Best beer you tasted ?

Guest · Posted: Wed Mar 16, 2005 1:08 am Post subject: Best beer you tasted ?

In which country have you tasted the best beer ?

Have to say Ireland here, Guiniess is my number 1 ! :)

Laura · Joined: 16 May 2004 Posts: 446 Location: San Francisco

Czech Republic #1 (no idea what brand it was, but it was great)
Belgium #2 (especially the raspberry beer)

cocodrilo · Joined: 12 Apr 2004 Posts: 494 Location: Western Japan

Pilsner Urquell, most likely, Laura. I LOVE that beer and visited the brewery in Pilsen where we were served fresh stuff from the barrel in the cellar. The original Budweiser (Budweis) is excellent, too, and we had to make a pit stop to Ceske Budejovice for the sole purpose of drinking the original beer on its home turf!

Any beers in Germany, especially Bayern(Bavaria).

Belgian Chimay is excellent.

I also love Guiness- thank goodness we get it over here in Japan(kind of a hit these days!).

obenix · Joined: 09 Mar 2005 Posts: 19 Location: Everywhere

My favourite beer is Carlsberg...:) hhhmmm, yum yum...

BTW, is Guiness a beer? I thought it's a stout...:o

cocodrilo · Joined: 12 Apr 2004 Posts: 494 Location: Western Japan

obenix wrote:

BTW, is Guiness a beer? I thought it's a stout...:o
Yep, it's a top-fermented beer made with highly roasted (and sometimes unmalted) barley.

Kenny · Joined: 13 Mar 2005 Posts: 18

Anonymous wrote: In which country have you tasted the best beer ?

Have to say Ireland here, Guiniess is my number 1 ! :)

Im the one who started this one aswell, forgot to log in :/ *fool* :P

cocodrilo · Joined: 12 Apr 2004 Posts: 494 Location: Western Japan

We have some decent tasting lagers in Japan- very light so they do not overpower Japanese cuisine. The Japanese usually start the evening with a beer or two, then order sake, then go out afterwards for cocktails( a serious night of this concocts a whopper of a hangover!).
My favorites are Kirin Ichibanshibori ("Ichiban" in the states, although it tastes different), Kirin Lager, Asahi Superdry, Sapporo and Yebisu. Due to the heavy taxation on beers with a lot of barley, breweries are now producing "malt liquors", most of which are poor excuses for a beer, but seem to suit the taste of beer-guzzling folks on a budget(the malts are HALF the price of a regular can of beer in this country, which is $3!)

There are many small breweries over here producing gems nowadays(along with a lot of $hit I must add!), and in our prefecture, we have a fabulous micro-brew named "Doppo". They have two varieties- lager, which is very mediocre, and the wonderful "dunkel". It's a smooth but flavorful amber!

emanuela · Joined: 19 Mar 2005 Posts: 4

My favorites are the italian Moretti and the blue Chimay from Normandy (if I don't mistake).

Laura · Joined: 16 May 2004 Posts: 446 Location: San Francisco

My husband likes Chimay a lot!

cocodrilo · Joined: 12 Apr 2004 Posts: 494 Location: Western Japan

Laura wrote: My husband likes Chimay a lot!
I'd never seen it in SF or the bay area(maybe I wasn't looking), but then again, with all the excellent microbrews in the area, why buy expensive imported beer. One thing I DO miss about San Francisco is Anchor Steam beer! Their Christmas brew is also incredible!

Laura · Joined: 16 May 2004 Posts: 446 Location: San Francisco

The dance studio where I practice is down the street from the Anchor Steam brewery. Depending on where they are in the brewing cycle, the neighborhood will smell either like fresh doughnuts or stale beer.

We can get Chimay at Trader Joe's! Three different styles -- red label, blue label, and white label. I have no idea what the differences are, but there's a a bottle of the blue label in my pantry right now :)

Guest · Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2005 2:09 pm Post subject:

Laura wrote: The dance studio where I practice is down the street from the Anchor Steam brewery. Depending on where they are in the brewing cycle, the neighborhood will smell either like fresh doughnuts or stale beer.

We can get Chimay at Trader Joe's! Three different styles -- red label, blue label, and white label. I have no idea what the differences are, but there's a a bottle of the blue label in my pantry right now :)
I'm not a conosseur ... but it has to be something about being a double malt or triple malt beer ... something like that

cocodrilo · Joined: 12 Apr 2004 Posts: 494 Location: Western Japan

Anonymous wrote: Laura wrote: The dance studio where I practice is down the street from the Anchor Steam brewery. Depending on where they are in the brewing cycle, the neighborhood will smell either like fresh doughnuts or stale beer.

We can get Chimay at Trader Joe's! Three different styles -- red label, blue label, and white label. I have no idea what the differences are, but there's a a bottle of the blue label in my pantry right now :)
I'm not a conosseur ... but it has to be something about being a double malt or triple malt beer ... something like that
Actually, it's the alcohol percentage. I think red is the lowest, followed by white, then blue. I have tried all of them but I like the white lable the best. The slight almond aftertaste is heavenly!

Laura- my family makes regular trips to pick up booze & gourmet food items at Trader Joe's. Seems it's their favorite hangout!

Laura · Joined: 16 May 2004 Posts: 446 Location: San Francisco

My father-in-law was such a frequent customer at the downtown Pasadena store that he was asked to cut the ribbon when they opened the La Canada store near his house. Now they live in Paso Robles, though, so they don't get to Trader Joe's as often as before.

cocodrilo · Joined: 12 Apr 2004 Posts: 494 Location: Western Japan

Laura wrote: My father-in-law was such a frequent customer at the downtown Pasadena store that he was asked to cut the ribbon when they opened the La Canada store near his house. Now they live in Paso Robles, though, so they don't get to Trader Joe's as often as before.
I wish we had some kind of store like that over here. Imported items cost an arm & a leg! I always end up shopping for special spices & sauces when I'm on vacation, literally schlepping kilos of the stuff back. Wines, liqueurs and excellent single malts available in Japan are reasonably-priced if not cheaper than that in the states. Vodkas cost half of what they cost in the states, go figure that one out...