Red Horse Discussion- Split from another topic

[AusExpat]

On 4/17/2020 at 9:47 AM, Tommy T. said:

I know the alcohol ban is in place here in Davao but, apparently it is not air tight - like so many rules and regulations (that we know about!).

L had a word with the kid who comes by using his tricycle two or times weekly to pick up garbage. He is one of those to whom she gave a CARE package of food and a few goodies. So, when he came by on his bi-weekly garbage run last night, she gave him some cash with a request to buy maybe 6 or 8 or long neck Tanduay (paint thinner) for me for the long run. We both suspected that the local sari sari stores were still stocked and would sell. We had a feeling that as a local trike driver, he would be the one to know.... And we were correct!

The bad news is no more long necks... The good news is he brought back over a dozen of the "senior" (I think that's what they are called?) 375ml bottles - or half the size of the 750ml bottles. I don't care what size they are. She tipped him 50 pesos and also upped what she pays him for his garbage pickup to 100 pesos from 50 pesos per pickup. He was very pleased.

Slightly off topic, but related - sort of - L also learned that teachers, such as herself, will not receive any cash or food disbursements. That's fine with both of us. If she had received anything, the plan was just to turn it around and pass it on to some that really need it.

"Stallion" it is called in Quezon city at least.

I was talking to my Filipino friend about these the other night, he is well off and an ex-alcoholic so I'll call this an "expert opinion" but he said the Stallions (375ml) are stronger than the standard Red Horse.

He also told me the origin of Red Horse was Filipinos used to add Gin to their beer to make it stronger, and thus it was just an idea waiting to be made commercially.

I'd be interested in your experience with these - do you feel like they are stronger beer than the larger Red Horse bottles?

On the bright side he heard me say I'm almost out of drink and went and pulled out a bottle of White Castle (local whiskey) that's been sitting in his liquor cabinet for 15 years and gave it to me - tastes better than the current version too, a little sweeter and slightly stronger taste.

Edited April 18, 2020 by AusExpat

[jimeve]

1 hour ago, AusExpat said:

I'd be interested in your experience with these - do you feel like they are stronger beer than the larger Red Horse bottles?

Been drinking red horse for over 18 years, Litro, 500 and stallion bottles of red horse. To me they have the same strength. Just had a look on the bottles of stallion and liter bottles of red horse, 6.9%.on both.

I have also heard that Gin is added to red horse to make it stronger, don't know if this is true or not!

[Arizona Kid]

21 hours ago, hk blues said:

Never been a hard liqueur man - pretty much beer only now.

Cheers! 

I've been getting the same buz that I used to get with beer with 50 proof Bar Vodka. A lot less burping and a lot less visiting the CR. Used in moderation of course.

[Arizona Kid]

12 minutes ago, jimeve said:

I have also heard that Gin is added to red horse to make it stronger, don't know if this is true or not!

I've heard that also. Maybe it makes it the same as Colt 45 or Old English 800 that they sell in the US?

[AusExpat]

59 minutes ago, jimeve said:

Been drinking red horse for over 18 years, Litro, 500 and stallion bottles of red horse. To me they have the same strength. Just had a look on the bottles of stallion and liter bottles of red horse, 6.9%.on both.

I have also heard that Gin is added to red horse to make it stronger, don't know if this is true or not!

Do you know if there is any truth to the smiling horse beer, the rumour I have heard is one bottle in a case (stallion I think) is higher alcohol and the horse on the front is smiling and heh writing on the back is a different colour.

I had a mate come here for a few weeks, said one of the locals gave him a "small" red horse and he was drunk after only one bottle.

Edited April 18, 2020 by AusExpat

[Jollygoodfellow]

3 hours ago, AusExpat said:

Do you know if there is any truth to the smiling horse beer, the rumour I have heard is one bottle in a case (stallion I think) is higher alcohol and the horse on the front is smiling and heh writing on the back is a different colour.

I had a mate come here for a few weeks, said one of the locals gave him a "small" red horse and he was drunk after only one bottle.

THE MYTH:
Another Red Horse myth, one which happens to be a favorite of mine. Back in college, we would always look for the “Happy Horse” bottle (named after the smiling horse logo) whenever we would buy beer. It was reputed to have an even stronger kick than the normal bottle with the non-smiling (unhappy? Uninterested? Emotionally unavailable?) horse. It was even said that each case held only one happy horse, a special treat for the lucky guy that draws it out (sort of like an alcoholic golden ticket).

THE BUST:
The happy horse logo was actually the just old design of the brand. When the company updated its look, they still made use of the older bottles in order to save money. With the increase in production of bottles with the new logo, though, the Happy Horse soon became quite rare. This gave rise to the myth of the special bottle with higher alcohol content. Though, even if it were true, the myth doesn’t seem to make sense. If you’d already bought an entire case, who cares about the one bottle (no matter how high the alcohol content) if you can just drink all twenty-four?

...

THE MYTH:
Whenever a drinking session involves Red Horse beer, this topic is sure to surface in the discussion eventually. Red Horse is said to owe its gasoline taste high alcohol content to the addition of gin. On the one occasion that I actually drank the damn thing warm and straight from the case, I understood why people might find the notion of gin mixed in with the beer believable.

THE BUST:
Red Horse, like most extra-strong beers, falls under the malt liquor category. It’s still a beer, just with more malt added for extra alcohol conversion. Malt comes from cereal grains, like barley, rice, and corn, that have reached germination (or are ready to sprout), which are then dried and fermented to alcohol. That higher alcohol percentage translates into a stronger flavor (like how gin would taste) which downplays the hoppy flavor of the beer.

From one site

https://www.pepper.ph/5-filipino-myths-alcohol-busted/

[Joey G]

Bought 5 cases of beer for the last barrio fiesta class reunion.  4 were SM Pilsen, 1 Red Horse.... no one touched a Red Horse till all the Pilsen was gone and actually got smart a$$ remark about "who bought this sh** ??".  Also had complaints about why there was no apple SM available. WTH????

Personally I don't care for Red Horse... and not to deviate to far... but the best SM Pilsen I ever had served was a small bar across from the Victory Liner in Olongapo (circa late 70's)... they kept it packed in a metal Coca-Cola cooler of ice...   when you opened it, the pressure change and humidity literally caused the foam to freeze before the first sip.

[Jack D]

3 hours ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

Red Horse, like most extra-strong beers, falls under the malt liquor category. It’s still a beer, just with more malt added for extra alcohol conversion. Malt comes from cereal grains, like barley, rice, and corn, that have reached germination (or are ready to sprout), which are then dried and fermented to alcohol. That higher alcohol percentage translates into a stronger flavor (like how gin would taste) which downplays the hoppy flavor of the beer.

I tried drinking Red Horse many times in the Philippines, and the 'gin-like' flavor is very similar to the flavor of Ginebra, which is awful tasting to me... so, I would only buy Gordon's gin in the Philippines when drinking with friends and in-laws.

The only malt liquor that I can really tolerate the taste of is Carlsburg Elephant beer. It's not allowed to be labeled as a beer in the USA, since the USA requires it to be labeled as a malt liquor, but when I've bought it in Scandinavian countries, it's labeled as a beer.

 

 

 

 

[Heeb]

I doubt that Red horse has any gin in it, it wouldn't be cost effective to add gin, I once had a stout that was aged in gin barrels and you can definitely tell even just from the aroma of gin. I think the alcohol taste is just from a lager that's brewed with more grain and has more alcohol in it. Even an IPA which has a lot of flavor if it's brewed very dry you can start to taste the alcohol at around 7%

[jimeve]

16 hours ago, AusExpat said:

I had a mate come here for a few weeks, said one of the locals gave him a "small" red horse and he was drunk after only one bottle.

was he an ozzie too?