tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73729194727480111102024-02-07T04:19:56.633+01:00BeeronEurope's most disturbed GippoBeeronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02657819837673241949noreply@blogger.comBlogger127125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7372919472748011110.post-76111868223474427612013-08-20T22:21:00.002+02:002013-08-20T22:21:38.118+02:00BergenThe train from Oslo to Bergen lasts about 7 hours, and undulates and bobs around so much that you feel a bit pukey when you finally disembark. The simplest way to put that right though is to head straight over to 'Henrik Øl & Vinstove'. It's not the easy place to locate, until you look upwards at about 35%.<br />
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<br />There it is!<br />
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You then have to climb some stairs, before being rewarded with a truly wonderous apparition:<br />
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There's some of the finest Scandinavian craft brews listed on that monster board.<br />
This was a 'Beer Here' I think...<br />
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All this Norwegian (and Danish) beer will have you pining for the Fjords....<br />
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<br />Beeronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02657819837673241949noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7372919472748011110.post-55545389781037124072013-07-29T20:40:00.000+02:002013-07-29T20:40:11.118+02:00Stavanger<span id="goog_1790914610"></span><span id="goog_1790914611"></span>The train from Oslo takes a leisurely 8 hours to meander down the coast of Norway, giving you plenty of opportunity to check out countless waterfalls and lakes along the way. Once there, the star attraction is of course not the fjords, but instead the Cardinal.<br />
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Henry VIII's fat friend Cardinal Wolsey, we can be fairly sure, owed his impressive girth to drinking wine rather than beer, so it's slightly odd that Norway's most well stocked beer bar should be named after him, but so it is.<br />
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The numerous banks of taps that confront you is challenging enough, but the bottled beer menu is on a par with War & Peace.<br />
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Neatly divided up by beer styles, I spotted a firm favourite; Danish brewer Midtfyns' Barley Wine.<br />
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As soon as the top came off this joker, you could whiff it from a mile off; woooooooof.<br />
There seem to be two ways a beer can be sweet; the disgusting revolting way, like the vile 'Leffe', or the delicate subtle way like a strong Barley Wine. No doubt which camp this one was in.<br />
I noticed that the 'best before' date was distinctly in the past...<br />
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<span id="goog_1790914607"></span><span id="goog_1790914608"></span> Actually, what does a 'best before' date mean on a 10% Barley Wine? It's going to get better, or at least different, the longer you leave it - it might make more sense to call it a 'best after' date. Why put one on, other than regulations? It's not like bottles of wine have a 'best before' date (do they?).<br />
Such depth did this reprobate have that a Hoptilicus seemed ever so one dimensional compared to it.<br />
Pretty decent trade for a pub where you can pay the best part of 20 quid for one beer. <br />
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Once you can drag yourself out of this place to check out the fjords, a splendid beer to drink whilst doing so is the locally brewed 'Johnny Low' 2.5% IPA. These come from Stavanger's 'Lervig Aktiebryggeri', who also do a range which includes a red and a brown ale. These others cunningly come in at 4.7% to allow them to be sold in supermarkets.<br />
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Quaffing these 2.5% comedians whilst on the boat will give you a much better chance of swimming to the shore should it capsize, compared to if you'd downed 5 or so Barley Wines. Except there isn't a shore, just a vertical rock face, but you can cross that bridge when you come to it.Beeronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02657819837673241949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7372919472748011110.post-24081557482175742302013-07-24T21:34:00.000+02:002013-07-24T21:35:43.760+02:00Oslo BeerNorway, like Sweden, has the strange policy of only allowing alcoholic drinks below a certain strength to be sold in supermarkets - anything above has to be sold in state owned booze shops. The Norwegian equivalent of the Swedish 'Systembolaget' are the altogether more user-friendly named 'Vinmonopolet' - you don't have to be an expert in Nordic languages to be able to summon up a guess as to what that might mean.<br />
From the outside this one near the Bislett stadium could pass for the Bates Motel...<br />
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Once inside though you realise you won't be in any danger of being knifed in the shower, although you could well do yourself a nasty turn when you see some of the prices.<br />
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The choice at this branch was way better than the Systembolagets I visited in Sweden. There's oodles of top-notch craft beer from all over Europe, including some great stuff from Italy.<br />
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Corrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, look at them lot.<br />
These scrimshankers all together cost me north of 75 quid...<br />
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There is quite a significant difference, though, between Norway's policy and Sweden's - in Sweden, the cut-off level for supermarket booze is a very restrictive 3.5% whereas in Norway (as far as I can tell) it's 4.7%. A difference of 1.2% might not seem much, but it makes all the difference in the world when it comes to beer. A good chunk of traditional beers come in around the 4.5% mark, which means that you can still get a perfectly reasonable selection from supermarkets, including some Nøgne and Ægir brews.<br />
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These jokers can all be bought away from the government's beady eye. Yes, that one on the left is called 'Aass' - it's not up to much though.Beeronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02657819837673241949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7372919472748011110.post-330866547431365312013-07-16T20:32:00.003+02:002013-07-16T20:32:55.460+02:00Stockholm beersAs Sweden has the curious approach of not allowing any alcoholic drinks over 3.5% to be sold in supermarkets, a predictable result of this is that brewers, both Swedish and foreign, brew special 3.5% versions of beers which would normally be of regular strength.<br />
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3.5%, the lot of them.<br />
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"Celt" by "Iron Age" is a beer I've had before in its normal form, and this one suffered a fair bit in comparison - something thin and watery about it.
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Some of the Swedish 3.5% dudes were actually pretty good, but of course their brewers will take it a lot more seriously.<br />
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This groovy place on Södermalm specialises in mixing craft beer and sausages...<br />
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A bottle of "Brother Thelonious" and a sausage will set you back about £17, but this is Stockholm.Beeronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02657819837673241949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7372919472748011110.post-30711562288404896712013-06-28T20:53:00.000+02:002013-06-29T18:46:35.231+02:00Systembolaget"Systembolaget" is not a computer virus, but instead the chain of Swedish state owned booze shops. There are many industries such as rail, utilities and post that we'd all like to see nationalised, but in Sweden they've gone for the slightly unorthodox route of having flogging booze as a nationalised industry.<br />
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From what I've read, not so many years ago they resembled austere Soviet type places where you'd fill in a form which you handed to someone with an expression like you'd just condemned his Granny to 80 years in a gulag, but if that's the case they aren't like that any more. The ones I've been in actually have much more cheery staff that you'd find in your average Thresher.<br />
Although I didn't try out my Swedish apparently they'll advise you as much as you want, without actively trying to flog you any booze.<br />
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That's actually the idea - it's supposed to be a way of allowing booze to be sold without actually promoting it. The only stuff that's allowed to be sold in a regular supermarket is stuff at 3.5% or below, which pretty much rules out everything other than low strength beer.<br />
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I'm not quite sure how many alcoholics there are out there whose path into the dark side was initiated by some bird in "Cheapest cigs'n'booze" flashing her eyelids at them whilst waving a can of special brew, but clearly Sweden thinks that's part of the problem.<br />
Every single academic study has found that countries which integrate alcohol into normal society are the ones who have the least problems associated with it, but just because that's true doesn't mean it shouldn't be totally ignored when deciding your national policy on the subject. And if your policy isn't working, that doesn't mean you should adapt it to be more like your neighbours which have a more liberal and more successful approach - no, instead you should be more different. It's obvious isn't it?<br />
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Their opening hours are specially designed to make it as inconvenient as possible to use them. If you suddenly decide you want some wine or proper beer on a Sunday, a Saturday after 4pm, or a weekday after 7pm (and this is in cosmopolitan Stockholm mind) then you can just bugger off to the nearest pub, because you're not going to be getting it from a Systembolaget. That will teach you won't it.Beeronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02657819837673241949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7372919472748011110.post-86581711311385566342013-06-21T21:05:00.000+02:002013-06-21T21:05:02.720+02:00Not CarlsbergCarlsberg's advertising slogan in Denmark is "this calls for a Carlsberg". What does? Being told you have to take poison? Finding out you have no mouth? Being hired by Meat Loaf as his personal trainer?<br />
In response to the growing availability and quality of Danish craft beer, the fat slobs at Carlsberg decided they'd get in on the game, and so in 2005 was launched "Jacobsen", named after Carlsberg's founder, Jacobsen Jacobsensen. You can get these in Netto, but I passed on them until they were the only serious beer option on the menu of a Chinese restaurant.<br />
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The Pale Ale is a creditable attempt and, like the whole range, come in whopping 75cl bottles. It's not overly hopped and doesn't drown you in grapefruit; their "Saaz Blonde" though is better.<br />
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This is a serious brew; it's nice to have a heavily hopped beer which is not of the cirtus variety for a change. Suggestion to Carlsberg - stop making your revolting urine based drink for which you are best known, and make some more of this instead.<br />
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A Mikkeller beer which really 'stands out' is their "Sleep Over Coffee IPA". If you ever tried mixing tea with crème de menthe, or brandy with lemonade, or red wine with hot chocolate, then you'll have some idea of what this is like. The coffee and the hops in this don't remotely go together, and I imagine that's what the point is. It's Mikkeller.<br />
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"Ørsted Ølbar" is a fine pub near the centre of Copenhagen. They have a good selection of craft brews on tap, and hundreds of bottles including lots of Belgian classics. Several of the tap beers were from the local "Amager Bryghus".<br />
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"Showdown in Tourpes" is a fine Saison, but the star of the show was their incredible stout "Pride".<br />
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At 10% it has a lot of muscle, but it doesn't use it to beat up people who listen to Coldplay; instead it uses it to provide a whopping aroma that almost knocks you out, with a flavour so full of stout type stuff that you have to spend at least an hour or so on one glass.<br />
Cop these...<br />
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<br />Beeronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02657819837673241949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7372919472748011110.post-42916988945238888232013-06-12T21:43:00.000+02:002013-06-12T21:43:47.524+02:00Copenhagen craft beer barsEven if you had only one eye you couldn't fail to spot Lord Nelson as you amble through central Copenhagen.<br />
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Here you will find a good selection of Danish craft brews, without a French fleet guarding them.<br />
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Some big names in the Danish brewing scene...<br />
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Inside it's small but with a traditional pub feel.<br />
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I once had a 'BeerHere' by mail order when I lived in Germany ('Fat Cat' as I remember) so I opted for the 'Dead Cat'.<br />
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These 'BeerHere' dudes really know how to brew.<br />
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On to the famous Mikkeller Bar... doing a brisk trade early evening.<br />
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Walking in you feel like you've just walked into 'Jazz Club'...<br />
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Blackboards at school never had anything this exciting written on them...<br />
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You won't find these in your local Dog 'n' Duck... it's 'art' I think...<br />
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The beers normally come in small 20cl measures (although some are available in 33cl), probably because a 50cl of most of these would cost an arm and a leg.<br />
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The "It's alive" is described as 'Chardonnay Mango Barrel Aged'. This took me a bit of working out - was it aged in a barrel which had had mango or Chardonnay in it? Or both? Or did it have Chardonnay hop in it, and had been aged in a mango barrel? Or did it have both Chardonnay hop and mango in it, and it had been aged in a barrel which had contained sheep dip? It was reasonably interesting but I don't think I'd want to pay 6 Euros for 20cl of it too many times.<br />
A 'Wild Winter Ale' I would expect to be something thick and dark and decidedly cellar temperature, and maybe include some wolf howling noises and fireworks and stuff with it, but instead it was pale and too cold and without howling.<br />
I'm sick to the back teeth of IPAs so I tried a 'Lambicus'. It wasn't really like a Belgian Lambic (I'm not even sure it was trying to be) but paired with a beer sausage was probably the best of the three.<br />
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As you depart and head on down the street, you come to a beer shop specialising in the Norwegian brew Nøgne, called 'Den Norske Landhandel'.<br />
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This geezer's got his sales patter well sorted out - as soon as you come in he pours a beer for you.<br />
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He even taught me how to pronounce 'Nøgne' - from what I can remember it's something like 'Nonnoo'.<br />
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Cor blimey, look at that lot.<br /><br />
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<br />Beeronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02657819837673241949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7372919472748011110.post-54715487205196191402013-06-09T20:13:00.000+02:002013-06-09T20:18:39.867+02:00Copenhagen Supermarket beers"Netto" isn't really a shop you would go to to get your beers unless you had to. They arrived in Britain when I was a student, and boy did I make good use of them. They did 'Saxon Bitter' and 'Viking Lager' for what I seem to remember was around 20p a tin; nowadays that doesn't seem unusual but back then it was.<br />
Of course the quality wasn't up to much; they were around 2-3% and, to be honest, if I was a Saxon or a Viking and found myself in Valhalla, and was given either of them to drink, I would probably cleave off the head of the serving wench and think that dying with a sword in your hand really wasn't worth the effort.<br />
They sprang to mind when I checked out a Netto on its own turf in Copenhagen, and saw a 'Viking IPA'.<br />
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It's brewed by Danish brewery Braunstein, and I'm sure it is not remotely related to either of the beers I downed by the sackful back then.<br />
It's a very fine IPA as it happens; the hops noticeable but not overwhelming, and pleasantly florally like Copenhagen itself. Netto also do a couple of decent brown ales by local brewers. At 20-25 Krowns, they clock in at about the £2.50 to £3 mark, which would have had me fainting back then but is about par for the course in Copenhagen.<br />
They also stock beers from the celebrity brewers Norrebro Bryghaus. These come in a bottle which sort of looks like it's just trying to be different; at first I mistook them for vinegar.<br />
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They claim their red ale is rund and fyldig and who would argue with that? It's certainly decent but not up to the standard of most Mikkellers I've had.<br />
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Moving from one extreme to the other, we proceed to the pompously named 'Magasin Du Nord', one of Copenhagen's le-pomp-du-pomp department stores.<br />
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For anyone into their Scandinavian craft beers, the beer selection here will have you sweating out of 11 different orifices at once; a good selection of Mikkellers and other top Danish craft brewers, along with some Norwegian bods. Arrive with well stocked pockets though.<br />
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The Mikkeller 'Saison' was about the cheapest there at around £4 for a small bottle, but was sufficiently superb to make it worth it. The Skands Porter was regularly priced and a good example of the style. When I find a misplaced suitcase on a train stuffed with 1000K notes then I might try some of Mikkeller's 'barrel aged' stuff.<br />
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"Irma" is a sort of midrange place a bit like Rewe in Germany. It seems just about every supermarket in Denmark is well stocked with fine examples of Danish craft brews.<br />
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The Didrick Luxusbryg was thick, syrupy and treacly (if any of those are possible) and tasted like a Christmas pudding; I wish I'd bought 10 of them. The Herslev Økologisk Landøl on the other hand was a bit flat and lifeless; maybe I got a dodgy bottle.Beeronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02657819837673241949noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7372919472748011110.post-76577512023033639252013-06-07T20:27:00.002+02:002013-06-07T20:40:01.043+02:00The creeping fingers of EvilOne of the great things about Germany compared to Britain is the lack of puritanism and prohibition. You can get a beer practically anywhere - in a museum, at a kebab place, in a park, at the cinema, at the canteen at work. Just as importantly, nobody would dream of batting an eyelid at you for doing so, whatever the time of day. It's perfectly normal to see people at the train station at 9am having a beer whilst waiting for their train.<br />
But unfortunately I recently saw a very disturbing sign on the train from Celle to Lubeck.<br />
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This wasn't a Deutsche-Bahn train; it was run by a company called "Metronom", which as far as I can work out is owned by a couple of the states in the area (other accounts suggest it's privately owned though).<br />
I very much hope this isn't the way things are going to go in the future in Germany; I would gladly boycott this revolting train company if I had the slightest choice.<br />
Germany beware - do not invite the odious disease of self-righteous puritanism through your front door, because like Count Dracula it will stick its fangs in and you will never be rid of it.<br />
To get rid of this sick feeling in the stomach, I had to retire to the nearest Brauhaus. Luckily Lubeck has a fine example in "Brauberger". <br />
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Situated in a quiet side-street in the Altstadt, they have a traditional look inside.<br />
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One wall is adorned with a fat King.<br />
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I don't know what this jolly plump fellow would have thought if he'd known that one day in the distant future you wouldn't be allowed to drink a beer on a train in his kingdom. You would have had to explain what a train was first I suppose.<br />
Their house brewed unfiltered Pils needs no explanation though.<br />
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Whilst drinking it I had a vision of the fat King smashing a Metronom train to pieces with his axe. Cheers Fatso.<br />
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The town of Lüneburg is a gem which should be much more widely known. Apart from a splendidly preserved Altstadt it's other notable feature is the Brauhaus "Mälzer".<br />
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Inside the brewing paraphernalia is as usual on full view.<br />
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Their unfiltered Pils is decent enough, but what really stands out is their Weissbier.<br />
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<br />"Caramel Surprise" is what they should call this beer. The caramel flavour is so strong it's still coming out of your armpits days later. Whatever type of yeast they're using, they should pass on some of it to some Bavarian brewers, who are put to shame by this fine example of the genre.Beeronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02657819837673241949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7372919472748011110.post-31726919256875262392013-05-27T20:11:00.002+02:002013-05-27T20:11:57.637+02:00Fruity MaibocksSome people can wax lyrical Jilly Goolden style about the beer they're drinking, describing the outlandish flavours they're picking up, like sawdust, essence of cow, roasted tissues, tables, and coat-hangers. A quick perusal of RateBeer will unearth all manner of unearthly flavours which would probably flummox the actual brewers.<br />
Personally I find 90% of this stuff to be a load of old bollocks, but occasionally I might try a hand at it, but usually only as far as pretty basic stuff like 'fruity'. The first time I ever described a beer as 'fruity' was a couple of decades ago when I described the cask ale in the Hadfield in Sheffield in such a manner. A bloke who worked behind the bar later enlightened me that the 'fruity' taste was probably a result of the copious amount of slops that Fat Rob the landlord recycled, and his habit of scraping the sediment out of the casks to eke out every last bit. Since then I've tended to keep my mouth shut.<br />
Recently though I did come across a couple of fruity numbers.<br />
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"Brauhaus Meierei" in Potsdam is a truly wonderful place. Set in an old monastery style building by a lake, it features some exceptional beers.<br />
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To their eternal credit they don't just churn out the same selection as a normal German brauhaus, but actually do a Berliner Weisse. Apart from the usual Kindl, this is the only time I've found this style. Whereas Kindl is 3% this one is 5%, and has more sourness than the slightly tamer Kindl. <br />
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They still serve it in a traditional Berliner Weisse glass, and still with a straw - I never could quite work that out.<br />
The star of the show though is their awesome unfiltered Maibock. Many Maibocks in Munich can be a bit tedious and overly malty - this one isn't. It's fruity - and I can say that without fear of finding out later that it's actually because of sediment and other peoples' saliva.<br />
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It's extremely rare that I find a German bottled beer that I would be happy drinking as my regular, but I was very pleasantly surprised recently by a bottled Maibock.<br />
"Dresdner Feldschlösschen" is what it calls itself, and is another to which I grant the esteemed title 'fruity'.<br />
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I name these two Maibocks "The Fruity Buds of May".Beeronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02657819837673241949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7372919472748011110.post-69140175193229650362013-05-18T19:38:00.000+02:002013-05-18T19:38:31.102+02:00Unfiltered in BerlinMy quest for unfiltered German beer has lead me to Berlin, and in particular the brewpub Eschenbräu. This is not particularly easy to find, being hidden away round the back of another building, but it's worth it for their unfiltered beer, cider, and a wicked apple juice.<br />
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It's a funky laid back sort of place typical of Berlin, and has the highly commendable policy of allowing drinkers to bring their own food.<br />
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The Pilsner is a juicy golden colour but for me had a tad too much carbonation...<br />
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<br />They also do a cider which was decent but again a bit too fizzy.<br />
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Onto "Hops and Barley", a brewpub which is located on a street full of hippy shops and stuff.<br />
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It's a cozy convivial place inside... <br />
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Their unfiltered pils seemed to use some non-standard hops; at first I found it a bit odd but it gradually grew on me.<br />
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<br />Their 'special' was a Helles which, unusually, I didn't regret ordering.<br />
If you ever saw "King of the Hill" then you might remember that once an episode there was one character who would speak a load of unintelligible gibberish in a strong southern USA accent. Whilst I was there an American geezer came in and started asking the staff for recommendations in what sounded like a double-speed impersonation of this character. He eventually got a Pils and retired outside, after which the staff conferred to try and come up with some guesses as to what he might have been asking.<br />
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Finally we have Brauhaus Südstern, a brewpub with a beer garden bordering a large park.<br />
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This place is highly unusual in that it does a Roggen Ale, which they tragically have renamed "Roggen Roll Ale" (the pub has a music theme). Despite this, it's a highly commendable German attempt at a top fermented beer.<br />
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There were some very interesting flavours in there because of the rye and barley - the only other one of this style I tried was the Stortebeker one, and this was far superior to that one.<br />
The Helles is unfiltered and was infinitely superior to the bland ones you get in Munich.<br />
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All three are recommended, but Südstern comes out on top.<br />
<br />Beeronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02657819837673241949noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7372919472748011110.post-372068770926902672013-05-13T19:02:00.001+02:002013-05-13T19:02:11.641+02:00Watzke, DresdenWere you to start at the restored old town in Dresden, and walk down the right side of the Elbe towards Meissen, you would eventually reach the area called Pieschen. There the Elbe is very wide, and if you can avoid the extreme cycle terror then there is a wonderful reward waiting for you by its banks.<br />
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A brewpub in Germany doesn't usually evoke too much excitement, as although the beer is freshly brewed on site, it usually isn't very interesting. The Watzke brauhaus and beer garden, though, is an altogether different beast from your average German brauhaus.<br />
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As the back of the beer serving dude proudly proclaims, all their beers are unfiltered. There's a Pils, something called an Altpieschner, a wheat beer and a seasonal, which of course in May was a Maibock. Outside there's a beer garden where you can catch a glimpse of the Frauenkirche in the distance.<br />
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The main building itself is a converted ballroom...<br />
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They still hold 'balls' there apparently, which allow you the novelty of drinking unfiltered beer whilst mincing around in a DJ and tie. They also have the coolest car ever, featuring someone who sort of looks like a younger Ray Winstone.<br />
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Inside you can get these wicked mini barrels which you can plonk on your table and then you don't have to wait for someone to bring you your next pint.<br />
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The Pils is the best one I've had in Germany without a doubt... as good as anything I've had in Prague. The hops literally burst into your nose and ears.<br />
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The Alpieschner is darker and has a caramel type thing.<br />
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Watzke... the finest brauhaus I've been to in Germany, including those in Cologne and Dusseldorf.<br />
<br />Beeronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02657819837673241949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7372919472748011110.post-80824424136296492252013-05-07T17:24:00.000+02:002013-05-07T17:24:13.353+02:00Waldschlösschen, DresdenDresden's main brewpub is located a short bus ride from the centre, along the Elbe with a view of the old town.<br />
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It's an enormous place with various outdoor terraces...<br />
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Inside is done out like a traditional German beer hall...<br />
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But does the beer match the decor? The Zwickel is unfiltered, but after a month of Czech unfiltered beers it had a lot to live up to.<br />
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It was decent enough, but way too carbonated. A decent Kellerbier from Franconia or a nepastrovany from Czech can be gulped down without drawing breath, but this was too fizzy. A reasonable effort nonetheless by German brewpub standards.<br />
I thought I've give the Helles a try too.<br />
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I wish I hadn't bothered. I'd almost forgotten how utterly bland and tedious this style is.<br />
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Dresden itself it sufficiently close to Czech to feel the gravitational pull of Czech lager. The supermarkets often have a much wider selection of Czech beers than you would ever see in Munich, and on the whole I noticed that the locally brewed beers were hoppier than usual for Germany.<br />
One quite impressive brew was Freibergisch 1863...<br />
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Suprisingly hoppy for a German beer.<br />
Not much else beer related really worth mentioning in Dresden really; you come for the local scenery rather than the beer.<br />
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Beeronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02657819837673241949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7372919472748011110.post-85090669909394304932013-04-30T18:14:00.000+02:002013-04-30T18:25:55.282+02:00Six of the bestQuite a few Czech breweries do these 'mega party assortment' packages, consisting of a number of beers and a glass chucked in, and maybe some balloons or something.<br />
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This one from Svijany has all non-pasteurised brews.<br />
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The 'knezna' was the best, dark and brooding like Heathcliff in beer form. The 'desitka' was the least enticing, being somewhat watery and bland. The rest were of a muchness, with the 'Rytir' being slightly hoppy and worth a shout.<br />
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Who's ever heard of hot beer? Pivovarský dům, that's who. They use one of their fruit flavoured beers to make it - this one is caramel flavoured.<br />
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It does actually taste of beer a bit, despite the head being more like the head of a coffee, which doesn't actually disappear... a novel idea, although I can't see it catching on.<br />
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Three more Czech attempts at something different: a smoked beer, a stout, and a porter.<br />
The smoked beer, from Cesky Krumlov brewer Eggenberg, was a decent beer but had far less of a smoked flavour than the Franconian versions; some would say that that's a good thing. The 'Primator' stout was also a perfectly good stab, although not particularly distinctive.<br />
I approached the Pardubický Porter with extreme trepidation; the German 'porters' are the vilest thing you will ever taste. Imagine my surprise, and utter joy, to find that it is an absolutely rip-roaring porter, full of the plums, damsons and fig type stuff, and bursting with flavour. Wow.<br />
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After a month in Czech, I can say without a smidgen of doubt that Czech beer urinates on German beer from a great height. Not only are the bog standard pasteurised and filtered Czech beers far, far superior to their German counterparts, the wide availability of non-pasteurised and especially unfiltered beers means that a re-run of the Euro 96 final, but played with beer instead of football, would result in an 18-0 thrashing in favour of the Czechs.Beeronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02657819837673241949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7372919472748011110.post-35636253358397116392013-04-21T08:47:00.000+02:002013-04-30T18:27:16.368+02:00Non-nativesIt's usually a good idea when in a certain country, to drink the beer styles which have a heritage there. So avoid lager in the UK which is normally fizzy piss, and don't even get me started on the vile noxious filth which passes for 'porter' in Germany.<br />
How does Czech fare when it comes to brewing non-lagers?<br />
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This brewpub "Klášterní pivovar Strahov" in Prague proudly displays its wares. <br />
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Non-lager styles are usually referred to as 'special' on Czech
menus but without much more detail, whereas in this place they've got a
heavy tourist custom.<br />
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Come on in...<br />
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Their IPA is a regular feature of the show, with various rotating beers, one of which was an 'American Pale Ale'. Everything's unfiltered and unpasteurised naturellement.<br />
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The 'APA' on the right contains what the brewery claims are newly breeded hops - 'Mandarin' and 'Polaris', although it doesn't say how the names were chosen. It had been a while since I'd had a heavily citrus hopped beer, and this one reminded me why - all hops and no chops you might say. The bitterness drowned out everything like an enraged elephant in a glockenspiel performance.<br />
The IPA was far better though, with the Amarillo and Cascade in proper proportion. Either of these could have come straight from an American craft brewer.<br />
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This pair of fellas from a supermarket were a curiosity. I wasn't able to find much detail out about them other than that they're called 'Master Pivo', and that they're 'Special' beer. The lighter one was vaguely like Old Speckled Hen, whereas the dark one looked, smelt, and tasted like a coffee infused stout. Definitely worth getting again, although they're battling for room in my trolley with the unfiltered Staropramen and the unpasteurised Klaster lezak.<br />
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Olomouc is a town in the east of Czech, and in the 'Sherlock Holmes' you can find various special beers such as, depending on the season, fruit ales and pale ales.<br />
The pale ale was a commendable effort, and mercifully not overhopped.<br />
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Nice as it was, it couldn't quite compete with the star of the show, the unfiltered Rychtar:<br />
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Skilful though the Czechs are at brewing non-lagers when they put their minds to it, I'm going to stick with gems such as this.Beeronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02657819837673241949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7372919472748011110.post-54770699629144978032013-04-15T19:18:00.000+02:002013-04-15T19:18:13.407+02:00Nepasterizované"Tankové pivo" are unpasteurised beers with natural carbonation, delivered to the pub in giant lorries. You can find them in lots of places around Prague, this splendid place being one of them:<br />
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Pilsner Urquell, in its bottled form, is a reasonable enough beer, and is the pilsner I'd always drink in Germany if I had a choice. In its 'Tankové' form though it's far superior.<br />
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Guz daaan griiiiirt.<br />
So which of pasteurising and filtering is it more important not to do? To investigate I proceeded somewhere which has both unpasteurised and unfiltered beers.<br />
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This place has beers from some of the finest breweries in Czech, including Rychtář.<br />
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This unfiltered specimen from "únětický pivovar" was unspeakably good. You could guzzle it down in 5 seconds so smooth is the carbonation.<br />
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Next up was an unpasteurised "Klášter Ležák".<br />
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Good but not a patch on the "únětický".<br />
Every time in a Czech pub now I ask for a "<span class="short_text" id="result_box" lang="cs"><span class="hps">nefiltrované" as to me that's more important than "nepasterizované", and sometimes they even understand what I'm saying. Luckily the beer boards outside usually alert you to the presence of such a brew.</span></span>Beeronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02657819837673241949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7372919472748011110.post-36937976729771947882013-04-08T18:05:00.000+02:002013-04-08T18:07:13.848+02:00UNESCO LagerUNESCO like to go around slapping their name onto olde stuff to try to persuade people not to knock it all down and build a supermarket instead. Cesky Krumlov is one of its boys.<br />
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Could they do the same with lager? Any region, town or city which still makes lager as it's supposed to be made, unfiltered, unpasteurised and with sufficient lagering time, could have a 'UNESCO Lager Area' designation. Franconia in Germany could certainly claim it, and so could here thanks to these Eggenberg geezers:<br />
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The light version is unfiltered and better than the dark one. I pondered whether, if you substituted somebody's pint of Fosters for this, would they send it back because it tasted of something?<br />
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Some places around town make a real do of ye olde Czech type stuff and serve it up in ye olden style mugs.<br />
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Combined with a roaring fire it almost makes you want to not have a bath for a year whilst catching some disgusting skin disease or whatever people did back then.<br />
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Rest ye merry, Eggenberg lager and Cesky Crumlov.Beeronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02657819837673241949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7372919472748011110.post-8167578727667518082013-04-04T17:40:00.000+02:002013-04-04T17:40:54.831+02:00NefiltrovanyFiltering and pasteurising is of course the worst thing you can do to a beer, so when I spotted this fella in the supermarket I bung a couple in, as you don't have to speak Czech to work out what 'Nefiltrovany' might mean.<br />
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The bog standard Staropramen which I tried was very uninspiring; the only one of the ten or so Czech beers I've tried from the supermarket which I wouldn't get again.<br />
This one was way, way, better though; nice and cloudy, with spices and fruitiness. Why exactly would they make the crud ones when they can make this? At about 60 Euro cents I bought another 6 today.<br />
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It's always encouraging when a pub / restaurant has brewing equipment on display in the window, and when the menu is headed 'we serve unfiltered and unpasteurised beers' then that's even better.<br />
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I went for the mixture of pale and dark lager and it was a reminder that lager can be as flavoursome as any beer when it isn't buggered with.<br />
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Lager is the beer equivalent of pizza; abused, defiled, misrepresented and misunderstood.<br />
There's lots of beery snacks to keep you going, such as 'beer cheese'.<br />
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They also do their own fruit beers; I went for a 'nettle' and a 'sour cherry'.<br />
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The nettle one had just the right combination of beer and fruit flavour; the sour cherry one was much more oriented to the sour cherry taste but was still worth drinking. You even get a real sour cherry at the bottom...<br />
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Pivovarsky Dum, may your beer stay nefiltrovany.<br />
<br />Beeronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02657819837673241949noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7372919472748011110.post-68696925810180810912013-04-02T17:35:00.000+02:002013-04-04T17:41:11.968+02:00Krivoklat - castle and beerWhat to do with a castle in the 21st century? There are no barbarian hordes to hide from, so instead the unanimous opinion is that the best thing to do with them is to fill them with gippos selling tat.<br />
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However, amongst the tat you can find the odd diamond, like this stall, which was doing a brisk business.<br />
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And no wonder, when your produce is such as this...<br />
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<br />
Here's the menu...<br />
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I went for a Winterbock seeing as a) it was winter, except it was supposed to be spring, and b) it was the only one that I could understand. You can either get a glass from the barrel, or take a bottle away, or both, which is by far the best option.<br />
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Splendidly spicy and warming on a cold winter night, or a cold spring night, with an awesome golden glow.<br />
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Pivovar Matuska, splendid fellows all round.<br />
<br />Beeronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02657819837673241949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7372919472748011110.post-5544703855719268872013-03-30T20:24:00.001+01:002013-04-04T22:18:19.732+02:00Prague Supermarket BeersIs Czech beer more interesting than German beer? I intend to find out.<br />
Perusing the beer section of a Prague supermarket, I noticed that, as well as the Czech brands well known outside the country, there were countless brews I'd not heard of as well. They are also all pretty cheap, around 60 cents a shout, so I grabbed some at random and dragged them back to the batcave.<br />
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Kozel was slightly malty, with a gentle kick to it, whereas Breznak was darker, much more malty, with a bigger kick.<br />
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Branik was pale and at first taste seemed run-of-the-mill, but grew on me the further down the glass I got. Bernard had a giant head on it, slightly sweet, but very distinctive.<br />
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Radegast was a decent brew, easy quaffing - whether it was named after the wizard though I don't know.<br />
So far all the beers were recognisably superior to the vast majority of German beers I've tried - although nothing to write home about, they were all beers I could quite happily drink regularly. However I'd also chucked a Staropramen into my trolley, so that I could do an 'unknown brand vs international brand test'. Switching to this from the Radegast instantly showed the Staropramen up as utterly tasteless and bland, pretty much like a Helles.<br />
In future I'll stick to what I don't know.<br />
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<span id="goog_325614468"></span><span id="goog_325614469"></span><br />Beeronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02657819837673241949noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7372919472748011110.post-51541126388978588702013-03-24T01:21:00.001+01:002013-03-24T01:21:48.913+01:00Asahigate<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
We're all familiar with the idea that, with big name 'international' beer brands, there is little relationship between the beer itself and the brand name - 'Carlsberg' and 'Heineken' are just names slapped on to any locally made piss. The extent to which beers with a certain brand name are consistent varies; of course 'Guinness' is always going to be a stout, but the recipe and quality will vary enormously depending on whether you're in Dublin, Frankfurt, Kuala Lumpr or Addis Ababa.<br />
When such beers arrived in the UK, and the beer drinking public cottoned on to the fact that the fancy Eurolager that they thought they were drinking was actually brewed in Bishops Stortford, then there were many advertising campaigns for the real imported ones which went out of their way to stress the origin of the beer - 'brewed in Bremen... Germany' etc.<br />
So if you want to be sure that the beer you are drinking is the genuine one from the beer's country of origin, what do you look for? You might familiarise yourself with the original design of the bottle label, or you might look for something saying it was an imported one, as batches of the beer destined for export might have an appropriate label to draw your attention to this.<br />
For example, if you saw this:<br />
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then you might, not unreasonably, believe that this beer had been imported from Japan. If, on the supermarket shelves, you also saw this:<br />
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<br />
Then this might well confirm it.<br />
Unfortunately that would not be the case. Imported it may be, but the country of origin is China, not Japan. Closer examination of the back of the bottle reveals:<br />
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Yep.... it's brewed under 'supervision of'' Asahi of Tokyo... in fact, Asahi in this form in Hong Kong is made at the same brewery as the local Carlsberg, in China.<br />
As for the label in the supermarket, claiming it is 'imported from Japan'? Lies.<br />
Consumer protection law isn't big in Hong Kong. A flat here may be advertised as being 50 square metres, but that area will include the area of the shared lift and corridor outside... claiming a beer is imported from Japan instead of China is small beer.Beeronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02657819837673241949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7372919472748011110.post-46414197110639901162013-03-14T15:20:00.003+01:002013-03-14T15:20:57.575+01:00Hong Kong beer barsHong Kong has quite a few beer bars dotted around town - the problem is they're all the same. The names are different but there the similarity starts; they're all part of the same chain with the same beers and menus.<br />
Some comedian thought it would be amusing to divide the menu up into "boring beers" and "interesting beers".<br />
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At least it used to say "interesting beers" the last time I was here 5 years ago - now it's changed to "Exciting Micro-Imports", which both loses the effect, and is totally inaccurate. Fulller's, for example, are probably both delighted and disturbed to discover that they are in fact a micro-brewery.<br />
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Yes, a Grimbergen is considered an exciting micro-import, so even Inbev are a micro-brewery according to these beer gurus.<br />
You might expect that a chain of bars that makes a big deal about having exciting micro-imports might just have some sort of clue about arcane concepts such as the optimum temperature to serve different styles of beer, but no, everything's served at meat-locker temperatures, so the exciting micro-brew you ordered might end up being not that distinguishable from a boring beer. Next time I'll try a red wine and see if it gets the same treatment.<br />
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This would have probably been a fine beer had it been put in a sauna for 20 minutes. There are large bowls of nuts forced on you constantly, the shells of which you are encouraged to chuck on the floor in an utterly hedonistic manner; the nuts themselves help to disguise any taste the beer might have had had it not been too cold in the first place.<br />
The most well known of these is on Causeway Bay on Hong Kong island, and is nowadays named "Inn Side Out". This is immensely popular with local office workers at both lunchtime and evenings; rarely for Hong Kong you can "al fresco", if you don't mind queuing for one of the outside tables; inside it's easier to get a seat.<br />
"Slim's" is another branch closer to the financial district. The pale ale they had on tap was splendid, and almost exciting.<br />
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On the south side of Hong Kong island is a tacky foreigner enclave called Stanley, where on the seafront can be found the small "Vern's beach bar". This makes a fairly feeble attempt to convince you that you are in Honolulu.<br />
As in all of these bars, you won't hear much Cantonese spoken. In this branch, though, you will overhear many conversations taking the following form:<br />
<br />
- "And I was like..... and she was like....."<br />
- "Noooooo!!!!!......."<br />
- "And she was like.... and they were like.... and I was like....."<br />
- "Oh m'gaaaaaad.... like Daaaaaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!"<br />
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There is in fact massive scope for devising drinking games whilst listening to such conversations, an exercise which I leave for the reader (Shane Watson - did you hear that?).<br />
Beeronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02657819837673241949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7372919472748011110.post-56170926014745719302013-03-07T14:21:00.000+01:002013-03-07T14:21:12.268+01:00Korafuto Biiru<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Germany taught both China and Japan to brew beer. In the case of China the diktat about all-malt didn't last long - the vast majority of beer from China is practically undrinkable piss, although it's cheap ("Portillo's wife defends crack habit").<br />
In the case of Japan, though, the German influence still remains. All the major Japanese brewers continue to brew all-malt beers, and furthermore Japan is dotted with German style brewpubs, some even going as far as to dress the waitresses in Bavarian outfits. Unfortunately they seem to also have inherited the German penchant for fairly bland beers, and a restrictive conservatism - none of the main Japanese brews like Kirin, Asahi or Sapporo are particularly interesting.<br />
They're very widely available in Hong Kong supermarkets and convenience shops though, and seeing as they're scarcely more expensive than the locally brewed adjunct ridden stuff, I might pop a few Kirins in the trolley sometimes to drink with dinner or something. Whilst in the foreigner oriented supermarket in Hong Kong's financial district though, I spotted some beers from Japan's nascent craft brewing scene.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ0Vo6Qb7yQqfPZymQr0JtYSSAvaJi28RQCMfHhRdwcNLXA9qrh7Y7CoG4FXmc38MX4jKQcKAukdKXcQM2yuO7NODtO1iSDAir1brvQ6O-DdL7-VpUBwYK1WGDTdXT7ZozKa8sjGh15cY/s1600/2013-03-02+20.49.19.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ0Vo6Qb7yQqfPZymQr0JtYSSAvaJi28RQCMfHhRdwcNLXA9qrh7Y7CoG4FXmc38MX4jKQcKAukdKXcQM2yuO7NODtO1iSDAir1brvQ6O-DdL7-VpUBwYK1WGDTdXT7ZozKa8sjGh15cY/s320/2013-03-02+20.49.19.png" width="240" /></a></div>
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First up was this stout from Echigo, "Japan's first micro-brewery". On the rear of the can there's an outline picture of a geezer playing a saxophone, so I imagine Echigo thought that you would sip this whilst in a jazz bar or something. The can also tells you that it's "high quality premium beer", which I think is blowing its own saxophone a bit. The beer itself was very good though, with a decent coffee after-taste. Reminded me of Sierra Nevada's stout. Niiiiice.<br />
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From the same brewery comes "Weizen", which on the reverse of the can tells us it's a "White Ale". There's a picture of what I presume is a Bock on the front, which was a bit confusing, and on the back there's a picture of a Bavarian-outfitted couple toasting each other. There's also a slogan exhorting us to "Craft Beer The World", which confused me even more.<br />
Upon popping the can, I was greeted with a smell which made me think of a fizzy drink, an impression which wasn't diminished in any way when I tasted it. It didn't really remind me of either a German Weissbier or a Belgian Witbier - there was far too much carbonation. If Echigo are really attempting to craft beer the world they should probably try it with their stout.<br />
They also make a red ale, not pictured, which was very decent. So as the famous piece of lard 'Meat Loaf' once told us, 2 out of 3 ain't bad for Echigo.<br />
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The prize for the most interesting bottle goes to "Ginga Kogen Beer", although at one point it was almost mistaken for a bottle of Chinese medicine, which would have been a shame. According to their website, their beer "delivers the charm of the beer based on German traditional technology." That may well be, but this particular one, "Silver Bottle" to me was much closer to a Belgian Witbier than a German Weissbier, and was the pick of the four. Banzai.<br />
<br />Beeronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02657819837673241949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7372919472748011110.post-59484860050661901242013-02-22T14:37:00.001+01:002013-02-22T14:40:07.930+01:00Lagers Ying & YangTwo beers found in Hong Kong supermarkets, both lagers but very different. First up is simply titled 'Hong Kong Beer'.<br />
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Most beer actually brewed in Hong Kong is locally brewed under licence Europiss like Carlsberg or Heineken, or San Miguel from the Philippines (you can get both the locally made and original San Mig in supermarkets). This one is a happy exception though: it's 'hand-crafted', although presumably not literally.<br />
It reminded me straight away of a Brewdog lager I had once; floral hops, although there was something subtly different about them from the bog-standard citrus hops you seem to get in every IPA. My Mother-in-Law said it tasted like soap, although that was because it's probably the first hoppy beer she's tasted. I'm sure we've all overheard a conversation in a pub when, faced with a round of drinks on the bar and unsure which is which, someone might try one at random and ask "errrr... did someone order pineapple juice???" when it's actually a citrus-hopped beer.<br />
As is depressingly familiar though, to purchase this you have to go to a poncey foreigner-oriented supermarket; the local ones don't stock it, although there are a few bars around town that have it.<br />
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Next up: Mesquita from Cordoba in Spain.<br />
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To be honest I didn't know exactly how to approach this at first: I wasn't even sure if it was a lager or an ale. I had it straight out of the fridge, although the ABV strength of 7.2 and the dark pour suggested I might have been better off letting it sit for half an hour. It is a lager though, but unlike the Hong Kong Beer it was totally over to the malty end of the spectrum. When I taste a strong very malty lager I can't help thinking 'tramp juice' but this was far from it. Certainly one I'd look out for if I'm ever in Cordoba again (and if they actually sell it in Cordoba, of course. It wouldn't surprise me if you can't actually get it there.)<br />
<br />Beeronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02657819837673241949noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7372919472748011110.post-19920496736745243452013-02-16T15:02:00.000+01:002013-02-16T15:02:37.304+01:00Stoke via Hong KongNot the Stoke which produced Lemmy, or the Stoke who like to kick lumps out of the shins of persons wearing red and white outfits, but rather the Stoke brewed in Nelson, New Zealand by the McCashin family.<br />
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Beer in Hong Kong is unfortunately dominated by the evil Triad of Heineken, Carlsberg and San Miguel. If you cross their path, you may wake up to find a bag of decaying barley under your bedsheets (which they would have otherwise used to make their foul excuse for beer.)<br />
But if you make an effort you can find decent beer without much trouble. Even in your bog standard supermarkets you can find some decent imported stuff like this: and at less than £1.30 or so a bottle you don't have to be Li Ka Shing or borrow from loan sharks to afford one.<br />
They claim it's brewed with 14,000 year old water, and is made "the old fashioned way", with "bespoke" yeast, whatever that means. Despite that it's a very decent quaff, especially on a humid day. The 'gold' in particular has just the right floral / spicy side without getting in the way of things.<br />
<br />Beeronhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02657819837673241949noreply@blogger.com0