Author Archives: Rob Nesbit

About Rob Nesbit

Beer drinker and all round annoyance. Likes drinking, football, cricket and having a good time.

Fifa World Cup Brazil 2014 Opening Ceremony

World Cup Brazil 2014 Opening Ceremony

Opening Ceremony

Fifa World Cup Brazil 2014 Opening Ceremony

Quick run for the hills

In South Africa they had the awful Vuvuzela’s and Shakira, but very little else. Through the whole tournament of 2010 I had seen very little or heard anything at all that might signify that the World Cup was on the continent of Africa for the first time ever. It was a terrible advert for African football. Compared to the amazing scenes in Korea and Japan in 2002, or the fan zones of 2006 in Germany. The World Cup atmosphere of 2010 will only be remembered for fans who would rather blow a trumpet than actual look at the game. Pity.

Fifa World Cup Brazil 2014 Opening Ceremony

Korean Red Devils

So will Brazil be different? You would like to think so, but Shakira is back with Pitbull for the World Cup Song, “La La La”. Not only did they not get a Brazilian to headline, they also are singing in English and Spanish. Why does everything have to be diluted into corporate nonsense? Pitbull? Really?

So I probably wont be looking at the opening ceremony. The music might be trash, and I couldn’t really stomach seeing Blatter and the gang guffawing in the prawn sandwich seats.

But to be fair, generally opening ceremony’s be they in Olympics or World Cups are a bit dull. The best for me was definitely the Sydney 2000 Summer Olympics. They had an open air concert, with a good combo of traditional and modern music. The worst was Beijing, everything was faked even the fireworks. Makes you wonder why they even bothered. 

Fifa World Cup Brazil 2014 Opening Ceremony

Pavarotti

As for music, surely the best ever was Pavarotti and his rendition of  “Nessun Dorma” from Puccini‘s Turandot. Pavarotti, Domingo and Carreras, “The Three Tenors” of 1990, will linger long in the memory. 

The Open Ceremony, Brazil 2014? Nah, will pass. The football should be more than enough to get me in the mood. But if I did miss something be sure to tell me!

Pavarotti with the best World Cup song EVER

 

 

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South Korea 2 Algeria 4 Fifa World Cup 2014

Hite Beer, Korean Lager

south korea

Hite Beer 

http://www.hite.com/

Brewed by The Hite Company
Style: Pale Lager
Seoul, South Korea

day 11 015

The top-selling beer in South Korea (beer in Korean is maekju). Brewed & bottled in Korea at HITE Brewery co. ltd. Seoul. Well known as the only Korean beer one can really find in Korean restaurants in the West

day 11 020Hite lager, 4.5% ABV., is a golden coloured beer that is styled on traditional European and American lagers, although it differs significantly from them in taste as it is brewed with rice in addition to barley, which results in a lighter-bodied, slightly sweeter beer that has less of a head than other beers.

Hite Brewery Company Limited is a South Korean brewery company headquartered in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul. Its main products are beer, rice wine, and mineral water. The company was established as Chosun Breweries way back in 1933. In 2002 its share of the domestic beer market was some 55%, making it the number one beer in South Korea

day 6 059Review: Bottle of Hite Pale Lager 4.5%ABV

Hite lager is a nice, pleasant tasting beer from South Korea, that’s so good with Korean food.

Pours a golden yellow clear colour with a small light head and some lacing.

day 6 073A nice sweet aroma of light malt and grains were found making the smell one of the highlights of this Korean brew. On closer inspection the smell is quite unusual, a strong tinge of a shot, possibly the rice.

it is an extremely easy tasting drink: sweet, clear and crisp. Its smoothness making it go down very well. There was a lingering grain sweetness throughout in the beer that stays nice till the end, no bitterness found in this beer. It tasted of a little rice and pale malt, some grains and a light hop flavour. Very refreshing and clean throughout, I enjoyed this beer.  This beer is pleasant. and perfect for the light beer drinker.  Definitely a top class session beer, perfect for a night out with friends to a restaurant, say perhaps a Korean restaurant! Would work very well with some light food.

 

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Samuel Adams, Boston Lager

usa Samuel Adams Boston Lager 

http://www.samueladams.com/

Brewed by Boston Beer Company
Style: Amber Lager/Vienna
Boston, Massachusetts USA

day 11 025Samuel Adams is an American brand of beer brewed by the Boston Beer Company.

The original recipe was developed in 1860 in Minster, Ohio by Louis Koch originally known as The Wooden Shoe Brew.  Jim Koch, the sixth-generation, first-born son to follow in his family’s brewing footsteps, brewed his first batch of Samuel Adams Boston Lager in his kitchen, using the original family recipe for Louis Koch Lager. Along with with Harry Rubin and Lorenzo Lamadrid. the three men founded Samuel Adams Beer in 1984 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA.

18 n 19 b 033The brand name of Samuel Adams was chosen in honor of Samuel Adams, the Boston patriot, famous for his role in the American Revolution and the Boston Tea Party and who also had inherited a brewing tradition from his father.

In 1985, it was voted “Best Beer in America” at the Great American Beer Festival, in which 93 national and regional beers competed. Thus success catapulted it onto the craft brewing world stage. Sales increased dramatically, and today it is one of the largest American-owned beer company’s in the United States.

day 5 033Review: Bottle of Samuel Adams Lager 4.90%ABV

I was eager to try Samuel Adams, a beer that has a good reputation, an American craft beer classic. Comes in a lovely looking bottle, so lets have a gander at what this Boston beer is all about.

The appearance is great. It pours a nice dark golden colour with a good sized frothy head that hangs around a while leaving decent lacing. It has the look of a real beer, cant wait to drink it while standing back and admiring the froth.day 5 037

I got a faint smell of malts and a bit of floral hops. The smell was pleasant and not overbearing.

The Samuel Adams taste had a variety of strong flavours from the hops and malt which were well balanced, all tingling away at my taste buds. Caramel was one taste that stood out. The finish is strong with a long lasting heavy aftertaste. Overall a nice solid beer and a great delicious taste.  Samuel Adams is a beer that you will remember.

 

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Imperial Beer, Little Eagle

mperial Beer, Little Eagle Florida Bebidas Costa Rica Aguila Aguilita

Imperial Beer

http://www.florida.co.cr/website/

Brewed by Florida Bebidas
Style: Pale Lager
La Ribera de Belén, Heredia, Costa Rica


mperial Beer, Little Eagle Florida Bebidas Costa Rica Aguila Aguilita
Imperial is a Costa Rican brand of beer, manufactured by the Florida Ice & Farm Company. Imperial was first produced by the Ortega brewery in 1924, and is now produced in the Cerveceria, Costa Rica.

Imperial is also known by Costa Ricans as “Aguila” or “Aguilita”, which translates into English as “Eagle” or “Little Eagle” in reference to its logo,  which is the Imperial Eagle.

Imperial is created from a balanced formula combining malts, grains and hops, without a pronounced overtone in its taste. It is what is known as a “centralized” beer. Adapted to a warm and spring-like climate, Imperial has thus become the favorite beer of Costa Rica, both nationally and internationally.

Review: Bottle of Imperial Pale Lager, 4.60%ABV

An interesting beer from Costa Rica, Imperial is a very pleasant refreshing light lager.

Appearance was a crystal clear, pale golden straw colour, what a normal looking lager should look like.  When pouring a small frothy whitehead appeared that dissipated relatively fast with some lacing remaining.

Sweet aroma of lightly toasted malt with corn. Smell was great, very enticing.

Similar to the smell, there is a slightly bitter grassy flavour of a creamy aftertaste of dry corn sweetness, that leaves a dry feeling in the mouth

Overall, Imperial Beer is a standard, good lager.

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Baltika 7 Eksportnoe (Export) and Baltika 6 Porter

RUSSIA

Baltika 7 Eksportnoe (Export)

Baltika 6 Porter

http://www.baltikabeer.com/

Brewed by Baltika Brewery (Baltic Beverages Holding – Carlsberg)
Style: Pale Lager
St. Petersburg, Russia

day 10 b 012Baltika Breweries was established in 1990 in St Petersburg. Its Brewery in the city is considered not only the the largest brewery in Russia but also of Europe. Apparently the area occupied by the brewery is equal to the Vatican.

In April 2008, Baltika became part of the international Carlsberg Group and has expanded rapidly. Baltika Breweries were the first Russian brewer to export beer outside of Russia and Baltika Beers are now sold in more than 75 countries worldwide, making it the largest brewing company in Eastern Europe

Locals refer to Baltika beers by their “number” rather than name. Baltika no. 7 was launched to commemorate the Goodwill Games in Saint Petersburg in 1994. Light, aromatic beer with a most refined flavor, the beers ingredients are water, light barley malt and the best varieties of hops. Produced since 1994, the alcohol content of no.7 is slightly higher than in traditional lager beers.

The “Seven” variety has won more than 20 awards in professional and consumer contests, both national and international.

Review: Bottle of Baltika 7 Eksportnoe (Export) 5.4%ABV

day 6 078Baltika 7 Eksportnoe, a handful to pronounce, is an interesting pale lager with its own unique taste coming all way from St. Petersburg, Moscow.

On pour there is a nice pale golden appearance with a good frothy head which dies eventually to show some lacing.

The aroma is of sweet malt and grain producing a lovely rustic kind of smell that is both strong and appealing on the nose.

The taste is of some sweet malts, was slightly hoppy, with some light barley malt. Overall I found that Baltika 7 Eksportnoe was quite easy to drink and it did the business after a long day of work. Having said that though, there was a small aftertaste that was quite strong but that brought a nice balance to the beer and I recommend this as a good session beer.

Review: Bottle of Baltika 6 Porter 7%ABV

18 n 19 b 019Baltika Porter,  a decent 7% Baltic porter from Russia with a good drinkability rating, is a traditional dark beer based on old recipes and was designed and launched in production in 1994.  It’s a very smooth and pleasant porter considering the ABV.

As you would expect for a porter on pour you get a pitch black appearance with a very good creamy head that settles to a tanish colour, but doesn’t linger too long.

Aroma is sweet and strong smelling, of strong notes of dark chocolate malts and roasted malts. An inviting aroma.

The taste is quite surprising as I would have not associated Russia with decent porter, but this was not the worst stout I ever had. I actually enjoyed drinking it. The taste is of dark chocolate, coffee and roasted malt, not overwhelming and not a strong bitter tasting stout. In fact it had a little sweet taste upfront, with only light bitterness afterwards, well balanced. It was very smooth and very enjoyable to drink. Will be looking out for this one again in the future. Recommended, but be careful it is strong despite how smooth it goes down!

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