Xingu Premium Gold Review

“Good Balance Between Sweet, Sour and Bitter”

Country: Brazil 

Brand: Xingu Premium Gold

Bottler:Heineken Brasil SA, Jacarei (SP)

Type: Adjunct Lager

Age: NAS

ABV: 5.4 %

Antioxidant: INS 316 + INS 224
Stabiliser: INS 405

Colour: Golden 

Foam: Thin White Foam that practically disappears after 5 minutes or so. Very little Foam remains in the Glass once you finished it.

Nose: Light and Medium-Sweet with Malt, Grain, light Grassy Hops, Sour Green Apples and a touch of Lemon. Simple but without any troublesome off-notes. 

Palate: Light and Clean with Average Carbonation. Medium Sweet and slightly Sour with Malt, Grain, Grass, Green Apples and light Metallic notes. A little Bitter as well.

Finish: Short but Refreshing. Sweet Malt and Grain are accompanied by Green Apples and a light Herbal Bitterness. Reasonably Well-Balanced.

Rating: *******  (Seven out of Ten)

General Remarks: The Lager Beer I'm reviewing today is named after the river Xingu, a tributary of the Amazon River. Xingu Beer is a pioneer in the Brazilian Craft Beer segment. In 1988, the now famous Black Beer was launched, made after an ancient recipe dating back to 1557. Later, Black was followed by Gold. In 2014 the Xingu range was relaunched by Heineken Brasil who brews Xingu nowadays. The new core range includes Premium Gold, Unique Red and Original Black. Today, Xingu Beer is exported to the USA, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, the UK and China.

Drinking Experience: Good

Conclusion: Quite Simple but Well-Balanced Lager Beer without that annoying Corn Sweetness and without any significant off-notes. Nice balance between Sweet, Sour and Bitter. It's not interesting enough to drink on a regular basis but I won't say no if somebody offers me a Xingu Premium Gold!

Jan van den Ende                                                                      April 26, 2015