What Beer Are You Drinking Fall 2010

[ILLfarmboy]

I brought home a growler of their bock from Granite City food and Brewery.

Beer sure fills you up. Or maybe it was that plate of hot wings I polished off. Anyhow, I figured bringing some home of their brew would give me a better opportunity to really become acquainted with it.

I swear the last time I was at the restaurant it tasted a bit nuttier (roasted) and a bit bolder. I suppose it could be a different batch, but it's probably me.

I kinda wish they sold one liter growlers. The wife isn't home tonight to help me polish this off and I wonder how long the beer will stay good with only half to one third of its contents.

[ggilbertva]

Weekend beer drinking was more than normal. I attended a beer and whiskey tasting on Friday so including that night I enjoyed the following:

Firestone Walker 14 (most awesome beer on the planet)

Widmer Bros Barrel Aged Brrrbon

Rogue Nut Brown Ale

Sam Smith Nut Brown Ale

St. Bernardus ABT 12

Rodenbach Grand Cru (ok, didn't enjoy this one.....vinegar trying to pass as beer)

[unclebunk]

Just back from a Globus tour of central Europe which took in cities in Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary. I tasted many beers and would say the best blond lagers on draft are unrivaled in North America in terms of what is commonly available. There are lagers here as good, e.g. from Stoudt , or Sam Adams Noble Variety lager, or Steamwhistle or Creemore Keller Beer in Toronto, but you have to search them out. In the main cities in Europe you get draft beers widely available that are utmost in quality like Pilsener Urquel, Dreher, Gambrinus, Gosser, HB in Munich, etc. We do better than they in ales, an inheritance of the UK tradition.

Pilsener Urquel on draft in particular was extremely good with a full hop taste I don`t detect even in the same beer freshly imported (good as it is). I brought an Urquel canned only 3 months ago from Toronto and tasted it next to a bottled Urquel bought in Munich which was a couple of months older judging again by the 9 month dating system. (The tour group was completely bemused by this and understandably so, it`s sad the lengths the geeks will go to understand beer - and whiskey - quality). The European-sourced Urquel had an evidently stronger flavour with a burst of fresh hop notes the export lacked even though the latter was apparently fresher stock. I`m still trying to figure that one. Even Heineken in Europe seems so much better than what we get here. I guess it must be the transport factor.

Gary

Wow. I missed this post earlier but must say I'm green with envy after reading about your trip. It sounds fantastic! I wholeheartedly agree with your comments about the superior quality of European lagers, particularly those produced in the Czech Republic. In my many travels there I have been astounded time and again by the freshness, creaminess and full flavor of their beers, with a special fondness for Gambrinus and Pilsner Urquel. I've toured many breweries there (including a private tour of the Pilsner Urquel brewery back in the late nineties) and commented to my guide that their beer seemed so much better in the CR than back home in the US. His response was that the beer brewed for domestic consumption was still being aged in oak barrels while those sent abroad were aged in stainless steel to meet the demands of the export market. I don't know if this is still true but it may account, in part, for the difference.

[Gillman]

That's interesting about the local beer being processed in oak vats, I have understood these have been abandoned for all except a small test or control production, but who knows? I think another factor may be pasteurization. The draft and bottled Urquel in Czech Republic and Germany, where I found it at its best, may not be pasteurized, or possibly flash-pasteurized (or just one of them). The exported stuff may be exposed to full, i.e., tunnel, pasteurization, again it's hard to say. But the difference between a fresh imported can and the local equivalent was quite marked even though the latter was, if I read the codes right, a few months older.

German pils and helles often had a very marked hop flavour, almost earthy or funky-like, a taste I recognised in many Euro lagers there but not all. Some must use a different hop (e.g. Dreher, Gambrinus, Pelforth Blonde in France, and some others). Urquel sometimes had the taste and sometimes didn't! It may depend too on the time of year, age of the hops, crop differences, etc. Anyway in general they reach a high standard there - Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary - that seems a birthright for them, something they've had for a long time and have perfected. You can get a bad beer there, I had some keller beer in Vienna that was slightly sour; this wasn't natural but a white vinegar-like taste. But in general the daily or "average" pils you get is very good. I did taste other styles. Dunkel, or dark Munich beer, is one, which perhaps I didn't have at its best - and wheat beer, which was similar to what we get imported in bottles from these countries. But the blonde lager on draft was the true revelation. For anyone thinking of going, the Globus 4-5 city tour of Central and East Europe is well worth doing. It's on a bus, 8 days and they take care of you at a cost that is not exorbitant. The beer part was something I added on myself using the free time we had or group occasions in restaurants and bars. A little research is required but not much really, it's easy to do.

Gary

[Gillman]

By the way one draft I had there a couple of times was very similar to what it tastes like here whether in bottle, can or draft, was Budweiser Budvar, called Czechvar in Canada and the U.S. It must be the way it is made, but is remarkably consistent with a distinctive winy taste. I wouldn't say it was exactly the same here but almost, very close.

Even Heineken Draft was very good there (I tasted it in Paris), with a full rich hoppy (German-type) taste. I have found fresh cans here not that different. Some breweries must process their beer in a way to ensure it tastes very similar wherever sold. Which is no bad thing, but in general I found the Euro versions of beers I've had here superior and often by a fair margin.

Gary

[unclebunk]

That's interesting about the local beer being processed in oak vats, I have understood these have been abandoned for all except a small test or control production, but who knows? I think another factor may be pasteurization. The draft and bottled Urquel in Czech Republic and Germany, where I found it at its best, may not be pasteurized, or possibly flash-pasteurized (or just one of them). The exported stuff may be exposed to full, i.e., tunnel, pasteurization, again it's hard to say. But the difference between a fresh imported can and the local equivalent was quite marked even though the latter was, if I read the codes right, a few months older.

Gary

I'm guessing you are right about the elimination of the oak vats at the Pilsner Urquel brewery, as my conversation with the tour guide at the brewery was held back in 1997. It would have been unthinkable to him at the time that there would ever come a day that the oak barrels would no longer be used, as much was made of the fact that the oak barrels contributed a great deal to the unique character of their beer. But modernization wins out when the demand is high, so perhaps they had no choice but to make the change.

[T Comp]

...

Pilsener Urquel on draft in particular was extremely good with a full hop taste I don`t detect even in the same beer freshly imported (good as it is). I brought an Urquel canned only 3 months ago from Toronto and tasted it next to a bottled Urquel bought in Munich which was a couple of months older judging again by the 9 month dating system. (The tour group was completely bemused by this and understandably so, it`s sad the lengths the geeks will go to understand beer - and whiskey - quality). The European-sourced Urquel had an evidently stronger flavour with a burst of fresh hop notes the export lacked even though the latter was apparently fresher stock. I`m still trying to figure that one. Even Heineken in Europe seems so much better than what we get here. I guess it must be the transport factor.

Gary

I brought a bottle of export Heineken with me on a trip to the Netherlands in 1991 so I could compare it against one from there. Of course, totally different animals with strong tingling hops and complete absence of the sour vegetal taste so common in the export. At that time the Belgium beers were coming on really strong in the Amsterdam bars but I actually drank more Heineken on tap because it was so damn good and different from the Heineken here. In a trip to Ireland and England in 1980 I also thought about bringing some Harp and Bass export bottles with me for comparison but first wife freaked and I guess that's why I have a second :grin: .

[doubleblank]

Hey Joe, I'm still trying to like that Chocolate Bock. I started with it one evening and the sweetness got me. But I bet it would be nice to finish the evening with it as a "dessert".

I always used their Cranberry Lambic to cook with. Added a little fruity sweetness to chilis or stews. I know, some are going to say "Sweetness to chili?" But go look at some of the "Championship Chili Recipes". Many add some form of sugar and citrus at the end of cooking to add depth and to brighten the flavors.

Randy

[Gillman]

Glad I'm not the only one out there who thinks of doing these comparisons.

I guess in the end beer is best closest to home. I've tried to parse it a million ways, but it seems to come back to that, with some exceptions.

Gary