Category Archives: New Posts

New and exciting posts from the best half decent blog around

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!

Use Facebook to Comment on this Post

Stella Artois, A Belgian Star

 

Stella Artois

http://www.stellaartois.com/

Brewed by InBev Belgium
Style: Pale Lager
Leuven, Belgium

Stella Artois, a pilsner beer of 5.2% ABV., is one of the world’s best-selling beers as part of the Anheuser-Busch InBev group, and is enjoyed in more than 80 countries.

Stella Artois is brewed in Belgium (in the plants at Leuven and Jupille). The company has tax records that exist from 1366 on-wards when it was Leuven’s Den Horen Brewery but when Sebastien Artois became master brewer he gave his name to the brewery, becoming Stella Artois in the 1717. Stella after the Latin for “star.”, when it was first brewed as a Christmas drink.day 11 010

Its full, characteristic flavour and high quality is assured through a superior brewing process and by using the finest ingredients available, advertised as containing “only 4 ingredients: Hops, Malted Barley, Maize and Water”.

Review: Can of Stella Artois Pilsner Beer 5.2%ABV

Stella Artois is a nice clean and easy to drink beer, perfect to bring along for a party since its a beer that everyone can drink and enjoy.

The appearance was perfectly clear of a nice golden colour, with a good sized white head and some decent lacing.  It certainly looks the part.

day 6 008The aroma was nice and sweet but faint, smelling of a malty and hoppy smell.

Stella Artois had a nice crisp and refreshing taste to it which I found very easy to drink, was clean tasting  with no real offensive flavours. It is a very sweet grainy beer yet smooth enough to enjoy. A great session beer with your mates, light and very drinkable, an absolutely beautiful Belgian lager beer.

Use Facebook to Comment on this Post

Club Colombia, a Bogota Special

 

Club Colombia

http://www.clubcolombia.co/

Brewed by Grupo Empresarial Bavaria (SABMiller)
Style: Pale Lager
Bogota, Colombia

An extra-dry, carefully crafted pilsner lager, Club Colombia, is Colombia’s leading premium brand on the market, with an alcohol content of 4.7% by volume.

Bavaria Brewery is a Colombian brewery company created on April 4, 1889 by Leo S. Kopp, a German immigrant. It is a subsidiary of SABMiller. Bavaria is one of the largest brewery’s in South America.

Club Colombia, has won the Gold Medal of Belgium’s Monde Selection a couple of times, one of the most important food and beverage certification institutions in the world, highlighting the special qualities that make Club Colombia an indisputable showcase of Colombian brewing mastery and quality.

day 3 a 001Review: Bottle of Club Colombia pale lager, 4.7% ABV

I have to say was very pleasantly surprised with this lager. Wasn’t expecting a whole lot from a Colombian beer, but it was a lovely tasting beer with a nice looking body that was enjoyable to drink.

The beer pours a lovely clear gold body, with a decent frothy head that lasts. There was little lacing.

The smell is not strong or unpleasant, a little sweet and corn like.

The taste was of sweet toasted malts with no real aftertaste. A light tasting beer that did the business on a hot day. Recommended.

Use Facebook to Comment on this Post

VB Beer, for the Working Man

 

VB Beer

https://www.victoriabitter.com.au

Brewed by Carlton & United Breweries (CUB)
Style: Pale Lager
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Victoria Bitter (VB) has long been Australia’s favourite beer, accounting for almost 25% of domestic beer consumption. VB, as it is commonly known, was launched in the early 1900’s and since then has developed a reputation as a great beer with a tradition of rewarding Australians who work and play hard, a working man’s beer. It’s advertising slogan was “A hard-earned thirst needs a big, cold beer”

22c 011VB started its life as a beer for Victorians, first brewed by Melbourne brewers Thomas C. Moore and Henry F. Baxter. However, VB has grown to be one of the very few Australian beers which has been able to break through traditional regional barriers and today it is one of the highest selling beers in Australia.

Victoria Bitter is a lager produced by Carlton & United Breweries, a subsidiary of Foster’s Group in Melbourne, Victoria.

Despite its name, Victoria Bitter is not a bitter at all in the traditional British sense of what a bitter should be. Victoria Bitter is a lager, and at full strength is 4.9% ABV

Review: Bottle of VB beer, 4.9%ABV

Australia’s famous VB with its iconic brown stubby, and the famous aftertaste, great while watching the footie and cricket!

Pours a dark golden color, clear, topped with a thin white head with medium retention, and a little lacing left in the glass.

The aroma is mostly of faint grains, sweet malts and low hops.

Sweet malty taste, there is a strong taste of creamy bitterness at the end which I guess is where the “bitter” comes into the equation.  Have to say the sour aftertaste did grow on me, wasn’t sure at the start but got to like it in the end.

Use Facebook to Comment on this Post

San Miguel, On Your Holidays.

 San Miguel

http://www.sanmiguelbeer.com.ph/

Brewed by San Miguel
Style: Pale Lager
Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila, Philippines

Not technically a Spanish beer, but if you go to Spain on your holidays then more than likely you will be drinking San Miguel. Spain; sun, sea, sand, sex and San Miguel (or perhaps Sangria!) its part of your holiday package. It was, in fact, first made in 1890 by a Spaniard in the district of San Miguel, Manila – the capital city of the Philippines.  It also has a strong partnership with the Spanish-made San Miguel Beer, and both San Miguel’s have signed an agreement to jointly promote San Miguel Beer and expand its global footprint.

The original San Miguel Brewery, Inc. was founded as La Fabrica de Cerveza de San Miguel in 1890 and incorporated as the first San Miguel Brewery, Inc. in 1913. It was renamed San Miguel Corporation (SMC) in 1963, having grown into one of the Philippines’ largest business conglomerates with core interests in alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, food and packaging.

Review: Bottle of San Miguel pale lager, 4.8%ABV

A tasty beer that’s easy to drink and a refreshing choice on a hot summers day.

The appearance is that of a typical lager,  golden and clear. It has a very thin head that disappears quickly, with a small amount of lacing.

Not a strong aroma which smelled fresh and clean. Slight grainy aroma.

Taste was light and smooth with traces of grain and a soft aftertaste .

Use Facebook to Comment on this Post

Friedenfelser, Naturally Great Beer

 

Friedenfelser

http://www.friedenfelser.de/

 Brewed by Schlossbrauerei Friedenfels

See selection: http://www.friedenfelser.de/index.php?article_id=52&clang=0

Friedenfelser Pils Leicht Style: Low Alcohol

Friedenfelser Pils Style: Pilsener

Friedenfelser Urtyp Hell Style: Dortmunder/Helles

Friedenfelser Radler Style: Fruit Beer

Friedenfelser Hefe-Weizen (Hell) Style: German Hefeweizen

Friedenfelser Urtyp Alkoholfrei Style: Low Alcohol

Friedenfelser has a brewing tradition for more than 125 years and works in strict adherence to the Bavarian Purity Law of April 23, 1516 where our beers are produced and distributed according to ancient tradition and craft of brewing.

The ingredients of water, hops and malt are sourced locally and are constantly subjected to strict controls.

Friedenfelser produces quality – in many variations. From fruity style Radler beers to the perfect Pils. All beers produced to the highest quality and taste in no small part to the location of the brewery, beside a Natural Park Stone Forest, an area of Germany blessed with the ideal natural resources; beer and stone – wood and cereals – flowers and vegetables – the essentials for top quality beers.

 

Review: Bottle of Friedenfelser Pils Leicht 2.8%ABV.

day 5 008With Germany bound to do well in my drinking World Cup I decided to try a light Pils to save on the stronger stuff for later on. The last time I drank beer as low as this was from one of the Tesco branded cheap lagers, bought it out of curiosity, needless to say it was rotten. So wasn’t expecting a whole lot from this light Pils. Boy was I wrong, it was delicious and had a great aroma, a very pleasant surprise from a beer with only 2.8% ABV. A lot of taste and smells and little alcohol. Which shows that Friedenfelser made the effort for the light drinker.

day 5 009The appearance is a perfect clear pale yellow body with a smallish white head on top with fair lacing.

For me the smell was pretty good. As soon as the bottle was opened you get hit with a rustic sweet smell of malts and grains. Very enticing.

The taste is sour and sweet with pale malts and some hay, and with a fine bitterness in the end. A quite dry and refreshing beer and, as it a low alcohol Pils, it does a good job. Lots of flavor, easy to drink, with a nice hoppy finish.

 

Review: Bottle of Friedenfelser Urtyp Hell 4.8%ABV.

day 18 and 19 013Now to try some of Friedenfelser’s “Light Prototype”, as translated by Goggle Translate.

The appearance is of a lovely golden yellow colour, with a good frothy head,  that doesn’t quite last.

Good moderate smells emanate from this beer. The aroma is of malts and grains with notes of grassy hops.

But the best part of this beer is without doubt the taste. The flavours are of a light sweetness, a grainy malt taste and a light hop note. It tasted very nice and smooth with no real strong overpowering flavours, that makes this drink an excellent session beer, and one of the best I have had in along time. I could drink these all day! Recommended.

 

Review: Bottle of Friedenfelser Hefe-Weizen (Hell) 5.2%ABV.

“Hefe” means yeast, “Weizen” means wheat. If I am to be honest I am not a big fan of German style wheat beers. They are not what I am used to, so I wasn’t looking forward to drinking this bottle.  But the experience was one of surprise, as I very much enjoyed the beer, so much so that I quickly cracked open another one! Wheat beers always have a bitter aftertaste that doesn’t generally appeal, but this beer was very smooth, and I had no worries about drinking it. So I guess if this beer appealed to a wheat beer novice like myself then surely it must be doing something right! The beer is naturally brewed according to traditional Bavarian methods, so there is no issue with quality and pureness, and at least 50% of malted wheat is used in the production.

day 20 004On opening the bottle the beer fizzed out, which was a surprise as it wasn’t shaken or touched for a while. This happened with the second bottle, so there must be a huge amount of carbonation going on! When that all settled the colour was of a very clear orange beer with a nice frothy head, that looked very appealing.

The aroma was quite strong with notes of sweet banana, yeast and wheat.

I thought the taste was fantastic, very nice, very easy to drink. It tasted very sweet, and contained flavours of yeast and wheat, with a strong fruity banana aroma, and the aftertaste, was very manageable. Overall it was a good, pure and clear well balanced drink with a nice strong feel to it. I liked it and might start getting used to these German Style Wheat beers if they all taste as good as this one! Recommended.

 

Review: Bottle of Friedenfelser Pils 5.0%ABV.

Made with soft water from the nearby natural stone forest park this bottle of Pils is made under the best of Bavarian brewing methods.

The appearance is solid and, truth be known, not much to look at, with a golden yellow colour on pour with a thin white head.

23 030The aroma, on the other hand, is lovely and it smells like a true German style Pils that you can’t wait to start on. The aroma has notes of bread, grain, malt and grass with some citric hop notes. A good smell.

The taste was nice and balanced, a very easy and pleasant drink to quench the thirst. The flavours have a light sweetness and notes of malt, bread, straw, with a hint of citric hops and the bitter finish is moderate.  It’s a very good Pilsener, with a light body and one that I could drink all night. Another top beer from the Friedenfelser collection. Keep them coming boys!

 

Bottle of Friedenfelser Urtyp Alkoholfrei Style, Non Alcohol:

24 n 25 017I don’t normally drink non alcoholic beer, in fact I never drink non alcoholic beer, I don’t see the point of them, but hell there is always a first time so here goes.

Had the appearance of a pale golden colour with a smallish white head.

The aroma was very strong, smelling of grain, straw and sweet malts, not a bad smell. I found it very appealing on the nose.

The flavour is also very sweet with notes of straw and toasted malt, with heavy carbonation. If non alcoholic drinks are your thing then I guess this beer wouldn’t be a bad drink to have, as it looks and smells like the real deal, and the taste is manageable.

 

Bottle of Friedenfelser Radler, ABV 2.7%

24 n 25 020Tried Friedenfelser’s Radler, a light fruit drink that is a bit fizzy but lovely on taste.

The appearance is of a light clear yellow colour with a small white head. If honest, it didn’t look very appealing.

The aroma has strong notes of citric lemon, and malts. Again it wasn’t very appealing, kind of smelt like deodorant!

But all that is overridden by the very good sweet flavours within the beer itself. The taste was of strong citrus flavours but also contained some artificial sweetener. Fruity, sweet, smooth, and a good taste. Not a beer taste but a light soft drink taste, but enjoyable all the same.  Recommended if looking for a light beer to quickly quench the thirst. Not bad.

Use Facebook to Comment on this Post

karlskrone Lager, Aldi Special

karlskrone Lager, Aldi Special

 

karlskrone Lager

https://www.aldi.ie/en/specialbuys/thursday-13th-march/products-detail-page/ps/p/karlskrone-premium-quality-lager-1/

karlskrone Lager, Aldi SpecialKarlskrone is the registered trademark of discounters Group Aldi Süd and belonging to the Group discount chains Hofer and ALDI Switzerland , whose varieties are produced and bottled by different breweries. It is brewed in Belgium, but as its an Aldi product I decided to class it as a German beer.

Aldi’s Karlskrone, at a whole .49 CHF. (about 0.45 Cents in Euros) per bottle is top notch value and since it is brewed according to the Reinheitsgebot, means they can’t have any cheap filler, just water, malt, and hops. The price to quality ratio might be worth a try for this discount beer.

Review: Bottle of Karlskrone Lager 4.90%ABV

Brewed for the German supermarket chain, Aldi but only for their Swiss chains, Karlskrone is an affordable lager that comes in a 500 ml plastic green bottle, with a screw cap. Having a volume of ABV of 4,9% the beer is a good thirst quenching bargain at roughly .49 Swiss cents, a cent for each volume!

Pours a nice clear golden coloured beer, and a decent sized head formed with quite good retention, some small lacing afterwards.

karlskrone Lager, Aldi SpecialThere was a clear strong aroma of grainy malt and stale hops that smelled of straw/rice. The smell was very sweet.

The taste was also very sweet and left a sickly bitter aftertaste that took a while to get used to. The flavour was of sweet grain and malt. After the initial shock the drink settles on your taste buds and eventually becomes a rather refreshing drink. It is a nice slow burner, that grows on you, and for the price it sells at, its excellent value.

Use Facebook to Comment on this Post

Löwenbräu, an Oktoberfest Regular

Löwenbräu, an Oktoberfest Regular

 

Löwenbräu Original

http://www.loewenbraeu.de/

Brewed by Löwenbräu Munich (InBev)
Style: Dortmunder/Helles
Munich, Germany

Löwenbräu, an Oktoberfest RegularLöwenbräu is a brewery in Munich owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev. Löwenbräu translates to ‘lions brew’ and is brewed according to the the Bavarian beer purity regulation of 1516.

A dry but crisp, complex and refreshing taste, the Löwenbräu is a classic natural beer (5.2% alc/vol) with a heritage dating back to 1383. Now that is some old beer history!

By 1863, Löwenbräu had become the largest brewery in Munich, producing a quarter of the city’s beer output.
Even an Allied air raid in 1945, which destroyed the brewery, couldn’t stop the brewers of Löwenbräu and, today, Löwenbräu has one of the oldest beer gardens in Munich.

Löwenbräu beer has been served at every Oktoberfest in Munich since 1810. Because only beers that are brewed in Munich are permitted to be sold at Oktoberfest, Löwenbräu is one of six breweries represented.
Two of the large tents at Oktoberfest, the Löwenbräu-Festhalle and the Schützenfestzelt, are sponsored by Löwenbräu.

Review: Can of Lowenbrau beer 5.20%ABV

Löwenbräu is brewed under the famous Bavarian Purity Laws. This should mean that this beer is full of natural flavours, crisp and clear and fully balanced with its taste, a quality assured product from Germany. A place where a well crafted beer is expected and anything less is simply not tolerated by the locals.

The appearance was of a gorgeous golden yellow colour that had a very good head and great lacing. Looked so good I couldn’t wait to begin drinking the beauty!

Löwenbräu, an Oktoberfest RegularFound a faint aroma, smelt mostly of what a normal smelling lager should be like, malty and refreshing.

Was a lovely tasting drink that had no strong flavours or bitter aftertaste to it, just an awfully good session drink.  A clean, crisp, smooth and well balanced beer, Löwenbräu was really easy to enjoy. A good pure Deutsche lager. Refreshing.

Use Facebook to Comment on this Post

Super Bock, High Quality Portuguese Lager

Super Bock, High Quality Portuguese Lager

 

Super Bock

http://www.superbock.pt/
Brewed by Unicer Bebidas
Style: Pale Lager
Balio, Portugal

Super Bock is a Portuguese brand of strong pale lager (“bock”) from the Unicer brewery. Established in 1927, Unicer is based in Leça do Balio, just outside the city of Porto, Portugal. Super Bock is the most popular beer in Portugal with 42% share of the national market.

It is produced from selected high-quality ingredients, which give it its characteristic golden colour, authentic flavour, consistent froth and body, with an alcohol content of 5.6%,

SUPER BOCK Original is recognized internationally for its high quality and is the only brand to have won 28 gold medals at the prestigious “Monde Selection de la Qualite”.

The beer achieved cult status among football supporters during the UEFA Euro 2004 championship in Portugal, as it was a popular beer to accompany the football.

Review: Can of SuperBock Pale Lager 5.2%ABV

Super Bock, High Quality Portuguese LagerSuperBock, the football special. I can see why it is popular on the terraces, as it looks damn good, is relatively strong and goes down well. Its also quite cheap, which always appeals. Its a player alright.

This beer pours a crystal clear golden colour with a huge white head on top, which was very frothy. It is quick to settle, with little lacing.

The aroma is faint and gentle, some grains, malts and some light hints of grassy hops.

Not a bad taste, a mildly sweet refreshing lager that hits the throat lovely and there is a nice bitter and sour aftertaste that lingers for a short while. It’s a very easy beer to drink.

Use Facebook to Comment on this Post

Quilmes Export Beer, Argentina’s Light Blue and White.

 

Quilmes Export Beer

http://www.quilmes.com.ar/

Brewed by Cerveceria Malteria Quilmes SAICAY (InBev)
Style: Pale Lager
Quilmes, Buenos Aires, Argentina

day 9 and 10 a 028South America’s most popular beer Quilmes Export Beer is brewed in Buenos Aires and is the sponsor of Argentina’s National Football team!

Cervecería y maltería Quilmes is an Argentine Brewery founded in 1888 in Quilmes, Buenos Aires Province, by German immigrant Otto Bemberg.
The company quickly started growing and in the 1920s it was already the most popular beer in Buenos Aires. Since then, it has become something of an Argentine cultural symbol, accounting for around 75% of all beer sales in Argentina. It sponsors the Argentina national football team, and the colours of its labels are Argentina’s light blue and white.

Quilmes is a 4.9% classic lager style beer with a very distinguishable taste: golden colour, rich texture, refreshing light hoppy taste with a crisp, dry thirst quenching finish.

Quilmes has a 46% share of its home market and this Argentinian icon is enjoying an international reputation with export growth in the Americas, Asia, Australia and Europe.

Review: Bottle of Quilmes Pale Lager, 4.9%ABV

Quilmes, which comes in a lovely bottle, is another first timer for me, beer from Argentina. Would have noticed this beer name from football as it has sponsored both the great Boca Juniors and the Argentine National Football Team. Now that’s serious branding in football!

Quilmes has a nice crystal clear yellow colour with a thin head and little lacing.

day 4 029Aroma was of a sweet malty smell with some grain in the background. Very sweet.

Taste for me was interesting as I found it hard to figure it out at the start. There’s a little corn and grain sweetness to open it up, a kind of sickly sweet. It does eventually settle down into a nice decent drink and does the job in quenching the thirst. There is a bitter aftertaste which grows on you. It certainly is a very drinkable beer, light and good for a session.

Use Facebook to Comment on this Post