Beer Review: Kronenbourg 1664 Brest, France By: George Zhen September 19, 2005

(Brest, France) - One of the complicating matters of a change of flight plan is how it can affect beer review schedules and the like. In a recent case, an ambitious flight from Lisbon to London was truncated and The Hopper ended up in Brest, France. This necessitated a SECOND beer be procured from France, and luckily, Kronenbourg 1664 was readily available for our sampling.

Kronenbourg 1664 comes packaged in a nice, red, blue and white carton and presents itself as a lager of note. Opening emits a subtle skunk that confirms that this is in fact a lager. It pours like water - in fact, I can't recall such a characterless head so far in our travels. The color is crisp and clear, almost Champaign-like. As it is consumed, there is nothing left on the sides of the glass, so in many ways its glass performance is substandard.

The taste is inoffensive and unremarkable. Not that it isn't drinkable. In many ways, it and the previously reviewed Sagres share the trait of lackluster character adding to drinkability. The thing is, after you blast through a six-pack, try and recall the actual beer tasting characteristics and you'll draw a blank.

The affect of this beer is average, as is it's ABV. There should be no hangover problems the following day. I guess this is an absent quality that is welcome. Unfortunately, that can't be said for the rest of this beer experience.

Want a forgettable beer? Grab yourself some Kronenbourg and waste the night away.

For more information on Kronenbourg 1664, visit their website at www.brasseries-kronenbourg.com