Mexico

Old Mexi a great place with great food and some not too bad beer. The surf in baja is pretty damn good too.

Bohemia scalp circa 1997

One of the better Mexican beers out there. Golden in color, thin head, full pilsner flavor, tastes a little grainy with slightly sweet malt flavor, not much aftertaste. Totally solid beer at 5.3% in a cool funny little brown bottle.

Tecate scalp circa 2000

Hey this is not too bad after a couple of margarittas... on a hot day... when there is absolutely nothing else to drink boasting a 4.5%. Definitely better in a bottle then a can though its harder to find that way. Kinda the Keystone of Mexico.

Carta Blanca scalp circa 2000

This was a nice one. It pours as clear golden color with a somewhat weak head. It had a nice malty flavor with an aroma to match. It had a mild aftertaste and was not unlike many other pale lagers, but was nonetheless enjoyable. Kinda a dark horse beer at 6%, it isn't always available either.

Dos Equis Lager Especial scalp circa 2007

Dos Equis XX Lager Especial is a pale lager that pours smooth with almost no head and is a medium golden colour. It’s got a smooth clean taste that just goes down easy. There is no reason for a lime so just set it down and the lime is just to keep the flies out anyway. It kicks in at 4.45% alcohol by volume.

Pacifico Clara scalp circa 2003

I would recommend that you try it too if you haven’t. Of the Mexican beers I have tasted, Pacifico is one of my favorites. Started up by German settlers in the 1900's and later picked up by the Modelo corp. I always have some in the refrig in the summer. Remember no lime, no lime that is only to keep out the flies. 

Hawaii

Hawaii lived and spent many years there and I did my share of drinking and surfing while there. Its a place were locals drink bud light with ice and if they have cash and are trying to impress the drink the heinekens.

Primo Island Lager scalp circa 2008

It's crisp and refreshing, great for the hot days after or after a surf. It's well balanced malt and hops, plus a little sweetness on the finish, probably from the Maui cane sugar. A better choice then a Bud light with ice cubes in it.

Hinano Tahiti scalp circa 1994

Hinano Tahiti scalp circa 1990

Hinano is a Tahitian beer but it is widely available in Hawaii. It has a slightly bitter taste. It's a light, golden beer in color and brewed at 5% alcohol to give the drinker an extra kick once the brew hits your tongue. Not a bad choice.

Steinlager scalp circa 1996

I know, I know its a New Zealand beer but its hugely popular in Hawaii. Steinlager is a light golden color with a smell that is skunky and slightly sweet. Taste is crisp and refreshing finishing a little sweet. Watery and a little bitter in the mouth. Highly drinkable, especially in the heat. Overall a pretty good beer. On the cans they have a special Hawaii theme.

Costa Rica

Costa Rica the spot of many a surf trip and many a beer drinking nights. In fact I just got back yesterday from playa de hermosa and I already miss the 80' water and sweet surf. 

Bavaria Gold Beer scalp circa 2009

Golden amber color, malty and citrus aromas. Finishes with a light sweet taste. It is too sweet for me in the Costa Rican heat.

Imperial Beer scalp circa 2005

Costa Rica's most popular brand, it seems like you can't move 10 feet without seeing the very Russian looking eagle-emblazoned logo of Imperial. Cerveza Imperial is an adopted beer; originally brewed in Florida, it proved so popular in Costa Rica that the company uprooted and moved its main production to that nation from the States in 1924. It is widely known as a 'centralized' beer. Pale color with a small foamy white head. Sweet and light generic pale lager taste. The beer of tourists and girls in Costa Rica.

Pilsen Beer scalp circa 2007

More flavor and alcohol than the Imperial, and more bubbles and color as well. This is the beer of choice in Costa Rica. It is what most locals drink as well. Definitely better in a bottle then a can and best severed cold. Pura vida!

Czech Republic - Prague

Took the train from Berlin down to Prague some years back. I dug Prague and the whole old town feel of a Count Dracula movie. Lots of great old architecture and the fact that a beer costs less then a coke is huge.

Bohemia Regent circa 2002

Bohemia has a sweet malty taste with a good, firm, crisp hoppiness and dryness. Just a hint of citrus too. It rolls in at 5% and is cheap as hell. But that doesn't mean it isn't a solid.

Pilsner Urquell circa 2002

Pilsner Urquell is crisp and a tad sweet with a slight bitter finish and is very drinkable. it is the world's original pilsner, or golden beer. Most popular lagers produced in the rest of the world are based upon this original beer. Solid.

Budweiser Budvar beer circa 2002

Less hoppy and in your face than many Czech beers but a very classic and refined taste. I dig this beer. Sad that the crap American Budweiser which it was clearly based on, has been using it big muscle to push Budvar out.

Staropramen pelt circa 2008

The beer itself is a bright pale gold, the colour of the Moravian barley that goes into the brew.  The taste,  well it’s slightly sweet, but with a gentle malty background flavour that soon surrenders to a hoppy bite.  It’s refreshing, a creditable 5% and on a hot summer’s day it’s probably hard to beat.

Nepal

Nepal one of my favorite places. I trekked there for a month and spent another month living in Katmandu. The food is good and the people even better. If there were waves I would live there.

Tuborg Gold Label Beer scalp circa 1996

Tuborg is brewed in Nepal under licensing with Carlsberg, so its pretty much a solid beer. Its a light beer with a mild pleasant taste with a little bitterness flavor at the end. Just plain solid.

Star Beer scalp circa 1996

Star beer is pretty much your standard larger, I think the altitude has more to do with the effects of its 5.5% then anything else. Not the top beer of choice but it gets the job done.

Everest Beer scalp circa 1996

Everest Beer is the only true Nepalese beer. It isn't a particularly extraordinary one, it's somewhat light golden in color and goes down fairly easily.