Order Of Merit: Beers 1 to 8
To completement the main beer list I wanted to write a bit more on some of my favourite beers. A top 10
seemed too limiting and a top 50 seemed to lack discrimination so in the end I have settled on an
Order Of Merit. Therefore you find here
24 beers, listed in alphabeticaly order, that I believe have shown distinguished service in bars across the world.
Think of it as my ideal mixed case.
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The concept of Steam Beer nowadays is really no more than an inventive registered trademark
that helps that San Franscisco beer stand out from the crowd. Even Anchor's website admits that it
doesn't know where the term came from or how the 19th century steam beers were actually made. All that
said Anchor Steam Beer is a fine beverage, an initially sharp but lingeringly dry and bitter amber
lager with a full taste. Their Liberty Ale is even finer, but less fun to write about. |
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Made by a "small intensely independant organic brewery in the heartlands of the Scottish Highlands"
this looks from the outset to be like walking into a pub full of locals and being given a long stare whilst
the conversation goes silent. However venture forth and you will find a bottle conditioned red ale made
with peat smoked malt and bog myrtle that has the flavour of a Belgian gueuze. Slightly fruity and sharp
with a very full flavour. |
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More a working museum than a brewery, Cantillon are a small family business based in the outskirts
of Brussells who use the same techniques now that they did in 1900. Their output is basically confined
to spontaneously fermented Lambic beers, all of which share a dry acidic taste with a distinct citrus
edge. At first the taste is disconcerting, but once you've adjusted your preconceptions you discover
something very rewarding. Their Kriek is a fruity and sharp beer with big hits of cherry and grapefruit
going "zing, zing, zing" on your tastebuds, followed by a deeper interesting after taste. One to enjoy
slowly but a very impressive cherry beer.
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There are many striking stouts available as brewers have mixed Oatmeal, Chocolate, Oysters and more into the brew.
Guinness sets a high benchmark for all the others but many brewers have stepped up to the challenge. Belgian brewery
Ellezelloise have produced this Dark, deep, almost marmite tasting beer which is possibly the greatest 'treacle' beer
around. Too potent for regular drinking but it's burnt taste is something stunning. It has much in common with the
original taste of Guinness (a variant stil produced for John Martin in Belgium) but has an even more potent kick. One
to blast the little grey cells with.
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There are a number of brewpubs in Vienna that produce beers that German and Czech brewers would be happy to call
their own. The wheat beer from Fischer Brau in the north of Vienna is possibly the best of the lot. It is a light yellow,
cloudy wheat beer with a gentle lemon and banana flavour that is not very sharp and feels quite natural. Fantastically
refreshing and with a suprising lightness for something with the mouthfeel of a typical wheatbeer, possibly due to having
having a slight gassiness in place of the usual bready head. Incredibly drinkable. When in Vienna also try the Marzen
from 7 stern brau.
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There aren't many breweries that produce Gueuze, the blended lambic beer produced using spontaneous fermentation,
and even fewer that produce the traditional Oude Gueuze that is made solely from lambics. Of this small group I believe
Girardin to be the finest. A sharp and sour beer with a fruity note and little if any sweetness. Very impressive and
very interesting. |
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A hoppy, top fermented beer from Northern Rhineland. Amber coloured, hoppy and citrus smelling, strongly
malty with some caramel and bready undertones and dark raisiny fruits. It has a semi-dry, bitter finish. One of
the more dynamic and interesting German beers with a significant depth of flavour, this also comes in a really
good looking bottle. |
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Scottish beer that is matured in Oak barrels to produced a full flavoured lager with a hint of whisky in the taste.
There is a 77 day version that is matured for longer to give a deeper and heavier taste and a blonde version that is
lighter with a hint of vanilla. The pick of the bunch is the Rum Cask Innis & Gunn which has an huge taste of stewed fruit
and spices with a hit of rum on top. All of the beers come in at a strength of around 7%. |
Order Of Merit: Beers 9 to 16
Order Of Merit: Beers 17 to 24