Best Bier

ABV 5%.

Made from Bavaria Brewery.

I got this one in a supermarket about a kilometer from my neighboorhood, where I had gone just to check out if I could find a new beer. Well, I got me a new beer but I was a bit disappointing from my findings, since they only had it in cans (where I prefer bottles), the beer looks cheap and also it's called Best and any product which is called Best is going to be average, if you're lucky.

Poured into my standard glass for pilseners. Pale golden yellow colour, with lots of bubbes rising to the surface and two fingers of white head, froathy at first but as it was losing in height, it was gaining in density. The end result was one finger of thick, soapy head, which left some light lacing around the glass. Not bad at all. 

On the aroma not uch to report, typical smell of an average pilsener, maybe with some more hay aroma.

Taste is neutral, nothing too offensive either, but at least leaves behind a nice, bitter aftertaste.

Thin on the body with average carbonation, but far from the watery beer I was expecting.

All in all, a decent brew, not the Best in any case, and for the price of 1,14/liter is a very good choice if you want a cheap beer for parties etc. To my surprise, it turned out to be pleasantly drinkable. So I guess as we shouldn't judge a book by its cover, we shouldn't judge a beer from its can.

3.03/5

look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Vitalis Malt 0,0%

This is advertised mostly as a healthy energy drink, although on its commercial description states clearly that is a beer. I consider it to be a beer too, since it contains water, barley malts and hops, more importantly. A non-alcoholic one, but still, a beer. From an internet search I only found suppliers and that is made in Germany, from whom and where exactly I haven't the slightest idea.

Small bottle of 330 ml, poured into a standard glass. It produced a very dark brown beer, almost black. Non transparent at all.One finger of beige head, with low retention that leaves light lacing.

Aroma is very sweet and quite unique. I can't really tell what this smell is but it may be coming from the glucose/fructose syrup.

On the taste is very sweet, with some corn traces, although it doesn't contain any, at least according to the label, so I guess is once again the syrup responsible for this. Sweet on the aftertaste too, but much less now.

Medium thickness on the body, with almost non-existent carbonation, which is weird because even now I can see lots of bubbles rising to the surface. It goes down just like water.

Overall I am pretty confused with this one, I liked the appearance and the aroma, taste wasn't that bad but on the other hand I felt like I was drinking a soft drink that had gone flat, something that I didn't have with other non-alcoholic beers.

2.88/5

look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

Budels Organic Pilsener

ABV 5%

Best before 3/2013.

This beer is made of organic ingredients. The lat biologicI tried was quite disappointing, so let's see if it was just that or all the bio beers taste equally bad.

Standard dutch bottle of 300 ml, poured into a nirmal glass.Golden yellow colour with a small white head, one finger in height, quickly gone,leaving just a thin strip around the beer's surface. Average activity in the glass.

Nice aroma, a bit hoppy, but other than than I couldn't perceive anything else.

Taste i very nice too, on the bitter side. A great difference from my previous bio-beer, which tasted more like wet hay. This one is actually pretty good.

Nice body, medium thick and just the right amount of carbonation.

Overall, I found this one pretty decent brew. Usually when something is biologic or made with organic stuff, it doesn't have any taste or it tastes really bad, but that was not the case with this beer. Too high of a price for a pilsner though, so I don't see myself buying any time soon in the near future.

3.38/5

look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Jopen Trinitas Tripel

ABV 9%

Bottle of 330 ml, with a long neck, pretty similar to the bottles of american beers. From the back label, roughly translated "This is a beer with three grains, Trinitas is the Trinity (the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit). In Germany according to the beer purity law, the holy trinity is water, malt and hops. Our own unity of three is barley, wheat and oats". 

First smell as soon as I opened the bottle, was yeast, with a fruity aroma following straight away. Once poured into my chalice, it gave me a one and a half fingers of off-white, short lasting head, creamy in texture. It left me with some heavy lacing around the glass. Colour of the beer was deep orange, slighty hazy.

Aroma is not much different once poured than it is when you first open the bottle. Bready at first, with a fruity smell following, mostly those fruits being peaches and apricots. Some alcohol smell lies beneath them, but it;s very faint and is only traceable if you really insist to perceive all of the aromas.

Alcohol is much more obvious on the taste though. Some of the apricots can be found on the taste as well, alog with some caramelized malts, the latter being quite weak, or balanced, if you prefer, with the drying, bitter finish of the hops.

Medium thickness on the body and average carbonation.

Overall, it was a good beer and I quite liked it I must say, although I didn't have enough time to really enjoy it, not that it would make any great difference if I did. Nothing to be really excited about, but a decent and honest tripel that won't disappoint you.

3.23/5

look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Duvel Tripel Hop 2012 (Citra Hops)

ABV 9,5%

A bottle of 330 ml, similar to the classic Duvel, with Tripel Hop written under the name and the clarification, "Dry Hopped With Citra Hops" in a circle, on the lower right side of the label.
Since this is made only for this year and they're planning to make it with a different hops variety every year, I thought that it deserved a different entry.
Poured into a tulip glass, very similar to the Duvel one, after letting the beer warm up a bit. Colour is pale golden yellow, with some bubbles rising to the top and a whooping head of four fingers. Great retention and light lacing around the glass as it goes down. The head never disappears completely, even now, I have a thick part of it into my glass.
Aroma is.. fantastic! I haven't met another beer with this kind of fruity aroma. Mostly I get a fruity aroma of dark fruits, but never before something like this. The citra hops are really making a difference. I smell some guava and a bunch of other tropical fruits.
Taste is also great, much more bitter than I expected from the smell and much more bitter than the original Duvel too. Some citrus and tropical fruits on the taste again, result of the citra hops I suppose. The alcohol is there, but very masterfully concealed. I get the warming feeling but I can't feel it that much on the taste. Aftertaste is also quite bitter.
Full on the body and quite a bit of carbonation, maybe a little too much.

I am not a huge fun of Duvel, and don't get me wrong, I like it and I would gladly drink it on every given occasion, I just don't get all the hype around it. But this one, not only I liked it, I loved it, mostly for the superb aroma and then for the great, bitter taste. I had got myself three bottles already, before I even try it, but this one will probably be the first beer that will send me back to the store, in order to get some more and store in my cellar.

4.53/5
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Palm

ABV 5,4%

  One of the most widely available belgian beers here in Netherlands, along with Jupiler, I guess. I had it many times before and the supermarket around the corner had it on offer recently, so I grabbed the chance to get a whole crate of it. It was also a good choice for my new tulip glass to be used for the first time. 

  The small bottle of 300 ml gave me a beer light amber in colour, with slighty beige head of two fingers in height, with good retention, which left some traces of lacing as it was going down.

  A sweet aroma coming mostly from roasted malts. That's where the faint caramel aroma is coming from too.

  Taste is fruity you could say at first, but then the flavour of the roasted malts overcomes everything else. Slighty metallic aftertaste. 

  On the body is quite thin, with an average carbonation. 

  Now, I like Palm and for a moment I thought it could replace my usual lagers and pilsners that I drink after a long day at work, but after having it continuously for almost a week, I find it a bit boring, to tell the truth. Still, a good beer to break the routine every once a while.

3.23/5

look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Orval

ABV 6,2%

I got this beer at my local liquor store without knowing anything about it. It was just another option among all the other beers on the shelf. After coming home though and reading all those positive reviews, I was looking forward to drinking it. Instead, for a bunch of reasons, it stayed in my fridge till now.

A uniquely shaped bottle of 330 ml, with just one small, modest label mentioning the beer's name and other info, around the neck of the bottle. Poured into a chalice, after letting it warm up a little bit, since it has a recommended drinking temperature of 12°-14° C. Dark amber coloured, with a two finger head, white in colour, with some yelow spots every here and there.. Foam is thick in texture. Quite a few bubbles rising to the surface. Head has an average retention.Once most of it is gone, a thick enough part stays behindand covers the surface. 

Aroma was quite complex when I sniffed it the moment I opened the bottle, with the most obvious smell being a fig aroma.. After smelling it from the glass, I sense plums, pears, some light caramel aromaand maybe some old redgrapes. Great aroma.

Taste is great too, somehow in the middle between fruity sweet and hoppy bitter, with the scale turning on the bitterness' side when it comes to the aftertaste. It's very difficult to name some flavours exactly. There are fruity flavours, some clove too. Now I perceive some white wine flavour and some spices too. This beer is so complex, to the point you get another flavour with every sip. Alcohol very well concealed.

Full body with average carbonation, a bit tart on the palate. 

Overall, a fantastic beer. Its complexity makes for a great sipping beer. Those monks are doing a great job at their brewery.

4.25/5
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Budweiser

ABV 5,0%

Another one included in the BEERS OF THE WORLD package. First time I had this beer was last March in Mexico, imported from the United States. This one I 'm having now was actually brewed in England and it has some differences from the "original", with the label being the main one, where it's written Bud instead of Budweiser, to differentiate it from the czechish Budweiser I suppose.The one I had in Mexico, I had straight from the bottle, so this is a nice chance to re-review it, taking it's actual smell and overal appearance into account this time.

Pale golden yellow colour, with two fingers of froathy head, with great retention. It surprised me here. Enormous activity in the glass, with a continuous stream of countless bubbles feeding the head.

Not much on the aroma front, not bad, but not anything notable either. Just, neutral, except from a faint rice smell.

Hmm, "meh" taste. I don't mind the rice taste in a beer, on the contrary sometimes I like it, but  this one has it so subtle and flat that goes almost unnoticeable.

Very thin on the body and very light carbonation.

Back in Mexico this beer was a great break from all those corn flavoured mexican beers. Back here though it's just a below the average beer. I can see why it is so popular in some places though, it's very drinkable on a hot day and if you just came back home from work on a summer evening, this is a great thirst quencher. If I was living in such a climate myself and the price was right, I would certainly keep a bunch of those in my fridge. 

2.4/5
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Pacifico

ABV 4,5%

Part of a BEERS OF THE WORLD package. I had this one before during holidaying in Mexico, only from a can back then. 

First things first, a long neck bottle of 355 ml, best before 2013, ABV at 4,5%, with only a front label. Ingredients are written in german on the label and except from the usual water, malts and hops, includes also rice and papain. 

Once poured it gave me a golden yellow beer, with one finger of head, with an average retention. Head leaves a thin layer on top of the beer once gone, no lacing whatsoever though.Medium activity in the glass, in the form of bubbles. 

The smell was quite sweet and mostly of malts. I can't really smell any rice grains, but at least it doesn't have the corn smell I had experienced when I drunk it from a can. Corn is also abscent from the taste, it's so much different from the one I had back there. This one has a sweet malty taste and is as easily drinkable as any other lager, with a very discreet bitter aftertaste.

Thin on the body with moderate carbonation. Dry on the palate.

To conlude, this was so much different from the one I had from a can, I would prefer it over Corona and Sol  any given time.

3.1/5

look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Miller Genuine Draft

ABV 4,7%

One of the new beers in my local Albert Heijn supermarket. Clear glass bottle, with a twist-to-open crown cap. 330 ml of golden yellow beer, alcohol by volume stands at 4,7%. Produced and bottled in Europe, God knows where, under licence from MillerBrewing Company. I like the label, with the eagle flying holding some barleys with its claws. Ingredients include "selected cereal grains" and "hop products". 

As I said, golden yellow colour, with one finger of head, kind of soapy in texture, quickly losing half of its height but keeping the remaining half finger for quite long. Lots of bubbles finding their way to the top. 

Smell is very faint, some malts mostly and I think I smell rice. Does it contain rice? I don't know, maybe rice is one of the selected cereal grains the label mentioned. Well, at least it doesn't have the annoying corn smell.

Wow, fantastic taste! At the supermarket stands a label next to the bottle, recommending drinking it straight from the bottle. Allow me to disagree with that, I had a couple of sips and although the great taste is still there, is not so strong as when drinking it from a glass. Hmm, the more I drink it, the more conviced I am it contains some rice. So be it, they managed to give this beer a great taste.

On the body is as thin as someone would expect from a beer coming into a clear glass bottle. Very light carbonation, but it's so drinkable.

Overall, I found this one to be a great beer. Too bad it costs 1,50 a bottle here. When I can afford this price for a bottle of lager at home, this would be among my preferences.

3.35/5

look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Carlton Draught - Beer Chase

Carlsberg - Fan Academy

Schulten Brau Rosé

I knew something was odd with this beer from the moment I opened the 6-bottle package and took a look at the bottle. The beer seemed to be too clear for a rose, even though I was looking at it while it was still in its brown bottle.
The most Rosé beers I had till now were Wit beers with some strawberries/raspberries juice and/or a coloring agent, in order to get that characteristic pink colour. And because of that, those roses tend to be quite hazy and in most cases non transparent at all.
That was not the case with this one. As I had suspected, it was very clear and certainly not pink/rose in colour. More like a deep golden colour with an orange hue, or, if you prefer, a deep copper colour. I poured my second bottle on a flute glass as recommended and doing that, I was finally able to get an one-and-a-half fingers of white head, slowly dissloving, untill it was completely gone. Not much activity in the glass.
Aroma was very artificial and generic, reminded me of raspberries juice and cough syrup.
Very sweet in taste, but once again very artificial. The berries taste covers everything else and leaves a fruity aftertaste as expected, only more sour.
Very thin on the body and to make things worse, a huge amount of carbonation, which in combination with the fruity aroma and taste, make you feel that you're drinking a carbonated berries juice.
I didn't have any high hopes for this beer, but it was even worse than I expected.

2.23/5
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Hertog Jan Karakter

I am still taking those damn pills for my skin fungus infection and I still have to take them for another five days. But tonight I decided I had enough of not having any beer. So what better way to go back to my beer drinking than with a 7,5% ABV beer? While I am waiting for my spare ribs to be ready, I thought to post the review I had posted on beeradvocate, only much much altered, since now that I used a more suitable glass, what I perceived from this one was quite different than half a year ago.

Poured from a 300 ml bottle into a Chimay chalice. Colour is light amber, kind of ruby once it's hold against the light. Head of one finger in height, brownish in color that doesn't last long. Aroma is fruity and to be more specific, that of dark fruits, like plums and dates.The taste is sort of metallic, but other than that sweet, with the dark fruits element much more obvious. Some caramel too, but mostly on the aftertaste. The alcohol very nicely conceiled.Medium thickness on the body, light carbonation. A little dry on the palate.Another very good beer from Hertog Jan.

3.38/5

Carlsberg - The Great Escape

White House Releases Their Beer Recipes

Who would have known? U.S. President Obama brews his own beer on the grounds of the White House, or to be more exact has people to brew it for him. After the news came out, people started demanding the recipes and signing a petition on the White House online petition platform. I also read somewhere that people demanded the recipes under the Freedom Of Information Act, but I can't find the link anymore.
This is what the White House had to say on the matter, through its spokeperson Sam Kass(White House Assistant Chef and the Senior Policy Advisor for Healthy Food Initiatives) :


With public excitement about White House beer fermenting such a buzz, we decided we better hop right to it.

Inspired by home brewers from across the country, last year President Obama bought a home brewing kit for the kitchen. After the few first drafts we landed on some great recipes that came from a local brew shop. We received some tips from a couple of home brewers who work in the White House who helped us amend it and make it our own. To be honest, we were surprised that the beer turned out so well since none of us had brewed beer before.

As far as we know the White House Honey Brown Ale is the first alcohol brewed or distilled on the White House grounds. George Washington brewed beer and distilled whiskey at Mount Vernon and Thomas Jefferson made wine but there's no evidence that any beer has been brewed in the White House. (Although we do know there was some drinking during prohibition…)

Since our first batch of White House Honey Brown Ale we've added the Honey Porter and have gone even further to add a Honey Blonde this past summer. Like many home brewers who add secret ingredients to make their beer unique, all of our brews have honey that we tapped from the first ever bee-hive on the South Lawn. The honey gives the beer a rich aroma and a nice finish but it doesn't sweeten it.

And here are the recipes

Also in text format, just in case

WHITE HOUSE HONEY ALE

Ingredients

2 (3.3 lb) cans light malt extract

1 lb light dried malt extract

12 oz crushed amber crystal malt

8 oz Bisquit Malt

1 lb White House Honey

1 1/2 oz Kent Goldings Hop Pellets

1 1/2 oz Fuggles Hop pellets

2 tsp gypsum

1 pkg Windsor dry ale yeast

3/4 cup corn sugar for priming

Directions

In an 12 qt pot, steep the grains in a hop bag in 1 1/2 gallons of sterile water at 155 degrees for half an hour. Remove the grains.

Add the 2 cans of the malt extract and the dried extract and bring to a boil.

For the first flavoring, add the 1 1/2 oz Kent Goldings and 2 tsp of gypsum. Boil for 45 minutes.

For the second flavoring, add the 1/2 oz Fuggles hop pellets at the last minute of the boil.

Add the honey and boil for 5 more minutes.

Add 2 gallons chilled sterile water into the primary fermenter and add the hot wort into it. Top with more water to total 5 gallons. There is no need to strain.

Pitch yeast when wort temperature is between 70-80˚. Fill airlock halfway with water.

Ferment at 68-72˚ for about seven days.

Rack to a secondary fermenter after five days and ferment for 14 more days.

To bottle, dissolve the corn sugar into 2 pints of boiling water for 15 minutes. Pour the mixture into an empty bottling bucket. Siphon the beer from the fermenter over it. Distribute priming sugar evenly. Siphon into bottles and cap. Let sit for 2 to 3 weeks at 75˚.

WHITE HOUSE HONEY PORTER

Ingredients

2 (3.3 lb) cans light unhopped malt extract

3/4 lb Munich Malt (cracked)

1 lb crystal 20 malt (cracked)

6 oz black malt (cracked)

3 oz chocolate malt (cracked)

1 lb White House Honey

10 HBUs bittering hops

1/2 oz Hallertaur Aroma hops

1 pkg Nottingham dry yeast

3/4 cup corn sugar for bottling

Directions

In a 6 qt pot, add grains to 2.25 qts of 168˚ water. Mix well to bring temp down to 155˚. Steep on stovetop at 155˚ for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, bring 2 gallons of water to 165˚ in a 12 qt pot. Place strainer over, then pour and spoon all the grains and liquid in. Rinse with 2 gallons of 165˚ water. Let liquid drain through. Discard the grains and bring the liquid to a boil. Set aside.

Add the 2 cans of malt extract and honey into the pot. Stir well.

Boil for an hour. Add half of the bittering hops at the 15 minute mark, the other half at 30 minute mark, then the aroma hops at the 60 minute mark.

Set aside and let stand for 15 minutes.

Place 2 gallons of chilled water into the primary fermenter and add the hot wort into it. Top with more water to total 5 gallons if necessary. Place into an ice bath to cool down to 70-80˚.

Activate dry yeast in 1 cup of sterilized water at 75-90˚ for fifteen minutes. Pitch yeast into the fermenter. Fill airlock halfway with water. Ferment at room temp (64-68˚) for 3-4 days.

Siphon over to a secondary glass fermenter for another 4-7 days.

To bottle, make a priming syrup on the stove with 1 cup sterile water and 3/4 cup priming sugar, bring to a boil for five minutes. Pour the mixture into an empty bottling bucket. Siphon the beer from the fermenter over it. Distribute priming sugar evenly. Siphon into bottles and cap. Let sit for 1-2 weeks at 75˚.

New Beer In The House III

After a long week I had a day off but nothing to do at home. I checked all the sites I visit the most, even some that I had stopped visiting because they had turned boring and I am still taking those pills, so I couldn't just sit around and drink beers. The weather though was excellent for being outside, and that's what I decided to do, go out. And buy some beers.
First I cycled to a nearby town, ten kilometres away (and another ten to come back of course), to visit a liquor store chain of shops where the Duvel Triple Hop 2012 Edition is sold exclusively. I got me three bottles plus two bottles of Weihenstephaner Vitus, which has won the prize of the best beer in the world for 2011  (if I remember correctly). On the way back, I stopped by ALDI, a cheap supermarket where they only sell one specific brand of beer called Schulten Bräu and that's the only option too. But this was a bigger supermarket than the one around my neighbourhood, so I went in hoping I could find something different. Alas, the same one brand but what a surprise, next to it a Schulten Bräu Rose! Wow, I was amazed. I got me a pack of six bottles since I couldn't do otherwise and buy just one or two. Next stop, a shop specialized in biological products, beer among them. I found quite a few but I didn't have enough money with me or space in my backpack. So I onl got two bottles of Pinkus Hefe Weizen and came home.
Here is a photo of all of them.

I am not sure if I am looking forward to open those Schulten Braus, usually pink beers are a bit hazy but this one seems pretty clear inside that brown bottle. I was also surpised to find out that there is a Schulten Brau Wit and a Schulten Brau Strong Beer with an alcohol percentage of 8%, a Schulten Brau Lente (Spring) Bock and a Schulten Brau Herfst (Autumn) Bock too! I wonder in which ALDI are sold though, maybe I will pay them again a visit once all the brands have released their bock beers.