Brewed by Brasserie Lefebvre Style: Belgian Pale Ale Rebecq-Quenast, Belgium (Brewed for Lidl)
The popular Belgian Lefebvre brewery have produced an Abbey beer called Abbaye de Oudkerken, which Lidl, the German discount chain, have picked up and now sell in a lot of their supermarkets on the continent. As far as I can find, “OudKerken” stands for Old Church.
Now there is some controversy about the proliferation of “Abbey beers” from Belgium. The connections between the Abbey and the brew are sometimes tenuous at best. Many breweries are falling over themselves to cater for this new small specialty niche in the market, abbey beers are cool. The marketing men have taken over. A river runs near to an Abbey, there we have a brew. An abbey was once here hundreds of years ago, good that’s the beer we will go with. And so on. Good luck trying to find the link with Abbaye de Oudkerken. Now some people get annoyed with this, yeah its a bit cheeky, but if its good enough beer then I am not so sure if I give a fig.
But I see there is actually an international body that looks over these important matters. The International Trappist Association have drawn up an official Trappist beer designation which amongst other rules states that an Abbey beer may be:
• produced by a non-Trappist monastery — e.g. Benedictine; or
• produced by a commercial brewery under commercial arrangement with an extant monastery; or
• branded with the name of a defunct or fictitious abbey by a commercial brewer; or
• given a vaguely monastic branding, without mentioning a specific monastery, by a commercial brewer. (ref: Wikipedia)
Review: Bottle of Abbaye de Oudkerken Pale Ale: ABV: 6.2%
Bought a six pack of these beers in my nearest Lidl in France. Couldn’t pass by, noticing that they were so cheap (As far as I remember about 50c for a bottle). I like beer, but I love cheap beer! It also had a very distinctive packaging which caught the eye
Appearance: On pour there was a clear golden colour with a nice white head appearing, which doesn’t last, and some lacing.
Phew, what a smell, hitting immediately on the nose. Hints of lemon, roasted malts and yeast, a very strong alcohol smell. Like it a lot, rustic, a killer smell, like a fire burning on the nose, and very sweet.
A very deep taste of sweet syrupy malts, a slight hoppy aftertaste.
Overall I liked this beer, not going to set the world alight, but for the price it was decent, and was easy to drink and enjoy. Didnt quite feel the 6.2% ABV.
A good beer considering the price and value you are getting.
Brewed by Brouwerij De Brabandere Style: Belgian Style Dubbel Harelbeke, Belgium
In 1894 a brewery was set up by one Adolphe De Brabandere, a farmer from the small village of Bavikhove within the Flemish province of West Flanders, in Belgium. It wasn’t until his son, Jozef took over in 1909 that things really started to move on, enlarging the brewery and changing its name from Brabandere to Saint Anthony. With the advent of the First World War things quietened down a bit until Jozef’s son, Albert, took over the reins of the brewery. This period (after both wars) saw a steady growth for the brewery, with sales expanding to include bigger retailers, and the name was also reverted back to the original Brabandere. Two sons, Ignace and Vincent took over in the 70s and changed the name again, this time to the Bavik Brewery.The beers were popular, and were gaining an audience.
With the unimaginable success of the local football team K.S.V. Waregem, who won the Belgian Cup in 1974, and reaching the semi-finals of the Uefa cup in the 85-96 season, the brewery was able to capitalise on the back of this success by releasing beers to coincide with the team’s success. Alas that team is no longer with us having went bankrupt in the early 2001.
In 2013 another generation took over, Albert De Brabandere. Yes another Albert! Albert increased the capacity of the brewery, modernising the plant and, in 2014, once again changing the name back to the original Brabandere! (I have lost count here!)
In these days of cut throat business mergers and hostile takeovers, it’s refreshing to see a family run business, now in its fifth generation of the Brabandere clan, doing so well and remaining one of the largest independent breweries in Belgium. But not only that, the brewery is also winning awards, a regular winner on the World Beer Awards, for all of its wide range of beers and ales. So this family brewery is definitely one to take note of when gawking at all the world beers in your local off license or from a certain German discount supermarket chain where I got my six pack!
Review: Bottle of Petrus Dubbel Bruin Ale Ale: ABV 6.50%
Petrus Double Brown Ale is a top-fermented dark beer. Brewed with pure spring water and carefully selected hops and malts.
The appearance was of a very dark and deep brown colour with a ruby red tinge, with a lovely creamy white head that sticks around, definitely looks the part, looks great. A very attractive beer! Didn’t notice much lacing, some carbonation.
There was quite a strong metallic smell, very strong, with very sour cherry notes, malts, and overall very sweet, can definitely smell the alcohol.
Had a pretty strong taste throughout, from start to the end, not much kick in the aftertaste, but having said that it was still very drinkable for me. Sweet tasting, with a lot of sugar, and of malts, cherry, caramel, and plum fruits,
Overall I liked this drink, found it very smooth and easy to drink, nicely balanced, and will definitely look out for it again in the future.
Brewed by Ceylon / Lion Brewery Limited Style: Imperial Pils/Strong Pale Lager Biyagama, Sri Lanka
A beer from Sri Lanka? Now there is a novelty. And the beer bottle looks enticing too. A big lion on the bottle looking angrily at me, “buy me, roar!
Lion beer
Lion Brewery is a Sri Lankan owned and operated brewery that produces Lion Lager, a bestseller in both Sri Lanka and the Maldives.
The Ceylon/Lion Brewery was the first brewery established in Sri Lanka. In 1849, Samuel Baker, the famous British explorer and officer, set up a small brewery mainly to cater for the local expats and other well to do types who were making their money on the tea plantations in the beautiful cool climate of Nuwara Eliya, with its perfect natural spring water. It was only until 1881 that the brewery started to get serious and began brewing on a commercial basis, with the Ceylon Brewery Company officially taking over the operations.
In 1993, the Ceylon Brewery was took over by Carson Cumberbatch & Co Ltd, a diversified group of Sri Lankan businesses. This group turning the brewery into Sri Lanka’s leading beer brand. This success didn’t go unnoticed and in 1996 the Carlsberg Group acquired a 25% share in the brewery.
To note, the company is called Lion Brewery, with the Ceylon Brewery remaining as a holding company.
Also the brewery now has its headquarters and operates out of the town of Biyagama, just outside the capital Colombo, with the Nuwara Eliya operations now closed.
The brewery rules Sri Lanka with an impressive 82% of the market share, and apart from the extra strong lager they also produce a regular lager and a stout. Lion can be bought in the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia amongst others.
Review: Bottle of Lion Strong Lager 8.80% ABV
A Gold medal winner in 2012 from the Monde Selection, the Michelin Guide version of beer, the lager came in some pretty impressive imagery, the bottle showing a very intimidating lion face. I guess signifying strength and prowess. Perhaps his name is Cecil?
On Pour we have a dark golden colour, with a nice sized white head that dissipates quick enough, leaving pretty good lacing . Looks decent, like a proper beer.
Got a very fruity aroma, an apple and a lot of sweet smelling malts. The smell was quite strong, all that fruit!
For a lager that is 8.8%, it was very well hidden, not feeling the true strength at all.
There is a very fruity taste to this beer, very overpowering. The taste lingers in the mouth, very sweet with a good grain taste. Some bitterness in the aftertaste.
Interesting beer alright, could actually be a decent session beer considering the ABV. as it was very easy to drink. I had four of them, and was fine! (I think!).
As it was summer and I had a bit of time on my hands I decided to head over to Luxembourg to get in a new ground and see UCD of Dublin play F91 Dudelange in the Europa League First round. The first game in Ireland ended 1-0 to UCD so the stage was set for an exciting second leg to see if the Students could hold out and progress.
Here is my trip in video form
UCDAFC, or University College Dublin Association Football Club, play in the second tier of League of Ireland football, and are a semi pro team that mostly use players who also attend the university. Many players avail of the opportunity to earn a degree while playing top class, or relatively top class football. Before this game UCD’s claim to fame was running an Everton team close in the European Cup Winners Cup in the 1984/85 season, a team that had the calibre of Southall, Sheedy, Sharp, Reid and Gray in its line-up, going down just 1-0 in aggregate.
Also more importantly it is said that Socrates, the legendary Brazilian chain smoker and sometime footballer, played for the team when he was a student of UCD back in the day.
(Even though I love to dream, that’s unfortunately more than likely an urban myth)
F91 were formed in 1991 from the amalgamation of three clubs, Alliance Dudelange, Stade Dudelange, and US Dudelange, who all had varying degrees of success, but it was hoped that a new club would be financial viable and more successful on the sporting field. Which was proved right as F91 have won 11 national league titles since the year 2000.
In European competition they will be remembered as the plucky Luxembourg team that knocked out Austrian champion’s Red Bull Salzburg from the 2012–13 Champions League. A result that was quite unexpected considering the relative sizes of both nations leagues.
Had organised a good deal with two bars before the trip. Justin from the Tube Bar had offered me a cracking deal on shots and draft pints, and he got in contact with the Irish bar for me, PYG bar, who also offered bottles at a discount.
Now the sad thing is I wasn’t able to visit both bars at all over the day/night. Which was a pain in the hole.
I simply couldn’t find the Tube Bar, and the PYGlooked closed when I passed it in the middle of the day, and later was far too much of a walk away to check it out. Virtually no signage or street maps at all on the streets of Luxembourg.
Thanks to Justin anyway for the effort
And I will definitely check it out both bars next time I am in the Duchy
Check out the Tube bar and the PYG
Bistrot Le Journal Bar n Café 31 Avenue de la GareL-1611 Luxembourg
On arrival in Luxembourg City, the first bar and the first beer (first draught!) was in Bistrot Le Journal Bar, just around the corner from the train station. Was early afternoon, but had a good lively crowd in the bar. Nice décor, old floor, and a bit of chat with some of the customers. Had my first pint of Bofferding, the local brew. Truth be told it was disgusting. I figured that it was a bad pint, as later on in the day I found that Bofferding wasn’t that bad.
Just had the one, but heh sometimes you can get an unlucky pint.
As time was of the essence, I decided to see if I could have one in the Irish bar PYG, an early scouting session for later on in the night.
Now this was before I know how hilly Luxembourg City was. After what seemed like well over an hour, I eventually came upon the bar. But it was closed, or at least it looked that way! What a disappointment.
Noticed that just a small walk up the way was an interesting bar called Maybe Not Bob’s. Again the front door was closed, but I heard some noise from inside. I checked it out and yes it was open! Which made me think that perhaps the Irish bar was indeed open as well. WTF with closed doors, hardly a way to entice customers!
Anyway asked for the local brew, got another Bofferding. But thankfully this one was prefect, no bad aftertaste, and was exactly what I needed after my long haul to this side of the town. Got chatting to the barman who was an Ethiopian called Addis (like the capital!), nice friendly guy who gave me the low down on life in the Duchy. Place was busy enough, with people eating what looked like pretty tasty food. Had a gander at the menu, and tried to order something off it but was told the kitchen staff had just left for lunch! Yes, they left for lunch at lunchtime, most be a Luxembourg thing. Indeed I saw them heading out the door, a couple of Chinese fellas. Pity as I read later that this place does the best burgers in the city. Damn!
As for Dudelange, the town is located in the south of the country, and a short 30 minute train journey from the capital. The town itself is a small “city” of about 20,000 people (3rd largest in the country) and is straddling the border with France.
As I didn’t have a whole lot of time, I managed to just visit the one bar in the town.
THE SYNDICATE BAR 33, avenue Grand-Duchesse Charlotte, Dudelange Facebook
I popped into the first bar I came across from the train station, and that was The Syndicate Bar
The Syndicate Bar is an old school bar, nothing pretentious about it, with good classic rock music playing away from the juke box. I liked the bar, wasn’t full at all, but it was the middle of the day, on a Thursday in Dudelange.
Got talking to the (bar owner) Assia and (staff) Mandy, who were very chatty, and fun.
Had a nice bottle of Strongbow, cold from the fridge which went down well. I liked this bar, and would have easily stayed for more than the two ciders I had if I wasn’t pressed for time.
Bofferding www.bofferding.lu
The beer I was mostly drinking on my short trip to Luxembourg was the local brew, Bofferding.
Bofferding is produced by the Brasserie Nationale, founded in 1975, which is the largest brewery in Luxembourg. A small brewery, but they export to their close neighbours, Belgium and France, and their not so close neighbours, China!
Without giving a full detailed review, the beer was fine. Certainly did the business over the few hours I was in the Grand Duchy.
Another beer I was drinking over the few hours was Leffe, a beer from Belgium. The beer, is known as an Abbey beer, which means it has a close connection with a real Abbey where real monks develop real ales! Using knowledge passed down through the ages and ingredients found in the wild near the abbey, the canons developed a unique ale, brewed only at the Leffe abbey.
Now all Leffe brands are brewed at the Stella Artois brewery in Leuven. But the connection remains with the original Leffe abbey, who collect substantial royalties to this day from InBev Belgium.
The beer was decent enough, a bit hoppy, but did the business.
The Game
It took me over 4 hours to get home, via 3 trains, 3 long trains!
But it was worth all the effort, as UCD held out to go through on an aggregate score of 2-2, winning on the away goals rule.
Cracking start to the game for UCD as they got off the mark first , with a def header from Swan (2-0 on agg.), but the game plan went astray once Coyne was sent off. His tackle was a bit reckless, but I think a red card was very harsh. With him UCD would have coasted this game, without him it was a struggle.
Both goals near the end of the first half for F91 were very disappointing. The first Dudelange goal was like in slow motion, he got so much space and got to pick his spot, the second was comical, from a throw in where everyone for UCD fell asleep, a simple free header.
Wasnt looking good for the second half, as the aggregate score was now UCD 2 F91 2, with the Luxembourgers only needing one more goal to go through against the ten men of UCD.
But UCD held out, I don’t know how they did, but they did. The stats might show how much of a colossal effort it was, 27 shots on goal for F91 to 4 for UCD
The UCD support were great too, for a small bunch they made a lot of noise.
The moment the ref blew the final whistle was fantastic, great craic, immense joy and what a relief. That was a very long second half, plus the 5 added on as well!
Overall the trip might not have had as much beer or shenanigans as I would have liked, but the game made up for all that.
Met some of Swan’s family after the match as well which was cool, nice people, and overall Luxembourg was a fantastic city. Must remember to bring the wifey there some day! As for UCD, they went out in the next round to Slovan Bratislava, a team of pros, but heh, thanks for the memories,.
Herein I give you some really fun and cool facts about little old Luxembourg
Luxembourg, and its capital, Luxembourg City.
Luxembourg officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France to the south.
Another small country, another tax haven, another country in Europe run by a family of wealthy Royals. This time little old Luxembourg, with its amazing capital city, imaginatively called Luxembourg City. The city is truly magnificent, covered by hills and valleys all around, divided by rivers, and all surrounded by the many fortifications, bridges and viaducts dotted all over the city, it’s a city I fell in love with. And it’s no surprise to see that UNESCO gave it World Heritage status.
According to the OECD (2010) Luxembourg sold the most alcohol in Europe, per capita. Yes Luxembourg! But before you get your knickers in a twist, a large proportion of this alcohol is purchased by customers from neighbouring countries contributing to a statistically high level of alcohol sales per capita. So blame the French and Belgians, and perhaps the occasional Irish visitor (well what can I say, I do try!!)
Luxembourg is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch. Headed by Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, the world’s only remaining grand duchy (don’t ask I am still confused about that one!) who has the power to dissolve the legislature, but he doesn’t as he is a good lad.
Luxembourg is one of the smallest countries in Europe, and ranking 179th in size of all the 194 independent countries of the world; the country is about 2,586 square kilometres (998 sq mi) in size, and measures 82 km (51 mi) long and 57 km (35 mi) wide, with a population of 562,958. (2013 World Bank)
The people of Luxembourg are called Luxembourgers.
Luxembourg is a secular state, but most Luxembourgers, including the Royal family, are Catholic.
Not a nation that produced a lot of major sports stars, but in Marc Girardelli they had an Alpine skier who was World Cup overall champion five times, and with Nicolas Frantz (1927/28) and Andy Schleck (2010) they bagged three Tour de France wins.
General George S. Patton, “Old Blood and Guts”, is buried in the Second World War Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial at Hamm. This cemetery is also the final resting place of 5,076 American military dead.
Luxembourg is sometimes called “Little Switzerland” for all its hills and valleys, and not, I repeat NOT, due to its vast wealth and somewhat questionable dodgy banking transactions. Other names we can use for Luxembourg is the “Green Heart in Europe” and the “Forest and Fortress”
Speaking of tax havens, according to one British newspaper, The Sunday Telegraph Kim Jong-Il’s had some $4bn hidden away in secret accounts in Luxembourg banks. Make of that what you will!
Three languages are recognised as official in Luxembourg: French, German, and Luxembourgish. Luxembourgish is the language that Luxembourgers generally use to speak to each other. Most official business and legislation, and the language of the government is carried out in French. German is usually the first language taught in school and is the language of much of the media and of the church.
They are rich buggers with a stable economy, low inflation and unemployment, and a highly educated populace, money is what they are good at making. In 2011 the IMF put them as the second richest nation in the world. Banking, insurance and finance is the major sources of wealth in the nation but recently the Luxembourg government has started to attract internet companies to set up base in the tiny nation, with Skype and Amazon being two of the many internet companies that have shifted their regional headquarters to Luxembourg.
Since the country is so small it only has an army of about 800 soldiers and no navy (landlocked) or air force, but that’s all A.OK as they are in NATO so if ever attacked they can get the big boys to bail them out.
But who would want to attack such a small nation? Well quite a few have: Utilising its natural strategic location it was the Romans in the 10th century who fortified and used Luxembourg city as a base for trade and defence. Over time Luxembourg city was one of the strongest fortifications in Europe as a long list of conquerors arrived and continually strengthened the city walls. Build a big wall with a nice city inside and it’s just natural that someone’s armies will attack, so a long list of attackers have conquered Luxembourg: the Burgundians, the Spanish, the French, the Austrians, the Prussians, and the Germans in both World Wars. So I guess one can understand if Luxembourg was eager to join NATO and align itself with one of the world’s strongest military alliances.
As mentioned alliances were important for Luxembourg. They also were a founding member of the United Nations in 1945, and were also heavily involved in the setup of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951, a precursor to the European Union. Luxembourg City is the seat of several institutions of the European Union, including the European Court of Justice, the European Commission, and the European Investment Bank. As an aside Schengen is in Luxembourg, giving its name to the Schengen Agreement, which a lot of travellers know only too well helping with the freedom to move all around Central Europe!
Brewed by Holsten-Brauerei (Carlsberg) Style: Pilsener Hamburg, Germany
When I was a kid Holsten Pils was a big player. I remember the great ads they had on the box, and the London football team Spurs had them as a shirt sponsor on and off for over 10 years.
Me, just a nipper, wasn’t quite sure what all the fuss was about, but that’s the power of advertising, making Holsten a major player in the UK lager market.
Not so sure how the beers sell these days, not so well perhaps, but I managed to find a few cans for a review, and I might add these were bought in Germany and not the standard fare you might get back in the UK. Not really tried Holsten before so wasn’t sure what to expect.
The beers are made by the Holsten Brewery (Holsten-Brauerei AG), originating from Hamburg, Northern Germany. Founded in 1879 Holsten have seven breweries in Germany, and also brew in the UK (Northampton). The company was acquired by the Carlsberg Group in 2004.
Its biggest-selling product is the premium brand Holsten Pilsener, a 4.8% abv pale lager, first produced in 1953 and sold all around the world
Review: Can of Holsten Pilsener Premium: 4.8% ABV
This typical Northern German beer is brewed according to the strict purity laws of the Reinheitsgebot of 1516 using only the finest quality, pure, all natural ingredients – hops, barley malt and spring water. Standard issue for German brews.
The aroma is grainy with a nice hoppy smell , giving a typical pilsner smell, all lovely and sweet.
On pour a large frothy head appeared, which didn’t hang around. The colour is a clear golden yellow colour. There is some fair lacing. Looks decent enough.
Enjoyed the taste, a nice balanced crispy mouthful of flavours (barley, grain, yeasty) whizzing around, all tasty. The taste is mostly grassy hops with a hint of sweet grain. Lager taste
There was a hoppy bitter aftertaste which was a little strong in the end
Overall it is a very smooth lager, not strong but clean, crisp and very drinkable, definitely a good session beer. I felt it had a lovely feel to it which was soft on the mouth. I liked it, best I had in a long time, nice and refreshing, and one I will return to again in the future.
Brewed by Heineken France.
Style: American Pale Lager
Rueil-Malmaison, France
You like Beer? Check. You like tequila? Check. Then Desperados Tequila Beer should be right up your street. Desperados is the world’s first Tequila Flavoured Beer, a lager with a kick of tequila.
Now when you think of Tequila you think of Mexico, but this is the strange bit. This beer was brewed in France and is owned by Heineken Inc. Despite all the exotic imagery on the can/bottle and the fancy Spanish sounding name, Desperados comes from France!
Tequila Flavoured Beer
The Fischer Brewery, founded in 1821 in Strasbourg, first produced Desperados, but with the recent success of the beer, production has now moved to the Netherlands, not surprisingly as Heineken took over the brewery in 1996. Does this make it any less exotic or “cool”? Hardly, it’s only a lager after all, with a bit of tequila thrown in.
The beer is sold in more than 60 countries and has just recently arrived on the shores of America, after some success in the European markets for the last 10 years. Heineken are hoping that the beer is seen as an alternative to spirits and shots on a night out, and is specially targeted at the young’uns who like to get wasted and quick. As traditional beer sales decline breweries are looking for alternatives and also exciting new products to push in the emerging Asian markets. Desperados offers something different than some stale boring lagers and is less bitter and so more appealing to softer palettes. Either way it’s always cool to try something different, and a tequila flavoured lager isn’t the worst idea in the world. (Note: mixing beer and spirits isn’t perhaps the most novel idea in the world, but let’s not burst Desperados marketing bubble just yet!).
So how much tequila is in this beer? The blurb says that Desperados is made by combining lager that is aged in tequila barrels for a few months, then blended with beer that is mixed with tequila and lemon flavors, leaving trace amounts of tequila. The tequila does come from Mexico, which is important to note! (Does any other nation produce tequila?)
Ok so let the tasting begin!
Review: Can of Desperados Beer: 5.9% ABV
As a fan of tequila, and straight (none of that salt and lime shite), anything that has the devils juice in it has my backing. So Desperadoes is an interesting brew alright, one definitely to try. With an ABV of just under 6% giving it an added incentive.
Desperados, world’s first Tequila Flavoured Beer
The appearance isn’t the best to be honest, pretty clear showing a golden orange colour with an initial decent frothy creamy head that dissipates quick enough. Some good lacing, but also dies soon after, looks like a lot of chemicals in this beer.
There is a very strong smell as you would expect ,very very sweet, like a fruit juice, mostly of citrus.
The taste has a very sweet and citrus taste to it, a bit tangy, tasting of lemon, lime and I guess Tequila. I say I guess because I’m not so sure of you can pick up the taste of the tequila. There is also an interesting deep sour aftertaste.
Having said all that I have to say the beer isn’t that bad. Once you get over the initial shock at all the sweet tastes, you do grow into it, and it does become a relatively smooth enough beer to drink. I think these beers would be a great accompaniment to a night on the town, perhaps have two or three to give you a little kick in your drinking during the night, or before you hit the clubs. Any more than that and I’m not sure how they would go down. I don’t think I could drink more than two or three to be honest. But overall its a good effort and I like the idea of Desperadoes. Have I found the taste of the tequila? Not sure, but then does it matter, the beer has a certain function which is to set you up for the party or the night, and this beer does that perfectly. A good party beer.
Brewed by Tsingtao Brewery Company Limited 青岛啤酒股份有限公司
Style: Premium Lager
Qinqdao, China
We all love to have a Chinese after a few beers, nothing better. But how many of you have actually dared to try out the beers that you might have noted behind the counter? Or did you even notice in your hazy intoxicated state that there is indeed some fine Chinese beer available and all you had to do was ask!
Waiting for an ass (bus)
It’s funny we all know about the wonder of MSG laden Chinese dishes, but I have never really seen anyone drink Chinese beer. I myself only know about some of the Chinese beer brands because I lived and worked in China for a few years back in the day, and got a taste for the local brews.
But yes China does have some decent beers, and the most widely known of them (at least to the beer connoisseur and the backpacker) is Tsingtao beer from the lovely seaside city of Qingdao (same pronunciation, the beer has the English spelling, the city the Chinese version!), situated in Shandong province.
The brewery in Qingdao dates way back to 1903, founded jointly by some German and British settlers, and even today uses the same unique processes and yeast strains as was used over 100 years ago.
China’s finest beer
Tsingtao Beer is a well-hopped typical pilsner of 4.7%. Brewed using a combination of the best yeast and barley from around the world, and, of course, rice which you would expect as it’s China after all! To round everything off fresh spring water from the famous Laoshan Mountains is added. The Laoshan Mountains are said to be the birthplace of Taoism.
The brewery also produces a number of other beers, mostly for the local market, but it’s Tsingtao Beer that accounts for most of the brewery’s production.
First exported in 1954, the Tsingtao brand is now sold in over 60 countries and regions around the world and accounts for more than 50% of China’s beer exports.
Of course Tsingtao is ideal when having a meal, so why not give it a try next time you are sitting down to some noodles, Spring Rolls, dumplings, or even that traditional Chinese favourite, curry chips!
Review: Bottle of Tsingtao Beer: 4.7%ABV
Tsingtao, the German style Chinese lager, with great flavors, a smooth taste and which is always recommended when eating Asian food.
Smooth
It comes in a lovely looking green bottle with a distinctive logo. I guess its the Chinese writing that attracts, also there looks to be a picture of the brewery overlooking a river, which I’m guessing is meant to signify the water from the Laoshan Mountain
A decent looking beer which has a clear yellow appearance, with a good nice frothy head, that unfortunately doesn’t stick around too long.
Loved the smell. Was pretty strong. Pure acidity, malts, skunk, and of course the rice, all combining to give a very sharp alcohol aroma.
The initial taste was quite strong, a little sour, and thereafter some malts and hay, a bit grainy with the rice making an appearance. A nicely balanced beer, not overbearing, with a lot of subtle flavours. Not much in the aftertaste, but overall this beer was very smooth, and not at all heavy. The crisp and refreshing taste makes this one of the most sessionable lagers you can find in my opinion. I like Tsingtao Beer, its not going to get you wasted, but you can drink a lot of them without having to worry too much about the night, or indeed not expect a bad hangover.
Brewed by Gösser (Brau Union)
Style: Oktoberfest/Märzen
Leoben, Austria
Gösser Beer from the Göss brewery is considered to be Austria’s finest and best beer. The popular brewery lies in the centre of the country in the federal state of Styria, in the small city of Leoben.
Austrian bier
Beer was first brewed in the town by Monks and Nuns near the river Mur. As the monastery was disbanded the activity of brewing ceased. That was until 1860 when a brewer and entrepreneur Max Kober acquired the land and restarted the brewery, and slowly began establishing Göss brewery into one of Austria’s major breweries.
Its Märzen beer is its best seller, accounting for well over 70% of its total output.
Märzen is German for “March beer” which is a lager that originated in Bavaria, and has a style that is characterized by a malty flavour, and a clean dry finish. It should be noted that there are differences between the German and Austrian styles of Märzen beers. In Germany, the term covers beers which differ in colour from pale (Helles Märzen), through amber to dark brown (Dunkles Märzen). The Austrian style is light in colour, body, and flavour balance, and is often that bit sweeter than their German counterparts.
Review: Bottle of Gösser Märzen, 5.2%ABV
Gösser
Gösser Beer with its very distinctive green colour trademark symbolising the state of Styria is the most typical beer you can get all around Austria. Mostly comes in cans abroad.
The appearance is that of a pale golden colour with a bit of a head. The beer has some carbonation and, when it settles, some decent lacing
Austrian bier
The aroma for me was quite strong, very metallic with notes of sweet malt and some hops, and a bit of citrus.
The initial taste was very good, sweet malts, and a nice creamy feel on the mouth, The aftertaste was quite bitter and strong, with a very hoppy finish.
Overall the beer had a good mix of flavours, felt like a whole lot was going on, and was very drinkable. Strong enough and did the business. Not a bad beer at all.
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.
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.
Now there is some controversy about the proliferation of “Abbey beers” from Belgium. The connections between the Abbey and the brew are sometimes tenuous at best. Many breweries are falling over themselves to cater for this new small specialty niche in the market, abbey beers are cool. The marketing men have taken over. A river runs near to an Abbey, there we have a brew. An abbey was once here hundreds of years ago, good that’s the beer we will go with. And so on. Good luck trying to find the link with Abbaye de Oudkerken. Now some people get annoyed with this, yeah its a bit cheeky, but if its good enough beer then I am not so sure if I give a fig.
But I see there is actually an international body that looks over these important matters. The International Trappist Association have drawn up an official Trappist beer designation which amongst other rules states that an Abbey beer may be:
Appearance: On pour there was a clear golden colour with a nice white head appearing, which doesn’t last, and some lacing.
