1029 June 21 The place where I get the beers in Subic is called Duty Free Superstore(DFS). It's right near Meat Plus and Freeport Exchange, even shares the same parking lot at the back. Can't miss it and shouldn't, if you happen to be a self-respectin' beer drinker. They have a decent enough selection there better than any other place in Subic or Clark that I have seen. As a sidelight, I got a buy-1, take-1 deal on a one liter bottle of Finlandia Vodka for 20 US, or about 419.10 pesos per bottle. Not bad. We're about two-thirds through the first bottle by the way.
Red Stripe: This Jamaican beauty caught my eye, mon. I just had to pick her up from the store. The bottle's really cute too. But it will set you back 1.80US a pop. I got a pair of them just to try it out. I was expecting something that went down light on the throat from a lager like this one. Maybe I got a little spoiled silly by the relatively watered-down Tsingtao Beer, or maybe it's the water in Kingston; but for the life of me I was reminded so much of San Miguel Pale Pilsen when I took my very first swig. It had the same bitter taste that one needed to acquire in order to enjoy beer for a lifetime. At 4.7% alcohol, this was no slouch's beer. I had the customary dilis as the perfect combo partner while I sat on our couch late Saturday night last week watching a film on DVD. A few more swigs, and I felt being transported from the couch to the land of reggae. I found myself mumbling something about how the late Bob Marley was probably inspired by this beer to have made excellent music. Overall, I liked Red Stripe. I liked the way the bottle felt around my hands; and as with any other beer, I drank it really cold. All bona fide beer drinkers should of course know by this time that "cold" means having that thin layer of white frost around the bottle. No way should you drink this with ice and diminish its taste.
Brahma: Okay, so let me get this out in the open: I bought this beer for the bottle. Believe me, you would too. Its website describes the bottle this way: "The unique bottle shape embodies the curvaceous rhythms of Brasil(Shucks, even the way they spell their country's name is sexy). It must be held to truly appreciate the design and feel the 'Ginga'." Ay caramba, I don't know what a Ginga is, but I have felt it and I like it! For 2.30US a pop, I got seduced and cavorted into buying a couple. Alcohol content was a respectable 4.8 percent. I figured, with anything Brazilian so much in vogue here-- Havaianas and all; that I'd might as well get a taste of their other brew(Not too hot about coffee, from anywhere for that matter). Like any other beer, you gotta drink it really cold. Like, shame on you if you ever drink this with ice. Shame on me. I opened my 2 bottles about 3 Saturdays ago, and for some reason, I felt that I didn't chill this beer long enough to do it justice. The taste, which comes at you right at the moment you put your lips on to the mouth of the bottle, rolled into my tongue more bitter and stronger than any beer I've ever tasted(Red Horse and Colt 45 included). Don't get me wrong. I mean, I was in a state of absolute rapture just to be holding the bottle. But for some reason, I felt that perhaps I expected something that tasted better. I guess my state of ultimate ginga stopped at the bottle. I did feel like an amateur here, like maybe I wasn't an informed-enough beer-drinker to appreciate the strong flavor of Brahma. And then I committed the superlatively worst mortal sin I could possibly do with this lady from Rio : I dropped her into a glass of ice and took slow, measured sips. This meant that I gave the beer enough time to mix in with Manila Water water. The promise of ginga that was supposed to be mine, and mine alone, was never consummated. It was a sad ending to a hot, sweaty, Carnival-like evening. Hay-ay-ay, ginga!
In short, I didn't like it too much. I love the bottle, though. I actually kept both, caps included. My recommendation is to try it once, with 2 bottles, just so you could say you've tasted love from Bra(h)-sil.(Sex-ehhh!!!)
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