1001 Beers

Beer No: 27/1001
Page No: 114
Category: Amber

I guess it's somewhat fitting that just today I read an article on how a bunch of Carlsberg workers walked off their job after the lunch-time beer policy was changed from unlimited beers (without getting drunk of course) to just one beer a day.  At first the delivery truck drivers didn't strike because, oddly enough, they were exempt from the new policy and were still allowed to take three beers with them on the road.  How odd.  I don't know if they're back on the job or not, but I wouldn't really mind giving up Carlsberg at lunch because there's really no taste to it and you might as well be drinking water.

The story behind Carlsberg's Elephant beer is that they brewed a strong special pilsner in 1955 to ship to the Gold Coast (Ghana) and Nigeria.  It gained popularity there, and instead of being called Carlsberg Export, it came to be known as Carlsberg Elephant.  I can see how this might catch on in such an environment as Africa where it is hot and there is much manual labor to be had back in the 50's and 60's, but in comparison to today's beers, this lager is pretty weak and classified more as a malt beverage than a beer.

But despite Carlsberg's sub-par offering here, there is much to thank them for.  1001 Beers notes that they developed the pH scale and the isolation of single strains of yeast.  The strain they developed, saccharomyces carlsbergensis is still used today for pale lagers.  So for that, thank you.  For the bland beer, no thanks.

My review, cross-posted at RateBeer.com:

Carlsberg Elephant from Carlsberg Brewery

Aroma: 4/10
Appearance: 2/5
Taste: 4/10
Palate: 2/5
Overall: 6/20

Rating: 1.8 / 5.0

Had from bottle from Total Wine & More. Pours golden yellow with a bit of fizz, small head, and adequate lacing. Aroma of malts and a bit of hops - nothing special, nothing good. Pretty tame aroma and taste is the same. Tastes almost like any other fizzy yellow lager. Malt beverage that is just not for me.