It wasn't all that long ago I wrote a blog about Polish beer (with a special guest appearance from my Polish Beer Store buddy Martin.) As it turns out, I stumbled upon a few more since then. And then I stumbled after them... but that's a different story.
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| Warka Strong: the beer that helps students graduate from Uniwersytet Szczecinski |
Had she not liked the blog, I would have added her on Facebook anyway and then relentlessly hounded her, saying repeatedly, "Aw, come on! There must be part of it you liked. I need Warsaw in my corner! God bless Lech Walesa! Come onnnnnn..." until she eventually caved in and confessed that she thoroughly enjoyed it... just to shut me up. Fortunately, it never resorted to begging for a "pity like."
Anyway, during my travels, I happened upon three more Polish beers, Zubr, Lezajsk and Warka Strong. At the same time, I found two Russian beers (a rarity here, I think) Baltika 7 and Stolichnoe, a Lithuanian one, Svyturys 1784, a Spanish one, Estrella and as well as the one which described itself as "Number 1 beer in China" Yanjing.
Both Zubr and Lezajsk were refreshing lighter lagers that I enjoyed so I was a bit surprised that both scored relatively low marks on RateBeer.com. (Must be some damn finicky reviewers on that site.) The one I would definitely give the edge to would be the Warka 7, stronger at 6.5% and darker than the other two. Had a nice little bite to it... which didn't help it at all when it was rated. Hrrmmm, different strokes for different folks. Kamila confessed to me that when she was attending Uniwersytet Szczecinski, it was basically the beer that got her through school. A few of those bad boys and I'd have trouble spelling her school, much less graduating.
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| Hey Russian dude, you're supposed to pour it into a mug. Would you drink vodka straight from the bottle? Actually, forget I asked... |
Of the Russian pair, I would definitely give the Baltika 7 the slight edge. Of the entire bunch, it was really the only one that gave a decent head in the glass that didn't fade away too quickly (plus it has one of those wicked cool pull-tab caps - I am far too easily impressed, I know...) The Lithuanian and Spanish entries were equally servicable - decent palatable lagers - as was China's Number One Beer.
I discovered something else, too. If you're a lager from anywhere in the world, you are gonna get your ass handed to you on RateBeer.com. I think lagers are considered, by and large, something for the North American beer palate only, meaning we're importing what breweries think we'll like. Case in point, while all eight of these beers scored under 20 points (out of 100), the Baltika 6 Porter scored a staggeringly good 91 points. Even the Guinness Black Lager, which has gotta be the heaviest lager going, only scored 25.
I tell you something else. That has me eyeballing the Mill Street Cobblestone Porter and the Wellington German Porter presently residing in my fridge with some anticipation. I think I've had one sip of a Porter in my life. That's about to change.
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| First, it kicks your taste-buds in the nuts. Then it knee-caps your taste-buds. And just when your taste-buds think they're safe, it grabs nunchucks. |
Because I was on a nine-day vacation, I had a chance to sample a number of craft beers made here in Canada, mostly notably Flying Monkeys' Smashbomb Atomic IPA and Twice As Mad Tom IPA from our friends at Muskoka Brewery. If you like hoppy beers (which I am beginning to love big-time), look no further seriously. Both are excellent, clocking in at 70 IBUs (International Bitterness Units) and scored an identical 98 on RateBeer.com - scores that are well-deserved and pit the pair against the very best brews worldwide. They don't tickle the taste-buds - they take a sledgehammer to them. Twice As Mad Tom has the edge in alcohol (8.4% to Smashbomb's 6%) but the 4-pack of Twice As and 6-pack of Smashbomb both retail for $13.50. Smashbomb Atomic IPA will now always have a spot in my fridge and I'm pretty sure Twice As Mad Tom will be making frequent guest appearances. It's like the frikkin' United Nations in my fridge now, anyway.
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| Named after noted Canadian painter Tom Thomson who vanished one day in his canoe |
My buddy, Kevin, who's a diehard Detroit Red Wings fan (but I still quite like the guy because he has some redeeming qualities, such as... uh... damn, I'll think of something by the next blog) brought my attention to an upcoming event in the Joe Louis Arena parking lot on September 28 called the Hockeytown Brewhaha Oktoberfest running from 1 to 6 p.m. and sandwiched neatly between a Leafs-Wings home-and-home series with Toronto in Detroit on the 27th and the Wings playing here on the 28th. (Personally, I think they're should have switched the locales and had the Leafs there on the 28th - whatta freakin' day that would be!!!) But for $40, you can sample of the best craft beers and food trucks from Michigan and beyond! Frankly, I'm wondering if Brew-Ha-Ha! can resist an event with Brewhaha in its name. Here's the link to that great day: Hockeytown Brewhaha Oktoberfest Nod to Kevin for the heads-up! (Hey, redeeming quality!)
As always, shout-out to my sainted blogging brethren. First on deck, straight from New Zealand where it's 16 hours ahead and the toilet water goes down clockwise, rather than counter-clock-wise (Hah! Five of you just went to check... I know it!!!)... the one and only Stevil St Evil and His Winged Monkey Review here: Steve, Winged Monkey And Stuff And then there's Glenn, who curiously has never been in the room at the same time as Batman, causing me to create this link called: Is Glenn Batman?? This is a goodie - a nostalgic look at his old public school being torn down. Nice piece, bro...
Okay, ladies and germs, until next time, I remain...
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