Chang Classic (Domestic 5.50%)
Cosmos Brewery (Thai Beverage Plc.)
- From:
- Cosmos Brewery (Thai Beverage Plc.)
- Thailand
- Style:
- European Pale Lager
- ABV:
- 5.5%
- Score:
- +9 ratings needed
- Avg:
- 2.59 | pDev: 0%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 1
- Status:
- Inactive
- Rated:
- May 29, 2016
- Added:
- May 29, 2016
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 1
NO SCORE
-
-
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Reviewed by Jugs_McGhee from Texas
2.59/5 rDev 0%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75
2.59/5 rDev 0%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75
490ml gold and green aluminum can from a 7-11 in Bangkok. 490ml because that kind of corner cutting is what this brewery does.
Billed as 5.50%, though the myth everyone likes to circulate is that a lack of regulation means the ABV is variable. A dubious claim in my view, but it makes an entertaining story.
Check the bottom.of the can for the best before date.
Mouthfeel is surprisingly soft, lending this lager a refreshing presence on the palate - a must in the Bangkok heat. Simple pilsner malts and corn adjunct flavours dominate the taste, with a blip of grassy hop character appearing as a flash in the pan. Crisp, clean, smooth, wet, and a little overcarbonated. Neither watery nor metallic - which is more than I can say about many canned macrolagers in the region.
Balanced enough, if rather shallow and simple.
I'm not sure why this beer has become the punching bag for expats in Thailand. Maybe its low price, ubiquitous availability, and vague association with dirty backpackers has engendered some elitist backlash. So much the better - this flawed but drinkable brew is preferable to many (daresay most) of its Thai competitors, and its relatively low price will keep me coming back.
I'll aim to try this in various serving types and from various stores to explore the myth of hypervariability (updating this review as able), but at best it's inoffensive and insipid - exactly what the target demo seeks.
High C- (2.70) / BELOW AVERAGE
***
05/30/16 brief 2nd impressions from a can purchased at a 7-11 in Chiang Rai.
Pilsner malts. Graininess. A blip of metallic off-character.
Drinks exactly like I'd expect a 5.50% lager to.
Fizzy overcarbonated fare, but inoffensive and neutral in taste. For one if the best value beers in Thailand, it ain't half bad.
I find no difference between this and my first Chang. Additionally, the other 3 Changs in the 170 baht 4 pack I got tasted exactly the same.
C- / BELOW AVERAGE
***
06/14/16: a 620ml runs 65-100 baht on Ko Phi Phi.
Fizzy, yellow, and insipid in classic macrolager convention. Inoffensive with a cheap malted barley taste and a subdued malt syrup flavour in there too.
Subpar, but approachable.
Low C- / BELOW AVERAGE
***
June 20th, 2016. Bottle on Koh Tao.
Neutral and semirefreshing. Tastes just as I remember it.
This whole unregulated/ABV variation myth seems like a fat load of nonsense.
Low C- / BELOW AVERAGE
***
06.22.2016:
Whoa, just when I thought I had this beer and its seeming ABV variation myths pegged down, I get a curveball thrown at me. Based on a 32cl can purchased as part of a 6 pack in Bangkok, there may be some credibility to the ABV variation claims. It drinks boozier than most pale lagers I've had, with a metallic edge (obviously from the aluminum can format). I've had boozy beers, but this one is pushing it. Quite poor, and difficult to drink as a result. I'd advise sticking to Chang available in glass bottles.
D / AVOID
May 29, 2016Billed as 5.50%, though the myth everyone likes to circulate is that a lack of regulation means the ABV is variable. A dubious claim in my view, but it makes an entertaining story.
Check the bottom.of the can for the best before date.
Mouthfeel is surprisingly soft, lending this lager a refreshing presence on the palate - a must in the Bangkok heat. Simple pilsner malts and corn adjunct flavours dominate the taste, with a blip of grassy hop character appearing as a flash in the pan. Crisp, clean, smooth, wet, and a little overcarbonated. Neither watery nor metallic - which is more than I can say about many canned macrolagers in the region.
Balanced enough, if rather shallow and simple.
I'm not sure why this beer has become the punching bag for expats in Thailand. Maybe its low price, ubiquitous availability, and vague association with dirty backpackers has engendered some elitist backlash. So much the better - this flawed but drinkable brew is preferable to many (daresay most) of its Thai competitors, and its relatively low price will keep me coming back.
I'll aim to try this in various serving types and from various stores to explore the myth of hypervariability (updating this review as able), but at best it's inoffensive and insipid - exactly what the target demo seeks.
High C- (2.70) / BELOW AVERAGE
***
05/30/16 brief 2nd impressions from a can purchased at a 7-11 in Chiang Rai.
Pilsner malts. Graininess. A blip of metallic off-character.
Drinks exactly like I'd expect a 5.50% lager to.
Fizzy overcarbonated fare, but inoffensive and neutral in taste. For one if the best value beers in Thailand, it ain't half bad.
I find no difference between this and my first Chang. Additionally, the other 3 Changs in the 170 baht 4 pack I got tasted exactly the same.
C- / BELOW AVERAGE
***
06/14/16: a 620ml runs 65-100 baht on Ko Phi Phi.
Fizzy, yellow, and insipid in classic macrolager convention. Inoffensive with a cheap malted barley taste and a subdued malt syrup flavour in there too.
Subpar, but approachable.
Low C- / BELOW AVERAGE
***
June 20th, 2016. Bottle on Koh Tao.
Neutral and semirefreshing. Tastes just as I remember it.
This whole unregulated/ABV variation myth seems like a fat load of nonsense.
Low C- / BELOW AVERAGE
***
06.22.2016:
Whoa, just when I thought I had this beer and its seeming ABV variation myths pegged down, I get a curveball thrown at me. Based on a 32cl can purchased as part of a 6 pack in Bangkok, there may be some credibility to the ABV variation claims. It drinks boozier than most pale lagers I've had, with a metallic edge (obviously from the aluminum can format). I've had boozy beers, but this one is pushing it. Quite poor, and difficult to drink as a result. I'd advise sticking to Chang available in glass bottles.
D / AVOID
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