Dry Maoth

I'm a longtime fan of Mao, the Irish Asian restaurant chain (being Irish, the chain currently consists of just two branches in Ireland). They now sell their own brand of beer, made in Ireland by an anonymous brewer and featuring the Chairman hisself on the label (which also matches the upholstery -- see right).

My last run-in with restaurant-branded lager was in a Mexican place in Brum a couple of years ago and I wasn't impressed. Mao Beer is pretty good, however. It's overwhelmingly dry and malty with very little by way of aftertaste which gives one that palate-cleansing mineral water sensation I associate most with Fischer.

It's possible that Mao is supposed to taste like one of the common oriental lagers, like Asahi, in which case it fails miserably. But as Irish-Asian lagers go, this is far and away the front runner.

I wonder who makes it?