Another Beer Tasting

Tusker

From Kenya (I think)

ABV:  4.2%

Price:  2500 Shillings for 500ml ($1.01)

Warnings on Bottle:  (1) Store in cool dark place (2) Excessive consumption of alcohol impairs your judgement:  Do not drive or operate machinery (3) Not for sale to persons under the age of 18 years.

Description on Bottle:  Together.  Foever.  When you open a bottle of Tusker you are joining the world in celebrating one of Africa's great original beers.  Tusker has been brewed with care, craft and love since 1922.  Every crisp, clean mouthful summons up the taste sunshine and love of the life of its African roots.

Ingredients:  Water, Barley, Malt, Cornstarch, Sugar, CO2, and Hops

My first impression was that it doesn't have much flavor.  I've only had this beer once before, I remember it being a hot afternoon after a long day at work.  But, I do not remember it tasting this worthless.  I am almost upset that I paid a buck for this beer!  I think that the best part of this beer will be getting the deposit back on the bottle.  I just took another swig, and it almost has a fruity after taste.  This is probably a good beer to drink while doing yard work.

I bought 2 of each beer for this tasting and Im not upset that my boss stole the second Tusker.  That should tell you a lot about how I feel about the beer...  Although I would like that deposit back on the bottle.

From Uganda (apart of Nile brewing company)

ABV:  6%

Price:  2300 Shillings for 330ml ($0.92)

Warnings on Bottle:  (1) Store in cool dark place (2) Not for sale to persons under the age of 18

Description on Bottle:  Brewed with dark roasted malt and a touch of lactose milk for a rich creamy head and smooth taste

Ingredients:  Water, Malt, Maize and Hops

My first impression was the fact that I had never had a "milk" beer before, so I was slightly scared.  Then I poured it and thought, man that thing looks amazing.  Then I took a sip, ver dark, very heavy, very flavorful, and a hint of milk on the finish.  I'm not sure if I like that or not...  This is definitely not a beer that you sit around and get drunk on.  I notice that the front label read:  "Rich, Dark, and Creamy"  and I was thinking, "I like my women like I like my beer... rich, dark and creamy... hehehe (I'll get in trouble for that one).  After that beer, I'm ready for bed.

Beer tasting 1 of ∞...

Nile Gold

 From the Nile Brewing Company (Uganda)

ABV:  4.8%

Price:  2300 Shillings for 330ml ($0.93)

Full name:  Nile Gold Crystal Malt Lager

History:  The Nile Brewing company is in the city of Jinja which is known as the 'Mouth of the Nile'

Description on bottle:  Nile Gold is a full bodied beer crafted by our internationally qualified brewmaster from only the finest crystal malt, to give you that uniquely rich, satisfying flavor.

Warning on bottle: (1) Not for sale to persons under 18 years)

(2) Alcohol abuse is dangerous to your health.

My first impression was that it was a little pussy beer.  I thought this because it comes in smaller bottles, than most of the beers here.  The main beer that I drink here is Nile Special.  Nile Gold is like the little wimpy sister of Nile Special.  After the first taste I wonder if there are actually hops and barley in this drink.  I checked the ingredients.  They are as follows:  Crystal Malt, Pale Malt, Maize Grits, Hops and Carbon Dioxide.  So, yes there are hops and malt in this pansy drink.  I feel as if I wasted 2300 shillings on this drink...

Well now I know not to buy this again. 

Pilsner Lager

From EABL Group (Kenya)

ABV:  5.5%

Price:  2500 Shillings for 500ml ($1.01)

Warnings on Bottle:  (1) Store in cool dark place (2) Excessive consumption of alcohol is harmful to your health (3) Strictly not for sale to persons under 18 years

My first impression was that it couldn't be any worse than the Nile Gold.  Just as I suspected it was no worse than the Nile Gold.  It had a decent flavor and a high alcohol content for a pils.  While it wasn't the heavy flavor of beer that I have grown accustom to in Germany, it was still good.  I would probably buy this beer again.

Bell

From Uganda Breweries (Uganda, obviously)

ABV:  4.0%

Price:  2500 Shillings for 500ml ($1.01)

History:  (from the label)  Expertly brewed on the shores of Lake Victoria since 1950.  This award winning beer uses only the finest ingredients to capture the true taste of Uganda's heritage.

Warnings on Bottle:  (1) Store in cool dark place (2) Excessive consumption of alcohol is harmful to your health (3) Strictly not for sale to persons under 18 years

I've had this beer before at a cookout.    The main problem with it at the cookout was that the ice the cooler came from a fishery and it made all of the bottles smell like fish (GROSS).  I decided to give it a another try.  Here it goes...  And it still sucks!  Definitely a waste of shillings.  This is the kind of beer that you open at a party, realize that it sucks, and then 'accidentally' forget where you left your beer and get a new better-tasting beer.

Taste test

I have decided that to make the lives of those around me I should do a beer taste test.  I grabbed 7 different local beers (2 of each) and will write a review of each as I go through them.  I have tried 4 of the 7 before, but I wasn't grading them.  I will take pictures of each of them as I try them, and judge them, as well as include some history about the beer (if possible).  I will not do all of these in one day, if I did then the comments about each would get crazier and crazier as the day went on.  I will attempt to complete this taste within the following week, but no promises.

This is going to be a rough job, but someone has to do it.  It might as well be me...

I blessed the rains

It is a rainy day in Africa so I thought I would post this

I know I haven't posted anything in a while, but I decided today that I would write a food review as well as a beer review of the local drink and cuisine.

NCOwned

verb. transitive. 

To be made a fool of by an NCO; To make a fool of by an NCO; To prove wrong using various AFIs, OIs, or policy letters.

I learned this word from my new supervisor.  About an hour after he taught it to me, I NCOwned him on two changes to the dress and appearance instruction.  Later in the day we teamed up and NCOwned a Captain for having sideburns that were too long.

Straight Bs

My 5^th grade teacher once told my parents that I was the most straight-B student she had ever seen.  Since then I have been plagued with a few A-grades, a few C-grades, but mostly B-grades.  Not that there is anything wrong with B-grades.

Im currently attending a month-long school in Florida.  I was learning a bunch of information and I thought it was all clicking.  Unfortunately the passing grade for this school is 85% (that is a B).  The first test had 50 questions.  To prepare for the test, we had a few study groups, tried to get a little more direction out of the instructors, and did a little last minute cramming on the way to class that morning.

We got to class and started the test.  About five questions into the test, I started cursing quietly.  I got a little more confident around the middle of the test, and then started cursing when I thought about how many questions I might have missed.  I dropped my test booklet with the instructor in the back of the room and then went to another instructor to get my answer sheet checked.  To NOT let my 5^th grade teacher down, I got eight questions incorrect which means my score was an 84%.  The instructor told me that I would need to stay during lunch and after class for extra training, and would have to retest the following duty day.

I went over the questions I missed.  As I read one of the questions and answers, I said to myself, the answer is obviously B I remember marking it.  Turns out I didn’t know the difference between B and C on that one…

I realized what I was incorrect on and the other seven questions I got wrong.  The only problem was that 25% of the test questions were going to change for the retest.  I studied the day before the retest on my own, then with the other eight people that failed, and again in the morning before the test.

If I were to fail the retest, then I would have a training review board in front of multiple Lieutenant Colonels and full-bird Colonels and I would have to explain to them why I failed the test twice as well as why I thought I should remain in the course, also my leadership back at home would be contacted.

Needless to say when the retest started, I was slightly nervous.  I took the test, however, I was nervous about three questions.  I got those three wrong, but I passed!

Two days later, today, we had our second test.  Only 30 questions on this one, that means that you could only miss four questions and still pass.  I only missed one question!

That is all from Florida for now!  Enjoy!

Bacon

While walking through the commissary I was looking for something yummy to make.  I decided that I should make bacon-wrapped pizza rolls.  So I bought my supplies, see below:

It was a fairly easy recipe:  Pre-heat oven (I set it at about 230ºC, which is about 10ºC higher than the pizza rolls bag called for).  Then I cut the bacon in half and wrapped it around the rolls.

The pizza rolls ready for the oven

This was about half-way through cooking.  I forgot to get a picture of them after they were done.  But these things tasted amazing!