Ueli Laggs Special

Ueli Beer

Brewed by Brauerei Fishcerstube
Style: Specialty
Basel, Switzerland

The brewery Fischerstube AG is a Swiss brewery with its headquarters in Basel, a city on the Rhine River in northwest Switzerland, close to the country’s borders with France and Germany. It produces beer under the brand name “Ueli beer”.

The brewery sells a wide variety of beers and also does a good trade in seasonal and iconic brews. They have taken on some interesting brews with an eye on what is happening in the local area. When the Basel Antiquity Museum had a Tutankhamun exhibition in 2004, this inspired the brewery to bring out The Tut-Anch-Ueli, brewed according to an ancient Egyptian recipe of barley malt, emmer, hops and dates and found ripping heel. They did likewise when Van Gogh and Pablo Picasso had exhibitions in the local art gallery. For Van Gogh they actually had a sunflower flavoured beer in their Van Ueli beer, while for Ueli Beer Pablo they brewed a powerful beer with Absinthe, as “Powerful as a work by Picasso”. And for the annual Basel carnival, they have their own specially themed Bock beer, and they also produce a Christmas beer in the run upto to the end of year festivities. In total, more than 50 such specialty beers have been brewed, each available for a specific occasion or seasonally, there really is no occasion without a Ueli beer at hand!

Second time having a beer from this small Swiss brewery, having had their Ueli Bier Reverenz a while back which I found to be very good, very nice and definitely one to saviour especially the long full bodied taste, so high hopes for this Laggs Special, so lets see……

Review: 33cl bottle of Ueli Laggs Special: 5.2% vol.

Famous for their specialty beers, Brauerei Fishcerstube, as part of the current “Salmon Comeback Campaign” in the city of Basel, have teamed up with WWF Switzerland to create the “Ueli Laggs special”. The upper Rhine used to be overflowing with Atlantic Salmon about 50 years ago but alas no more, so the WWF are hoping to bring them back. So with every bottle of Laggs you purchase, 50 cents goes towards this great project. I will drink to that!

So that explains the picture of the salmon on the bottle!

The appearance is one of a golden colour, and a small white head. A good bit of carbonation going on, results in a head that maintains well and some lacing present, not a bad looking beer.

On the nose I get the sweet malts and the odd fruit aroma, but also the strong smell of hops. They smell a bit stinky, I wonder is that to mimic the smell of a fresh salmon!

Initially it was not a great taste, tasting a bit “urgh”, like a salmon taste in fact. A bit too over done with the hops, too bitter.

Its all about the hops in this beer.

Bit better with the second bottle cold from the fridge. Malts and barley coming more to the fore.

All a bit sickly in the mouth for me. Far overdone with the hops and not a great beer to drink. Just as well its a specialty as I dont think I’d be buying this on a regular occasion. Too overbearing, too bitter, too much like drinking a bucket of salmon water. Yuck!