The Beer Tent

This is just a place discuss beer. I will moderate this thread, but will not moderate consumption!

 

Beer Review: Diebels Alt

Ok, beer lovers. Time to stroll down memory lane to discuss your favorite beers and flavors. I begin with one of my favorites first imbided in the Diebels Alt bar in Hannover, Germany on the Marktplatz, next to the Tuerm.

This Alt style beer is defined as follows:

A German term for a top-fermenting brew. Classic examples, copper in colour, mashed only from barley malt, fermented from a single cell yeast and cold conditioned, with an alcohol content of 4.5-4.7 by volume, are made in Dusseldorf.

The flavor is great, but lends itself to s slightly maltier flavor. This was a big time favorite on my trip. I have beer coasters from over 200 different bars and breweries. I look forward to sharing these with you.

 

Beer Review: Paulaner

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this special beer, I am here to tell you to pick some up on your next trip. I first came across this beer at the Paulaner Bar in Hannover, Germany. (I know, this will get old, but I have fond memories of each beer and the bars associated with each). 4:00pm is happy hour and 1/2 priced liters. If you ever get here, be sure to order 2 when you get there and 2 right before 5:00pm when happy hour ends. In good german fashion, happy hour is just an hour.

They have dunkel, pilsner, hefe weizen, oktoberfest, marzchen, and a few other brews you can learn about here: http://starbrandimports.com/brands.php?b=1

4 liters = great buzz and will require follow-up with streetside brat/weiss wuerst as well as potato salad and sauerkraut. 8 more liters will put you to bed, but no hangover the next day.

 

Beer Drink Review: Luettje Lagen

What is better than a german beer with a shot of schnapps in it? Well, it is a great way to get a quck buzz, but not an advisable action for those who are already drunk Here is how this works.

In a triple sized shot glass Gilde Lagen beer is poured into it. A small, martini shaped schnapps glass is filled with a very clear unflavored schnapps. Then, they are drunk together as pictured below.

One must balance the schnapps glass on the rim of the beer shot glass. Then as you take the beer shot, you pour the schnapps shot into the beer. You never drink from the schnapps glass. This is great fun because the uneducated luettje lager pours the schnapps up their nose and everyone gets a great laugh. If you ever get a chance to try one of these, it is great fun.

 

My Beerku (a haiku about beer)

Behold my cold beers
Chilled by the mountain stream's flow
Hot chicks everywhere

--Clyde


You probably can't tell, but I wrote this.

 

My beer poem.

Out, Out damn froth!
I drink in your sweet sustenance;
Liquid nectar for merry making joy;
I bend my elbow and hoist you to my lips...
its love,love...and I drink you in...
I drink you up
And I drink you down.
I pound you hard. Ahhhhhhhh!
You go down like the rest.
Again, I say, "Out, Out damn froth!"
I spill not my head and it does not overflow.
Into the abyss you fall, to be emptied like a hose quenching a fire.
The plunger falls and I feel better, but I shall continue this affair.
Staggering and weaving I fall down into your arms
while we laughingly sing and celebrate together.
People are looking at me as I hold you in my hand,
wondering why I am happy and they are sad.
I ask you your name and you do not answer.
So now I must stare at you as you stare at me.
Oh, playing hard to get? Yes. Yes you are.
Pour me another, bartender, and tell me her name.
"Her name, my friend, is Beer."

Yet another, Clyde original.

 

Pouring Guiness

This can be a challenge and it totally depends on what method you are using to get your beer:

20oz Nitrogenated Can: I have a guiness mug that is the perfect size. Pop the top until you get a small bubbling coming out. then gently pour into the glass so YOu can watch the bubbles rise eventhought they look like they are falling

20 oz Nitrogenated bottle: supposedly you can drink it from the bottle. Pour into your guiness glass and enjoy even more.

16 oz stout bottle: non-nitrogenated, no problem to drink from bottle or pour into glass. Great for adding to dishes that allow for a dark beer to be added.

Pouring from keg, have the bartended do it. Ask them to put the shamrock on the top. If they don't know what you are talking about, they are just beer slingers.

You can buy your 20oz glasses here: http://www.perfectpintshoppe.com/glasses4pack.html

 

Tonights Beer: Fosters. Its Australian for Beer!

Not my favorite Australian beer, but the easiest to get. After eyeballing the beer cooler for about 20 minutes making the biggest decision of the day, I settled on a cool 12 of Fosters. Tops start popping at 7:00pm tonight to celebrat my nephews birthday tomorrow morning. He is turning 2.

The Fosters Tivia "did you know":

The Foster brothers were Americans from New York who hopped on a boat and sailed to Australia to establish a brewerey. Talk about having balls. That was around 1887 and the rest is history.

 

Beer Review: Spaten

Munich, oh Munich! My first Spaten was downed in 1985 while on a trip to Germany when I was just 15. Not only did the beer taste great, but the chick bringing the liter glasses over really made me try to drink my beer faster so she would come back. Overall, I give this beer an A-. With 4 varieties, it is easy to get lost in drink while tasting them all.

 

Ok. Here is my contribution. Sampling beers around the world can be an interesting experience. I tried to find a picture of the "Sakkara" brand It is pretty cool. Has a picture of the stepped pyramid on it.It also serves a dual purpose.It makes a fantastic laxative the next day.The premier beer here is Miester.
I admit to not being a beer connessiour.Now if you want to discuss fine bourbons...



Beer, Glorious Beer

Beer and Egyptians go way back. Literally. Beer recipes have been found in ancient texts and modern brewers have tried to replicate the Egyptian beverage. In more recent times, I've been told that the Belgian brewery Stella Artois set up shop in Egypt, hence the primary local beer's name, Stella. I can't seem to verify that information, but I can tell you about beer since 1988. When we moved here there were three beers available in Egypt (and a few others imported, but not too many). Most common was Stella, a light lager in a large green bottle. There was also Stella Premium in a smaller bottle for less money, but as far as I could see it tasted the same. Then, usually in the spring the same company sold a lovely dark beer called Marzen beer in even smaller bottles. Marzen Beer was always my favourite.

In the late 80's and early 90's beer drinking in Egypt was to a certain extent for the strong of heart. Quality control could be a bit shaky, but most of the time you got a beverage that was fondly known as "camel piss". When the drive came to privatise all of the previously nationalised industries, including Al Ahram Beverages, an Egyptian investor bought Al Ahram Beverages and made some changes. One of these was the introduction of Meister, my preference in beer. The Sawares family opened another brewery near Hurghada, Gouna Beverages, which brewed Sakkara beer. After a few years Al Ahram bought out Gouna, so now there is essentially a monopoly on the manufacture of alcohol. Al Ahram sells Meister, Meister Max, Stella, Stella Premium, Sakkara, and Sakkara Gold. Unfortunately, the wonderful Marzen beer is nowhere to be found.

 

I was in South east Asia for a while, and had the chance to sample a bunch of different beer made in the area. In Singapore, Heinekin and Tiger were both brewed locally in the same brewery. H sucked with a half life, definately not the same as H elsewhere. Tiger was one of the mainstays there, and while a rather journeyman beer, wasn't bad at all. Tiger in Bangkok was not the same stuff for some reason (like a different brewery.)

My Aussie buddies wouldn't touch Fosters, which was an import there, they had nothing good to say about it, there or at home. Generally, the imported stuff, including Bud, was of lesser quality across the board. Dos Equis was not up to US versions either, not by half.

While there are experiences like the Egyptian Sakkara world wide, I learned to drink the local stuff whenever possible, it is usually (but not always) a safe bet. I had some Bud in Rie De Janerio years back that I later found was preserved with formaldehyde before leaving the states. There are some headaches I'd rather not repeat, and that is one of them. Three beers, back to the boat, and three days of headaches. The guys that drank the local stuff (name unremembered) only suffered a few hours on (or in front of) the throne.

 

Andy,

The problem is that these are almost impossible to find in my area. Its the midwest and its canadian brewed fosters or german beer. I liked Toohey's when I was in Australia in 1988 and it was about all I drank (Sydney, Hamilton Island, Cairns, and Brisbane). I got really hammered in Brisbane on New Years eve. I went to bed at 11:30pm. Australians are fun to drink with.

Clyde

 

A Guiness Afternoon

After a long morning of work, I decided to stop for a guiness since we had a guiness question recently. Attached are a couple pictures of one of my 6 perfect pours. Guiness Rules!