Bangla Beer

25 November 2013

For the first of our product reviews, we take a closer look at Bangla Beer.  This is always popular with the curry club but is unfortunately much rarer than either Cobra or Kingfisher, who currently dominate the curry house beer market.

Bangla comes in a striking green bottle and its bright green and gold label features Bengali text and a map of Bangladesh on the front.  Quite rightly, it emphasises that its origins are Bangladeshi rather than Indian, as are most curry houses.  However, like almost all Asian beers found in this country, it is in fact brewed in the UK.

The beer is an attractive clear amber colour and there’s a good head which, as it dies down, leaves a nice foamy top.  Its smell is rich and grainy with a hint of spice.

As you would hope with a beer aimed at the curry market, Bangla has a crisp and clean flavour but it’s more than just a tongue cooling lager.  Its taste is dry and hoppy as well as refreshing.  There’s a full flavour and it’s actually more ale-like, than you might expect.

Still, when drunk with hot curry, it leaves an intense bitter flavour which cuts right through the spice.  It also has relatively low carbonation, which is a plus point when bingeing on curry! 

For a lager, Bangla has a tangy bitterness but the flavours are balanced nicely and it’s easy to drink.  This is a beer I would definitely look out for at any curry house.

SUMMARY;

Type of Beer:  Lager

Availability:  The third most common curry house beer

Drink with:  Vindaloo.  Bangla works especially well with spicy food.

Alcohol Volume:  4.8%. 

UK units of alcohol:  3.3 for this large 660ml bottle. 

Final Word: One of the best mass produced lagers around and one I would drink on its own without the curry.