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Q: How to tell if the beer I bought is real?
I just spent 36 kuai on a tall can of Kaiserdom imported German beer. When I got home, I noticed a few funny things.
(1) There is no import sticker on the can.
(2) The top of the can, the part that you open it with, is poorly built, and nearly ripped off when I opened the can.
(3) The beer tastes slightly "off", but it's still dark and has a thick texture.
I wonder if this is a genuine import or is a fake. I bought it in the Chinese chain grocery store in my neighborhood. Actually this is a bit of a bummer, they also carry a clear knockoff produced by Cheerday beer company for about 20% of the price of this one.
Is it likely that this is really a knock-off, or does this beer just taste funny after being imported all the way from Germany? I also had a few Guinnesses a couple of months ago that tasted "off", but seemed like they were probably genuine.
Most of the imported beers I have tasted here have either been a "little off" or downright fake.
I have found that if just a little off, I usually dont mind quite as much after a couple of drafts.
The downright bad ones, ug. Stick to local instead (at least it is cheaper).
My beers of choice back home is Corona Extra and Quilmes (Argentina) Here in China, it does not quite taste the same, but not all that different. Corona that is, I have yet to see Quilmes.
sam239:
So the "fake" ones were very obviously fake? Or only slightly different but different enough you could tell they were fake? I've seen fake liquor bottles but those were clear by the poor quality of the packaging plus the poor quality of the buzz (ie: nasty hangover).
GuilinRaf:
Some were obviously fake.
Some were probably fake.
Some may have been fake/
And some may have just had "local characteristics".
Don't be surprised by "fake" beer here...I've had my share! Back home, I wouldn't even drink Budweiser but here..it's the closest "real" import I've had and it's the only thing I drink- and it's gotta be in can, not bottled.
If you have a hangover the next day that makes you want to kill yourself it was fake. But either way you usually just enjoy it on the evening. So erm, worry about it tomorrow. And if you do become the beast then don't buy from there ever again.
Only way to do that is to find the quality of the beer. You have to start by doing a taste test to see if it's real or not..
How to get an English text book and learn the correct structure for asking questions?
sam239:
This is the correct structure for informal English. For formal English it is not, but this is more like a pub than a forum for undersexed elderly liberal arts teachers so I use informal English. Who gives a puck?
nevermind:
No, it is not the correct structure for informal English because no one informal or formal speaks or writes that way. As well, that car wreck of a sentence fits better in the structure of a statement, and therefore doesn't need the question mark.
English: You're doing it wrong.
nevermind:
Furthermore in a pub no one would come up to you and say "How to get a beer?"
They would say "How can I get a beer?" or "where can I get a beer" I have never in my life heard anyone, even my barely audible two-year-old nephew, pose a question "how to?"
Seriously, stop it, you sound like an idiot.
I've heard that canned import beer is less likely to be fake than the bottled variety due to the higher cost and complexity of canning rather than bottling a counterfeit. I don't know how true that is.
The other day I picked up three different tall cans of German pilsner at a Carrefour in Shanghai at about 9 kuai each. (I had never heard of the brands, but thought I'd try them anyway. And the price wasn't excessive, so...) Each beer had 4-to-5% alcohol content - high compared to the lighter local brews. No problem downing the beer. Crisp, bitter. and a buzz to each with no noxious aftereffects. Fake? Don't really know. But refreshing.
At home in Qingdao, I stick to Tsingtao only because it's plentiful and inexpensive. (I don't particularly care for it.) However, I'll look for the German pilsner in a can and will "splurge" again.
I don't know about fake beer, but the last bottle of Baileys that I bought at Walmart didn't even give me a buzz. Fake.
