Erdinger Weißbrau

We go back to Germany today to revisit one of the breweries I previously sampled. The first beer I tried was Erdinger Weissbrau Dunkel, and I loved it so much that I had to try another one of the beers from the same brewery. So today's beer is their "classic" Weissbier, or "wheat beer" in English. It comes in a 500mL brown bottle, and has an alcohol content of 5.3%/vol.

Upon opening, I was greeted with a flowery aroma. When poured, it formed a huge long-lasting head, with lots of small bubbles. The colour was a hazy yellow. The smell after being poured was subtle, and consistent with what I smelled when I opened the bottle.

The first taste was heaven. This beer had very little hops in it, which makes it easy to drink for beer novices. The flavour was full, but subtle. There was absolutely no aftertaste at all. The more I drank, the more I noticed the wheat component, and it eventually started to taste like I was drinking a loaf of bread (but not overwhelmingly so).

Once again, Erdinger hit it out of the park. I highly suggest this beer to anybody, even non-beer drinkers.

Faxe Royal Strong

Today's beer hails from Denmark. It comes in a 500mL can, with 8.0% alcohol/vol. Wowie! It has a list of ingredients: Water, barley malt, glucose syrup, maize, hops. GLUCOSE SYRUP?!?! MAIZE?!?! I'm already questioning this beer, and I haven't even opened the can yet. It has a best-before date of June 12, only 1 month away, so I'm closer to the end of this beer's shelf life than the start.

Upon opening the can, I didn't smell any distinctive smells. The beer smelled sweet (no doubt from the glucose and maize). When poured, it formed a thick head, and had lots of large bubbles. The colour of the beer itself was a bit anemic, it was straw-coloured. There were no added smells upon pouring, only the same sweetness as when I opened the can.

The first sip was horrible. The beer certainly didn't taste very sweet. If I was to name its taste, I would say aluminum. No doubt, the beer had been sitting in the can too long. Its aftertaste was even worse. I could find absolutely no redeeming quality to this beer whatsoever. If I was a weaker man, I would have poured it down the drain. But since I have a reputation to hold up, I had to finish it off.

Trust me, I would rather have thrown it out.

Dragon Stout

Today's beer hails from Jamaica. It comes in a 330mL brown bottle. The bottle itself is remarkable, because it looks, and feels, rather small in your hand compared to a typical North American long-necked beer bottle. As for alcohol content, it comes in at a whopping 7.5% alcohol/vol. There was a best-before date on the bottle of April 12, no year given. I hope the year is is 2011 and not 2010. I'd rather have fresh beer than expired beer.

When opened, the beer smacked me in the face with a fruity sweet malty smell. Upon pouring, it formed a thin head that disappeared very quickly. I could not see any bubbles coming up because the beer is so dark. I'd have to say it is black in colour.

I could already tell that this beer was going to be a large departure from all the other beers I've sampled so far. Not only that I knew this beer was an ale while all of my previous beers were lagers. The first sip was impressive. The beer went down easy. Once in my belly, I started to feel warm. A strong beer indeed! It tasted like sugar water, and had no aftertaste at all. Indeed, it reminded me a lot of dark rum. This is definitely a beer for getting drunk in style.

Samuel Adams Boston Lager

I decided it was about time I sampled a brew from our neighbour to the south. Today's beer is Samuel Adams Boston Lager. It comes in a 355mL brown bottle, with 4.8% alcohol/vol. Not much else can be said at this point, because the rest of the bottle is covered in marketing lines (complete with (tm) symbols).

Upon opening the bottle, I couldn't smell anything. Not a good sign. The copper-coloured beer formed a thick head that disappeared quickly. There were lots of large bubbles. Once poured, I could smell something, but could not place it.

The first sip: Very strong. Very bitter. I actually enjoyed it. It has a very strong aftertaste. It is a much stronger and darker lager than the other lagers I have sampled. I can definitely see this being served in pubs, rather than on a hot and sunny day.

This American beer surprised me. I can see how it appeals to a broad spectrum of beer drinkers.

Egils Gull

The beer today is probably the closest to Iceland I'll ever come. The label says it is best consumed within 100 days of being produced. Fortunately, it was made on January 13, 2011. So I'm just outside the window, but not by much. There is also a best-before date of July 13, 2011 which I am well inside of. The beer comes in a white and gold coloured 500mL can with 5% alcohol/vol.

The beer gave a strong hoppy aroma when I opened the can. When poured, it formed a large head that took a while to disappear. There were a few large bubbles coming up in the beer itself. The beer was a nice golden colour.

The first sip left me unimpressed. There was definitely a strong distinctive metallic taste to the beer. It was very hoppy, but other than that there wasn't much flavour. I seem to be having problems with (some) beers that come in cans, they generate metallic tastes. I was left unsatisfied.

I think this beer deserves a second chance. I will revisit it again some day.

Ožujsko

Today's beer comes from Croatia. It comes in a yellow 500mL can, with 5% alcohol/vol. There is almost no English on the can, save for "Product of Croatia". There is also a best-before date on the bottom of the can (August 28, 2011). I'm basically going into this beer completely blind. But knowing the region it comes from, I can probably assume it's a lager of some type.

Upon opening the can, I was struck by its immediate sweet malty smell. When poured, it formed a thick head that disappeared relatively slowly. Lots of large bubbles flowed up through its dark golden colour.

The first sip was pretty good. It is a sweet beer. Very little hoppy aftertaste. I was very impressed by the amount of carbonation in the beer; the bubbles just kept on coming. Absolutely no metallic taste at all. This beer is very easy to drink. It made me wish I had a second can to crack open.

Krombacher Pils

This beer is a German pilsner. It comes in a 500mL aluminum can and has 4.8% alcohol/vol. It has an ingredients list that contains, unsurprisingly, water, barley malt, and hops. But there is also a "hops extract" listed, which makes me a bit suspicious. The can advertises this beer to be "No. 1 premium beer in Germany", and it is brewed according to the German Purity Law of 1516. I was under the suspicion that all German beers were brewed under the Purity Law of 1516. So either I was incorrect, or the advertising on the label is redundant. There was also a best-before date on the bottom of the can: August 26, 2011. I was well in the clear.

When I cracked the can open, nothing happened. Almost no smell came from the beer. Once poured, it formed a huge head that lasted a long time. The beer itself was dark yellow to light golden in colour. As for bubbles, at first there were a few large bubbles floating up, but these disappeared rather quickly and nothing much else came up.

The first sip came, and went, without incident. It tasted like a domestic lager. And very flat. A slight hoppy aroma eventually gathered in the beer flute. The taste itself it not bad, but the lack of bubbles detracted from the experience. As far as the German beers I've sampled so far go, I would place this one near the bottom. If you wanted to try a good German beer, look somewhere else.