Beer, Food & Liquor Reviews
#12th Instalment of the Beer Tour of the World
Yes, it's that time again beer lovers. I've been a bit on the quiet side for a long time. Being in Turkey, there is not a great range readily available and what is available is not cheap - Turkish social policies prevail, and that is their prerogative. Besides, I'm happy drinking Efes as long as it's available. I was under the misapprehension that Efes was a sort of a euphemism or shortening of Ephesus but how wrong I was. It is actually a Turkish word for something like a local warrior chief. I didn't know until I read "Halikarnassus Balikcisi", or "The Fisherman of Halikarnassus" (the old name of Bodrum) about a famous Turkish writer exiled from Istanbul for killing his father, Cevat Şakir Kabaağaçlı.
Brooklyn
Brew
Had this in our son’s new Bar/Restaurant.
Has been brewed for a long, long time and is a very good beer. Liked it a lot
but not at $10 a stubby. I’ve become too
accustomed to beer costing €1 max in a supermarket or ₹9 in a
restaurant (about $4.50 AU). Tried their
Brooklyn Lager when I was in NY City – cost 1/3 of what this cost in Australia.
Timothy
Taylor Landlord – Pale Ale
Not a fan of IPA, I am nevertheless a fan
of Pale Ale (been drinking Coopers PA for something like 44 years now).
This is a good one. Only 4.3% but tastes big and strong. 500ml bottles. Again, in our son’s new place of employment
so I wasn’t keen on the $12 price tag.
Have a look at the website – the brewery is worth a visit on scenery
alone.
Tuborg
Special
Strong – 7.5% – the first Turkish beer with extra alcohol in
it. Not generally a fan of Tuborg but
this is quite sharp and full. Like it a
lot but you would certainly need to be careful.
Marmara
Malt
Given this by a former Isle of Man TT Racer
and world-renowned author* who knows his beer, him being a northerner an’ all,
at dinner on his boat. Not too bad. Good to share, not sharp but at the same time
no as sweet as some malts. Cold, this is
very drinkable and not to be turned down.
Not commonly found in retail outlets.
Try it if you see it.
*Said author ordered some boat bits in
Gibraltar in Sheppards. Asked for his
name, he gave it. The sales guy said in
amazement “not THE Mac McDairmid?”. To
which our Mac said “Well, I suppose I am at that”.
Alfa
Strong.
Back in the land of Achilles (well, we are
5nm south of where Achilles departed from for Troy, and we all know how that
ended). This is 7%, hence Strong. I picked it up by mistake, thinking it was
normal Alfa but no. Don’t like it. The extra alcohol does nothing for the
taste. This dislike only applies to the
Strong, as I like Alfa well enough. Had
a second one after a long day walking up and down Delphi and my opinion’s the
same. It’s drinkable if cold but it has
little taste, overridden by the extra alcohol.
Had a normal Alfa with my lunch in Delphi and it was very pleasant
indeed.
Henninger
I may have commented on this before. Been around for a couple of hundred
years. Drinkable without being
remarkable. Usually quite cheap in
supermarkets so it’s worth grabbing when you see it.
Sparta
A “name only” beer produced probably by
Mythos for a supermarket chain.
Unremarkable but drinkable on a hot day.
Not to be confused with the Milton Brewery bitter of the same name which
is part of that brewery’s “Ancient Cities” range. Will have to try that later.
Fix
Royale
A wheat beer. Normally I am not a fan of this style. I find it too sour and sharp but if I had to
drink a wheat beer this would be it.
Very nice, restrained sourness, lots of nice bubbles.
Fix
Special
Wasn’t.
I still prefer Fix Pils to any other Greek
beer, though.
Fischer
From Strasbourg, but widely available in
Greece. Perhaps a little sweeter than a
Fix but nevertheless, with a meal matched to it, a very nice beer indeed.
Crest
10%
http://www.wellsandyoungs.co.uk/
That said, the brewery itself is worth a
lookies-at. They’ve been brewing for
over 100 years in Bedford, UK and produce quite a range. Unfortunately, one of them appears to be a
Banana Beer, which to me is a sop to modern wusses. Provided they produce it for good reason,
i.e. to make money so that they can continue to make lagers and ales, then OK,
go ahead. Bedford is now on the list of
cities I have to visit in the UK.
Looking like I’m never going to get out at this rate.
Dreher Lemon Beer 2.0%
http://dreher.it/dreher-lemon/
I’m confused. Dreher is a large Hungarian brewery, now
owned by SAB Miller. The sign on the
bottle here says 1773 but Dreher was founded only in the 1850’s or so, and not
purchased by “the King of Brewers”, Dreher himself, until 1862 or 4. Also, this
is brewed by Heineken Italy, not SAB Miller so what gives here I have no clue.
Trivia aside, this is a great drink. Carol was looking for a non-beer, non-wine
drink and they didn’t have iced lemon tea so she opted for this. Call it Adult Lemonade if you will. They do now make a 0.0% version but this,
with a little 2.0% kick, is good.
Nominated as Drink of the Year by the Admiral and on Pusser’s list of
approved ship’s stores.
We are now back in Italy so there will be much Nastro Azzura'ing and plenty of other fine Italian stuff.
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