The Beer World Cup last 16 now gets under way. Click on pictures and links to get a general review and info on the beers we will be a drinking during the Football World Cup.
Denmark V Nigeria
Denmark, unlike in the football, came top of my Beer Group C, while Nigeria came second in my Beer Group D. So today it will be a match up between Carlsberg of Denmark against Guinness Special Export representing Nigeria.
Carlsberg Lager Guinness Special Export
Victory to Guinness Special Export and to Nigeria. As the goals were flying in, I was getting steadily buzzed with the Guinness, had the kick to accompany a great game, brilliant. Nigeria make the last eight of my Beer World Cup.
Russia V Spain
As Uruguay didn’t qualify for my Beer World Cup last 16 (I couldn’t source any beer from Uru), I made Russia winner of Beer Group A. On the other side, Spain (and not Portugal) came second in my Beer Group B. So today we have a match up between Knightberg of Russia against Estrella Galicia of Spain.
Close encounter. Knightberg and its Premium Lager was certainly very tasty and I enjoyed drinking it, but Estrella coming cold from the fridge was so, so good! But then it didn’t have as many tastes as Knightberg which was all tingly on the tongue. Hard to call that one, so gave it as a draw.
For the decider I had another Estrella, but this time up against an Oatmeal Stout. Now I love the lagers, but I love stouts more, a sure fire way to win the contest so. Russia edge it in a close encounter here, 2-1 to Russia who make the last eight of my Beer World Cup!
Portugal V Saudi Arabia
Portugal eased to the top of my Beer World Cup Group B, while unfortunately Group A had three non beer nations so I since I love kebabs, sure why not have SA as second best of a bad group for beer lovers.
Saudi Arabia!
Enjoyed my football special, Superbock, also really enjoyed my kebab, but beer always wins in these scenarios!
Croatia V Australia
Both teams qualifying from tough groups. Croatia came top in Beer Group D, up against heavy hitters from Iceland, Argentina and Nigeria. While Australia’s group, Group C, was also tough. They came second in a group that had France, Denmark and Peru all well represented in my beer World Cup.
Good evening of drinking, much better than the football that was an offer. But like the game, there was drama and the result was very close. I started with a Bura Brew which although it might not be the best looker was sure lovely to taste and had great big lovely mouthfuls that went down well. Only thing was that Fosters is so smooth to drink, that nectar juice is so good to have while looking at the footy on the box. Too close to separate, I need another few beers to make a decision on this match up.
Step forward Ožujsko, who did just enough to put Croatia into the last 8 of my Beer World Cup. It won on pure tastes and had that little bit more of a bite to it than the Fosters. 2-1 to Croatia. 
Switzerland V Mexico
Switzerland easily powered home in my Beer Group E, no problem at all. While Mexico really only had to beat Sweden to come second in Beer Group F
Celestial Brewery Soo. Soors Beer Dr. Brauwolf
What a contest, the big guns out today.
First up it was Corona up against Dr. Brauwolf and it’s Bohemian lager, really no contest, come on, a lager against a light beer you have when the sun is in the sky, no need for a lemon to decide this one, Brauwolf wins. One nil to the strong lager, roar!
Then we had Corona up against Soo. Happy a fruity effort from Switzerland. Close enough contest, but, much like Mexico, Corona just were not doing it for me today. Strength in taste and flavour, two nil to Switzerland!
Final battle was Corona against an IPA from Celestial brewery, Corona just playing for pride at this stage. Well Celestial was strong and full of taste, and is good enough on aroma alone to beat Corona. The fruity tasting IPA put Switzerland into the last 8 of my beer World Cup. Get in!!!
Three nil Switzerland! EASY! EASY! EASY!
Belgium V Colombia
Belgium had a tough close encounter with England to come top of Beer Group G, but just got there in the end as group winners. Colombia came close with Poland in their group, Beer Group H, but qualified in second place.
Wow, here we go, still reeling, still fucked from it. Jessenhofke TRPL of Belgium had a lovely fruity bier, that was at 8% ,perhaps a it too much to take on Club Colombia, which was off to a slow start, one nil to Belgium.
Was able for another beer, but when a Belgian BRWN was lining up, it was time to take break! The Black tasty beer was always going to beat Club Colombia lager, no contest!
2 nil to the Belgians:
Next up it was Kamil, and by that stage I was phished. Wasn’t from the Club Colombia, I tell you. Kamil a beer that was very appetizing and hit the spot, 3-0 whitewash to Belgium, and they head to the last 8 of my Beer World Cup.
Germany V Serbia
Germany might be out of the football World Cup, but they are still very much alive in my Beer World Cup, powering to victory in Beer group F, no problems here. Serbia also had little problems in getting out of Beer Group E, albeit in second place to Switzerland.
Zombräu Brauer & Co., Funky trout n Pretty sperm whale!
Döllnitzer Ritterguts Gose kabinet beer
Close enough game in my beer World Cup last 16 game. Brauer & Co., with a nice Radler which was exactly what I needed after the heavy drinking of the day before, something nice and light to get today’s drinking underway. Did the business but truth be told a radler will never be a match for a full bodied beer full of tasty hops such was Kabinet’s Mozart IPA, one nil to Serbia.
After that it was Zombräu with a very interesting and very tasty porter with whiskey aromas and flavours, a bit weird and too strange for my taste-buds I have to say, and for this reason I give it a draw against another Mozart from Kabinet.
Final match up to decide who goes through, was another salty gose Döllnitzer Ritterguts, and again Mozart from Kabinet. A close contest, I liked both beers, both had their own unique tastes, but will give the victory to Germany, as Gose is a new style that I am really getting into, while Mozart is an IPA (American Pale Ale!), regular enough and not bad, but there are tonnes of them around! 2-1 to Germany!
England V Poland
England just lost out in their epic tussle with Belgium, both in the football and in my Beer World Cup. But they are still very much alive in this competition, coming second in Beer Group G. Poland also did well to come tops in Beer Group H.
London Pride Tyskie Gronie
Close match-up, but in essence, London Pride is a far superior beer, in terms of taste and flavours, and more enjoyable,sorry Tyskie.
It is a new venture in the region and one with many exciting and ambitious plans. Founded by Peter Danielsson who had a dream to start his own brewery. Despite been in the software industry and a general “newbie” in the beverages industry, he finally managed to take the plunge in 2017 and set up a small brewing operation. 
Smell is malty, with an interesting floral, earthy, and piney smell. Also get the fruits and citrus. 
Get a very hazy looking beer with a nice golden orange look. Very carbonated and has a big frothy head. Good lacing.
“Free Electron” in English, I guess the electricity will be bouncing around your body when in contact with this beer, firing up an unstoppable current of energy and pleasure. Perhaps!
Getting the caramelized malt again, this time in the taste, making this beer very nice to drink. 
Hazy cloudy yellow golden colour, very carbonated and the frothy white head maintains. 
On pour, massive carbonation, all over the place, very temperamental. All resulting in a massive frothy tanned head and a pitch black stout.
“The Last Cry” in English, this is Celestial’s version of a New England IPA. A New England IPA is meant to be a little smoother with less of a hoppy bitterness to their West Coast IPA cousins, the appearance is also meant to be a little hazier. 
Nice malty flavour, the fruits to the fore, bit of caramel.
But what about the name? Soo. Soors Beer? WTF? But then you realise that the beer is actually from Sursee so it all makes perfect sense, and in actual fact is kind of clever really. It makes even more sense when you learn that the story goes that three men were mulling over a few beers and kind of depressed that they couldn’t drink a local beer from their home town, only sip generic large multinational beers and nothing from Sursee. And like all good beer chat their minds began to wander and definite plans were made to rectify this terrible anomaly by starting their own brewery in the town. Even after all that pub-talk, the idea began to take hold and more concrete plans were put into action. They had serious discussions with beer drinkers, with people in the business, publicans and restaurateurs. A serious business plan was drawn up. And again they sat together over a beer and a eureka moment came: “Soorser beer, we want that!”
On March 12, 2015, Herbert Blum, Alexander Oleschinsky and Karin Wagemann founded Soorser Bier AG with a share capital of CHF 100,000. Over time came more funding and more expertise, and they also offered beer lovers the opportunity to become part of the Soors beer history, ala Brewdog, offering shares to the public. Fortunately for them, the share capital was oversubscribed by 80,000 francs. 390 shareholders, most of them from Sursee, got on board, and the beer chat turned into something real. The brewery was set up and a master brewer with many years experience was hired. On April 22, 2016, less than a year after the founding of Soorser Bier AG, the first brew was prepared from the plant. 
Looks lovely, and the head maintains throughout.
Was quite carbonated in the pour, resulting in a very large frothy white head, a lot of foam.
Looks nice on pour, a lovely light yellow colour with a good sized white frothy head. Looks good, very inviting. Some good carbonation going on, bubbling away. A hazy look appears after a while. 
There is some slight lacing, and the head maintains well. There is some small amount of sediment buzzing around inside, showing that this beer is alive! 
Oh boy, the smell is strong and typical of a Pilsner. Malty and spicy, perfume aroma as well. Nice.
On the pour was a bit surprised as it was very fizzy, bubbling all over the place, was not exactly expecting that.
A lot of carbonation, very lively on the pour. This resulted in a very frothy head. The colour was dark red. All looking great. Head settled well after a while.
On pour, I get a lot of carbonation, a lot! When it all eventually settled it results in a very big frothy tanned head. The colour is pitch black. All in all its a nice looking beer, very nice appearance. 
Decent enough white frothy head on the pour, a nice pale golden colour, looks ok, a typical Witbeer look. Head maintains very well. Not a bad looker. 
On pour I get a nice white frothy head and a dark golden orange colour. Looks good, very appealing. Some lacing.
Wow, what a fantastic smell. Wow, the vanilla is very prominent on the nose. Also smells like a nice perfume as well. Lovely smell, nice. 
Looks nice enough on the appearance, got a lovely creamy white head and a dark black coloured beer. Some good lacing. Not a bad looking beer.
The city also has a rich cultural tradition with many high-quality museums and art galleries, but for someone who is into more modern pursuits, the city holds one of the largest and most popular dance music festivals in the world, a techno “street parade” around August every year that attracts about a million ravers and the like dancing alongside the lake Zurich. 
A large Irish pub not too far off from the train station. Was my first stop of the day, and ventured in to the quiet bar with a small midday crowd. 
Was in this bar before, so it can get very busy and lively on a weekend night. It is a fun place to be for sure, but the prices of the beers are something to behold. Not going to be doing a large drinking session in a bar like this unless you are very flush with the cash! But this is Zurich one of the most expensive cities in Europe so its par for the course here. 
The Strauss bar is a small dive bar located on the crossing of the Langstrasse. Looked like an interesting place so I ventured in. 
I ordered a pint of Hürlimann. I actually thought the bar was called Hürlimann since they had it in big lettering over the front of the bar’s entrance, but no it is in fact a local lager. The first thing I noticed was the huge price differential compared to the Smithwicks I had just up at Kennedy’s Irish Pub. The beer I ordered was virtually half the price!
Final pub before I got the train home. Decided to head to this bar as I was told it is infact the oldest bar in the city. Located in the Old Town with its nice cobbled streets. 
Has the usual look of the chain, wooden interior, nice and comfy setting, English beer on tap, British food on the menu, darts to play, the Premiership on the box, and an English style setting. 
Playing in green, white and red, Red Star are a small club based in Zurich, playing in the 1. Liga Classic, the fourth tier of the Swiss football league system. Founded in 1905 by Charles Seiler and Alfred Merk. The idea for the name they found in a newspaper article of that time, which reported on the steamship line “Red Star Line”, and nothing to do with communist ideology or socialist principles, they were in fact originally attached to the local Catholic youth club, later becoming an independent club. 
Even though the game was nil all, it was pretty entertaining. Both teams had chances to score, and the level of quality on show wasn’t too bad. 
Grasshoppers were founded on the 1st of September 1886 by Tom E. Griffith, an English student, who set up a team made up mostly of a group of students who were originally from Manchester and were studying in Zurich at the time.
In the 1950’s they won two more league titles and two more cups, but the 1956 win in the Swiss Championship was to be their last silverware for quite a while, 15 years in fact, winning nothing in the ’60s. The long wait was over in 1971 when they beat FC Basel in the last game of the championship, in extra time, to clinch their 16th title. The 17th came in 1978. 
The 90’s were good times too, winning the league five times in the decade which wasn’t a bad achievement, and the cup twice. But just the two titles the decade after, in the 2000/01 and 2002/03 season, 2003 proving to be their last Championship. Apart from a Cup win in 2013 , which ended a ten year trophy drought, the club has gone through a mostly barren period with little to show in many recent years of football.
The Letzigrund stadium is some stadium though, wide and expansive, at night with the floodlights on it is a sight to see. An athletics stadium first and foremost but owned by the city of Zurich (buying it off FC Zurich who were in debt at the time), with the popular IAAF Diamond League taking place here every year, it also has held some pretty big music concerts down through the years (both the old and updated version of the stadium) from U2, Bon Jovi, Madonna, Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Rihanna, Beyoncé, the Rolling Stones right up to today with Ed Sheeran playing booked to play this summer 2018. The current capacity is 25,000, for football events, 30,000, for athletics and 50,000, for concerts
That goal did eventually come, in the 68th minute when J. Suárez scored a nice goal, scoring from a loose ball just outside the box slotting it home with the goalkeeper no chance. A very well taken goal. By this stage Grasshoppers were piling on the pressure, and they got a second when M. Basic scored from a penalty after Pusic was taken down in the box. 
Acquisition of the brewery by Bernhard Füglistaller-Sprenger. The Warteck beer quickly gained a good name and so shortly afterwards the first depot was opened in Bern and the first “Pilsener” was brewed in Basel.
Bought it in a ten pack as I couldn’t get any singles in the shop. Clever marketing? 
Taste is nice enough, the initial mouthful feels good. Nice maltiness there. 
Well if you haven’t guessed by now, the company name and logo were inspired by the faithful pet boxer of brewery founder and first director Mr. A. Hauser, on April the 6th, 1960. The new business was to have the start qualities of honesty, loyalty, independence and resilience, traits that he found in his beloved dog, Aramis.
Got it in a can, could not pass by and had to buy it what with the very eye catching logo of a Boxer dog on the can. Logo really is cool, love it, it really stands out. 
A little bit hoppy but not overpowering, nicely balanced and pleasant. 
