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| DRY, "WHITE WINE" BEER: Pilsner is likened by some as the "Chardonnay" of beers. |
"CHAMPAGNE OF BEER" The wheat beers made in various European (and American) locales. |
| "ROSÉ" of BEER There are some exceptional fruit beers, typically from Belgium....raspberry and cherry-flavored beers, for example. |
THE "CABERNET" OF THE BEER WORLD Look to some of the British Pale Ales or those termed "India Pale Ale." |
| "PINOT NOIR" of the BEER WORLD Some of the Belgian ales or Scottish Ales are likened to "Burgundy." |
LIGHT, DRY, "SHERRY"-LIKE BEERS These would include the brews from Belgium called Lambic or Gueuze. |
| MEDIUM-BODIED "SHERRY-LIKE" BEERS You'll find a nutty character in some of the Irish Stouts or dry Porter-styled beers. |
"PORT"-LIKE BREWS Some stouts..."barley wine" brews such as Sam Adams "Triple Bock". |
Otherwise....here are some suggestions of interesting, high quality beers we typically have in stock.......
AFFLIGEM
DOBBEL
This beer is made in the style of a Trappist beer. The De Smedt brewery
was recently sold to Heineken, so it will be interesting to see if they tinker with the
recipe. This is a marvelous brown ale with a touch of sweetness. It comes in
25 oz. bottles, so be very thirsty or share a bottle with a friend. Fasten your
seat-belt, too.
STELLA ARTOIS
Artois is a place in Belgium and "Stella" is the word for
"star." It is Belgium's most well-known beer, being exported around the
world. I think they even brew under license in certain locales, so better check your
bottle to see if it's really Belgian beer. At the present time the stock here in
California is from Belgium. You'll see Stella all over Europe and the name is used
as a sponsor for various athletic events around the continent. It is comparable to a
good Pilsner, being light and mildly bitter. The 12-ounce bottles are offered in
6-pk format.
HOEGAARDEN
The tale of Hoegaarden is interesting, the town of that name having been a
major center of brewing as far back as the 1500s. The nearby farms were cultivating
barley, oats, beets and wheat. Well, of course the wheat and barley are used for
this beer, but, at one time oats were also incorporated into the beer. What makes
this beer so distinctive is the use of coriander seeds and dried orange peel. The
fellow who brought this brewery back to life sold it to Interbrew and is now busy making
beer in Texas! Some say Hoegaarden isn't the same as it was in the 1970s, but it
still is a distinctively different, moderately hazy, flavorful beer.
CHIMAY
There
are but six Trappist breweries scattered around Belgium. We have several beers from
these monasteries. Perhaps the most famous (world-wide fame, anyway) is Chimay.
The monastic order here stems from the Abbey of Citeaux in Burgundy, France.
Brewing started here in the mid-1800s. The order also is famous for its cheese
production.
We feature Chimay "Rouge" in the small, 12-ounce format (we can special order
their other beers or the 25-ounce bottles, if you like). This is a lovely, very
flavorful beer with a hint of a sharp spice note (nutmeg, perhaps?). You'll want to
allow this beer to warm up from refrigerator temperature to about "cellar temp,"
55-60 degrees. A fine beer for roasted or stewed red meats, some claim this ages
gracefully.
CZECHVAR (BUDWEISER/BUDVAR)
The logo to the left is the one you'll find on the bottles of beer sold around
Europe as "Budweiser" from a brewery in the Czech region of Bohemia.
The city known in German as "Budweis" and in Czech as "Ceské
Budejovice" was the home of many breweries once upon a time. Today there remain
two. One is Budweiser Bürgerbräu and the other is Budweiser Budvar.
The Anheuser-Busch firm in St. Louis, Missouri called its beer "Budweiser" way
back in the late 1800s. The Budweiser Budvar brewery dates back only to 1895, so
there's a likelihood that the American brand has been around longer than the Czech.
I see the Czech beer on my travels in Europe. It's an all-malt beer, whereas
American Budweiser has rice added to it.
In any event, "Czechvar" has arrived in the U.S. and we now have it in stock.
Make your own comparison.
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