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bierenvanbegeerte.be

Kamil

Kamil

Brewed by BierenVanBegeerte
Berchem, Belgium

www.bierenvanbegeerte.be

Kamil

Bieren Van Begeerte is a Belgian brewery that focuses on specialty and custom made beers.

Founded in 2001. Beginning small, in the centre of the beautiful medieval city of Antwerp, and with a lot of trial and error, but fire in their belly, they started to produce some very tasty beers that seemed popular with the general public. 

Kamil was their first baby! Proving to be a success leading them to expansion and a movement to a bigger brewery to Berchem on the outskirts of Antwerp. Onward and upwards! 

Since 2001, Bieren Van Begeerte have always relied on their own recipes with hop varieties that is grown with great care on their Lints hop field. As small-scale micro brewers, they value local quality produce with the best sourced ingredients resulting in beers that stand apart from the rest. Modern creations in a classic type beer market. 

Review: 33cl. Bottle of Kamil, a Belgian ale: 6.5% ABV

Lovely clear yellow coloured beer, with a nice smallish white head, looks ok. Some carbonation and good lacing. Head maintains. 

Smell is nice with sweet malts, and a bit citrusy, a strong enough smell and piercing on the nose
The smell is pleasant.

Initial taste is hoppy, a very hoppy taste, typical of a Belgian ale, hitting you at the start. Sweet and bitter.

Nice n tasty, lots of flavours and strong tastes. 
Hops are not too overbearing though, nice and light enough to appreciate. 
Full of tastes, getting the barley, the wheat, the fruits, and, of course, the hops. 

When you look at it you think it will be nice and calm, it looks lovely and unassuming but boy do the looks deceive, quite hoppy when you get into it. The calm before the storm so to speak!

A typical strongish Belgian ale, nice and tasty.  A good beer to sip and enjoy. 

Review: 75cl. Bottle of Kamil Greenstone, Strong Belgian Ale : 8% ABV

In a nice long brownish bottle, the Greenstone is a collaboration brew done with De Proefbrouwerij. 

A bottle fermented beer that uses organically grown barley malt. 

Had a lot of carbonation on the pour, took a little while to settle. But amongst all the froth emerged a lovely white headed beer with a nice dark hazy orange colour. It was very appetizing on the eye. 

Naturally it had good lacing, and the head maintained throughout (even if my sanity at drinking so much beer and watching the football didn’t!).

Top marks for appearance, it looked magnificent.

On the smell I got a very fruity aroma, of oranges and apples.

For the taste, I got a very strong hoppy beer, quelle surprise its a Belgian! The hops are strong and it is bitter, but they are manageable enough to enjoy, and actually add to the experience of this beer. 

Strong, nice to drink over time, and with the 75cl bottle you have that time needed to fully appreciate this beer.

A strong beer, with the spicy flavours, the hops, grains, the citrus, and the organic barley, all swirling around in your mouth, balanced and making this beer a particular favourite. Its playing a rock n roll tune with my taste buds. 

Full of tasty hops and very bitter. Great big mouthfuls to enjoy, and my head was buzzing a little after it, but my mood was pleasant and I was just happy to have enjoyed a good long beer. 

Review: 75cl. Bottle of Moktamee, Belgian Ale: 6.5% ABV

Moktamee is a specialty beer coming in a big 75cl bottle. 

The appearance is one of a very dark amber colour with some reddish hue, and a nice white frothy head that does stick around.

Some good lacing on the glass too.

Looks great, in fact looks better than that, looks majestic. A very good looking beer.

Has a hoppy enough smell on the nose. 

Oh my, the taste is very hoppy, very bitter, the hops making a very strong impression on the tongue. 

Nice big mouthfuls swilling around, lovely stuff, the barley, the wheat and toasted malts doing the business. 

Bit strong too, a good strong Belgian beer. 

Perhaps not overrun with a lot of unique flavours, but I thoroughly enjoyed it while I watched the football. Very hoppy but very manageable though, and it had me buzzing by the end of it. Loved it. 

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Bura Brew

Bura Brew

Bura Brew Optimist Golding Ale

Brewed by BURA BREW D.O.O
Style: Golden Ale/Blond Ale 
Ul. Mate Vlašića 26/19, 52440, Poreč, Croatia

https://www.burabrew.hr/

Bura Brew

Founded in 2015 by a trio of friends, Alessandro Zecchinato, Veronika Becker and Claudio Rossi, Bura Brew is an independent craft brewery hailing from the small Istrian town of Poreč, a popular summer resort on the coast of the Istrian Peninsula in western Croatia.

It was when Italian born Alessandro Zecchinato lived and worked in Dublin, Ireland that he got a love of the craft beer movement and seeing the potential of the market decided to try and bring some craft beer innovation to Croatia. But why Croatia? Well, he also met Veronika Becker in Ireland, fell in love and married her! Veronika was born in the former Yugoslavia, can speak Croatian, and so had experience of the region. With Claudio, a close friend, they all studied the industry inside and out and received a lot of useful information from Irish and Italian breweries, both big and small, and so in March 2015 they founded Bura Brew d.o.o. 

The location of Poreč was chosen, a beautiful town that attracts a lot of tourists and business, and so great potential for a new beer on the scene.  The brewery relies on manual labour and hand made products and has an open relationship with the locality, offering free tours and free tasting sessions. 

They produce three types of beers: An Optimist Golding Ale, A Redsand Amber Ale, and a Tornado IPA. The three beers are unfiltered and unpasteurized nor processed in any way using only the best of natural ingredients. To preserve a natural carbonation, the beers are bottle fermented.

Although its still a very new brewery the beer is popular all across Croatia and must be so in parts of Europe as I got my bottles here in Basel, Switzerland! Not bad for a young beer. 

Review: 33l Bottle of Bura Brew Golding Ale: 5.0% ABV

A golden ale that is unfiltered and bottle-conditioned. With a nice looking logo on the bottle, looks like an Inca design not sure of its relevance to Croatia. 

On pour I get a beautiful golden colour with a decent sized creamy white head. it looks great, a good looking beer, beautiful.

Head maintains and all is well with the appearance.

For the aroma I get a lot of fruits on the nose, very nice, some malts as well. A really nice smell. 

On the taste, it hits you from the start, the hops. Manageable hops, a light bitterness, not too strong making the beer not bad to sip on and slowly enjoy.

Not a whole lot of hops in the back end of the beer, more in the front.

Had good tasty mouthfuls that were very enjoyable

A light tasting golden ale, easy to drink and about as much as can be expected from this kind of beer. Nice and smooth, and a very clean ale..

Did the job, went down well and I only wish I had more to finish off. That really is the best compliment a beer can have, too few to drink!!!

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Gallas Cerveja, an artisan from Lisboa

Gallas Cerveja, an artisan from Lisboa

Gallas Cerveja

Brewed by Gallas Microbrewery
Rua do garrido 54A, Lisbon, Portugal 

http://gallas.beer/

Gallas Cerveja, an artisan from Lisboa A new and exciting artisan brewery in the historical heart of Lisbon, Portugal producing beers that are both innovative and different to the mainstream. Try the Gallas Beer!

Gallas Cerveja, an artisan from LisboaInaugurated in 2018 by brewer Gustavo Gallas, the beer that bears his name is the result of his love for brewing high quality beer for many years. Here beer is made according to the old traditions, with dedication, passion and totally handcrafted processes all with the best locally sourced ingredients from the beautiful and sun land that is Portugal. 

The Gallas brewery make a Belgian Wheat Ale and an IPA, and sell not just within Portugal but also to selected distributors across Europe and further afield. 

Review: 33cl Bottle of Gallas, Wit Cinco De Abril: ABV: 5% vol

Coming in a brown bottle that has a very interesting cartoon picture of two army guys hanging out of a tank with roses in its gun. Also there is a happy go lucky woman with flowers in her hair. While at the background there are big juicy looking oranges to signify that this is a fruity number. Perhaps after you down this beer, a feeling of immense joy and peace with the world comes upon you. That’s a tall ask as I can be a grumpy bastard at times, but let’s see……..

Gallas Cerveja, an artisan from LisboaChrist on a bike, this beer is just full of carbonation, a lot of it! This all results in a huge frothy white head that takes a little  while to settle. After all that we get a pale yellow looking beer that looks ok. Later the colour goes a bit hazy and cloudy. 

On the nose I get the fruits. The orange is quite striking on the nose. Also get the malts and coriander, all making a pretty nice smell. 

The initial taste was a bit of a surprise, it was quite strong and not what I was expecting. Very fruity, and a bit sour. I guess that was the instant hit from the oranges. Definitely a knock out blast to the taste buds early on. But interesting all the same and very tasty. 

Has a lot of interesting flavours, and is a beer to enjoy slowly and sip.

Got the hops and the coriander taste and also found the yeast which gave it a bit of a kick. 

So overall a nice enough beer, full of nice flavours, I really love the orange taste in the beer, and it had a slight kick to it with the alcohol which I felt after, which I always like. 

Review: 33cl Bottle of Cerveja Capar India Pale Ale: ABV: 5.6% vol

Gallas Cerveja, an artisan from LisboaOnce again a nice logo and bottle, certainly catches the eye for sure, as this time we are treated to a bikini clad lady on a beach, images of relaxing on a beach with a nice cold cool beer at hand.

For the appearance I get a cloudy looking orange beer, with a minimal white head. Beer becomes cloudier and darker over time. 

Gallas Cerveja, an artisan from LisboaThe aroma was intense, a really lovely smell, very fruity and really strong on the nose. Got citrus hops. It had the “wow factor”, was really nice and exotic. It smelled like a grapefruit.
The aroma makes this drink, is very inviting and one can’t wait to start drinking. 

Taste is very bitter and hoppy, a usual IPA style beer, getting all the hops and fruits. 
Overall its not a bad beer and certainly does the business watching the football on a hot Saturday afternoon. 

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Icelandic Arctic Pale Ale

Einstök, beer from Iceland.

Icelandic Arctic Pale Ale

Brewed by Einstök Ölgerð (Einstök Beer Company)
Style: Arctic Pale Ale
Akureyri, Iceland

http://einstokbeer.com/

Icelandic Arctic Pale AleIt wasn’t that long ago that beer, all beer, was banned in the tiny North Atlantic island. Due to religious reasons, alcohol was not allowed, for fear of its corrupting influence. This was changed in 1933 in a nationwide referendum where 57.7% of the voters approved of lifting the ban. But before we congratulate common sense, beer was only to be allowed if it had an alcohol content not more than 2.25%.  Of course this just led to a thriving black market in stronger strength beers smuggled into the country and also beers sold by home brewers that were laced with strong spirits. Finally in May 1988, the government passed legislation legalizing beer above 2.25% ABV. The lifting of restrictions on beer is celebrated as Beer Day on March the 1’st, a day that all beer lovers on the island hold dear. Since then beer, wine and spirits are sold widely and consumed as in any other country. 

Located just 60 miles south of the Arctic circle in the fishing port of Akureyri is the brewery Einstök Ölgerð (Einstök Beer Company). Tapping into pure fresh water that comes directly from prehistoric glaciers flowing down from the majestic Hlíðarfjall Mountain and ancient lava fields, Einstök are able to produce top quality craft brews.

At present, Einstök brews Icelandic White Ale, Icelandic Arctic Pale Ale, Icelandic Toasted Porter, and two seasonal brews: Icelandic Arctic Berry Ale and Icelandic Doppelbock, selling all over Iceland and further afield to the USA, Scandinavia, most countries in Western Europe, and some in the east, such as Poland and the Baltic States, making it the largest exporter of alcoholic beverages from Iceland. Not bad for a brewery that has only been on the go since 2011. 

Review: 330 ml Bottle of Einstok Icelandic Arctic Pale ale: ABV: 5.6%

Rather cool pic of a stern looking Viking on the bottle.

On pour I get a deep dark orange coloured beer with a decent sized white frothy head. Looks good, very appetizing. Head maintains well and lasts. Not a bad looking beer..

Smell is not bad, nice n fruity, malty, and a bit sour but with nice fruity notes. Citrus is fine on the nose. 

On taste, fuck me, found the initial taste very hard hitting and very hoppy. It this really a regular pale ale? Tastes more like an IPA, fuck me. I think they called it an Arctic Pale Ale to differentiate between the two. Its their own creation, a Viking version of a pale ale!
Too hoppy for me, a bit bitter, very difficult to enjoy, at least initially. 

But it managed to settle down after a while, or perhaps I did, and I gradually started to enjoy it after a few more sips. It is really a slow burner that takes its time on your taste buds.

It certainly is a tasty beer, with a lot of interesting flavours. Got malts, the cascade hops which are very present, caramels and grains.

By the end of it I liked the beer, it certainly grew on me over the course of the session. I also got to see why they called it an Arctic Ale rather than an IPA, as it does lighten up near the end, thaws out! 

An interesting beer that I would like to try again for sure.  Liked it, it grew on me!

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ThisDrinkingLife and The World Cup: Iceland

Iceland, the team we all love to watch.

ThisDrinkingLife and The World Cup: Iceland

Iceland were the darling of the last European Championships, getting further than anyone expected, playing with a lot of passion and their supporters were a great addition to the tournament. Yeah Iceland were great fun.

ThisDrinkingLife and The World Cup: IcelandI have to be honest, I dont think they actually played much decent football at that tournament, a lot of it was smash and grab stuff. But to be fair to the Icelanders, it wasn’t a tournament with a lot of quality on show.  We did learn though, that this team can compete and can beat the top teams. And they will never give up, playing right to the 90th minute and beyond. Which goes to show you that a team which such a strong work ethic always have a chance. I guess that’s why we love watching them. 

Beating Croatia, Ukraine and Turkey is no easy feat, to come top in their World Cup qualifying group was a clear statement tho show that the Euros wasn’t just a lucky turn. A first World Cup but they are here not to make up the numbers, that’s for sure. 

ThisDrinkingLife and The World Cup: IcelandThey have a tough group though. Argentina, Nigeria and Croatia, three teams that are no pushovers. The only thing with Argentina is that they are notorious slow starters and Iceland might just catch them cold on the first day. After that I’d imagine they might be a bit too clever for Nigeria, and would be well able to match them physically. Last match against Croatia they might just need a draw, but it might be hard to keep Modric and co quiet for 90 minutes. I expect Iceland to go close but at the moment my head says that Argentina and Croatia will just shade it. The fact I didn’t mention any players shows that its the team and their cohesiveness that is the main thing for Iceland, but sometimes you need a top star to change a game and that’s where I feel in such a tight group could be where they come up short. But I could be wrong, and like so many people in the last Euros, Iceland just might prove us all wrong. Again! 

Check out my chat of Iceland’s chances with writer Marc Boal from the excellent Icelandic Football Magazine

We had a good long chat about Iceland’s upcoming participation in the Fifa 2018 World Cup in Russia. We discussed their chances, the reasons behind their recent successes, the football scene in the country, the scramble for tickets or not, and an overview of the domestic league, amongst other things. 

 

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