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New and exciting posts from the best half decent blog around

Kitchen Brew

Kitchen Brew Everyday Pale Ale

Kitchen Brew 

www.kitchenbrew.ch

Brewed by Kitchen Brew 
Style: Blonde Ale
Allschwil, Switzerland

North American craft beer scene implanted in Switzerland, that is what Kitchen Brew are all about. Fabian Ehinger, brewer and founder of Kitchen Brew, inspired by the craft beer revolution in the USA, drinking imports from the States made his mind wander……what if!

Finally, in spring 2012, Fabian moved to North America. On a six-month trip across the USA, he was inspired by what he had seen, from small home brewing startups based in kitchens to mega bars with 100 plus taps on the go, Fabian took it all in……. and not all industrial beers too, he discovered a wide variety of specialties of all beer types imaginable . 

Kitchen BrewAs a barman and manager of a small bar in Basel, North Switzerland, Fabian could get a birds eye view of the US craft beer imports and see what made them click with consumers. He started to create a few of his own beers with highly aromatic hops and made with innovative brewing techniques such as dry hopping. He worked from an empty kitchen hence the name of the brewery……Kitchen Brew! His customers were kind of like his guinea pigs, testing his new beers and seeing if North American craft beer trends could catch on in this part of the world. 

After guest brewing for local breweries, in and around the Basel region, Fabian finally got to open, with the support of Peter Oppliger, his new factory and event hall in the small suburb of Allschwil, near Basel, in November 2016, becoming one of the youngest microbreweries in Switzerland.

In 2013, a Cascade Amber Ale was their first real foray onto the scene. The initial beer got off to a great start, proving very popular amongst the great Swiss drinking public, and also going on to win numerous awards for its taste and quality. After that came other beers, Kölsch style brews, wheat beers with Belgian yeasts, the usual IPA’s that are the connoisseurs oh so love, a variety of beers but all well balanced and pleasant to drink. 

Review: 33cl bottle of Kitchen Brew Everyday Pale Ale: 5.2% vol.

Kitchen BrewBought in Swiss supermarket Coop, bottle comes with nice big lettering which stands out, showing that sometimes simplicity does work, no flashy logos or silly imagery, plain and simple, I like that. Calls itself a Swiss craft bier.

On pour I get a nice clear golden coloured beer with a massive frothy white head. A good bit of carbonation making this beer appear alive!

Not much comes out of the small bottle, but when it all eventually settles it looks good.

Head maintains well, a good bit of lacing and a decent looking beer.

On the nose I am getting a faint whiff of the light wheaty malts and barley, faint though. A lagery smell overall, citric and light hops.   

The initial taste is one of a lagery feel, wheaty and all the hops detected. 

With the hops very prominent this isn’t just another boring lager, there is some clear character in this brew. On the light level but enough to stand out. A little sour perhaps but manageable all the same.

Overall its an enjoyable beer, easy to drink, the taste is smooth and crisp, and I am enjoying the nice big creamy mouthfuls I am getting. 

It is a beer to relax with, and light enough to enjoy. Will buy again, and look forward to trying out their other varieties.

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The Power of Forgiveness with Lucy Witts

The Power of Forgiveness with Lucy Witts

Good discussion with Lucy Witts about The Power of Forgiveness 

We discuss her documentary, Dragan’s Lair, where she bravely confronted her father who sexual abused her when she was very young. 

The link to the documentary: Dragan’s Lair – Paedophile Documentary on Child Sexual Abuse: 

Check out Lucy’s blog:

https://thedraganslair.wordpress.com/

The Power of Forgiveness with Lucy Witts

Facebook:

The Power of Forgiveness with Lucy Witts

 

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Monyo Flying Rabbit American IPA

Monyo Flying Rabbit American IPA

Monyo Flying Rabbit American IPA

www.monyobrewing.com

Brewed by Monyo Brewing Co.
Style: American IPA 
Budapest, Hungary

Monyo Flying Rabbit American IPAEstablished in 2014, in the centre of Budapest, Hungary, Monyo Brewing Company set about creating one of the countries craft beer revolutions, a new wave of brewing. Founded by friends Pein Ádám and Németh Anti, both sick of the stale beer scene in the capital at the time, decided to do something about it, first by trying out some home brews with their friends, then, by contract, playing around with their own recipes in various more established breweries in the country. Over time their beers were becoming madly popular. They both finally went all in and took their assets and energy and they built MONYO Brewing. The goal in the first minute was the same as today: the production of uncompromising beers for consumers.

Today they brew over 80 different brands and types of beers, and export all over Europe to further afield to the likes of China, Mexico, and Canada, making them one of the fastest-growing breweries in Hungary.

Review: 33cl bottle of Monyo Flying Rabbit AIPA: 6.5% vol.

Flying Rabbit is Monyo’s signature beer, the ace in the pack!

Funny quirky cartoonish logo, of a crazy rabbit riding a beer across the mountains,
it is funny but kind of normal of IPA’s these days.

Monyo Flying Rabbit American IPAFor the appearance I get a decent sized white head and a dark amber looking beer. Not a bad looking beer, with a good head on the pour but it does die a quick death.

Bit of sediment floating about too, not much but there.

A typical IPA aroma, very nice, hoppy, spicy, notes of caramel. The tropical fruits are very apparent on the nose. Very strong, very fruity, very nice!

Taste………oh dear, it’s one of those IPA’s then, hopped to death, overdone and far too sweet.

Like medicine, a bit “urgh”, stringent and off putting. Hops are citra, which shows as you can definitely get a taste of the tropical fruits but on the extreme level. 

Not nice at all, this is an IPA that the “normie drinkers” will not like. Too bitter and over hopped to fuck, YUCK. One of those IPA’s that are hard to down.

They are strong in the alcohol, and I was fairly pissed after them.

No balance to this beer, the aftertaste is puke and way off kilter, hard to stomach.

Pity as was drinking very good beer upto this point, drinking this I end the night with a downer……… 

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Kenya Tusker Lager

Kenya Tusker

Kenya Tusker Lager

www.tusker.beer/

Brewed by East Africa Breweries Limited (Diageo)
Style: Pale Lager
Nairobi, Kenya

Tusker is a best selling beer owned by East African Breweries from Kenya, the largest African beer brand in the Diageo group.

First brewed in 1922, shortly after the founder of Kenya Breweries Ltd, George Hurst, was killed by an elephant during a hunting accident. His brother Charles, who took charge of the company, decided to name their first ever lager, Tusker, in memory of his sibling, since large, male elephants indigenous to East Africa, were called Tuskers.

Kenya Tusker LagerIn 1935, Kenya Brewing Limited acquired Tanganyika Breweries and in 1936 these two companies were merged leading to the creation of the East African Breweries Limited.

The beer soon gained popularity both inside and outside its borders, selling to Tanzania, Burundi, the Congo, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, and Uganda, all of Kenya’s immediate neighbours, making it one of East Africa’s most popular beers.

By 2000, Diageo acquired majority control of EABL. Operating out of Nairobi, East Africa Breweries Limited now own a vast portfolio of African breweries, do charity work in the region and is also involved in football in Kenya, sponsoring the country’s premier league while also running its own successful team in the division, Tusker F.C.,

In early 2008, the UK supermarket chain, Tesco, began selling Tusker, followed soon after by Sainsbury’s.

Kenya Tusker LagerTusker is brewed from 100% African ingredients that are all locally sourced: the barley grown in The Great Rift Valley and the spring water is from the Aberdare Mountains. 

Apart from its flagship brand, Tusker Lager, the brewery also produce a 5% Tusker Malt Premium Lager, a 4% Tusker Lite, a 4.5% Tusker apple Cider, and a wide range of other beers from its subsidiaries including Serengeti Lager, White Cap Lager and Uganda Waragi (a 40% liquor), to name but a few.

Review: 500ml big brown bottle of Kenya Tusker Lager: 4.2% vol.

My first beer from the country of Kenya,  a nation more known for its long distance runners less so for its beers ok let’s see how this goes.

Available in bottles, cans and on tap in selected outlets.

Big brown bottle featuring the iconic logo of an African elephant, with the theme “together forever” printed. Stands out, no doubting this is an African beer. 

On pour I get the standard lagery look, creamy white head that looks good on the pour but fizzles out quick, and a light golden coloured beer. Just the look of a regular lager, ok

The aroma is very faint but can pick up a sweet malty grainy smell, but nearly odourless.

The taste is very grainy and malted barley, but all on the faint thin level.

It has the feel of a regular lager, but not going to set the world alight, and truth be told it is a little boring to drink, light and thin, and has an overall flat taste to it all.

Novelty factor in having a beer from Kenya but nothing else at all there for me to return. A light lager that is boring. Definitely not worth entertaining again. 

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Grimbergen Rouge

Grimbergen Rouge

Grimbergen Rouge

www.Grimbergenbeer.com

Brewed by Brouwerij Alken-Maes (Kronenbourg (Carlsberg))
Style: Red Fruit Ale
Alken, Belgium

Grimbergen is the brand name of a variety of Belgian abbey beers. Originally brewed solely by Norbertine monks in the Abbey of Grimbergen since the 12th century, it is now brewed by two different breweries in Belgium and in France. Brouwerij Alken-Maes Brewery located in Alken, north of Brussels, Belgium, and the Kronenbourg Brewery in Strasbourg, France.

The abbey was well known for giving shelter for pilgrims and lost souls and also providing nice home-brewed beer to warm peoples spirits. The recipes used by the brewery today is apparently the same recipe used all those years back, over 900 years old and counting!

In 1958, Brouwerij Maes contacted the monks at the Abbey with a proposition. For some support with the restoration of the Abbey, in return Maes, under the brand name “Grimbergen”, could sell their special centuries old beer.

To further feck things up big nasty Heineken took over Alken-Maes in 2008. As part of the takeover the brand name Grimbergen was transferred to the Carlsberg Group, but Heineken was given a long-term license to use the brand name in Belgium. As a result of this messing around, Alken-Maes brew the beer for the Belgian market, while Carlsberg is responsible for the marketing outside Belgium of the beers that it brews under the Grimbergen name at its Kronenbourg Brewery located in France. So in essence you can find two Grimbergens, just depending on which side of the border you are. I am not sure if they taste similar or not, but I’d wager they do.

The beer has the mythological Phoenix as its symbol, and when you know the story it is not hard to see why. Grimbergen Abbey, founded way back in 1128, was destroyed by fire three times, but from the ashes the abbey was rebuilt again and again, and is still standing today. Burned but not destroyed (“Ardel Nec Consumitur”) is the motto of the legendary beer.

Not my first try out with a Grimbergen, had their iconic Grimbergen Blonde which was simply FANTASTIC, “as good a beer as I have had in awhile”. So looking forward to this the Red……..

Review: 25cl very small bottle of Grimbergen Rouge: 6.0% vol.

Grimbergen Rouge with a red cap, comes in a very small bottle, 25cl! Bought in discount store, very cheap. Also comes in 33cl, 75cl and in 500ml cans and on draught in the odd place in France and Belgium. 

On pour getting a lovely red raspberry coloured beer with purple streaks, and a very nice frothy white head, looks good, very appealing on the eye.

Very good lacing on the glass.

Smell is of strong strawberries and cherries. Very nice, oh man it is very good on the nose, very pronounced. Love it.

Initial impressions on the taste is this is a very light beer, very light and faint, and a bit watery too. 

Getting a strong strawberry flavour with cherries and peach, and a slightly astringent taste that seems artificial. 

Small bottle, but got a decent amount out of it all the same. 

Overall it is like a fruit juice, relaxing after a while and it did grow on me over the time sipping it, but not really anything special and won’t be buying again.

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The People’s Republic of Australia with DJ Kymaera

Good discussion with DJ Kymaera (Chris) about how the Covid Lockdown is turning Australia inside out.

We discuss the rather harsh and somewhat dictatorial conditions that residents of Victoria State have had to endure during the Covid lockdown.

Check out Chris’ website

https://www.youtube.com/user/djkymaera 

The People's Republic of Australia with DJ Kymaera

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Randy Rocket Cody

Way down the Rabbit Hole with Randy Rocket Cody

Way down the rabbit hole with, legendary rock journalist, Randy Rocket Cody, from the excellent blog, The Metal Den.

There is a reason that Randy has been called the “The Most Dangerous Rock N Roll Writer Alive.” as we focus on the darker aspects of the Heavy Metal genre and the music industry in general…covering a wide range of topics including the “suicides” of Chester Bennington and Chris Cornell, Pizzagate, Frazzle drip, the Hidden Agenda of the “Elite”, to shapeshifting Aliens……..all good clean fun!

Check out Randy’s Websites:

The Metal Den: https://themetalden.com/

Randy Rocket Cody: http://www.randyrocketcody.com/

Randy Rocket Cody

Twitter: @rocketmetalden

 

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Locher Gran Alpin Perla

Locher Gran Alpin Perla

Locher Gran Alpin Perla

www.appenzellerbier.ch

Brewed by Brauerei Locher Appenzeller bier
Style: Kölsch
Appenzell, Switzerland

Locher Gran Alpin PerlaBrauerei 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 running into the fifth generation of family ownership.

Their Appenzell Beer (Quöllfrisch hell), which I found very smooth and enjoyable, 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 a lovely clean natural beer. Also the fact that the small independent brewery is standing after all these years, and still producing top quality beers is a testament to how popular the independent brewery is. Something that hasn’t changed since 1886 when Johann Christoph Locher bought the brewery over a hundred years ago.

Appenzell beers are available throughout Switzerland with the Quöllfrisch and Vollmond brands being particularly popular. Apart from the wide variety of specialty beers they also make whiskey, a beverage one doesn’t perhaps associate with Switzerland.

Tried the Gran Alpin Amber Lager which was not great at all, very dull and boring so hopefully the Perla is a bit better……….

Review: 33cl bottle of Locher Gran Alpin Perla: 5.0% vol.

Locher Gran Alpin PerlaBought this beer from the local Coop supermarket here in Switzerland.

A Kölsch beer is warm fermented with top-fermenting yeast, then conditioned at cold temperatures like a lager. The taste is one of a crisp, sparkling, and slightly fruity beer, Kölsch is often described as soft or delicate. Hops are almost always of the German variety, have a place in Kölsch beers, but they’re there to accentuate flavors and provide balance to the malt rather than stimulate. As such, Kölsch beers have very little bitterness.

Apparently this is an eco and bio friendly beer with the malted barley produced by organic farmers in Grisons, the Eastern part of Switzerland, and also using natural spring water from the Alpstein, part of the Appenzell Alps.

On pour get a massive white head  and a golden looking beer, with a good bit of carbonation whizzing about. Frothy white head and a golden colour, looks well decent.

Some good lacing on the glass.

Not a whole lot coming out from the bottle. 

Smell is very sweet on the nose, of sweet malts and grassy and hay aromas.

Taste is …mmmmm, first impressions, have to think about this one! 
It is a bit earthy, nice, yeah earthy and hay like.

Very sweet tasting, the malts definitely stand out, but manageable.

Light bitter notes, that are noticeable as they add a bit of interest to the beer giving it an earthy feel and a slight twinge to proceedings.

Beery taste but also a bit watery and not very smooth. 

Overall it gets a pass, not brilliant but will do. Bit too sweet for my liking but if I was desperate I could buy it again. 

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Amager Bryghus, Sigtebroad

Amager Bryghus, Sigtebroad

Amager Bryghus, Sigtebroad

www.amagerbryghus.dk

Brewed by Amager Bryghus
Style: New England IPA
Kastrup, Denmark

‘SigteBroad’ is a collaboration brew with Da Amager Brewery and the Boston-based Trillium Brewing Co., which is one of the world’s leading brewery’s when it comes to the massively fruity and hazy New England IPAs.

When Jean Claude Tetreault, the main man at Trillium Brewing Co came across an old Danish type of bread called “Sigtebrød”, he decided it might be interesting to use those same ingredients in a very hoppy IPA! The Viking hard bread was widespread back in the day, not just in Scandinavia but also found as far as Ireland, Scotland and England. “Sigte” – in English is “to aim”, which means this hard bread was actually used as a bow when there was a scarcity of wood! Handy, once finished in battle, you could just eat the bow as well, those Vikings were a clever lot!

But fast forward to modern times, Danes in the new country of the USA, settled down in Minnesota and brought with them the old Viking bread, where it became very popular. It wasn’t just the bread people were enchanted with, the Danish girls who sold the bread were also gaining a fan base amongst the local Minnesotans who soon nicknamed them “sigte broads” for their good looks. In some cities, the bakery master had to arm his aiming broads with a traditional, long, Danish bread knife to ward off the most intrusive of the male admirers.  True story, or so they say!

Review: 33cl bottle of Amager Bryghus, Sigtebroad: 6.8% vol.

Amager Bryghus, SigtebroadInteresting logo of a woman cutting what looks like some bread. 

Looking at the bottle I get the horrible sight of a lot of sediment lying at the bottom of the glass. Looks rank, not appetizing at all. It’s a double hopped IPA!

Sure enough, on pour it doesn’t look any better. Getting a massive white head and an orangish coloured beer. But again all that sediment floating around, large chunks of it…YUCK!

I am nearly afraid to drink this, and you know me I’d drink any fucking thing!

Other than all the floaties, the appearance is a cloudy brew with a whitish head which maintains well, and an orange coloured beer, which if it wasn’t for the sediment would look ok.

The smell, on the other hand, is nice, very hoppy on the nose, with the fruits, all good.

Amager Bryghus, SigtebroadOk let’s dive into the taste!

Taste is very, very sweet and very hoppy as well. A bit too sweet. But at least its not rotten what with all that sediment!

Quite a strong beer, and not too bad to sip, but very hoppy. Citrus and tropical fruits overload. Well it is a double hop but still……lol

But nothing too exciting in the style, just another IPA that’s over hopped to the hilt, not terrible but not great. 

Not fun to drink as it looks terrible……..I will pass on this…….

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Birra Moretti La Rossa

Birra Moretti La Rossa

Birra Moretti 

www.birramoretti.it

Brewed by Birra Moretti (Heineken Italia)
Style: Doppelbock
Milano, Italy

Birra Moretti La RossaBirra Moretti is an Italian brewing company, founded by Luigi Moretti in 1859, in the small city of Udine, in northeastern Italy, which at that time was still part of the Austrian Empire. 

The Moretti family owned the brewery and business until 1989, when it was sold to a consortium of other brewers. In 1996 the company was acquired by Heineken International who also own the Birra Moretti trademark. The original factory in Udine closed in 1992, after brewing was transferred to San Giorgio di Nogaro. It was subsequently bought by a new brewing consortium called the Birra Castello group, which now owns the property. 

The “Moretti” logo, of a traditional Italian countryman about to enjoy a big frothing glass of beer, stands out. The story behind the famous iconic logo is that one day in 1942, the nephew of Luigi Moretti, saw a pleasant-looking man sitting at a restaurant table in Udine. There was something unique in the man, it was though he embodied the real values of the Moretti beer: authenticity, tradition, genuineness. Eventually Mr. Moretti went up to him and asked if he could take a picture of him. When the man was asked what he wanted in return, the only thing he asked for was another Birra Moretti beer. Since that day the image of that man is on every single Birra Moretti label, a reminder to the traditions of the Province of Udine, and it’s tasty beers.

Birra Moretti La RossaUnder the Birra Moretti brand there are a collection of beers that the brewery produce, from their Birra Moretti main brand, a 4.6% abv pale lager launched in 1859, to a popular La Rossa, which is a 7.2% strong dark lager or doppelbock, to a couple of radlers, a variety of lagers and ales, to the usual non alcoholic stuff that you can find these days in the off licences. 

Today Birra Moretti is exported to over 40 countries around the world, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Japan and has won important international awards, including gold and silver medals at the World Beer Cup, the most important international competition in the industry, the only Italian brand to have achieved this.

Review: 33cl bottle of Birra Moretti La Rossa: 7.2% vol.

Not my first time trying a Birra Moretti beer, I tried their famous pale lager a while back and found it to be  very pleasurable, crisp and clean and oh so smooth. I liked it, so I just know that the La Rossa won’t disappoint. This beer also has won numerous awards, including gold medals in both the 2007 and 2010 World Beer Championships.

7.2%, yes but in a small bottle no…….

Remember Bocks are bottom fermented lagers that typically spend extra time in cold storage during the winter months to smooth the intense flavors that develop during the brewing process. Stronger than a typical lager, bocks are dark amber in color with robust malt flavors and very light hoppiness. A Doppelbock, meaning “double,” is a bigger and stronger version of a bock beer. They range in alcohol from 7.5-9.5%, stronger than a typical lager. These beers are extra strong, rich and weighty lagers characterized by an intense malty sweetness, with a note of hop bitterness to balance the flavor. Doppelbocks were first brewed by the Paulaner monks in Munich. At the time, it was intended to be consumed as “liquid bread” during Lent.

Birra Moretti La RossaOn pour getting a ruby brown looking beer (La Rossa is “The Red” in Italian) with a nice frothy head. Looks good. some light carbonation going on. Appetizing on the eye. 

The smell is not too bad, a light toffee and caramel kind of aroma with roasted malts, nice but faint. Typical of a bock, but not a strong smelling beer. 

For the taste, initially it is hitting the spot, very nice and straight off the bat this looks and tastes good. Getting a lovely caramel flavour, with the barley malts, the hops are mild and not intrusive, and generally this is quite pleasant to drink. Flavour lingers long in the mouth.

Nice and relaxing, one to saviour and enjoy over a long evening by the sofa. Chocolate and dark fruits. 

Served cold, this is good. Clean, very solid and the toffee flavours are gorgeous.

As it’s a bock can feel the alcohol, so the edge is there alright. I know if I had a few of these I’d be pretty drunk………strong. 

Liked it, very relaxing, very soothing to drink and will definitely try some of these bad boys again.

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