The Swill: San Miguel Premium Lager
and San Miguel Dark Lager
The Still: San Miguel Corporation
Manila, Philippines
The Drill: Premium Lager: Lager beer, 12oz bottle, 5% ABV
Dark Lager: Lager beer, 12oz bottle, 5% ABV
The Spill: Hailing from the endless network of tropical islands in southeast Asia, these brews are unmistakably warm-weather beers. Their main purpose is to quench thirst, rather than impart certain adventurous flavors. This they do well, the Dark Lager a tad more than the Premium in my opinion. However, by and large they are, again, pretty bland and stereotypical.
Says Bill: It's hard for me to say something bad about a product of the Philippines, seeing as how I'm married to someone who received half of her genes and all of her impressive cooking skills from that great nation. Most of my in-laws have Filipino blood in them, and as fun as they are, as colorful as the Filipino culture and its customs are, and as awesome as their native dishes taste, it's hard to believe the Philippines would settle for beer as plain as this. Then again, since World War II, there's been a tremendous American influence there, so perhaps it's all Budweiser's fault again.
Refill: Maybe one, just to wash down the Bagoong. Inside joke. Premium Lager: 1 tap out of 5; Dark Lager: 1.5 taps out of 5.