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New and exciting posts from the best half decent blog around

Zombräu

Zombräu, back from the dead.

Zombräu

https://www.zombraeu.com/index.php/en/

Brewed by Zombräu OHG
Essenbach,Bavaria, Germany

 

Rising from the dead is the craft beer group, Zombräu, hoping to take over the world of a dying decrepit generic beer market. Once you try their beers you are truly shaken up, stirred and infected with the virus for top quality beer, your taste buds are activiated, and there is no going back. Welcome to the underworld of Zombräu!

Coming in some very eye catching logos, Zombräu, definitely have an interesting concept and story behind them. The names of the beers stand out too, with titles such as “MotorOil”, “Voodoo”, “Macumba” and “Insbierator”, all with themes related to the spiritual underworld.

In 2015, two brothers Tobias and Bastian Merches founded the brewery Zombräu, hoping to shake up a limited and somewhat strict beer market in their home in Bavaria, Germany. Finding an old warehouse with a connected house gave the boys the perfect opportunity to put their (dark) dreams into action. With help from parents and friends they opened up their own brewery. As a small start up enterprise that is based mostly on passion over money, the boys have decided to do as much as they can by hand to save on automation costs, also their spend on marketing and public relations is kept to a minimum, using social media, concerts and popup events to get the word out there. It truly is an underground movement!

I can certainly can see the attraction in these beers. Experimenting with exciting new styles, they are very unconventional in their style and approach, so much so that they consciously violate the purity law that German beers hold so dear. Breaking rules and doing something new, I love it! The traditional Bavarian wheat beers and lagers were a thing of the past, here they tried to do it differently. No beer styles are off limits. they brew IPA’s, Stout, Porter, Red Ale, Belgian beers and some specialty wheat beers, and more.  Easy to see how spending time with Brewdog, one of the brothers (Tobi) came back a changed soul full of creative ideas and an action plan. In the beginning of 2013, Giesinger Bräu in Munich gave them an opportunity to brew a 5 hl brew of their finest IPA in their brewery, and the rest the say is history. Now the boys have a collection of beers, bottled and on sale ready to dominate the World, one town at a time.

Review: 0,33l Bottle of Zombräu Voodoo, an American style IPA: 3.7% ABV

The picture on the bottle shows some voodoo dolls dancing in the fires of hell (probably). Interesting!

On pour get a nice frothy head, with a very cloudy golden orange coloured beer. A good bit of carbonation resulting in quite a big white head. 
Head sticks around, and there is some good lacing. 
Looks fine, not bad.

On the nose I get a nice fruity smell. A typical IPA beer smell of hops, the fruits and toasted malts. Nothing wrong with the aroma, nice enough. 

Not as hoppy as a regular IPA, still hoppy enough though to have some good taste and kick. 
Nice and soft tastes, very manageable for someone like me who isn’t wholly enamored with the whole IPA thing (Heh I’m not a fucking hipster alright!). I guess the 3.7% ABV factors in here to the low hoppiness of the beer. 

Tastes of hops, the citrus, caramel, and the malts. 

Ok does goes a bit flat near the end, but overall it does have enough good tastes to be wholly enjoyable and for that it is not a bad, light IPA.

Review: 0,33l Bottle of Zombräu Alter Pottbar, a Porter: 5.1% ABV

The logo for this one has a sleepy village and a church, with a nuclear power station in the background. Impending doom perhaps? The calm before the storm?

This is a porter which was stored and aged for half a year in a whiskey barrel!

Usual enough appearance we would expect from a porter, jet black colour with a decent sized white head, good and frothy. Good bit of carbo, took a bit of time for it all too settle. 
Head maintains very well, and some good lacing. Yeah, got all the basics of a porter right. 

Aroma was strong, definitely could smell the bourbon aroma. I found it quite strong on the nose, also got some smokiness and an earthly feel from the beer. 

For the taste, the whiskey barrel aroma has an affect, it is quite strong in the taste as well. Tastes old, tastes earthy, tastes like a root vegetable, something from the ground. That coupled with the bitter hops and barley malts is certainly a very strong tasting beer, very strong. It is a bit overpowering too, all consuming in both taste and aroma. You need quite a strong constitution to drink these boyos! 

Certainly a brave and unusual style. 

Review: 0,33l Bottle of Zombräu Motor Oil, an Imperial Stout: 7.5% ABV

Motor Oil, what a great name for a beer, and especially for a stout, very good. “200% Stout, Guaranteed satisfaction” written on the bottle, ok I guess but a 100% would be good enough for me!

As you would expect, a pitch black colour with a smallish white head on pour. 

The aroma is pleasant, a typical stouty smell of dark chocolate, roasted malts, espresso, caramel, all detected. A nice aroma. 

On the taste, I get the chocolate, the dark malts and the caramel, some licorice 
Very smooth tasting stout, very nice, light too, not too bitter, and I like the espresso soft taste in the background. The alcohol is well balanced with the roasty flavours, well hidden. 

It is a good effort from the German boys here. I mean it is never going to be like a Guinness or whatever but its not a bad stout. I do think stouts (and Porters) are the one style that is quite difficult to get right for a general brewer, as there are so many variables to think about, and the bitterness needs to be just right. This is not so complex but definitely drinkable and quite easy to relax with. 

Not bad, some good black oil to get the old engine kicking on again. 

Review: 0,33l Bottle of Zombräu Richtfest Bier, a Heller Bock: 6.6% ABV

My Google translate tells me that a Richtfest Bier is a topping beer. A topping beer is related to an old German custom, a topping out ceremony, where after a hard day of construction the labourers celebrate their success with a beer. 

On pour get a nice frothy white head with a beer that has a lovely hazy amber-ruby colour. It really is a lovely looking beer, very nice.
Nice white head, maintains well.
Decent amount of lacing.

The aroma is quite strong on the nose, very hoppy and sour on the nose.

The taste is quite strong, lots of deep rooted hops on offer here. 
Not the most easiest beer to drink. Full of hops, the grains and the barley, and the fruits.  All exploding on your taste buds, quite a tough strong beer to drink! 

As they say on their website, “we also did not save on hops”, that might be the understatement of the century, it looks like they threw in every hop they could get their hands on! 
Not smooth, with high bitterness, if you are a hop fanatic then this is the beer for you!

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Brauer & Co., Funky trout and Pretty sperm whale!

Brauer & Co., Funky trout and Pretty sperm whale!

Brauer & Co.

http://funky-forelle.de/

Brewed by Brauer & Co Leipzig
 Einsiedler brewery in Chemnitz, Saxony, Germany

Brauer & Co., Funky trout and Pretty sperm whale!

Brauer & Co., Funky trout and Pretty sperm whale!From the Brauer and Co in Leipzig, in the eastern German state of Saxony, in what was part of eastern Germany, I got two unique looking beers. One a pilsner called Funky Forelle (Funky trout!), a Pils coming in an equally funky bottle with a rather pop art design of a fish on the long necked brown bottle, looks great. The other beer was a radler called Pretty Potwall (Pretty sperm whale!), also coming in a rather trendy looking design. We get the sperm whale enjoying himself with a nice big yellow lemon! Other than that I dont know a whole lot about the beers or the brewery but then I would guess that is part of the attraction of the beers! Mysterious! 

Review: 0.33l brown bottle of Funky Forelle, a Pils: 4.9% ABV

Funky Forelle, means Funky Trout in German. Logo looks well cool, of a fish in the shape of a glass. I am not sure of why its a trout. A fish can symbolize hope, love and community, a living thing that is free in our waters, oceans and rivers (thanks Google), so make of that what you will.

Brauer & Co., Funky trout and Pretty sperm whale!On pour I got a decent sized white headed beer, with a very clear, golden yellowish colour.
Slight carbonation firing up the beer.

It looks very good, looks very appetizing, so can’t wait to get stuck in and drink the damn thing!

The smell is faint, malty, but light on the nose.

On the taste, got an initial bitter taste of the hops, immediately activating the taste buds. 

Very malty, a lot of malts on the taste.

Nice to sip, and very easy to drink. Slightly hoppy, this is a regular German pils and quite light to drink.  

Review: 0.5l brown bottle of Pretty Pottwal Naturradler, a Radler 2.4% ABV

Brauer & Co., Funky trout and Pretty sperm whale!Coming in a nice long 5,l brown bottle with a rather cool looking logo of a Sperm Whale in the shape of a glass, eye catching.

A radler was just what I needed after the heavy Belgians the night before!

Brauer & Co., Funky trout and Pretty sperm whale!Get a hazy looking light golden coloured radler. 

Smell is very nice n fruity, get the citrus, the lemon and the grapefruits. Good, good!

On the initial taste immediately get the nice fruity flavours of this radler. Similar to the aroma, the lemons and grapefruits are to the fore, lovely and fresh nestling on your taste buds. 

A nice and tasty radler that does the business, gets you well refreshed for the hot day that was in it.

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World Cup 2018: The view on Brazil

World Cup 2018: The view on Brazil

A very enjoyable chat with Brian from the excellent website, www.Brazilfooty.com, a blog dedicated to all things related to Brazil and football. (go figure!). Brian gave me the lowdown on how Brazil will do in this years World Cup in Russia and the general state of football in the South American country.

We had a good long talk about Brazil’s upcoming participation in the FIFA 2018 World Cup in Russia. We discussed their chances, the philosophy of their manager, the football scene in the country, the passion of the fans, and an overview of the domestic league, amongst other things. We also looked at Brian’s time living in the land of sun and samba. 

Check out Brian’s blog and social media sites.

Website

World Cup 2018: The view on Brazil

Twitter

Facebook

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Crocodile Lager

Crocodile Lager

Crocodile Original Export Lager

http://www.kronleins.se

Brewed by Krönleins Bryggeri
Style: Pale Lager 
Halmstad, Sweden

Crocodile Lager

Founded in 1836 by Anders Julius Appeltofft, the Krönleins brewery is to be found in the southern Swedish seaside town of Halmstad.

Anders Julius Appeltofft, the local greengrocer, bought an old half-timbered hospital and converted it into a bar. The beer was brewed in the building next door. For the first ten years he made Svensköl, a traditional sweet low-alcohol Swedish beer. In the beginning business was slow and mostly a local trade. But in 1849 Anders brought his small brewery to a better location, one with an ice cellar and a better water supply. The foundations for a successful brewery were set. The water was of very high quality. 

Crocodile LagerUnfortunately Julius Appeltofft died in 1851, and so his business eventually fell to his son Per Gustav Appeltofft. Money was tight so in 1861, it was decided to transform the brewery into a joint stock company. This extra money helped with employment, modernization and expansion. 

The next big change for the former Appeltofftska Brewery took place in 1920. The engineer Anders Krönlein took over the stock majority of the company. Extensive modernizations were made and the business grew. A new era began. Today the Krönlein family still have total ownership over the company, now in its 6th generation of family brewing with brothers Carl and Tage Krönlein in control.

Today the company produces a range of beers, ciders, spirits, soft drinks and water. The cider brand is Halmstad which is produced in approx 10 different flavours including Wildberry, Dry Lime and Apple. The main soft drinks brand name is Three Hearts, a brand name which is also used for a range of beers and some bottled water. The main brand name for the water is Aqua Cristall. 

Review: 33cl Bottle of Crocodile lager beer: 5.2% ABV

Crocodile LagerTacky enough pic of a crocodile for the logo, looks really cheap and one would never guess that this is a beer brewed in Sweden, where there are, as far as I know, no crocodiles. 

Looks ok on the pour, a nice clear golden coloured beer with a small whitish head that sticks around. Some small carbonation. looks not bad. 

Has a light lagery aroma, very light on the nose, sweet malts, corn and the yeast. A faint smell. 

Taste is water, pure water, minimal to no taste, wow. I guess I might have got the taste of some malts at the start, but I am not sure, it might be my imagination! Flattens out real quick. 
Shit beer. One of the worst I have ever had, couldn’t taste anything, all the tastes must have evaporated in the bottle. Not even good enough for necking. An easy one to rate, a big fat zero!

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Carlsberg Lager

Carlsberg Lager

Carlsberg Lager

http://www.carlsberg.com/

Brewed by Carlsberg Danmark A/S  
Style: Euro Pale Lager 
Copenhagen, Denmark

Carlsberg Lager

Carlsberg, one of the most iconic beers in the World, and to be found in bars and pubs all across the planet. Founded by J. C. Jacobsen in 1847, in Copenhagen, Denmark, he called the company Carlsberg after his son Carl.

Jacobsen had a scientific bent and a keen interest in all things related to chemistry. With this he set up the Carlsberg Laboratory in 1875, which worked on scientific problems related to brewing. It featured a Department of Chemistry and a Department of Physiology. The Carlsberg Laboratory also developed the concept of pH and made advances in protein chemistry. They also did a bit of research into beer production as well!!

In 1876, J.C. Jacobsen established the Carlsberg Foundation, run by trustees from the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters, which managed the Carlsberg Laboratory as well as supporting scientific research within the fields of natural sciences, mathematics, philosophy, the humanities and social sciences in Denmark. 

Since Jacobsen’s death in 1887, the majority owner of the company has been the Carlsberg Foundation, as unfortunately he had a falling out with his son Carl and decided not to leave him the brewery after his passing. A bit unlucky for Carl. 

It also brews and controls, Tuborg, Kronenbourg, SuperBock, San Miguel (UK), Holsten, Somersby cider, Russia’s best-selling beer Baltika, Belgian Grimbergen abbey beers, Feldschlösschen in Switzerland, and more than 500 different beers in numerous countries all over the world, but especially in south east Asia and Europe.  Carlsberg also produce at home, Special Brew, a particularly strong lager, oh so well loved by street alcoholics and down and outs all across the UK, and Elephant beer, an export lager beer that references the history behind the The Elephant Gate outside the brewery in Copenhagen. I wasn’t such a fan of that beer, read my review here. 

The company is a big employer, with 41,000 people working for the company, primarily located in Western Europe, Eastern Europe and Asia. With an annual turnover reaching just under 10 Billion Dollars the company is a major player on the World beer market. 

But for all the beers and acquisitions, it is Carlsberg Lager that is the flagship beer brand in the Carlsberg Group’s portfolio. The 5% abv pilsner beer, first brewed in 1904, is sold to over 140 countries world wide, with its iconic Art Nouveau-style logo and even more well known advertising tagline “Probably the best lager in the world”. 

The beer is also very closely associated with the beautiful game of football. They were one of the major sponsors of Euro’s 2004, 2008 and 2012 and also UEFA Euro 2016 (where their ad-boards were changed to read their abridged tagline, “Probably”, due to France’s laws against alcohol advertising) and they were also a sponsor of the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Carlsberg also have a well known link with Liverpool F.C. having sponsored the club from 1992 and were advertised on their club shirts for many years. Carlsberg also sponsor, or have sponsored, F.C. Copenhagen, Havant and Waterlooville, Odense Boldklub, Hajduk Split and, Bulgarian team, Pirin Blagoevgrad. 

Review: 0,33l bottle of Carlsberg: ABV: 5%

A lager that is popular with football lovers the world over, as the beer likes to capitalise on its strong association with the round ball. It also sells by the bucket load in the supermarket as its relatively cheap and easy to find.

The export version that is sold throughout Europe. I think the UK version is different, less alcohol for the crazies to deal with.

Comes in a long dark green bottle, which looks a bit shite to be frank.

Initially on the pour get a nice white head, and a clear golden coloured beer. Goes all a bit flat after a while as the head dies a death, not really much of a looker.

Smell is not bad, nice and malty on the nose, some grains too. Ok for smell. 

For the taste, it is all bitterness and the hops are strong. I wish it had a cleaner smoother finish.

Full of sweet malts and the grain flavours are imposing.

I always find Carlsberg to be a little too strong for me, strong in the taste, it has that slight bitterness in the front that one doesn’t have with other lagers. Also a citrus bite to it. Some people like all this, I don’t though. It is definitely an acquired taste. It is manageable if I was at a party or something, or desperate, but I prefer to drink smoother lagers, ones that you don’t squirm when you drink them.

Not quaffable enough for my liking, but I can understand how some could like this beer. 

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