Foster's Lager Review

Name: Foster's Lager
Style: American Adjunct Lager
ABV: 5%
IBUs: 12

Every once in a while, the wife and I will go out to eat and we alternate between where we eat. While I'm more inclined to local eating establishments, my wife usually opts for chain restaurants and one of those is Outback Steakhouse. One of the beers that is always on the menu is Foster's Lager, since it is an Australian restaurant after all and Foster's is Australian for beer after all....or is it?

Despite the fact it got its start in Australia by two American brothers, the brand is now owned by SABMiller & it's brewed almost exclusively in Great Britain which, ironically enough, set up Australia as a penal colony for criminals because the jails of England were overflowing with the low-life of society. So to any of you who drink a Foster's at Outback, you're pretty much drinking the beer of Imperialists (not really.)

Enough history, time to talk about the beer. Let's get started with the can. Aside from the large can, called the "Oil Can," there's a bunch of artwork. You've got things like boomerangs, kangaroos and palm trees; no koalas though. However since this is an "Australian" beer, there's a bunch of "Australian" sayings along the sides. Sayings like:

• Toss me a tinny
• Oi, Oi, Oi
• No wuckers (worries), mate
• Grab a feed

Judging from the artwork, one can safely conclude that this is a totally accurate reflection of Australian culture and absolutely does not reinforce stereotypes of any kind. 

Appearance - Very clear yellow color with a high amount of visible carbonation. It's got a nice foamy head that has some pretty good retention but I'm getting nothing in terms of lacing.

Aroma - Cereal grains, cardboard & pale malts. There's just a smidgen of hoppiness in here but it's barely noticeable. Also getting some light booziness as well.

Taste - Sane goes for the flavor. You've got those cereal grains & cardboard notes with some pale maltiness. The hoppiness that I picked up on in the nose is nowhere to be found here and the aftertaste is primarily just that pale malt/cardboard sweetness.

Well, I'm kind of shocked. This is actually not as bad as I had expected it to be and it's surprisingly inoffensive.. With that said, it's fairly unremarkable at the same time. Yes, it has none of that skunky taste or aroma that you see in beers like Corona or Heineken but this isn't something that I would go out of my way for again. 

Foster's Lager - 5/10