Category Archives: New Posts

New and exciting posts from the best half decent blog around

Rince Cochon, the “Rinsed Pig”

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Rince Cochon Lager

www.haacht.com/en

Brewed by Haacht
Style: Belgian Strong Pale Ale
Boortmeerbeek, Belgium

Piggy

Rince Cochon was a French lager that was originally brewed by the Annoeullin brewery, then was taken to Belgium and brewed, firstly, by the Huyghe Brewery, but now brewed by the Haacht Brewery in Flanders. The Haacht brewery is an independent family run operation that has stood for over a hundred years.

Two things immediately stand out when passing the brew on the beer aisle. The unusual but rather cool picture of a pig swilling a beer, and the high alcohol content, 8.5%. Rince Cochon roughly translates into “Rinsed Pig”, which I am assuming must mean thirsty pig? I guess after a good few of these you turn into some kind of boozy feral pig (Swino anyone?).

Review: Can of Rince Cochon, 8.5%ABV

Rince Cochon

The Blond Beer of Flanders that used to be a French blonde. This is a beer fermented with a high degree of alcohol and its content is manufactured from water , malt and hops.

On pour we get a rather delicious looking beer, the colour was a very nice clear golden yellow colour with a decent sized frothy white head with good lacing. After a long day at work I couldn’t wait to devour this beer!

Belgian Strong Pale Ale

A strong smell of lemon, a sweet citrus aroma, some malts, with slight earthy notes. At over 8% the alcohol was very noticeable on the nose.

As expected you get a very strong taste, hits the senses pretty quick

Got an initial creamy taste, sweet, in fact very sweet taste of malts, with an acidic fruity after taste. An interesting balance of flavours and tastes, to give a well rounded drink.

Definitely a strong beer, a slightly creamy feel in the mouth, and overall fairly drinkable, and tasty.

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Appenzeller Quöllfrisch Lager Hell

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Appenzeller Quöllfrisch Lager Hell

www.appenzellerbier.ch/

Brewed by Locher Appenzeller Bier
Style: Pale Lager
Appenzell, Switzerland

Brauerei Locher AG is a Swiss based family business located in the town of Appenzell, near the Alpstein Alps. The brewery is in the hands of the Locher household since 1886, and presently now running into the fifth generation of family ownership.

Hell

Their Appenzell Beer is known throughout the country as one of Switzerland’s finest beers, due to the traditional methods of production and use of the local fresh spring waters that produce lovely clean natural beer. Also the fact that the small independent brewery is still standing after all these years, and still producing top quality beers is a testament to how popular the brewery is. Something that hasn’t changed since 1886 when Johann Christoph Locher bought the brewery over a hundred years ago.

Appenzell beer is available throughout Switzerland with the Quöllfrisch and Vollmond brands being particularly popular. Apart from the wide variety of speciality beers they also make whiskey, a beverage one doesn’t perhaps associate with Switzerland.

Review: Can of Quöllfrisch hell 4.8%ABV

Nice froth

Quöllfrisch Hell Lager is generally considered to be one of the best beers in Switzerland, coming from the spring waters of the Alps which guarantees a pure and natural brew.

The aroma was of sweet grains, hops and lager yeasts, a really great beery smell, magnificent!

Pours a nice pale clear golden yellow colour forming a nice frothy white head which sits perfectly making the beer look very drinkable. Good lacing was apparent and with a good body this beer looked the part.

Smooth!

And now for the taste!

For the taste buds it was mildly sweet at the front, and a good bit of a creamy flavour in the finish with a mild bitter hoppy aftertaste which I enjoyed. A well balanced beer, that had a nice clean fresh feel to it.

Think this beer is a great session brew, one of the best I have had in a while. Could imagine downing a few of these easy enough when hitting the town on a Friday night! Very smooth, not particularly strong but drinkable all the same, a lovely clean lager that does the business.

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Tannenzäpfle Beer: “Little fir cone”

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Tannenzäpfle Beer: “Little fir cone”

Rothaus Pils Tannenzäpfle http://www.rothaus.de/
Brewed by Badische Staatsbrauerei Rothaus
Style: Pilsener
Grafenhausen-Rothaus, Germany ABV: 5.1%

The Badische Staatsbrauerei Rothaus (Rothaus, State Brewery of Baden) is located near the village of Grafenhausen high in the core of the majestic Black Forest. The Black Forest is a forested mountain range in Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany that has a length of 160 km (99 mi) and breadth of up to 60 km (37 mi). So it’s amazing to think that at the heart of this gigantic forest lies Germany’s highest brewery. Standing at 1000m (3300 ft.) above sea level, we find the small brewery of Rothaus.

The small regional brewery doesn’t do advertising, relying on word of mouth to increase sales, and owned exclusively by the state of Baden-Württemberg. Yet despite all this the brewery has, particular with its Rothaus Tannenzäpfle brand, one of the most popular beers in the whole of the country.

Tannenzäpfle Beer: “Little fir cone”

Little fir cone

The most successful product, a Pilsner-style beer, “Rothaus Tannenzäpfle” or “Zäpfle”, comes filled in an unusual 0.33 l bottles and is well known as a “cult beer” throughout Germany. The Rothaus Pils Tannenzäpfle has existed since 1956, and doesn’t show any signs that it will be a getting a modern makeover anytime soon, much to the chagrin of advertising executives everywhere. It’s this long tradition that is part of the appeal.
Tannenzäpfle means “little fir cone” and is an allusion to the shape of the bottle and is also a reference to the location of the brewery in the Black Forest. Its unusual name is embodied on the labels of the 0.33 l bottles, distinguished by a gold tinfoil sleeve around the top of the bottle, looking a little like a fir cone (perhaps)

Birgit Kraft

Birgit Kraft

The labels of Rothaus beer bottles have a friendly looking “frauline” whose name is “Birgit Kraft,” a blonde haired country girl in traditional garb of the Black Forest, holding two glasses of beer and surrounded by fir cones. Birgit’s name is something of a play on words in the local dialect, “Bier git Kraft”, means “beer gives strength”. Today, “Birgit” is the defining icon for all beers made by the Rothaus Brewery, and, unsophisticated as the image may appear, it hasn’t changed a bit since 1972.
It certainly was this unusual image and style of bottle that caught my eye. It’s a curiosity and definitely does stand apart amongst all the usual droll imagery on other beer brands.

History

The brewery was founded in 1791 in the Black Forest, by the Benedictine monks of St. Blasien monastery. In 1806 the brewery was transferred to the Grand Duchy of Baden, and now belongs, 100% owned, to the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, its legal successors. The name “Rothaus, State Brewery of Baden” has been in use since 1918, and its name still remains to this day.

Important local Employer/ State of Baden-Württemberg

Rothaus is a state owned employer with over 200 people working for the company. A popular firm in the region partly because it regularly pays out bonuses, depending on the results of yearly sales. And boy are those dividends pretty good. In 2008, for example, the brewery paid out a total of €17 million as dividends to its owner, the state of Baden-Württemberg. (Also paying out €16.7 million in tax)

Spring water from 1,000 meters

Deep inside the Black Forest

Deep in the iconic Black Forest, with misty valleys, soft gentle springs, and country life to the max, the Rothaus brewery stands at an altitude of some 3,300 feet. Its location certainly helps the quality of the beer. The beer is brewed according to the German beer purity law, with the water coming from the nearby springs flowing down from the majestic mountain valleys.
Not only does the location offer the purest finest ingredients for a decent brew it also helps cement the image of a traditional brewery that is in tune with its roots and homeland. This is a beer from the Black Forest, a local beer for local people!

Sales are up

The company’s beer sales have jumped, with year on year sales increasing. And this is happening at a time when the domestic beer industry has been in slow decline for decades, despite the big hoo-ha of their Oktoberfest’s and the like. Rothaus is surging ahead, and all with little or no advertising.
Today you can get Rothaus beers in all of the major cities of Germany, Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Munich and Cologne.

Why Popular

Many reasons can be given for its popularity (apart from the taste, of course!)

The beer is seen as an honest local brewery thriving in the cutthroat industry of the modern beer industry where multi-national takeovers and acquisitions are all the rage. As the top of the market is seemingly run by fewer and fewer companies its refreshing to see such a small brewery do so well.

Tannenzäpfle

Despite doing so well the brewery has no plans for further expansion. It’s happy with its lot. Expansion might mean taking unnecessary risks and losing its traditional “homely” image that it has worked so hard to build up. One has to only look at the disaster expansion has done to the supermarket giant Tesco to show that big doesn’t necessarily always mean bigger.

Most of the customers who drink Rothaus beers outside of the home state are young ex Baden-Württembergers yearning for a taste of the homeland. Seeking the beer far away from home also introduced it to new customers.

Its unconventional outlook and lack of an advertising plan also appeals to the many, who are looking for a product that is different, one that isn’t tainted by capitalism and mass advertising. Young Birgit won’t be getting a sexy makeover anytime soon, no mini skirts and suspenders for this lovely maiden of the Black Forest!

Review: 0.33 l Bottle of Rothaus Pils TannenZäpfle, 5.1%ABV

The great classic Germany pils with the super cool “old school” style label on the iconic 0.33 bottle format. This is a very popular beer, a cult brand, this beer from the Black Forest.

Zäpfle

Aroma was quite strong to be honest, took me aback a little, wow. The grassy hops and citrus hitting the senses very quickly. A strong and clean earthy and grainy smell picked up. This aroma woke me up alright!

On the appearance side of things the beer looks pretty damn good. Very clean and pure looking, pouring a nice pale yellow colour. Head is pretty decent, nice and frothy, with a little lacing. A real good looking pilsner, with a nice crystal clear body.

The taste was very interesting, strong with a slightly malty initial taste to it, which lingers in the mouth. Some cereals, a hoppy finish and an equally strong bitter hoppy aftertaste. The beer had a very strong depth to it, and a lovely crisp feel in the mouth. The beer definitely grows on you and after a few more scoops I started to enjoy this beer. Was a good well balanced tasting beer, from the start to the finish, an interesting experience from the Black Forest.

Review: 0.33 l Bottle of Rothaus Hefe Weizen , Weizen Zapfle 5.4%ABV

Weizen Zapfle

The Rothaus Hefe Weizen Zäpfle, a typical wheat German beer with alcohol content of 5.4% but with an interesting and refreshing fruity flavour

On pour a very large foamy head appeared and took forever to settle. Once it eventually settles you are left with a dark cloudy colour of a beer, which has a good head that leaves a good bit of lacing on the glass.

Bottle of Rothaus Hefe Weizen , Weizen Zapfle 5.4%ABV

Nice head!

On smell I get a lot of citrus and banana tones with the expected yeast and grain smell that is particular to Hefeweizens. A nice citric fruity smell!

Even though I am not a huge fan of Hefeweizens I found the taste was very smooth and creamy and quite enjoyable. The overall taste was sweet, with fruity flavours and a sour depth to the beer. The aftertaste was pretty bitter as you’d expect, the citrus kicking in. I enjoyed it and its a very drinkable and good tasting beer.

Review: 0.33 l Bottle of Rothaus Eis Zäpfle, 5.6%ABV. Style: Oktoberfest/Märzen

The Rothaus EisZäpfle (“Icicle”), called after the labourious process where in the old days these beers were brewed. Before refrigerators and ice machines, the last batches of bottom-fermented beer could only be brewed in March (März) at the latest, where naturally forming ice, cut in blocks from the ice sheets of local ponds and lakes, were used to cool the brews. Stored in cellars, large wooden scaffolding was sprayed with water so that icicles (“EisZäpfle”) would form on the beams, which would be knocked off to further cool the beer.

On pour, nice clear golden yellow colour with a pretty decent sized foamy white head, a good looking beer. Some lacing. Can hear the carbonation as it fizzes away, magic!

Aroma: strong smell of the hops, citrus, very malty, sweet malts

Taste: Sweet grainy maltiness at the start.

Back end taste of the hops was nice.

Felt stronger than the 5.6 for some reason…..

A very subtle taste, has a good balance of malts and hops, quite tasty, nothing amazing but boy was it easy to drink…. Perfect balance in flavour, clean, crisp and very refreshing.

A very easy beer to drink, very sessionable, could drink a lot of these easy enough as it was very smooth. Liked this beer a lot.

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Rugenbräu, Pure Alpine Beer

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Rugenbräu Beer

http://www.rugenbraeu.ch/

Brewed by Rugenbräu
Style: Dortmunder/Helles
Interlaken, Switzerland

Rugenbräu, Pure Alpine Beer, Rugenbräu, Pure Alpine Beer, Rugenbräu, Pure Alpine Beer, Interlaken, Joesph Hofweber, Switzerland, the Alps, Bern

Nice and cold

Rugenbräu is an independent Swiss brewing company, headquartered in the lovely surrounds of Interlaken (“Between the lakes”) in central Switzerland.

Interlaken is a well-known tourist destination in the Bernese Oberland region of the Swiss Alps, and the town is located between Lake Thun and Lake Brienz.

In the year of 1866 in Interlaken, Christian Indermühle, started a brewery, from which his sons Carl and Albert eventually took over on his death in 1875. In 1880 after taking on too much debt the brothers converted the brewery into a public limited company, to help ease costs and the day to day running of the company. From there, in 1892, the brewery was acquired by the Bavarian brew-master Joesph Hofweber. Hofweber already owned the successful Schloss Reichenbach brewery and eventually in 1968 the name Rugenbräu was given to the long standing family brewery, which has remained in family ownership for well over a hundred years.

Review: Can of Rugenbräu Lager hell 4.8%ABV

A pure taste

The Lager hell is Rugenbräu’s most popular beer and is exported internationally.

Lovely faint notes of sweet pale grains, a nice soft smell of malt and hops but not overbearing.

Rugenbräu

The beer looks absolutely fantastic, you can definitely see what fresh pure Alpine air and water can do for the quality of a beer, the beer is so clean and clear. I honestly don’t think I have seen a cleaner beer than this, looks so great in appearance. Pours a light and absolutely clear yellow colour forming a good frothy head which stays and some pretty good lacing left around in the glass. Lucky for me to have this straight from a nice cool fridge.

Tasting had a light feel to it, with a strongish bitter hoppy aftertaste. A little bit of acidity, crisp and clean, faint flavours of malts and grains, but its the aftertaste that is the taste for this lager, lingering for a little while in the mouth. Overall was a very smooth drink, a good session beer. I liked it as it did the business and that’s all you can ask for in a beer, hit the spot. A decent refreshing everyday lager, scores high on drinkability.

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St Pauli and Astra Bier: A football special

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Next up for a review is the famous Astra beer from Hamburg.

But I can’t write about Astra unless I also write about St. Pauli football club. The two are synonymous. A football special and a soccer club that’s often described as the most left-wing team in the world. Unique.

St. Pauli

Fußball-Club St. Pauli was founded on the 15^th of May 1910, based in the lively St Pauli quarter of Hamburg, an area known for its docks, its left-wing activism and for the infamous neon-lit strip clubs of the “Reeperbahn”, Europe’s largest red light district. Nicknamed the ‘Brothel of the League’, the club represents the dockers, punks, prostitutes, anarchists, and all the rest who live and toil in the city’s working-class St Pauli enclave.

The club is widely recognised for its distinctive left-wing culture and has a large popular following as one of the country’s “Kult” clubs.

The history bit

Before the Eighties, St Pauli was just your regular lower-league club averaging crowds of less than 2000, and living in the shadows of their hated neighbours, HSV Hamburg. It was in the mid-1980s that St. Pauli’s conversion from a traditional club into a “Kult” club began.

Fußball-Club St. Pauli, Astra Bier, Reeperbahn, St Pauli, Hamburg, Bundesliga, soccer, football, The Jolly Roger,,

The docks

With Nazis and hooligans ruling the terraces all over Germany, St Pauli was seen as an alternative. Through the local dockyard losing workers and the district falling into dereliction, squatters, artists, anarchists, prostitutes, students, punks and other alternative types all flocked into the district to fill the void. And they started going to the football!

FC St Pauli suddenly became swamped, with the terraces of their old dilapidated Millerntor Stadium full of the disenfranchised roaring out anti-fascist and anti-capitalist chants. But unlike other teams, St Pauli embraced them reveling in its new found ‘underdog’ status. By the late 1990s they were frequently selling out their entire 20,000-capacity ground.

Skull and crossbones

Loyal fans

The Skull and Crossbones (the Jolly Roger flag) is a symbol which had long been associated with the district of St Pauli on account of legendary pirate Klaus Störtebeker and his statue. It became the club’s unofficial emblem.

The emblem first appearing after a few squatters from the docks brought it onto the terraces. The idea stuck and now it’s very closely connected to the club and the area.

You will see the emblem pretty much everywhere in the district, from every corner and on every street. So it’s no surprise to learn that the German media like to call the club the “Die Freibeuter der Liga” (“Buccaneers of the League“).

The team

For a team with such a huge following, their on the field exploits are nothing to write home about. With a virtually empty trophy cabinet and a team that’s regularly seen mid table in Germany’s Bundesliga 2, it’s quite amazing that they have such support at all.

A stint in the top tier in 2002, saw them finish a distant last after winning only a handful of games and the resulting relegation nearly bankrupt the club.

That relegation led to another worse demotion down into the less-lucrative Regionaliga Nord (III), where they remained for four years. These two relegations, back to back, almost killed St. Pauli.

Party atmosphere

With the club almost bankrupt, the supporters began its fund-raising activities. They printed t-shirts with the club’s crest surrounded by the word Retter (rescuer) with well over a 100,000 sold. They also organized a benefit match against perennial German champions, Bayern Munich, and staged fundraising events such as ‘Drink for St Pauli’, with local publicans donating 50 per cent from each beer sold. Their efforts to save the club worked and also furthered strengthened the bond between club and fan. The club could not survive without its special fans.

In 2007, St. Pauli were promoted back to the 2. Bundesliga and in 2010, FC St. Pauli clinched promotion to the 1.Bundesliga, made even sweeter given that 2010 was the club’s centenary. But that also didn’t last too long, and for the 2013–14 season they were again playing back in 2. Bundesliga.

A quandary

One reason for their lack of on field success is that St Pauli sees itself as something more than just a football team. It has certain responsibilities to its fans and to the ethos of the club. Lucrative player contracts and huge corporate revenue streams are frowned upon, with many fans preferring to remain a small club that can be run within their control rather than a large one beholden to forces outside their neighborhood. They are very unusual in that many of their fans didn’t get too irate when they were relegated. For most St. Pauli fans only one thing is important: to remain as true to its progressive principles as possible. St. Pauli is a way of life, and just like in life, you have your ups and downs. Win, lose or draw, there will always be a St Pauli to support.

“FCSP Stay Political”

Still though it can be a challenge. This leaves the club with an obvious financial disadvantage. On the one hand staying loyal to your roots and culture while on the other hand be competitive as a professional sports club and trying to hit the heady heights of top class football. It’s a hard balance. Small reforms had to be made, if anything to save the club from going bust again. There are now VIP seats at the stadium, and the club shop sells as much expensive merchandise as any club on match days. But the soul of the club is still intact with some of the alternative fans from the Eighties now running the club and occupying senior positions on the board. The club is in safe hands.

The Millerntor

The home venue of FC St Pauli is the Millerntor- Stadium, in the heart of the St Pauli district. The very old style stadium has a capacity of 29,000 with the club getting higher attendances than most Bundesliga 2 teams. The stands are basic, with a concrete and unaesthetic feel. It gets as real as this, it’s not the Emirates or the new Wembley. Supporters, like in a lot of clubs in Germany, have standing room only areas, beer is allowed onto the terraces, and shouting obscenities at the ref is expected! This is a throwback to the good old days of football: beer (Astra, naturally), football and dodgy haircuts (that would be the punks!).

The Millerntor

“Hells Bells” by AC/DC, greets the teams on their arrival onto the pitch and every home goal is celebrated with “Song 2″ by Blur.

After consultation with the fans, it was decided that the club would never sell the naming rights of their stadium. Take note Mike Ashley and his “SportsDirect.com@StJamesPark”.

It’s also important to stress that St. Pauli have more season ticket holders than many Bundesliga teams, proving that fans can be loyal if their wishes are respected, even when the team is not a success on the pitch.

But what about the fans

Visitors to St. Pauli are assured of having a good time, as long as they share the same ethos of the club and its supporters.

Most supporters have a politically left-wing stance and regard themselves as anti-racist, anti-fascist, anti-homophobic and anti-sexist, and this has brought them into conflict with neo-Nazis and hooligans at away games, and also the boys in blue on occasion.

Dedication

The club has also taken the step to incorporate a set of Fundamental Principles (Leitlinien) to decree how the club is to be run. The Leitlinien not only reflects what happens on the pitch, but also takes into account their social and political responsibility in relation to the district and the people who live there.

The fans have also been active. They organise charity events, protest on local issues, and have also set up the Alerta anti-fascist network, a collection of football supporter groups from all over Europe.

One recent report estimated that the team has roughly 11 million fans throughout Germany and the wider world, making the club one of the most widely recognised Bundesliga sides out there. The club boasts roughly 600 worldwide supporters’ groups’, and that support seems to be growing all the time.

The bars

Entrance to the JR

Inside the JR

The Jolly Roger, the legendary supporter’s-owned bar near the stadium. Founded by St. Pauli Fans for St. Pauli Fans. It’s a non-profit enterprise with all monies going into supporters projects. It’s located at Budapester Straße across the road from the Millerntor stadium and a 5 minutes’ walk (or 10 depending on how many Astra’s consumed) from the Reeperbahn.

Not so sure of the opening times, but when I was there there was a little crowd waiting for it to open at 8.00 in the morning. But don’t worry the small shop beside sells the Astra Red Light which was 6.0% vol. for 2 euros (3 Euros in the JR!), and you can easily sit outside on the bench awaiting for it to open.

Really liked the bar, the staff were ultra-friendly, and the bar had a nice chilled out vibe going on. Around match time the bar is the place to be, before and after the game, and at night it can get very crowded.

St. Pauli Eck

Simon-von-Utrechtstr. 87

20359 Hamburg, St.Pauli

A small place, very easy to pass, but when I was there I had a great time, lots of singing, some very generous locals who bought me a few schnapps, and the landlady, who appeared to be a little gruff, but was in fact very cool, and gave me a few old style St Pauli stickers. Friendly and convivial.

Outside the Shebeen

Shebeen

Hein-Hoyer-Str. 78

20359 Hamburg, St.Pauli

Another top class bar, really enjoyed my few days of drinking in this establishment. The staff were really chilled, great fun, and always up for a bit of a talk, some even hanging round after their work shift. Plays some good music and the owner is very friendly and chatty. Recommended.

Astra Bier

Astra red light (alc 6.0% vol..

Astra Urtyp

http://www.astra-bier.de/de

Brewed by Holsten-Brauerei (Carlsberg)
Style: Pilsener
Hamburg, Germany

Deep in the heartland of Hamburg’s St Pauli district and the Reeperbahn, and not too far from the docks, with a very loyal following, Astra (Bier) is a cult beer brand name that has on offer a series of pale lagers, and is produced by Carlsberg’s German division.

Astra Urtyp with its iconic brand of a red heart and an anchor, and its logo of “With Love brewed in Hamburg, St. Pauli“.

The beer with over a hundred years under its belt, is similar to the football club, also has a long history of strife and struggle. The brewery has seen many take overs, was close to closing on more than one occasion, and was also rescued from going out of business by the City of Hamburg.

But now the beer is back, and with its new logo, and close association with the football team, its achieved cult status amongst the many beer drinkers, of not just Germany, but further afield.

Review: Can of Astra Urtyp Pilsener 4.9% ABV

Astra Urtyp is the drink to be seen with on the Reeperbahn, the cult beer brand that is extremely popular around Hamburg. If you visit St. Pauli then you drink Astra. Simples.

Aroma of lovely sweet smelling malts and grains. A beery smell!

On pour a nice clear pale golden colour appears with a decent sized frothy head, looks good. The head and a lot of lacing both stick around, making this to be a fairly good looking beer, a typical Pilsner look.

The beer is very smooth, which would be expected if it is to be a football special. This isn’t a craft beer, this is to be drank by the gallon! For that reason the beer tastes smooth and very drinkable, perfect for a session. There is low bitterness and the overall feel to the beer is of a little bit of malt, a little bit of hops with a tinge of acidity. A nice beer, tastes fine, goes down well, and something to enjoy the football with, and that’s all you really want from a session beer.

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Liechtenstein Brauhaus – Brewing in The Principality

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Liechtenstein Brauhaus, Hans-Adam II, Bruno Güntensperger, Liechtensteiner Brauhaus, Vaduz

In the Heart of the Alps

The Principality of Liechtenstein, with Hans-Adam II as head of its monarchy, is a very small landlocked German speaking country, resting entirely on the Alps. To be found in central Europe, nestled in between Switzerland to the west and Austria to the east, with a total area of 160 square kilometres (62 square miles). It’s tiny!

It is the fourth smallest country of Europe, after the Vatican City, Monaco, and San Marino, with a population of just under 37,000 people.

Despite its limited natural resources and tiny capital of Vaduz, Liechtenstein is a very rich country. The nation is known for its strong financial sector, and low corporate tax rates, making its residents enjoy one of the world’s highest standards of living.

The family, from which the principality takes its name, originally came from Castle Liechtenstein in Lower Austria. They purchased the land, but it was just another piece of real estate in their collection of domains throughout the Hapsburg Empire (Austro-Hungarian). With the destruction of World War One and the subsequent break-up of the said empire, Liechtenstein got more autonomy away from Austria. After World War II, the ruling family decided to actually live in neutral Liechtenstein and from afar could see all their lands in the old Empire descent into the hands of the Nazi’s, and thus lost forever. Liechtenstein was what remained of their lands, and that’s what we, more or less, have today!

Herein I give you some really fun and cool facts about teeny weeny Liechtenstein

1. Liechtenstein is one of the few countries in the world with more registered companies than citizens. Whisper it softly, it’s a “tax haven”

2. Liechtenstein also has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the world at 1.5%.

Official like!

3. The Prince of Liechtenstein is the world’s sixth wealthiest monarch with an estimated wealth of 5 billion USD

4. Liechtenstein has no airport, but don’t fret as Zurich Airport is an hour and a bit away in neighbouring Switzerland.

5. On the country’s national holiday all “subjects” are invited to the castle of the head of state, which eerily overlooks the capital. A significant portion of the population attends the national celebration where speeches are made and complimentary beer is served, which just sounds fantastic.

6. There is only one television channel in the country, the private channel 1FLTV which was only created in 2008. Let’s hope they get Sky Sports then.

7. Liechtenstein football teams play in the Swiss football leagues, with FC Vaduz making it into the top tier, the Raiffeisen Super League, last season. Vaduz also have a North Korean player, Pak Kwang Ryong, with them on loan from Basel FC, so now you know how little Kim back home gets his regular supply of Swiss cheese that he so craves.

8. It is the smallest nation to win a medal in any Olympics, winter or summer

9. The Liechtenstein National Police has a total of about 125 employees. But don’t let that fool you as they are armed and work closely with their colleagues in both Switzerland and Austria, just in case you try and make a run for the border! Overall the country has one of the world’s lowest crime rates and its prisons are (or should that read prison?) virtually empty, with anyone serving more than two years shipped off to an Austrian prison for practical reasons.

10. Liechtenstein has a policy of neutrality and is one of the few countries in the world that maintains no military. During the 1980’s the Swiss army fired off shells during a military exercise and mistakenly burned a patch of forest inside Liechtenstein. The incident was said to be resolved “over a case of white wine”. If only all conflicts were solved in this manner!

11. Liechtenstein has a constitutional monarch as Head of State, and an elected parliament which enacts laws. It is also a direct democracy, where voters can propose and enact constitutional amendments and legislation independent of the legislature. The Prince, looking for even more power and control of his tiny nation, put a referendum in 2003 to the people seeking new and improved veto laws that could dissolve parliament at any time he so wanted. Hans-Adam II threatened that if he didn’t get his wish in the referendum he would just sell some of his royal property (the property of Liechtenstein) into commercial use and just move to Austria. “I’m going to take my ball and go home”, he was quoted as saying, allegedly. Needless to say the resolution passed with about 64% in favour.

12. In 2006 the country actually grew in size! New surveys using more accurate measurements of the country’s borders in set its area at 160 km2 (61.776 sq mi), with borders of 77.9 km (48.4 mi). Thus, Liechtenstein discovered that its borders were 1.9 km (1.2 mi) longer than previously thought! A handy trick!

Backyard vines

13. Liechtenstein is a largest producer of false teeth in the whole world.

14. Currently, there is only one hospital in Liechtenstein, so be careful when climbing the Alps on a winters days as I am not so sure they will have enough man power to send out the few ambulances they have to rescue your sorry ass.

15. The gross domestic product (GDP) on a purchasing power parity basis is $5.028 billion, or $141,100 per capita, which is the second highest in the world. Which sounds pretty bloody good. When I was there I noticed that most people had a vineyard in the back garden. There is wealth and then there is real wealth!

(All facts and figures thanks to good old Wikipedia!)

Liechtensteiner Brauhaus Hell’s

http://www.brauhaus.li/

Brewed by Liechtensteiner Brauhaus
Style: Dortmunder/Helles
Schaan, Liechtenstein

So let’s talk about beer then. As Frank Zappa famously said, “You can’t be a real country unless you have a beer”, and even though Liechtenstein is small it does indeed have a decent brewery.

Hell’s

World War One caused a shortage of raw materials (barley and malt!) on the continent of Europe, and with that seen the closure of Liechtenstein’s last brewery in 1917. That’s was until 2007 when Bruno Güntensperger opened up The Liechtensteiner Brauhaus. Güntensperger was a dreamer who always had a passion for brewing, and while studying at the Institute of Food Science at ETH Zurich, the notion of a brewery in Liechtenstein was evoked when he did an internship in an actual brewery as part of his studies. Due to work commitments and everyday life his dream was put on hold until during a wedding celebration back in his home country, he started chatting about his idea with some old friends. The idea started to gain legs and he went for it, and on the 23rd of October 2007 the brewery was a reality. Liechtenstein was a real country again!

Located in Schaan, the brewery produces a traditional lager, a darker malt beer and a wheat beer. The brewery also produces seasonal specials that are created especially for the carnival season, and a fruity beverage popular during the summer months. Despite a young history and a relatively small operation, the beers are winning awards: Swiss “Newcomer of the Year 2009” and its wheat beer “Weiza” was “Swiss Beer of the Year 2009”.(IG small and medium breweries of Switzerland).

Review: Bottle of Liechtensteiner Brauhaus Hell’s, 5%ABV

The beers produced by the Liechtensteiner Brauhaus are brewed with the best craftsmanship and using only the finest ingredients. A special mashing process, partially handed, using natural hops, a slow fermentation process and a long cold maturation in low temperatures ensure the highest quality clean and fresh beers. When you think that the Alps and the Rhine is the backdrop to this brewery then it would make sense to have a good high expectation for this beer.

Hell’s

Pours a lovely golden colour, with a very good sized frothy head with some lacing. This very clean beer looks pretty damn good. Top marks for appearance.

The aroma was also very enticing. I got notes of sweet grainy malts, some fruitiness, and a very rustic kind of smell (the smell of the Alps perhaps?). Again top marks, this time for the smell.

On taste I got a nice light flavour of grainy malts, some sweetness, a bit of caramel

The aftertaste was interesting, a touch of hops biting at the end.

Overall I liked this beer. I had it straight from a cool fridge and it tasted really smooth and very drinkable. Each mouthful had a lovely feel to it and had a lot going on with a nice mix of flavours, making this beer a favourite. Not a very strong drink but very drinkable, and it would be a decent session beer. A good refreshing beer.

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The Spanish Craft Armada

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Thanks to Dominic Lombard, from the website http://www.drinkingspanish.com/, for this article looking at the small but growing world of the Spanish Craft beer scene. He also reviews a nice Bottle of Parking C Pelicano.

Join Dominic on twitter, at @domgetxo, for all things on wine and beer down in sunny Spain. (Lucky fella!)

The Spanish Craft Armada

Let’s face it, Spain has never been famous for it’s beer quality. To be honest the main brands in Spain are very cheap, tasteless lagers usually made with low cost malts mixed with rice or corn or both adjuncts. Served chilled in small glasses called Cañas, which is perfect on a hot summer’s day if you want a cold liquid to refresh you. But in the last 4-5 years Spain has been going through a mad slightly out of control craft beer revolution. It seems that increasingly the natives have found out that there is more to beer than what they are served by the big Spanish brewers.

The Spanish craft brewers and owners are made up of beer enthusiasts, home brewers, business men, ex-property developers, and marketing people. Some are doing it for the love of beer and an interest in being able to make a living from it, while others are in it to make money. The problem in Spain is that at the moment there are far more brands then consumers and that the quality is often poor. Though there are 10 or 15 notable producers that constantly make good quality beers.

The next 2-3 years will see many producers or brand owners fall by the wayside and hopefully, with a bit of luck, the truly good producers will be able to survive. We have seen that some of the bigger brewers, like Mahou for example, are taking note of this craft revolution and are releasing very soon a special edition of 4 distinct “craft” beers onto the market. Also Estrella Damm, a brewery from Barcelona, brought out the famous Inedit beer which was apparently a collaboration with the renowned but now ex-El Bulli Sommeliers. Unfortunately during the summer the CEO of Estrella Damm made some foolish comments about the Spanish craft scene, basically saying that he feared that Spanish craft breweries where making beer in garages or sub standard conditions and feared a quality failure would damage the image of Spanish beer quality. Which is funny considering that Estrella Damn sells in about 85 countries and only exports 15% of it’s production so the comment seemed to be more focused on the Spanish consumer than the international customer.

Spanish craft beer sales within Spain currently sit at just under 1% of beer sales, but it is growing at quite a pace and I think that the big Spanish breweries are looking at markets such as the USA and Ireland and are worried that they will loose market share as the Spanish consumer decides to want beers that are more exciting and with stronger flavours.

Review: Bottle of Parking C Pelicano, White IPA 7.1% ABV

Parking C Pelicano

Mateo & Bernabe was founded in 2012 by Alberto Pacheco and his wife’s family in Logroño, which is the capital of the famous Spanish wine region of the Rioja. Alberto was born to Spanish immigrants in Venezuela and was brought up in Chile before deciding on a return to Spain to train as a chef near where his mothers family was from which was Logroño. After only 5 months in Logroño he met his future wife and his roots where set. When working as a chef he started to experiment with home brewing and then started to go to Italy to attend brewing courses and increase his knowledge of the industry. He then decided that he would like to brew beer and make a living from it. Sitting down with his wife and his father-in-law, the three of them proceeded to write up a business plan and the result was that, after a couple of years, Mateo & Bernabe was born.

The brewery has 2 ranges of beers Mateo & Bernabe which are delicate beers that are ideal to have with food, and Parking which is the experimental and fun range of beers which they also do collaboration brews.

Parking C Pelicano is a White IPA which was a collaboration brew with Beancurd Turtle who is a brewer named Daniel with 30 years experience from California. Lemon thyme and grated orange peel were added to the beer.

Appearance: Foamy bright white head, lovely slightly cloudy gold yellow with a slight orange hue to it.

Aroma: Malty, dried grass, clove and hints of and dried bitter orange peel

Palette: very delicate bubbles that gives you a lovely light refreshing volume in the mouth then Citrus fruit peel especially grapefruit and lemon followed with freshly cut semi dried grass hints of bitter orange with a long finish citrus peal ending. The beer is wonderfully balanced and the 7.1% is dangerously unnoticeable.

By Dominic Lombard
@domgetxo

http://www.drinkingspanish.com/

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Dublin beer crawl, part two

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Dublin beer crawl, part two.

Dublin, beer, drinking, Guinness, beer crawl, pub, Craic, Smithwicks, drunk, irish wit, craft beers

Ireland!

Plan was to head up to the city for the biggest Dublin derby of the year between Bohemians and Shamrock Rovers, and have a day out about town sampling the pubs of Dublin. This time round without the Guinness. Drinking mostly Smithwicks, and for all you beer snobs, it’s a beer crawl not a craft beer tasting session, so get over it!

The Ha’penny Bridge Inn 42 Wellington Quay, Temple Bar, Dublin 2, Ireland https://www.facebook.com/HaPennyBridgeInn

The Ha'penny Bridge Inn, Dublin, beer, drinking, Guinness, beer crawl, pub, Craic, Smithwicks, drunk, irish wit, craft beers

In the Ha’penny

Got off the bus just near O Connell Street, so we (me and the brother) decided to head for our first pint, and an early one at that, at The Ha’penny Bridge Inn, just across the Liffey from the Ha’penny Bridge (imagine that!). This popular bar in Dublin is a good place for comedy and live music. It has comedy nights a few times a week, with the odd live mike thrown in now and again, and it’s where you can see well known and up and coming comedians try out their new material. And the music they have on offer isn’t just your standard Irish pub fair, bluegrass and blues can often be heard upstairs on a cold wet Dublin night.

The bar is just around the corner from Temple bar, but it’s cheaper (around €5 for a pint) and probably better than anything on that tourist blighted area. Quieter and with a mostly local clientele, this bar is a good place to sit down and have a friendly chat, without any music blaring off a radio, or sports on the box turned to the max.

Just over the Liffey

The bar man/owner/manager “Mick” is a bit of a legend, with his piercing wit and comic outbursts. For people that are not used to his one-liners and banter they might be a little unnerved by his directness, but he is a funny fecker, and chatty to boot. It’s always good sport watching a lost tourist wander in trying to figure out if they were insulted by the barman, or not! Once my brother, not a regular, walked into the bar one morning, and without a word Mick threw him the keys and told him to open up the jacks (toilets) for the customers! He is definitely a character. But don’t be put off by that description, Mick, the bar staff and the regulars are all very welcoming, and it’s very easy to strike up a good chat in this old style Dublin boozer. The rumour is that Mick might be the inspiration behind a famous bar man off a very popular comedy show on RTE, an Irish TV station. Perhaps, or so the story goes!

Harp lager, Dublin, beer, drinking, Guinness, beer crawl, pub, Craic, Smithwicks, drunk, irish wit, craft beers

Pint no.1

The Guinness is pretty good in this place as to be expected with the Brewery only up the road, but I wanted to lay off the black stuff, so I went for a pint of Harp, since it was such a long time I had seen that drink on tap!

Sitting down with the brother, ready to enjoy our drinks, it wasn’t long before we were joined by some good company. Met a lad from Cork, who was up for the Hurling match the previous day. They lost to Tipperary, quite heavily it has to be said. Sure enough Mick got involved, telling us he was a Tipp man, and needless to say that’s when the friendly ribbing started. All good fun, and a perfect way to start the beer crawl. Good pint in good company, talking about sport, and it was only about 12 in the day. Can’t ask for much more in life than that!

Unfortunately we couldn’t hang around, and off we went to collect the tickets for the game.

Casa Rebelde 4 fownes street Upper, Dublin, http://casarebelde.com/

Casa Rebelde

Prized shirt

Was collecting my tickets from this football store in Temple Bar. Could have bought them at the game but wanted to show the brother this shop. Casa Rebelde stock all sorts of football t shirts and jerseys, mostly with a political or ultra-slant. It’s the kind of shop if I ever had a decent wedge of money I could spend a packet in here. Was particularly impressed with the tees for Dead Man’s Shoes, awesome!
The owner was friendly yet refused to sell me the signed Diego jersey on the wall. Bastard!

Quays Bar Temple Bar Dublin 2 https://www.facebook.com/quaysbartemplebar?fref=ts

Quays Bar

Retro

Pint no.2

After the shop was dying for a pish so went straight to the Quays. With its central location and very classic exterior it was hard not to go into this bar. Noted the standard toilet setting that all good bars seem to have, and was ready for another drink. Quays Bar in the heart of Dublin’s famous Temple Bar is a bit of a touristy bar, but it does offer great live traditional music every day.

As it was still relatively early there was very few customers in the bar, so I can’t really write up too much about the bar. Had a decent pint and some small chat with the bar man. I chided him for including David Costa in his fantasy football team, how wrong was that! I drank a pint of Smithwicks, which as you can see from the photo, was great.

The Dawson Lounge 25 Dawson St, Dublin 2 https://www.facebook.com/TheDawsonLounge

The Dawson Lounge , Dublin, beer, drinking, Guinness, beer crawl, pub, Craic, Smithwicks, drunk, irish wit, craft beers

Dublin’s smallest

Next up was the Dawson Lounge, a pub the brother wanted to show me, which was situated just around the corner from St Stephens Green. Apparently it’s the smallest pub in Ireland, so yeah I had to see this small boozer. It was very easy to pass by, in fact we did! It has a very small entrance with a stairs that leads down to the dimly lit basement pub. The staff said that when full to capacity it can hold about 50 to 60 people, at maximum squash! The bar was busy for that time of the day, but it was surprisingly easy to find a seat and some leg room, maybe we Irish are tiny bastards?

Pint no.3

Had a Smithwicks, which was fine, and enjoyed the bar room atmosphere which was lovely and cosy. I definitely will try and return for a cold wintry day as I can imagine how warm it would be snuggled up sipping a nice hot whisky as it snows outside. The novelty factor is very enticing, definitely a bar I would love to show to a foreign friend visiting Dublin for a few days, as it’s a fun bar to check out.

The only problem I had with the bar was its so small that you can overhear what others are saying. No problem for me that talks shite, but unfortunately I had to hear the conversation going on beside me which was all about Shopping and “My course in Trinity”. A little off putting, but that’s the luck of the draw I guess.

Madigan’s 4 Lower Abbey Street, Dublin 1 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Madigans-Abbey-St-Dublin/187768177973132?fref=ts

Madigans

Always get my scruffy hair cut in Dublin, in Dobro Polski on Talbot Street to be exact. The Polish give cheap haircuts that are quick, easy and don’t mess around, simples. So we had to leave the Southside and head across O Connell bridge and make our way off too Talbot Street.

Pint no.4

But we decided to try a quick pint in Madigan’s on Lower Abbey Street, just across from the Luas stop, to break up our walk. The pub appears lovely from the outside, a real old fashioned bar, and inside it has the hallmarks of a decent looking boozer. The pub was very quiet, but perhaps that is what trade is like off O Connell Street on a lazy Monday afternoon. Madigan’s do good food, but we decided to have another pint of Smithwicks and stave off the food for another while. Its perfect location means that it’s a good bar for a pit stop, a quick pint after a day’s shopping or whatever. Nothing really to rate as there was no atmosphere or chat, but the pint was good, service fine, and batteries refreshed.

Mother Kelly’s 74 Talbot St, Dublin 1 https://www.facebook.com/pages/mother-kellys-talbot-street/116806058354122?fref=ts

Mother Kelly's, Dublin, beer, drinking, Guinness, beer crawl, pub, Craic, Smithwicks, drunk, irish wit, craft beers

Ma Kelly’s

Pint no.5

Got my hair cut in Talbot Street, took a little bit too much off, but heh at least it will do me for a few months! Met the brother who was waiting in the nearby Mother Kelly’s, a bar I had never drank in before, not many of them left, eh! Tired, sat down and enjoyed another good pint of Smithwicks, in a small but lovely looking pub. Didn’t get to chat to anyone but sensed that a good atmosphere was building up. A decent crowd was present, the bar staff were extremely friendly, and I’d say if we had stayed we would have met a few interesting characters no doubt. Really enjoyed my pint and time in Mother Kelly’s and will definitely be back in this boozer next time I’m up for drinks in Dublin. A nice little boozer in the heart of Talbot Street, recommended.

J and M Cleary 36 Amiens Street Dublin 1

J and M Cleary

The Big Fella

For our next drink we went to J and M Cleary’s just under the railway bridge to Connolly Station on Amiens Street. One of my favourite old time Dublin boozers, always like to pop into this bar just so I can ogle at all the cool old style photos and pictures on the wall, mostly commemorating Irelands 1916 Rising and War of Independence. Apparently a few of the people on the photos actually used to drink in this pub too! And I was also told that the pub was used a few times as a bar room setting in the movie Michael Collins.

Apart from all that, the pub had a good friendly atmosphere with some interesting characters in attendance, the bar staff were up for a good chat, and the pint of Smithwicks I had was top stuff! Overall a good experience and definitely a pub that one could easily while away a good few hours in. Recommended.

Mullets 45 Amiens Street, Dublin 1

Mullets , Dublin, beer, drinking, Guinness, beer crawl, pub, Craic, Smithwicks, drunk, irish wit, craft beers

Mullets Bar

Not bad!

Just down the road from Cleary’s we ventured into Mullets bar. From the outside there seemed to be a lot of noise coming from the pub. Sure enough the place was pretty busy, with a rather boisterous atmosphere building up. Even though I used to live up the road in Fairview I never drank in this bar before. No particular reason but never really noticed it before, which sounds a bit mad when I think about it. This is where we started to see the Tuborg promotions, which we would subsequently encounter a lot from there on in. But we stuck to the pints of Smithwicks, which were nice and cold. The bar has a definite republican leaning and that could be seen all over the walls, with an awesome collection of Bodhrans adorned all around the pub. The two country lads had to endure a bit of Dublin wit but we are well able for that kind of “banter”. A decent pub and will definitely be back again for a longer stay in the future.

Lloyds 46 Amiens St, Dublin 1 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lloyds-Bar-Lounge/186269958152548?fref=ts

Lloyds

CCTV

Didn’t have to walk too far to get to the next pub, Lloyds is right beside Mullets bar. They should really knock the adjacent wall and have a walk through! Lloyds is a family run pub that dates all the way back to 1893 and has a fairly lively atmosphere going on at all times of the day. The horse racing was one so we decided to have a few bets, all losers of course, but good fun with a nice pint of Smithwicks, friendly staff, and some good company. Funny to see the CCTV camera at the bar, but I guess this part of Dublin can get hairy at times, a fatal stabbing just up the road the previous night! Not a bad old pub, and one to return to in the near future.

Molloy’s Bar Talbot Street, Dublin 1 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Molloys-Talbot-Street-Dublin-1/124000427635583

Molloy’s Bar, Dublin, beer, drinking, Guinness, beer crawl, pub, Craic, Smithwicks, drunk, irish wit, craft beers

Molloy’s Bar Side Entrance

Food!

We were getting hungry at this stage. Eight beers and not a bit too eat, so we decided to go back on ourselves and head over to Malloy’s Bar on Talbot Street, in at the side door to where they serve their food.

Now I already had reviewed Molloy’s bar before, in my ten pints of Guinness ten pubs Dublin beer crawl, but I know they have good food and it was handy for a pit stop. Just to say that I like this pub: near the bookies, always a decent lively atmosphere, good pints and nice food. Did the business.

Previous review here>

O’Reilly’s Bros, ( The Chancery Inn) Inns Quay Dublin 7

O Reilly’s

Pint no.10

As we were heading back into the city I really fancied a pint in O’Reillys Bros bar near Smithfield. The bar is well known as one of the few remaining bars left in Dublin that has a license to open at six in the morning. I have drank it in from six before, after an all-nighter, and it’s a pretty cool experience to be drunk at the same time as so many are heading off to work in the morning. It’s a decent old style boozer, rough and ready, with some real characters in attendance. Had a pretty good pint of Smithwicks, and listened to some classic music off their jukebox. I like this bar, always great fun in it, and one I definitely would recommend for people who want to start an early bar crawl in the city. Recommended.

The Celt Pub 81 Talbot St, Dublin

The Celt

Pint no.11

We ended up next back up to Talbot Street for now the third time, as we got a call from a few people who were heading to the game who were drinking in The Celt Bar. I was never in this bar before as I figured it was a touristy kind of bar what with its fancy looking menu and its cheesy enough name. But to be fair it does have a very good reputation and has music seven times a week on show. Unfortunately no music was on when we arrived but the bar was heaving at the seams, which goes to show you that it must be a decent pub considering it was a lazy Monday afternoon. The Smithwicks was fine, and the service friendly, but can’t really rate the bar as it was so packed and we were beginning to notice that the game was fast approaching. But I made a mental note to return to this bar someday in the future just to experience the live music and ambiance that everyone raves about. Oh yeah, they also have two parrots at the back of the bar on watch! As we were about to head out the door, and make our way to Dalymount Park for the match, we were told that the game was off, but no way did we believe it, surely it was more of this “Dublin wit” that we heard throughout the day!

The Game

Dalymount in sight

Postponed!

But it was true. At the time we had no idea why. I figured it might be some kind of trouble as this game does have a bite to it, a big Dublin derby with a lot of headers always around for a scrap, and the area was absolutely teeming with filth. After mulling about with supporters outside we heard that the real reason it was called off was due to a failed late pitch inspection. WTF!!! After heading up for the day especially with this match in mind, I was a little peeved at the late notice. Maybe I should have stayed the day in The Ha’penny Bridge Inn all along. But that’s life, especially life in the badly run League of Ireland. Not sure if it was the correct decision, but shame on Bohemians FC for not making the pitch playable despite many warnings the week beforehand.

http://extratime.ie/newsdesk/articles/12850/bohs-v-shamrock-rovers-called-off-due-to-unplayable-pitch—twitter-reacts/

The Bohemian (McGeoughs) 66 Phibsboro Rd Phibsboro, Dublin 7

Lunch

McGeoughs

So nothing was to be done only head to the Bohemians bar not far from the ground. The Bohemian bar is nearly as old as Dalymount Park, if not older. It hasn’t changed a whole lot in those 100 years or more with its distinct old style feel to it. A decent boozer with a nice pint of Smithwicks, with a good friendly crowd present despite the postponed game. Had a very deep and long conversation with what looked like two of Dublin’s biggest Cliff Richard fans. They were sticking by their hero, lock him up I say! Good banter though!

Tuborg, finally!

After seeing so many promos for Tuborg all over town and in a lot of the bars we had seen I decided to try the damn thing. It was fine I guess, bit strong, but hard to say as it was drank a little rushed. At this stage we were both very tired, a long day, a lot of walking, not much to eat but a good bit to drink. After getting a bit of food in a local chipper we decided to start the long trek to the bus station.

The Brew Dock Amiens Street Dublin 1 https://www.facebook.com/thebrewdock?fref=ts

Just across from the bus station is The Brew Dock which used to be known as Kate’s Cottage. The old rustic style décor is more or less the same as the old bar, but the beers on tap and on offer are totally different. Gone is the Guinness, the Smithwicks, the Bud, and all the mass produced beer and in its place is some of the finest craft beers you can find in the capital city. Their selection is boundless, 21 taps, with craft beers from both Ireland and the USA. They have a sign outside that reads “No crap on tap”. Anyway it’s a handy pub for a pint before heading home, and we changed our beers again. No Smithwicks this time round so we went for Boston’s finest, a pint of Samuel Adams. A decent pint and it was refreshing to be in a nice relaxed bar with no loud music or a TV as an unnecessary distraction. Now Kate Cottage’s was a good pub that was relatively popular, so it’s a big step for The Brew Dock to set up a trendy craft beer pub this side of the town. I am guessing that they are hoping to attract a lot of attention from the office types that work in the nearby Irish Financial Services Centre (IFSC). But that’s the thing, I found the atmosphere a little dead to be honest. Nice and relaxed and calming, but not really a place that you would meet someone new, have the “craic”, or a place with some serious true Dublin character. A little bit contrived, but heh these places are supposedly popular nowadays so it remains to be seen if it works out for them in the long run. I would like to have a good taste of all those exciting looking beers though! Some day!

So overall a good day of drinking in the capital city. Met some interesting people, and had a lot to drink. Despite my drinking tally in double figures, I wasn’t too bad, and I’m already looking forward to doing a part three sometime around Christmas or early next year!! Bring it on!

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Bilger Stümple celebrates its rebirth

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Bilger Stümple

www.fuerstenberg.de

Brewed by Fürstlich Fürstenbergische Brauerei
Style: Dortmunder/Helles
Donaueschingen, Germany

After 38 years Bilger Stümple is back on the market. Bilger, which had been taken over by Fürstenberg in 1968, was set in the small German town of Gottmadingen, where the “Stümple” is now set to return. The cult beer is back again, and a historical wrong is righted at last. Many Gottmadingen natives spoke of the “black day” that the Fürstenberg brewery took over Bilger and proceeded to close it down, market economics at its worst. Some locals of Gottmadingen even went as far as refusing to touch any Fürstenberg brews in protest at their aggressive actions. But Fürstenberg, now at least, are willing to give Bilger another shot at glory and have reissued the “Stümple”, one of the Bilger beers, to introduce to the market, particularly geared towards a young target group, mainly students, from 18 to 29 years. Retro is back.

“Schmeckt auch ohne Durst!”, Bilger Stumple

Werner Hohloch, the former master brewer who had developed the Stümple, is now back to team up with Daniel Hague, a young brew master with Fürstenberg, to help develop a new and improved Stümple. The original style and flavours are preserved with a slight modification to cater for modern tastes, and the original classic bottle is kept.

The reason for the relative success of the original beer, founded in 1821, was that people began talking about this small town beer which was tasty and came in a distinct eye catching bottle. The railways bringing these tales far and wide, and that by the mid 20th century Stümple was already a cult beer amongst the German beer drinking public. Fürstenberg, meanwhile, in the 60’s and 70’s were beginning to show some muscle and started acquiring many smaller breweries to expand its base all over Germany. Unfortunately after buying Bilger they took the decision to stop producing “Stümple”, and that was that until the present reissue. The beer market at the moment craves retro and classic beers so Fürstenberg decided to give Stümple another try, and hopefully it works out for this classic German brew.

Review: Bottle of Bilger Stümple Helles Lager 4.9% ABV

Retro

Comes in a rather cool looking retro style bottle with an interesting label bearing the words “Schmeckt auch ohne Durst!”, which my rather limited German tells me is “taste also without thirst” or something close!

The aroma is very strong with notes of lemon hops. Quite a strong overall smell

The appearance had a nice golden yellow colour with a decent sized frothy head with good lacing which lasts.

I found the taste was very strong, especially the aftertaste. Bready malt tastes were apparent throughout and the beer does settle down to a nice relaxing drinkable brew. Not a bad beer, drinkable and I’m sure it will be a hit with the young hipsters out and about round town!

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A Munich beer hall special. Prost!

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Paulaner Hefe-Weissbier Naturtrüb

http://www.paulaner.com/en

Brewed by Paulaner Brauerei (Schörghuber)
Style: German Hefeweizen
Munich, Germany

Paulaner Hefe-Weissbier Naturtrüb is the number one wheat beer from Germany. The “Naturtrüb” part means that the beer is naturally cloudy. With an alcohol content of 5.5% ( vol ), it has a natural cloudiness due to the fact that during the production of this beer no special filtration is applied, so what remains is a beer that it is rich in vitamins, minerals and trace elements.

A can of the good stuff!

The Paulaner brewery was first established in 1634 on the outskirts of Munich by the friars of St. Francis of Paola. Like so many monks back then they brewed beer for their own personal use. After 1780 they began to sell a Bock variety to the public on special occasions, such as Lent and Easter, with the beer becoming very popular over time. In 1799, the friary closed and the building was converted into a prison. Franz Xaver Zacherl, a brewer, bought the old building and continued with the brewery that had gone on previously, under the new name of Salvator (Latin for “Saviour”). In 1928 an important merger between Salvator and Gebrüder Thomas brewery created the Paulaner Salvator Thomas Bräu brand. Nowadays the brand belongs to the BHI (Brau Holding International AG), in which 49.9% of the shares are held by Heineken .

Paulaner, brewed according to the Bavarian Purity Law of 1516, is one of the six breweries who provide beer for the celebration of Oktoberfest, the German beer festival dating from 1810. The Hefe-Weißbier Naturtrüb is a typical beer garden beer, making it a Oktoberfest special.

Review: Can of Paulaner Hefe-Weissbier Naturtrüb 5.5%ABV

Aerial view!

Paulaner’s have made good beer for close to 400 years, so it was with great excitement that I had a chance to sample a Oktoberfest special and the brewery’s biggest selling product. German beer is always a winner so lets see how I got on…………

The smell was of a very very strong sweet aroma, but lovely on the nose. The aroma is mostly wheat and earthy with some light citrus notes. Going by the smell, its already off to a great start, lovely stuff. This is a beer that means business.

On pour I got a very large frothy white head that took a little while to settle, with a dark cloudy golden colour of a beer appearing. There was very good lacing with some carbonation.

Big head!

When the head finally settled down, I started on the important business of the tasting. The taste was not as overly strong as I had expected, it was extremely smooth and clean to drink, subtle flavours, with a lovely feel to it. To be honest I didnt find too much going on with the taste, as the flavours were particularly soft on the palate, with a mild wheat and yeast taste. There was a very faint but nice citrus hop aftertaste, This has to be one of the most drinkable beers I have had in a long time, was very easy to drink and enjoyable in the process. Such a shame I only bought a few cans! Can see why this beer is so popular in the beer halls of Munich, as I’d imagine you could down these all day long. This is really a top beer. Strongly recommended. Prost!

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