Birra Peja Pilsner Original

http://www.birrapeja.com

Brewed by Birra Prizreni 
Style: Pilsener
Pejë/Peć, Kosovo

Birra Peja Original from Kosovo, an Albanian speaking disputed territory that is part of the Balkans and only just recently recognized as an independent state. And lately they have got their football team playing with Fifa in the World Cup qualifiers, which is all the recognition I need! (Their first game was a very respectable one all draw away to Finland)

Birra Prizreni, a new brewery in a new country, but already with the most popular beer in the land, Birra Peja, which is some feat considering that it is up against all the main international players, Heineken, Becks, Miller, Corona, Peroni, Urquell Pils, et al.  The company is hoping that with Kosovo getting more involved in international affairs, and closer ties with Western Europe, that the beer might branch out to more foreign markets in the future, and not just selling to ex-pats living abroad.  Watch this space, this beer is on an upward trajectory no doubt about it.

Review: Can of Birra Peja Pilsner Original: ABV: : 4.2%

Kosovo’s most popular beer, coming in a nice colourful can

On pour got a nice light clear golden colour beer with a good decent sized white head that is thin but maintains
Small bit of carbonation present, not much though

Some lacing

Looks like a decent beer, appearance is good

A good beery smell, nice lager aromas of grainy malts. Nothing extraordinary, but not bad either

On taste can get a good mouthful of flavours buzzing around. Sweet grains, malted barley noted
I like it, it is very smooth, light and clean, and easy to drink
Wheat, grains, barley
Cant really taste the hops in the aftertaste
Very malty

Nice and smooth, not a bad lager, does the business, and considering it comes from Kosovo, not an area renowned for beer making, I am quite impressed.

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Birrificio Italiano Vùdù

http://www.birrificio.it/beer/vudu/

Brewed by Birrificio Italiano
Style: Dunkelweizen
Lurago Marinone (CO), Italy

Birrificio Italiano, began in 1996 by a couple of friends with a love of beer and a dream. Starting with experimentation of home brews, developing later to opening a brewpub in Lombardy, and with it, the highs and lows to be expected in the brewing industry to 2000,  when their brewing plant expanded as the brand grew in and out of Italy’s borders.

Vùdù started in 1999, and is brewed in Italy in the Birrificio brewery and distributed in Germany by Braufactum. It won a Gold medal at the prestigious World Beer Cup in 2010, in the category of “German-Style Dark Wheat Ale” (Dunkel Weizen!), which was a bit of a shock win for an Italian brewery over its German rivals!

A Dunkelweizen is a wheat beer brewed as darker versions (Dunkel means “dark”) and produced with top-fermenting yeast and not filtered. Most are brown and strongly brewed, and some use special yeasts that produce a pronounced fruity character. Popular in Germany

Review: 75 cl Bottle of Birrificio Italiano Vùdù: ABV: 6% 

An Italian craft beer, coming in a pretty cool looking 75 cl bottle, with an over-sized cap. The label oozes class. Vudu spelt out in dramatic colouring and surrounded in stylish iconography. With a price range between 11 to 13 € this beer better be good!!

On pour, light brown colour, with a large tan head

Decent head, that maintains, very good lacing, looks good.

Very strong smell, very strong but very appealing, can smell lots of flavours, lots of fruits from banana (and lemon), very sweet. Wheaty, toasty malts, very very earthy.

Great on the nose. A very rustic earthy smell with lots of fruits. very appealing…..

First reaction from the taste is that this is a strong beer, very strong, can definitely feel the 6%. Has body and can get the taste all in the back end, the wheat and hops noted. Earthy.

I liked this beer, not very sweet, but bitter, but not overbearing. Dark chocolate/caramel tastes, like a stout, but not quite. Roasted malts and fruit (Banana mostly), creamy undertones

Is a slow burner, definitely one to drink while relaxing in front of the box, or over a meal. In fact it was so full of delicious tastes and very filling that it was like a proper meal!

Loved it. Strongly recommended! Has character, style and taste, is rich in body, and one of the better beers I have had in a long time. Will definitely buy again, no matter the price tag of 11€!..

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Jelen Svetlo Pivo 

https://www.jelenpivo.com/sr/vesti

Brewed by Apatinska Pivara A.D. 
Style: Euro Pale Lager 
Apatin, Serbia

Jelen Pivo is the major lager brand in Serbia. It has been brewed in Serbia’s leading brewery, Apatinska Pivara, for over two and a half centuries now in the small town of Apatin, located on the Danube, in a very fertile area called Vojvodina, where the quality of the barley is known to be one of the best in the region.

Review: Can of Jelen Svetlo Pivo: ABV: : 5%

My introduction to Serbian lager

On pour we get a lovely clear golden colour, with a nice frothy white head forming, bubbling along, good retention.
Some great carbonation and a decent head, this really is a good looking beer
Some lacing. Excellent on view…..

Smell was very slight, couldn’t really tell you much about it as it was so faint, nothing!…….

Taste: Don’t believe it, absolutely NO TASTE!!  No bitterness, no taste of the malts or hops, nothing. Quite amazing really. Very watery with no character
Its definitely smooth and light, but has a very flat taste. Just bang, nothing. What a poor excuse for a beer.  Basically mineral water with minute traces of alcohol, I guess!

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La Gauloise Ambrée

http://bocq.be/fr/

Brewed by Brasserie Du Bocq
Style: Belgian Pale Ale
Purnode-Yvoir, Belgium

In the year of 1858 a Belgian farmer, Martin Belot, tried his hand at brewing in the quiet months of the winter season, using the pure waters of his surroundings. Naturally these brews became popular in the local vicinity and even though the Du Bocq Brewery bought the rights to the brewery in 1949, nothing much has changed and the values of the company remain intact.

La Gauloise is from Purnode, in Wallonia, and, unusual for that part of the world, not tied in with any Trappist monks or monastery. The family owned and independent enterprise, the Bocq brewery, is one of the largest breweries in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of southern Belgium. Since the 60’s though, the agricultural side of the business was abandoned, with the drinks industry pushed to the forefront as it was seen as a more profitable industry than farming!

The brewery offers a wide selection and, capitalizing on the craze for traditional beers, Brasserie du Bocq successfully exports a lot of their products, harnessing the strong reputation that Belgian beers have gained recently worldwide. Brasserie du Bocq exports mainly throughout Western Europe, and with a current turnover of more than € 12.5 million, the Brasserie du Bocq is one of the largest independent breweries in Wallonia.

Review: 330 ml stubby bottle of La Gauloise Ambrée: ABV: 5.5%

A World Cup of beer silver award winner, coming in a cool looking 330ml bottle and bought in Lidl. Sure why not!

The oldest brand produced by the brewery, and its most successful beer, named after many Roman (Gaul) sites discovered in the area.

On pour, a dark orange looking colour appears, with a large foamy beige head that sticks around for ever, resulting in some decent lacing.

A bit of fizz

Nice reddish hues makes the beer look the part.

A nice beery smell on the nose , smelling citrus and fruity hops  and a lot of malts, all well balanced. Nothing too complicated but was nice all the same

The taste was savoury, varied flavours, fruity, caramel, well balanced but very light and easy on the palate.

Smooth enough to drink, not bad, but there was a discount lack of strong flavours in this beer.  I did pick up some, they are there but not enough to get the taste-buds going. A little disappointing in that regard. Light and easy to drink, not particularly hoppy or bitter or sweet.

Overall, I like this beer, its decent to drink, and goes down very smooth, but it would be nice to have a stronger edge to it with more discernible tastes. Ok, but not the best I have ever had

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