A bitter Pils to swallow

A fancy overseas product has upstaged a true-blue Aussie lager in the first of a series of beer testings to be undertaken by The Independent.
Beck's beer, brewed somewhere else, clearly outpointed Tooheys Pils in a blind tasting conducted at the Jubilee Hotel. This does not mean our carefully selected panel were blind: being packaged beer, the bottles were cleverly disguised in foil up to the lop of the necks to keep our panel totally in the dark.
"That's Pils - I recognise the bottle shape," said one of our panel the moment the beer was brought out. Smart bastard. We'll refine the disguising method in RBTs to come.
And our initial tasting does not mean we'll always pit a local lager against an outsider. Who knows: our next test might pit two beers from the same brwery.
Our panel of five were all self-confessed ale aficiandos: as Jim Edwards of the Valley said: "My dad used to say that if you're not drinking beer, you're not thirsty."
The panel was asked to judge each beer and award points up to a maximum of 50. (See box at right, to see just how technical and professional this tasting was.)
Each drop was sampled with a fine selection of nibblies provided by the hotel to match the makers' suggestions for food to enjoy with each beer. Now for the sad news. The German-made Becks averaged 37.5, while the Pils could manage only 31.5.
Bobbi Byrnes, also of the Valley, says she enjoys a beer daily but "I'm not a beer brand snob. Surprisingly, she was the only sampler who picked Beck's, declaring in her remarks it was "an enjoyable afternoon summer/spring beer".
Chris Malayta, of Redcliffe, was the only one to award the full 50 points - for the Pils - and The Independent's lawyers are still trying to determine whether he has shares in the brewery that makes it. "Niiiiice!" he wrote.
Two of our tasters thought the Beck's beer was Carlsburg - Jim Edwards and Tim Coleman, of the Gap. Of the Beck's Tim declared: Enjoyable, yet I don't think I could drink it all night."
Jim also got quite technical when judging the Pils on its lacing, namely how the product clings to the side of the glass.
"Very clingy; like my old girlfriend."
Mark Golding of the Valley awarded the lowest score of the day - a sad 16 points for the Pils, which he declared a lifeless and flat lager.
The Independent's lawyers are still trying to determine whether he has shares in the brewery that makes Beck's.
But he was also a bit sad to have judged it so poorly. "We're really slaughtering this one, but let's check it again just to be sure."

THE SCORECARD
The whiff (5 points):
The look (8 points): 2 points each for: Clarity, colour, head, and lacing
The taste (12 points)
The taste after tucker: (5 points)
Balance: 5 points
Body (5 points):
Drinkability & overall
impression (10 points)

TOTAL POINTS: 50