I've decided to drink one beer from every country in the world. I know it's a tough job, but someone's got to do it. And that someone is me. The rules: I have to drink the whole beer, I have to photograph it to prove that I've done it, and it has to be an official, commercially produced beer (no homebrews). The only countries I can skip are ones that don't produce beer (haven't found any yet).

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Country #9: New Zealand


An excellent craft beer specialty venue in Sydney called The Local Taphouse recently had an event called the "Kiwi SpecTAPular", where they raised funds for poor earthquake-plagued Christchurch, by collecting donations at an event where they featured 20 craft beers made in New Zealand. So off I went, and had a fantastic time. Not only was it a great venue and company, but the beers were outstanding. I could rave about all the beers I tried (with maybe one exception), but the hit of the day was the Epic Hop Zombie, a super hopped beer made by Epic Brewing Company. I do not exaggerate when I say this beer is one of the best I have ever had in my life. Huge aromas of passionfruit and mandarin, silky texture and incredible depth of flavour made this well worth the (admittedly hefty) price tag. A spectacular beer from New Zealand; this is currently the one to beat.

Name: Epic Hop Zombie
Country of production: New Zealand
Style: Imperial IPA
Taste: Massive citrus aroma, super rich hoppy flavour
Cost: AU$10.40 for a half-pint (yikes!)
Availability in AU: Very low
Cred: Medium-High
My score: 9.5 out of 10 Maori war dances

Monday, May 16, 2011

Country #8: Greece


I noticed a beer called Mythos in my local bottleshop recently that was made in Greece and claimed to be “the most Hellenic beer in the world!”. I obviously needed to get some, not only to ensure continued success on my beer quest, but also to find out what this was all about. I didn’t have any what on earth would constitute the “Hellenic-ness” of a beer, and after drinking a few Mythos lagers, I’m afraid I’m still not sure. Anyway, Mythos turned out to be a very average lager beer: there’s nothing particularly wrong with it, but nothing really right about it either. It has that generic lager taste that you find when drinking those discount beers from bottleshops with names like “Hollandia” and “Bavaria” (which if I’m not mistaken, are strangely made in Germany and Holland respectively). It went down easily enough but I can’t see myself getting any again. (I’m not sure why I look so incredibly happy in this photo, might have had something to do with the significant number of beers I’d had before trying the Mythos).

Name: Mythos
Country of production: Greece
Style: Lager
Taste: Very generic lager beer
Cost: AU$17 for a sixpack
Availability in AU: Low
Cred: Low
My score: 5 out of 10 international debt defaults

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Country #7: Taiwan


I've learnt that vague and spurious claims to obscure awards or prizes are a hallmark of bad products. Thus, the text on the label of Taiwan Beer that read "Selections Choice for the Grand Gold Medal" (what medal? and what is a "selections choice"?), combined with the very low price tag, did indeed trigger alarm bells. I'd like to say that Taiwan beer amazed me and surpassed all expectations, but indeed it failed to meet even the low ones I had of it. Taiwan is not known for its beer and it's easy to see why: this (the most popular beer by far in Taiwan) is a truly wretched thing, and one of the worst things I have drunk in a long time. It's a thin, watery larger, with no flavours other than the stale insides of a giant metal tub, matched with the lingering aromas of soulless microchip factories and bitter government repression. Taiwan Beer should be avoided at any cost whatsoever (the facial expression says it all).

Name: Taiwan Beer
Country of production: Taiwan
Style: Larger
Taste: Horrible
Cost: AU$12 for a 6 pack
Availability in AU: Low
Cred: Low-Medium
My score: 2 out of 10 inauthentic claims to Chinese national autonomy

Country #6: Spain


I recently organised to go for a dinner with some friends at a restaurant in Sydney's Redfern area called Eathouse. I read a review of it and it was mentioned that they offered a beer designed by Ferran Adria and his coterie of mad chefs at legendary restaurant El Bulli (recently closed, but for a few years voted the best restaurant in the world). This obviously sounds like a job for Beer Around the World! The Estrella Damn Inedit arrives in a large, minimalist and imposing black bottle, which attracts attention. The beer itself is a Belgian-style white beer, with a citrus aroma, and a moderate fruity Belgian style body, but without that overly-sweet fruitiness that dominates many Belgian style ales which I have come to really dislike. There isn't an enormous amount of flavour here but it has a lovely, sparkly texture, a delightful fizz that lingers in the mouth. This, combined with the moderate flavour, means it does as its designer intended: to be a nice beer to match with spicy, flavourful food. I had it with spicy fried chicken and creamed corn, and it was great.

Name: Estrella Damn Inedit
Country of production: Spain
Style: Belgian Wit (white wheat beer)
Taste: Faint citrus aromas, mild fruity body
Cost: AU$13 for a 750ml bottle at a restaurant
Availability in AU: Low
Cred: Medium (cmon, it was designed by the best chef in the world)
My score: 7.5 out of 10 matadors

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Country #5: Scotland


I recently spied at a local bottleshop a four-pack of beers made by the cult Scottish brewers Brewdog. These mad bastards are famous for renegade brewing and marketing activities such as making the strongest beer in the world at a whopping 55% alc/vol, and with the bottle stuffed in dead animals. Anyway I obviously jumped at this opportunity, and picked up a very nice beer. Punk 6% IPA (there’s apparently a 5% that’s not as good) is a potent, complex and classy beer. There’s a strong aroma of peaches and citrus, and it has a classic rich IPA body, with a very long, nutty finish. The only thing preventing this from getting an even higher score is that for me the finish is a bit too long and strong; I like my pale ales a bit more restrained at the end. But this is still a fantastic beer from Brewdog, and Scotland should be proud.

Name: Punk IPA 6%
Country of production: Scotland
Style: India Pale Ale
Taste: Strong nose of stone fruit, rich malty body with a lingering nutty finish
Cost: AU$20 for a 4 pack
Availability in AU: Low
Cred: Low-Medium
My score: 8.5 out of 10 claymores