Favorite European Beers
 

What are your favorite beers that you have had traveling through Europe or that are frome Europe? For example, I had a great pilsner from a small town in Germany called Alspirsbacher. It was awesome. I was wondering if anyone else had any great finds.

The original Budveiser from Ceske Budovice in the Czech Republic. Sold in the states as Czechvar.

My husband swears by the Warsteiner in Germany. Says it tastes different than the one sold here.

The beer that is exported to the U.S. taste very different. If you've ever had a Heineken in Holland, you wouldn't be able to stomach the stuff in the U.S.

The Czechs have great beer, but the name of one just doesn't pop out and grab me. ((b))

My favorite is Augustiner Keller in Munich. ((b))

We have found two Belgian beers that my non-drinking / non-beer-drinking DH enjoys on occasion, Duchesse de Bourgogne and St. Louis Framboise. They are quite sweet compared to most beers.

We import them when we feel like treating ourselves from www.belgianshop.com, a site I would heartily recommend to anyone wanting good prices for a wide variety of beers. Shipping is the killer cost, so we usually split orders with friends so the shipping to the US is more economical.

Bischoff bier near Kaiserslautern is a great beer, especially the Donnersberger.

Licher Pils & Export from Lich near Giessen is a favortie from my army days.

Always enjoy a good Grolsch while in the Benelux, maybe just for the flip top. lol

Any beer while on a brewery tour!

Am I the only one that hates Hefeweizen beer?

Any beer in Munich!

Dinkel Acher - hands down the best

I know it's not a beer but Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale is ambrosia.

A note on the difference in taste of European beers here and over there: I have been told that the US has different pasteurization rules than Euro. countries, so they actually brew it differently for export to the US. I have also heard that the US pasteurization rule is a rumor, and that if it tastes different over here it's because it's slightly less fresh...If anyone knows the correct answer to this I'd be interested. As a Czech Pilsner Urquell is my favorite, but it always tastes much much better over there! (Maybe it's the different brew, but also maybe because I just love being there!)

MP413, A far as I know, the beer that is sent to the US is not changed or pastuerized differently, but the beer definitely changes in taste coming across the Atlantic. I believe the reason for the change is the fact that the beer is shaken during shipment, and as you said, when you buy it here it might not be very fresh. Now there are some brews that do send a different recipe to the US such as Heineken that was mentioned earlier. I love Heffe Weizen from Germany, especially Erdinger, but when I bought it here it was not very good even though it was the same brew from Germany.

I hate the smell, taste, and aftertaste of beer, but have never had beer in Europe. Is there a beer that beer-haters generally like?

I love all the beers of Bavaria, but I remember a simple "bolleke" in Antwerp as the best beer I ever had. I find that the European beers that are imported to the States are different and less tasty than those same brews that I've had over there. I'm looking forward to going to the Czech Republic and liberally sampling some of their "pivo."

cmt - you might try one of the fruit beers (Framboise was mentioned above - that's raspberry) or hard ciders (you can get that varying in taste and strength from strong and dry through to strong and sweet - a lot of people I know say it catches up with them quite quickly :-! - don't know why though)

jsmith - "Beer" is a big term - Ales are regarded a type of beer in the same way as lager beers and pils (eg Heineken, Grolsch, Becks and the derivatives like Bud etc).

asbachnate - hefeweisen's are an acquired taste, not one that I personally wish to acquire! ((b))

Although I do drink lagers and pils etc when I feel like it, I personally prefer the standard British bitter's like Thwaites, Tetley's, John Smiths etc - not real ales but pleasant and smooth, plus you can drink them for most of the night without falling down too much. Try that with Grolsch!

Poland has a great selection of beers. Some are light and some are strong. One uses honey to minimize the bitter taste. Polish beers range in alcohol content from 0% to 10%. Store brands abound. Latest I've seen is 40 cents per can/500ml. Tap beers are always good. 500ml..$1 to $4. Same brands vary in taste because local waters are not the same. Try some!

Thanks dffisher!

cmt, before my college roommate 'taught' me to drink beer I was the same way. As Matthew said, fruit beers are the way to. I love 'real' beer now, but I still enjoy cider, and if you can find Lindeman's framboise (rasberry lambic) you'll LOVE it. No beer taste, and very yummy. I also think they have less alcohol than regular beer.

Pilsner Urquell--czech !
Carlberg--Danish
Moretti--Italian

I have tasted at least 30 beers in Europe--these are my picks.

Hi all,

How about Staropromin (Czech), Fischer La Belle (Alsace), Nastro Azzuro (Italy, unexpectedly good), Oranjeboom (Holland), Carlsburg Elephant Beer (Denmark) and St Pauli Girl (Germany)?

Belgian - Kwak
Polish - Zywiec
Czech - Pilsner Urquell

Although we live in Belgium, we don't actually like Belgian beer (not for lack of trying--we've had dozens of different beers). We like German and Austrian beer best. The Franconia region (northern Bavaria) is supposed to have some of the best beer in the Germany because the region's water consistently tests about the best and beer is mostly water...anyway, our favorite Franconian beer is Wolfhoher ("immer ein hochgenuss"--always a great treat). While in Baden-Baden last week-end, we brought back a case of Warsteiner, which we really like, and a case of Hatz (hadn't tried it before). In Austria, we drank a lot of Murau.

The best I've ever had is from the monastery in Andechs, Bavaria, Germany. Hands down, the winner.

Koshka: Interesting site. Do you know if there are any legal problems shipping beer into the US? I thought I heard recently where a state (Texas?) statutes precluding wine from being shipped into the state was found unconstitutional.

Watney's Red Barrel with cheese and onion crisps. ((Y)) :-&

Poland: Zywiec
Lithuania: Svyturas
Slovakia: Golden Pheasant
England: Celebration

Hey DB - Watney's Red Barrel? How long since they made that?! Before my time I think!
Remeber the Python sketch?
http://www.members.cox.net/city_of_arkham/podgorny.htm
((?))

Watney's Bleedin' Red Barrel?!?

That swill was laughed out of England decades ago.

For the love of heaven, ignore all that you have read so far. These picks are, with a few exceptions, at Levels 1 and 2 of a multi-level scale that goes to 10.

Buy this: RUNNING PRESS POCKET GUIDE TO BEER, SEVENTH EDITION: The Connoisseur's Companion to More than 2,000 Beers of the World
by Michael Jackson. About $22.

I am a National Beer Judge, brewer, medal-winner, and beer maven -- no joke. Jackson is THE MAN and if you follow his picks, you will drink fine beer and you will know why you love it.

Mr. Beer Judge...which of the listed would you presume to be worthy or your palate?

Thanks for the book reference...I hadn't heard of that one and will check it out straight away!

Bitter, DH and I have had three *large* shipments of beer sent over without ANY trouble or extra Duty. And we are talking 3 boxes about 3 ft. long and two ft. high and deep. 125 bottles, IIRC.

Careless customs broke one of the bottles once, and the box smelled very beery, but nobody in San Francisco has batted an eye.

Texas mileage may vary. >:)

We've met Michael Jackson a few times. What's wrong with Wolfshoher or Murau? Or Warsteiner (if you get it in Germany, it doesn't travel well)? What makes them such pikers?

When in Wiltshire a few years ago, I quite enjoyed Badger's Best Bitter...an ale rather than a beer, if memory serves.

In Luxembourg and Trier, Bitburger (Ein Bit, bitte!) or Mousel (sp)which I believe are widely available in that general neck of the woods.

As to the discussion about how different it tastes there compared to the "same" stuff here, how's this for a perspective from the other way 'round: my friend Ian, from Derbyshire, quite enjoys a Bud when he's here in the States...which shocked him a bit. He says the Budweiser they get in England tastes like cat p***!

Hello,

The one in my mug, of course.

I would vote for Augistiner as well. And most of the beers at Oktoberfest.

Theakston's Old Peculiar is my favorite for the UK, then Guiness from Ireland, then Moretti from Italy. I like hard cider, too. Actually, I don't think there's really a European beer that my husband and I aren't fond of, come to think of it. Very hard to pick a favorite!

Although I should say the hands down favorite is the beer you drink in a pub...

I agree that Theakston's Old Peculiaris the best in the UK, but only by a hair.

Moretti's in Italy

Leffe Braun in France (oops! :-]a Belgian beer.)

Bischoffs Brau in Austria.

I know that it is all but heresy to say so but there are several microbreweries in the states that produce comparable brew,:-B
NOT Bud, Coors etc.

I'm surprised no one mentioned Ceres. It's my favorite beer when I travel to Italy....although it is made in Belgium. Unfortunately you can't buy it here in California.

Wantagig, have you been to the Cannery, there is a shop with beer all over the world, maybe they have it there? Not sure, but I think it's Cannery Wine Cellars, on north or north-east side of the Cannery.

I could list dozens except I usually block them out of my memory when I can't get them at home.
But my favorite that I CAN find at home are the Belgium Chimays!

Guinness.

Also fond of Boddingtons and Timothy Taylor (Yorkshire).

The thing is, the art of beer brewing has been around for so long in all corners of the globe that nearly all recipes have been tried. Modern brew houses guard their recipe portfolios like diamonds - and spend large sums, usually, to acquire the rights to those for sale on the market. Of course, using the best hops and grains and processes make a better finished product. Still, I don't think anyone can pronounce one brew as "best" above all others because, like art, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I've never found a beer to satisfy my palate the way Guinness does.

Both of my favorite European beers are Belgian...

Rodenbach Grand Cru
Duchesse de Bourgogne

Ahhh...the Duchesse. Counting down the days 'til the next one (55)!!

German beer is brewed under the strictest standards. many of which are hundreds of years old. Beer sold in America has a max allowable alcohol content. The 2 sets of rules contradict each other by nature. European beers sold in the USA are often not the same as what is sold in their native country...less alcohol, less fermentation, less flavor - that's what we get in the USA.

Perhaps Poppa, with his credentials, would enlighten us on the difference between beer and ale.

Available in most pubs in the UK is a shandy, a beer with ginger ale, ginger beer or lemonade. A lager and lime is also pretty standard. British sailors at one time were required by law to drink lime juice to ward off scurvy - hence the name limeys.