Lighter, simpler and less musky than most similarly styled Czech brews, lean Bulgarian lager relies on gentle barley, maize, and rice backbone to constrain sugary cereal graining contrasting mildly acidic herbal hop bitterness. Diacetyl finish veils gummy malt cloying.

Pungent grain aroma consumes pale-toned pilsner-styled Italian. Sharp hop bittering enhances corn-buttered malts and distant wheat chaff for assertive richness. But metallic shard lowers appeal.

Problematic straw-hued pearly-headed pale lager retains repugnant skunked cannabis waft, soapy corn sugared butterscotch glut, and lazy apricot-tangerine reticence. Sticky honeyed wheat access dissolved by desultory diacetyl mustiness draping withered phenol hop resin of moderate-bodied bohemian-styled knockoff.

Here’s a new one – a double dry Canadian that’s unfortunately closer to salty U.S. macrobrew dreck. Despite crisp water and fine grain flow, dry-hopped corn malting and metallic astringency are as mainstream as it gets. Acrid vegetal finish is a downer. And its unusual classification is a canard.

Inexpressive clear golden smoothie stays bland as maize-fronted sugar-watered flow barely registers. Miserly lemony grapefruit speckle never rises above carbolic fizz, staying plain without being either bitter or sweet.

Seltzer-like clear-yellowed white-headed Peruvian with subtly aromatic corn-sugared crystal malting and propulsive lemony hop zip sinks to oblivion as straw wheat backend dries out. Sourdough challah breading and maple-sapped black licorice taunt save it from being completely ordinary. Too cloy and less soothing than most South of the Border lagers.

Though retaining more body than most pale lagers, lackluster Aussie’s fizzy corn sugar flow and buttery cereal grain complacency negatively affect soapy finish. Washed out caramel malts sink below diacetyl slurp.

Strident soft-watered barley tone and lightened corn astringency gently sway tangy lemon-kissed midst, but leafy grassy-hopped vegetal finish weakens. Overall, musty Czech lager lacks resilience. No longer brewed as of 2006.

Decent gold-labeled straw-hued lager submits musty orange-oiled Scotch malting and cereal-grained cornmeal sweetness to sharp peppery-hopped coarseness. Pastry cake, vanilla wafer, butterscotch and butternut illusions sit back. Simple, straightforward brew for North of the Border lunkheads on salmon fishing trips.

Sharp musty-scented pale-bodied artesian lager retains crisp barley-hopped sweetness, grassy bottom, and watery simplicity, but generic soapy finish lowers rating to half of its Spanish ‘Five Star’ moniker.

Strong golden-hazed bitter gathers Scotch malt insistence, nutty ascension, and buttery texture, despite finishing a bit watery. Slight mocha tinge hidden below stabilized hop salience.

Another lively carbonated citric-soured yeast-stenched Dutch brew. Sweet vanilla creaming juxtaposes supple hop bitterness at midst. Spritzy orange peel detected at earthen nut finish. Too dank and soapy to overtake better local competition.