Short and to the Pointless

A quick heads up on some good recent beer experiences:

Allgauer Buble Bier

An example of what Ratebeer classifies as a Zwickel/Keller/Landbier - 3 [minor] related German beer styles which equate to an unfiltered, slightly cloudier Lagerbier than normal.  Sometimes they approach amber in colour, but often they are the standard blonde - which is what this one was.  I don't go in for the history of beer styles as a rule, as they are the cause of too many arguments, but if you are interested, why not research
Zwickel/Keller/Landbiers on the Internet?

Any road, this was lovely.  All the refreshment and clarity of a Lager, cutting through thirst and all that. BUT with the added, delightful sweetness offered by all the subtle muck, which would normally be filtered out, in the name of a crystal clear beer.  This was purchased from Cotteridge Wines, and I know for a fact that they have a few Z/K/L beers, so why not dive in?  Other good examples are Hacker Pschorr anno 1417 or St Georgen Brau Kellerbier.

Beavertown 8 Ball Rye IPA

Beavertown are one of the wave of new London microbreweries and I would say that this is their best known beer at present.  Certainly it's the only one that I've tried.  It's an IPA, so it has a range of lovely hops - particularly lovely in this case.  What it also has is the addition of Rye, which gives the beer both a lovely rosey hue, and a subtle sweetness/fruitiness.  This tipped it above a good percentage of the burgeoning number of hoppy beers, which are now flooding our better beer establishments.  This was bought from Stirchley Wines.

Brodies Hoxton Special IPA

I necked this beer immediately after sampling another Brodies beer - London Lager.  I was musing that it would be difficult to top the London Lager which was an unbelievably tasty and well-hopped lager.  However, I was clearly mismusing, as the Hoxton Special IPA gently nuzzled the Lager with it's warm, fuzzy [metaphorical] snout, before brusquely nudging it aside.  Yes, the Special IPA was that good.  In fact, it was one of the best beers I have ever tried. UN-B-LIEVE-ABLE.  I already liked Brodies, who are clearly the, if not one of the most brilliantist of the new London brewers, but this sort of bottled majesty is very likely to make me paint my arms purple due to unfettered beer frenzy.  Brodies are amazing.  Cotteridge
Wines are carrying a range of Brodies, including the London Lager, Big Mofo Stout, Hoxton Special IPA, Hackney Red IPA and Dalston Black IPA.  I dare say that none of them will disappoint you.

The Grant Arms, Cotteridge

It has lovely leatherette, curved banquette-style seating (in places).  It also has competitively priced clingfilm-wrapped cobs behind the bar, which I am a sucker for.

I have been a bit poor at blogging recently.  As such I am currently coming up with some new ideas.

The Lager Trilogy - Part II

Previously I revealed the 10 Premium Lagers which I've rated highest on Ratebeer.  I also looked at the fact that the most famous lager brands always taste better in their home country.  All very obvious stuff really.

This post is a lot less wordy, but will contain a greater density of lists, so look away now, if that grinds your gears.

First off, I should previously have attempted to explain the differences between Pale Lager and Premium Lager according to Ratebeer.  But better (and quicker) still, just click the aforelinked phrases and they can do it themselves.

Just out of interest, my 10 highest rated Pale Lagers are:

1. Dent Rambrau
2. Radegast Premium
3. Borsodi Sor
4. Cains Finest Lager
5. Obolon Lager
6. Hancock Høker Bajer
7. Bali Hai
8. Vratislav Premium
9. Fischer Tradition
10. Kronenbourg Kanterbrau

Now, more importantly, onto the meat of the matter.  In the grand scheme of things my top 10 Pale Lagers are beers I enjoyed in spite of myself.  But German Pilseners... well now you're talking my language (English).

First sampled in Berlin in 2001 and then eagerly sought out in the UK, this is a Ratebeer style that does get me purring.  Lager as artform, cultural lubricant and liquid evidence of German precision.  These are beers that taste marvellous in the bars of Munich and Hamburg, and thankfully, they also travel well.

1. Jever Pilsener
2. Furstenberg Premium Pilsener
3. Veltins Pilsener
4. Keesman Bamberger Herren Pils
5. Augustiner Pils
6. Wernesgruner Pils
7. Bitburger Premium Pils
8. Warsteiner Premium Pils
9. Rothaus Pils Tannen Zapfle
10. Eichbaum Pilsener 

German beer hit me like Thor's hammer, when I first stuck my nose in the trough a decade back.  Each of the ten above are masterful examples of grassy, golden fluted clarity.  For me, Jever is clearly the toppermost of the poppermost, but the thought of both Augustiner and Warsteiner, sampled in a Munich biergarten or a Kreuzberg hipster joint leaves me equally inflated with joy.

I didn't imagine any lager could pip the Germans, even though I regularly enjoyed several pints of Staropramen at the Hogshead each and every Friday evening, throughout 2003.  However, it was when sampling Czech goods in Prague a year later, that I had my most sustained and pleasurable lager epiphany.

Czech beer.  Boy of boy.  Yet another example of beer tasting better in it's home territory. And then some.  The beers in the following list induced tremors of ecstacy and squirrels of disbelief as I eagerly scoffed them by the vase in Strahov, Josefov and Vinohrady.  Ratebeer (pleasingly) separates Bohemian Pilsener as another lager off-shoot, here are my premiere dix:

1. Pilsner Urquell
2. Bernard Světlý Ležák 12° (Premium)
3. Gambrinus Premium Svetlý Ležák 12°
4. Starobrno Premium Lager
5. Budweiser Budvar (Czechvar) 12°
6. Krušovice Světlé 10°
7. Kratochwill Svetlo
8. Kozel Premium Lager 12°
9. Hostan Praga
10. ’t IJ Plzen

Strangely enough, a Slovenian beer sneaks in at 7, and a Dutch one at 10, but still.  Here are some blatant examples of lager that transcends: nectary, light, bubbly, ethereal, firm, yet insistent.  Light years from Carlsberg (Export or otherwise) on tap in the hotspots of Brum.

The final list today is my top 10 Dortmunder/Helles beers.  I'll be honest: my brain has addled and I can't really remember what separates a Dortmunder/Helles from a German Pilsener or indeed a Pale or Premium Lager, but that's beside the point.  Here:

1. Augustiner Lagerbier Hell
2. Kaltenberg Vilagos
3. Weltenburger Urtyp Hell
4. Airbrau FliegerQuell
5. Recken Export
6. Andechser Spezial Hell
7. Thurn und Taxis Hell
8. Spaten Münchner Hell / München / Premium
9. Hofbrau Munchen Original
10. Andechser Hell

Well that final top 10 certainly raised the dribble quotient somewhat.  I'd forgotten just what lovely beers reside in the Dortmunder/Helles category.  In retrospect, German lager is undoubtedly so good, that they deserve two style categories to themselves.  Sorted.

My visits to Germany and Czech Republic occurred at the height of my beer travails.  In fact, somewhat serendipitously, they also coincided with the period of my greatest European frontier pushing generally: my beer world got bigger as my physical boundaries became looser. Quite poetic really.

But after Germany and Czech Republic, where is there to go for good lager?  The peaks have been scaled, the best have been discovered.  What is left?  Excess.

In my final lager post, I try to extrapolate my top lagers (irrespective of style) and I puzzle over what lager challenges remain (if any).

Best.