Red Horse Beer
San Miguel Brewery Inc.


Beer Geek Stats
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- From:
- San Miguel Brewery Inc.
- Philippines
- Style:
- European Strong Lager
Ranked #53 - ABV:
- 8%
- Score:
- 66
Ranked #30,576 - Avg:
- 2.75 | pDev: 25.82%
- Reviews:
- 55
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Feb 27, 2022
- Added:
- Jan 03, 2012
- Wants:
- 3
- Gots:
- 48
SCORE
66
Poor
66
Poor


Notes:
Red Horse is San Miguel's high alcohol beer brand. Red Horse Beer is a deeply hued lager with distinctive sweetish taste balanced by a smooth bitterness that leads in a strong alcohol kick. The brand's popular rock image is most appealing to male drinkers who are 18-24 years old in the middle and lower socio economic groups.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Reviewed by MikeWard from Pennsylvania
3.19/5 rDev +16%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
3.19/5 rDev +16%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
330ml bottle into a pint glass. Freshness dating no help in determining age, but a recent arrival at my usual bottle shop.
Looks very nice in the glass. Crystal clear golden yellow body. Small white head shrinks to a fat collar and faint covering. Leaves a spider web of lacing.
Slightly musty aroma with a side of sweet malt.
On tasting, sweet, not as strong as the abv would suggest, though there is a late light burn in the throat.
Mouth above medium, finish slightly sweet, barest hint of aftertaste. No bitterness at all.
Overall, generic smooth strong lager. Not unpleasant, but no character to it.
Feb 26, 2022Looks very nice in the glass. Crystal clear golden yellow body. Small white head shrinks to a fat collar and faint covering. Leaves a spider web of lacing.
Slightly musty aroma with a side of sweet malt.
On tasting, sweet, not as strong as the abv would suggest, though there is a late light burn in the throat.
Mouth above medium, finish slightly sweet, barest hint of aftertaste. No bitterness at all.
Overall, generic smooth strong lager. Not unpleasant, but no character to it.
Reviewed by Tony787 from Canada (ON)
2.99/5 rDev +8.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
2.99/5 rDev +8.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Just picked up a can today at LCBO in Ontario 500ml at 8%.
Poured into glass
1 finger head clear good carbonation
Sweet and malty Apple Juice flavors very low or smooth bitterness level
Hint of lime .
Overall it's ok to drink nothing special..
It's ok
Cheers
Jan 26, 2022Poured into glass
1 finger head clear good carbonation
Sweet and malty Apple Juice flavors very low or smooth bitterness level
Hint of lime .
Overall it's ok to drink nothing special..
It's ok
Cheers
Reviewed by Michael_Robert
1.46/5 rDev -46.9%
look: 3 | smell: 1.25 | taste: 1.25 | feel: 1.75 | overall: 1.5
1.46/5 rDev -46.9%
look: 3 | smell: 1.25 | taste: 1.25 | feel: 1.75 | overall: 1.5
Red Horse may be the nastiest beer I have ever tried out of 100 or more. To be sure I'd have to do a taste test with the malt liquor Steel Reserve. As with all sucky beers, it is at least drinkable if very cold; as cold as you can get it where you risk exploding the bottle in the freezer. High alcohol earns it some points.
Jun 25, 2021Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway
1.31/5 rDev -52.4%
look: 2.25 | smell: 1.25 | taste: 1.25 | feel: 1.25 | overall: 1.25
1.31/5 rDev -52.4%
look: 2.25 | smell: 1.25 | taste: 1.25 | feel: 1.25 | overall: 1.25
Sample from bottle at Vectura-messe, as Red Horse Beer. ABV is 8%. Brewed for San Miguel in Hong Kong. Clear golden colour. Awful aroma. Bad flavour too, drainpour. The only reason to drink this is if you are an alcoholic living on the street in Hong Kong in a cardboard box.
Apr 29, 2021Reviewed by entheos from California
3.54/5 rDev +28.7%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
3.54/5 rDev +28.7%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
A strong lager with an acidic tang. It’s not great, but when out in the jungle of the Philippines, it is a refreshing drink! I’ve sang many a karaoke song while drinking a few!
Nov 28, 2019Reviewed by b_t_s
4/5 rDev +45.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev +45.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured about 2 shots worth from a blood warm 1 liter glass bottle(deeply scarred from numerous trips back to the factory for sanitizing and refilling) into a lowball glass half filled with a big chunk of ice (from a plastic bag full of water frozen and smashed on the cement wall). Give it half a minute to chill, slam it, and pass it back to the gunner, so he can line up a shot for the next person in the circle. Tastes like drunk, but a better class of drunk than Tanduay, GSM, or tuba.
Seriously though, Red Horse is a Filipino institution that's meant to be drunk over ice (sacrilege I know) and is perfectly suited for those remote/less modernized places where most people buy their refrigeration one bag of ice at a time. It's not an amazing beer, but it's decent enough. Even at full strength it goes down fairly easy, easier than any other beer I've tried at 8%. At "normal" dilution levels it's a pretty pleasant session beer that's got a bit more body and flavor than any of the "30 pack" beers in the states.
Oct 31, 2019Seriously though, Red Horse is a Filipino institution that's meant to be drunk over ice (sacrilege I know) and is perfectly suited for those remote/less modernized places where most people buy their refrigeration one bag of ice at a time. It's not an amazing beer, but it's decent enough. Even at full strength it goes down fairly easy, easier than any other beer I've tried at 8%. At "normal" dilution levels it's a pretty pleasant session beer that's got a bit more body and flavor than any of the "30 pack" beers in the states.
Reviewed by Bouleboubier from New Jersey
2.99/5 rDev +8.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
2.99/5 rDev +8.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
(330 ml bottle, 2018 date? ; purchased single off shelf... poured into a fat tulip)
L: brilliantly-clear, gold liquid, some dusty sediment afloat; off-white, crackly foam builds then falls... thin, broken collar remains; no lacing - looks almost still by the end
S: delicate jet-fuel malt liquor aromatic overtones, cidery note, subtle hint of sweetish cereal grain; perhaps a touch of oxidation creeping in... rather mellow aromas overall, not terribly boozy or syrupy smelling
T: almost a 2:1 blend of malt liquor and champagne (soda)... thin, attenuated (by alcohol), rather dry caramel finish; dry aftertaste to a fault, with a vague vodka-infused apple juice note dominant, mildly tannic bitterness... relatively devoid of depth, but nothing remotely off-putting
F: despite no visible bubbling after awhile, a subtle sudsy fizz accompanies the end of each sip... dull slick pudge up front, immediately thinning out to equally dull, dry finish; little warmth even
O: in comparison to its closest relative, high-gravity American malt liquor, this has a few degrees less flavor and character; altogether a bore... best (and probably most often) drank cold, straight outta the bottle... not worthy of a redo stateside (1571)
Oct 12, 2019L: brilliantly-clear, gold liquid, some dusty sediment afloat; off-white, crackly foam builds then falls... thin, broken collar remains; no lacing - looks almost still by the end
S: delicate jet-fuel malt liquor aromatic overtones, cidery note, subtle hint of sweetish cereal grain; perhaps a touch of oxidation creeping in... rather mellow aromas overall, not terribly boozy or syrupy smelling
T: almost a 2:1 blend of malt liquor and champagne (soda)... thin, attenuated (by alcohol), rather dry caramel finish; dry aftertaste to a fault, with a vague vodka-infused apple juice note dominant, mildly tannic bitterness... relatively devoid of depth, but nothing remotely off-putting
F: despite no visible bubbling after awhile, a subtle sudsy fizz accompanies the end of each sip... dull slick pudge up front, immediately thinning out to equally dull, dry finish; little warmth even
O: in comparison to its closest relative, high-gravity American malt liquor, this has a few degrees less flavor and character; altogether a bore... best (and probably most often) drank cold, straight outta the bottle... not worthy of a redo stateside (1571)
Reviewed by Spikester from Oregon
3.85/5 rDev +40%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
3.85/5 rDev +40%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Clear deep gold with three fingers of off white head Splotches of lace as head recedes.
Smell is malty with some herbal grassy hops.
Taste is sweet malts with some herbal grassy hops in the finish.
Mouthfeel is light with good carbonation. The finish is slightly dry and mostly sweet.
Overall a drinkable malt liquor type brew. There is a bit of alcohol apparent in the taste.
Sep 29, 2019Smell is malty with some herbal grassy hops.
Taste is sweet malts with some herbal grassy hops in the finish.
Mouthfeel is light with good carbonation. The finish is slightly dry and mostly sweet.
Overall a drinkable malt liquor type brew. There is a bit of alcohol apparent in the taste.
Rated by LocalBeerGuy from Canada (SK)
3.15/5 rDev +14.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
3.15/5 rDev +14.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
over all OK strong beer good when it's cold.
Aug 11, 2019Reviewed by Nass from Florida
2.87/5 rDev +4.4%
look: 2.25 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.5
2.87/5 rDev +4.4%
look: 2.25 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.5
No date on the bottle but I do like the label artwork. I tend not to like strong alcoholic lagers such as this beer is since it clocks in at 8% abv but let's see how it goes. The beer pours a well carbonated dark yellow color into the pilsner glass. The aroma is sweet & malty. The taste is malty, some cereal grains, slight white bread, slight cracker. The taste is very sweet for a lager. I'm thinking that is probably due to some cheap adjunct being put in here like maybe corn syrup, the beer is quite cold so I can't tell what that is. Personally, I don't like my lagers tasting so artificially sweet. Cheers! C
Mar 28, 2019Reviewed by MonDak_Joe1953 from Minnesota
3.43/5 rDev +24.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
3.43/5 rDev +24.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Poured from 500ml can into glass. No canning date information found on can.
Clear, pale gold colored body, with lots of upstreaming bubble carbonation. One finger egg shell white head persists as thin creamy cap. A few spots of lacing left behind.
Rather honey sweet smell with biscuit malts and some fruity esters.
Taste is full of the higher ABV, but still bready sweet with some nutty and fruity aspects. If allowed to linger in the mouth, there is a woody flavor that deploys, and gets a little bitter and rubber like.
Smooth thin to medium mouth feel. Good carbonation. Extremely easy to drink. Best aroma and flavor experience when the beer is cold and passed through the mouth and throat quickly.
Adequate thirst quencher and head ringer. Quite attractive in the glass with all the bubbles rising through the clear body. Pound and repeat until required buzz is achieved. I have had worse higher ABV beers when in search of the intoxicant effect.
Jun 30, 2018Clear, pale gold colored body, with lots of upstreaming bubble carbonation. One finger egg shell white head persists as thin creamy cap. A few spots of lacing left behind.
Rather honey sweet smell with biscuit malts and some fruity esters.
Taste is full of the higher ABV, but still bready sweet with some nutty and fruity aspects. If allowed to linger in the mouth, there is a woody flavor that deploys, and gets a little bitter and rubber like.
Smooth thin to medium mouth feel. Good carbonation. Extremely easy to drink. Best aroma and flavor experience when the beer is cold and passed through the mouth and throat quickly.
Adequate thirst quencher and head ringer. Quite attractive in the glass with all the bubbles rising through the clear body. Pound and repeat until required buzz is achieved. I have had worse higher ABV beers when in search of the intoxicant effect.
Reviewed by superspak from North Carolina
3.63/5 rDev +32%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
3.63/5 rDev +32%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
330 ml bottle into lager glass, no bottle dating. Pours crystal clear medium golden amber color with a 1 finger dense white head with great retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of cracker, white bread dough, lightly toasted biscuit, light honey/nuttiness, and mild herbal/grassy earthiness. A bit of fruity aromas, but not overwhelming. Nice and pleasant aromas with bready malts and mild earthy hop notes; with solid strength. Taste of cracker, white bread dough, lightly toasted biscuit, light honey/nuttiness, and mild herbal/grassy earthiness. Very mild herbal, grassy, spicy bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of cracker, white bread dough, lightly toasted biscuit, light honey/nuttiness, and mild herbal/grassy earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Nice robustness of bready malts and mild earthy hop flavors; with a good malt/bitterness balance, and zero cloying/astringent flavors after the finish. Nicely clean on lager flavors, with minimal fruity notes present. Slightly increasing dryness from lingering bitterness. Medium carbonation and medium-plus body; with a smooth, bready/grainy, and slightly sticky mouthfeel that is good. Lightly increasing warmth of 8% through the glass, touch of spicy alcohol roughness. Overall this is a nice strong pale lager style. All around nice robustness of bready malts and mild earthy hop flavors; very smooth and easy to drink for the ABV, with the mildly bitter/drying finish. Clean and rich bready Pils malts, and mild earthy hop balance. A nicely enjoyable offering, and well made style example.
Jun 02, 2018Reviewed by dacrza1 from New Jersey
1.91/5 rDev -30.5%
look: 1.75 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.75 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2
1.91/5 rDev -30.5%
look: 1.75 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.75 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 2
DATE: May 10, 2018... OCCASION: almost done with the yardwork for Saturday...almost... GLASSWARE: Neuzeller pokal...this one came courtesy of a break pack, and San Miguel's brewership doesn't inspire me to dive right in...pours a loud, fizzing champagne-colored body that loses all hope of head within seconds...this is the 8% version, so I am guessing the ABV killed its effervescence... the beer is crystal clear and golden hued with a stray bubble passing upward... smelling its corn and rubber from an arm's length, I am not drawn any quicker to a sip by its aroma... once at the nose, a slightly bolder, boozy waft asserts itself--a tequila or sugary spirit, but one reserved for a shot glass, perhaps... slight wood and fruity esters suggest a bit of character... the first sip: dry, oily at the tongue, and gone like a red horse would go... not impactful, and not the annoyance expected, but its mouthfeel is ghostly... a bit of metallic hose water, to be honest... not picking up the pilsner qualities here... corn, apple, slight bubblegum, vegetable, honey, dough, and cheese breath in and out with each sip... a cacophony of maltiness that settles without offending... could this be a beer I ever return to? I can honestly say I haven't seen it for sale at any location I frequent, but perhaps I do not venture to that part of the refrigerator...San Miguel, you continue to produce mouth rinsers in many strengths and shapes...at least this ABV is not kicking me like a red horse would...
May 11, 2018Reviewed by TheSword from Australia
3.74/5 rDev +36%
look: 2.25 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5
3.74/5 rDev +36%
look: 2.25 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5
I was over in the Philippines a few years ago with a work mate. Its a great beer if you really want to get stuck into it and get knocked out of your tree. I have never tasted a beer that strong and can have nasty effects if you drink to much of it.
Jan 27, 2018Reviewed by hoptheology from South Dakota
3.31/5 rDev +20.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
3.31/5 rDev +20.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.25
My first beer from the Philippines. $1.89 for 16.9 oz. "FOR EXPORT ONLY"
Pours a darker than usual honey color with a lasting off-white head of 2 fingers. Lots of bubbles floating to the top to help keep the head stable.
This beer smells like apple juice.
Flavor isn't terrible. It's like licking a tire, eating tree bark and dry grains, and the apple juice you smelled but left it out for a week and now you taste it; and some pleasant banana peel as well. It's dry, but you don't taste the alcohol. Tire, tree bark, apple, banana. Some musty bitterness on the finish.
Feel is nicely carbonated, with a dry finish and some booze but not overwhelming. As it warms that element gets stronger. Some sand grittiness as well.
Overall, I don't see the hate for this beer. I'm finding it perplexing that I like this as much as I do. It's way better than a lot of mainland US lagers, and it has a nice apple-y thing to it. I'd take this any day over Steel Reserve, Colt 45, Natural Ice, etc. At the end of the day it's still a drain pour, but a much more tolerable one.
Jan 08, 2018Pours a darker than usual honey color with a lasting off-white head of 2 fingers. Lots of bubbles floating to the top to help keep the head stable.
This beer smells like apple juice.
Flavor isn't terrible. It's like licking a tire, eating tree bark and dry grains, and the apple juice you smelled but left it out for a week and now you taste it; and some pleasant banana peel as well. It's dry, but you don't taste the alcohol. Tire, tree bark, apple, banana. Some musty bitterness on the finish.
Feel is nicely carbonated, with a dry finish and some booze but not overwhelming. As it warms that element gets stronger. Some sand grittiness as well.
Overall, I don't see the hate for this beer. I'm finding it perplexing that I like this as much as I do. It's way better than a lot of mainland US lagers, and it has a nice apple-y thing to it. I'd take this any day over Steel Reserve, Colt 45, Natural Ice, etc. At the end of the day it's still a drain pour, but a much more tolerable one.
Reviewed by Cameo64 from Florida
3.26/5 rDev +18.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
3.26/5 rDev +18.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Its a dry beer, pleasantly bitter and medium bodied. Its malty and a bit hoppy. Its a little grassy and a little floral, but the alcohol scent is present. The flavors are on the mild side. In my humble opinion, Red Horse is the best malt liquor I've tasted.
Dec 22, 2017Reviewed by Troy-Hawaii from Hawaii
1.74/5 rDev -36.7%
look: 2.25 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.75 | overall: 1.75
1.74/5 rDev -36.7%
look: 2.25 | smell: 2 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 1.75 | overall: 1.75
Bought a 6-pack Times Supermarket $6.99
Smell of sweet malt
Clear golden color
High carbonation
Light-medium mouthfeel
Taste of alcohol is the dominate taste, some malt flavors
Overall not a good beer. Good only if you want to get drunk fast. Would not buy again.
Nov 04, 2017Smell of sweet malt
Clear golden color
High carbonation
Light-medium mouthfeel
Taste of alcohol is the dominate taste, some malt flavors
Overall not a good beer. Good only if you want to get drunk fast. Would not buy again.
Red Horse Beer from San Miguel Brewery Inc.
Beer rating:
66 out of
100 with
185 ratings
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