Generic Light Beer...Croatian Style!

As soon as I saw this beer in the store...I knew it was something special!

This was my second trip to Croatia. I really enjoyed my first visit to Split. I guess it's safe to say...I kind of fell in love with Croatia. The people are very nice, and they love to eat meat...lots of it! They also have several real good beers and wines.

This beer was by far the cheapest beer on the shelf. For one half liter, I spent a whopping...36 euro-cents. So for a little more than two 8oz cans of beer, I spent around 50 cents. I great deal for beer drinking on the cheap! The logo was what first caught my eye. It just seemed to be a generic logo. I was right. The red box the the white "M" in it is the stores generic brand. Pivo is Croatian for "beer" and Svetlo is Croatian for "light." So this is in fact...generic light beer. YUMMY!
You can tell by the picture this beer had a really nice pour. The head was thick and aromatic. The color golden-amber. I was really starting to get excited about my cheap Croatian beer. However...the excitment stopped dead in it's tracks as soon as I took a drink. The aromatic smells of the head were gone. There was suprisingly NO taste in this beer. It tasted like lightly flavored water. 4.0% flavored water.

Don't judge Croatian beers by this! They do make a fantastic beer. I guess you could call it the Bud of Croatia...Karlovacko. Very tasty. As for the rest of Croatian beers...??? Well I think this video best describes them:

Why Not Be Yourself For A Moment...Cheap Beer Review

I've decided to embark on a new gastronomic adventure...in beer! Everywhere you look there is some guy touting about the latest and greatest beer du jour! I admit...I do like to read about those beers and drink them too. However, after a year of living in Italy...away from many of such beers, I've decided I should do the opposite. What about those beers...no one drinks nor blogs about? What about those lack-luster beers? Well...they are everywhere here in Italy! Long gone is my huge selection of German, Belgian, and Czech beers. Everywhere I look...cheap beer from the "non-beer" making countries.

"Why not be yourself for a moment," is the catchphrase from what appears to be a pedestrian, middle-class, non-descript Swedish beer maker. This beer has been in production since 1965. I found my Norrlands Guld (7.2) at my favorite home away from home....IKEA, for 1 Euro. Roughly $1.35!

My eyes first were drawn to the word "DYNAMIT" on the very top of the can. I thought maybe this can was packed with explosive hops and barley. Then the three trout caught my attention. What advertisement agency told these guys..."Hey...put three fish on the can if your really want to sell a lot of this beer." Of course the magnificent Swedish landscape that rounds out the can puts me at ease. Will this beer have notes of fish, spring water, and dynamite?

Here is the review. I was completely ready for a crap beer that possibly might be made from left over IKEA meatballs. However, that was not the case. The beer is a whopping 7.2%, but it went down like a 3.2%. It has a delightful ashy and fruity taste. The head was thin and deflated only moments after the pour. Very little after taste. In all...a pretty good beer. I guess I will have to go back to IKEA and try it with those famous meatballs! The beer was almost as good as their advert campaign. Please enjoy the Swedish commercial!