Saigon Exports Deserves a Glib Post

From Vietnam comes Saigon Export.  Rice is a utilized adjunct, creating a yellow, piss-like color.  This beer smells and tastes like Heineken, but an obvious difference lies between the IBU's, with Heineken having a lot more.


Don't let the lighting fool you: Saigon Export does not display the golden/amber color you're seeing.  It is a lot lighter, and a lot more yellow.

Saigon Export goes down friendly, but the beer is very bland, even more so than Heineken.  I'm guessing it is the Miller Lite of Vietnam.  The gold foil presentation that surrounds the neck and bottle cap is definitely out of place.  The head and lacing of this beer is just like any light beer from the U.S.  Yuppies could drink this and feel trendy.

I don't like this beer, but I don't hate it.  On a positive note, it shares qualities of a typical European beer.  There is a hop characteristic in the taste that I'm familiar with.  In that respect, it reminds me of Pilsner Urquell, Stella Artois, even Carlsberg or Grolsch, but every one of the beers I just mentioned are superior to Saigon Export.  Still, it has a good carbonation level, a nice feel, and a light body that, surprisingly, doesn't disappoint me.  And for a beer that lacks a lot of flavor, it doesn't really taste watered down.

In retrospect, I can't complain.  I bought an imported Export from Saigon that traveled a hell of a long way, and for one single it only cost me around a $1.93.  Not bad for an Import.