosted glass. High drinkibility as you would expect from a beer with no outstanding tastes.

I'm unsure what the other Ghana beer is like but...I would not turn one of these down on a hot sunny day at all. If I was in the house during the winter I would probably opt for something else.
Mar 20, 2008
Photo of ikats
Reviewed by ikats from New York

1.7/5  rDev -32%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2
This beer pours more like a club soda than a beer. Very fuzzy, high carbonation that produces big white head which disappears in an instance. Yellow in color.

There are some hops in the nose, but mostly it is just corn. Same for the taste. Very light body. One positive thing appears to be that the aftertaste is minimal.

Since the profile of this beer is so close to water, it is quite drinkable. I imagine that in the hot weather of Ghana it is even more drinkable than in the cold of New York.

This appears to be simply a lighter version of a generic euro-lager. The only good about this beer is that it was given to me by a friend (who doesn't drink alcoholic beverages himself I might add) knowing my interest in beer. According to the bottle this is "Ghana's Favourite beer."
Mar 22, 2007
Star Beer from Guinness Ghana Breweries Group
Beer rating: 73 out of 100 with 10 ratings