A beer may not make a city great, but certainly it can enhance its identity. In the Rhineland of Northwest Germany, this is especially true, as many such cities are known for the specific beers they produce. Dusseldorf (albtbier), Dortmund (Dortmunder), and Köln (Kölsch) all have a style they call their own.
Aged beer? The very concept of deliberately aging a beer contradicts everything we hear and see in beer ads. One megabrewery touts its “born on date” to encourage people to buy its beer. Local micros stress that fresh beer is the best beer.
Belgian cafes: Afspanning ‘t Waagstuk, Stadswaag 20, Antwerp. Tel: (03) 2250219, fax (03) 2263370. Open 10 am-2 am Mon-Thur, 10 am-4 am Fri, 2 pm-2am Sat, and 2 pm-2 am Sunday. About 80 beers. Le Bier Circus, Rue de l’ Enseignement/Onderwijsstraat 89, Brussels. Tel:(02) 2180034. Open Mon-Fri noon-2:30pm and 6 pm-midnight, Sat 6 pm-midnight. More... View Article
What is the effect of time and good cellaring on a beer? There are two ways to find out. One is to lay down a number of bottles of a promising beer: sample one each year, keep comprehensive notes, and hope you have a good, consistent palate.
Few beers fit the season like a Baltic porter does winter and early spring. Siblings of the Imperial stouts, Baltic porters emanate from a swath of countries from Sweden to Poland, wending around the Baltic crescent and deep into eastern Europe. Descendants of the lineage of British porter exports in the 18th century, they range... View Article
Most styles of beer have a signature characteristic or two that dominate their profile. If it’s the pure, unobstructed, lugubrious essence of malt you seek, reach for a bock. Born and raised in Germany, traditional bock beer and its brethren present unfettered maltiness to the palate like no other style of brew. These strong, lusty... View Article
It was dusk when we reached the cave, a gaping hole in a hillside in the Basque country of northern Spain. I had hoped to visit the famous Altamira caves nearby but did not receive permission from the Spanish government in time before arriving there in summer 1993. Just by chance, I noticed another cave... View Article
In a departure from regular “Stylistically Speaking” practice, this month we will look at four American breweries making Belgian-style beers, rather than at any specific style. It occurred to us that these four breweries, three run by husband-wife partnerships, were worthy of special mention for their entrepreneurial and creative efforts.
Recall the time you were chatting up that stunner down at the pub? You’d just put that gleam in her eyes when you foolishly offered to buy her “a beer.” Whoooosh! Boom! Bite-sized insect food! About the same result you’d get if you’d asked if she wore sexy undies.
