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Archives for September 2017

September 28, 2017 by Tupper Leave a Comment

CHIOS SMOKED ROBUST PORTER: A TASTE OF THE ISLANDS

BOD QOD -every other day 31K

[OKTOBERFEST BEER REVIEWS COMING SOON!]

CHIOS SMOKED ROBUST PORTER: A TASTE OF THE ISLANDS

Abv  6.2%4 stars excellent

Knowing about the brewery of a beer, for almost all of us, can influence and change the experience.  Michael Jackson confessed to being unable to identify beers he knew well when he was doing blind tasting, and we’re certainly not in his league.   On the other hand, in craft beer, knowing something about the beer usually enhances the experience.

 

Label used for educational purposes.

Label used for educational purposes.

We don’t know a great deal about Chios other than it’s a valued local attraction and they brew very good beer.   There seems something about the sea to this yummy smoked porter, though.   Maybe there’s some salt or maybe it’s just suggestion, but it seems to us this could almost pass as an oyster stout.

We tasted it at Barley Cargo, one of Athens’s best beer bars.  A short stroll from the main Parliament square, it’s also one of the city’s most accessible.  If you can’t find good food nearby, you just aren’t trying.

Tasting notes: If this were a novel it would start “it’s a dark and creamy night”.  Very very dark.  The dark roasts blend pretty well, though with some dark sugars and dark fruits  Some late salt suggests an oyster stout—more a stout <for> oysters than <from> them.   Ellie thought it tasted stronger than the 6.2% it claims.    [Beer Review # 0125    20170928]

Food Pairings:  Oysters, of course.   A squid ink pasta might be over the top, or the best combination in the Aegean.

NEXT WE’LL FEATURE BEERS OF OKTOBERFEST- starting Monday October 2

September 26, 2017 by Tupper Leave a Comment

NOCTUA NIGHT VISION – AN OWL OF A GOOD DARK BEER FROM ATHENS.

BOD QOD -every other day 31K         NOCTUA NIGHT VISION – AN OWL OF A GOOD DARK BEER FROM THE ONLY MICROBREWERY IN ATHENS.  

Abv  7.2%

00 top 10 percent 5 stars

      Athene noctua is the “little owl” of Greek mythology that accompanies Athena, the goddess of wisdom.  Owls appeared on early Greek coins and “Bringing owls to Athens” had the same meaning of coals to Newcastle.  The creators of Athens’s first, and right now only, craft brewery wanted to establish a strong identity with the city.   They’ve also enjoyed capitalizing on the features of the owl with their two brand names, “Head Twister,” and “Night Vision”.

used for educational purposes

used for educational purposes

>       Although the brewery is in some ways specifically Athenian, the four friends who founded it were inspired by their travels elsewhere and they’re clearly a part of the Western world’s brewing revolution and a fairly typical example of the sort of small breweries it’s producing all over Europe and the Americas.

>       It’s located in a former canning factory and although a tasting room may be on the horizon, they’ve gotten some good distribution in beer bars throughout the city.   The best place to try it is at the Lazy Bulldog.   About a five minute walk from the brewery, the Lazy Bulldog offers the best range of craft beers anywhere near the downtown area.

The Lazy Bulldog is the best beer bar in the tourist area of Athens

The Lazy Bulldog is the best beer bar in the tourist area of Athens

>       It’s a bit outside the city center – almost across the street from Technopolis, the modern industrial museum, and an easy quick stroll from the St. Keremeikos stop on the M3.   Go there in the late afternoon and there’s a good chance you’ll end up having a beer with one of the brewers.

>       We liked the Head Twister, but were blown away with the Night Vision.  It may be hard to brew a bad dark beer, but it’s not easy to balance the range of flavors in Night Vision with the skill – and wisdom and vision—of the Noctua brewers.

Tasting notes:  The beer strikes an unusually good balance between very dark malt, and flavors from Chinook, Citra and Columbus American hops.  Hops run grassy, piney, and fruity hops while a creamy fullness holds the whole chorus of flavors in harmony.

Food Pairings:  It isn’t hard to find some really good cheeses in Athens, some from Greece and some imported from elsewhere in Europe.   The big flavors of this beer will hold its own with rich and flavorful verities.  A crisp dark beer like this also pairs surprisingly well with a range of seafood dishes. [Beer Review # 0124    20170926]

 

NEXT WE’LL FEATURE CHIOS SMOKED ROBUST PORTER

 

 

 

September 24, 2017 by Tupper Leave a Comment

WHAT??  FROM SPARTA??? FLAROS at VORIA SESSION ALE– FROM SPARTA

BOD QOD -every other day 31KWHAT??  FROM SPARTA??? FLAROS at VORIA SESSION ALE– FROM SPARTA

 Abv  4.7%

we liked it - 3 stars            Our friend knows Greece inside and out.  She’s led trips there, she teaches ancient history, there’s really very little in this vast subject she doesn’t know.  So it was a delight to surprise her by saying that some very good beer is now brewed in Sparta.   Granted, she has an Athens bias, rooted in the ancient world, that I think makes her see Sparta as the West Virginia of the Peloponnese.  [really important non sequitur here:  I am from West Virginia].   Voria Session Ale from Sparta is one of many stereotype busters pouring from one of Greece’s best breweries.flaros logo

Voria brews some very nice beers, though some of them tiptoe into the mainstream waters.  But they produce a range of beers for Gypsy/Contract brewers that stretch their range and show off their talents.  We had the chance to taste several at Athens’s best beer bar, the Local Pub

A range of fine craft Greek beers popur at the Local Pub in Chalandri

A range of fine craft Greek beers popur at the Local Pub in Chalandri

in the outlying area of Chalandri.  It’s a haul by Metro, then a pretty long walk into town, but absolutely worth the hour or so effort to get there.  This pub will be a footnote in our “Beer near sights” book coming soon-ish, but if you’re in Athens for more than a day or two, the pilgrimage is almost a requirement.

The brewery calls this Flaros an American Pale Ale, but the pump clip just says “Session Ale,” for which at 4.7% abv it qualifies– these days anyway.   It’s worth remembering that this “session” is only a small fraction of a percent less than the standard alcoholic strength around the world, Greece included.

Tasting notes:  It’s quite full bodied for a session ale, understandably since it’s almost not a session ale.  Lots of hops finish with pine and a very ripe stone fruit.   Late bitter hops.   Slightly sticky as it drinks.  You wouldn’t blink if you were served this in either Portland.

Food Pairings: I’d love to try several of these with Maryland Steamed Crabs—or even the heads-on shrimp on board Flyt in Stockholm.  (see Drinking In the Culture).  But a good hoppy session beer can go as well with a burger or even the spices of Indian food.  [Beer Review # 0123  20170924]

NEXT (SEPT 26) WE’LL FEATURE Noctua Night Vision- probably the best beer brewed within the city limits of Athens.

 

September 23, 2017 by Tupper Leave a Comment

Nissos Pilsner: Easy Drinking Pils from Cyclades

Nissos Pilsner: Easy Drinking Pils from Cyclades

Abv  5%

               Like the early days in Belgium, if you want to experience the full range of local beers be prepared to sample a good many of them from the bottle.   Athens Beer has some very nice drafts, but if you’re returning for a second night you’ll be running through their bottle list to find new discoveries.  Fortunately, the bottle list can keep you busy through the second night and beyond if you choose to confine yourself to the Plaka area.

from the brewery website used for educational purposes

from the brewery website used for educational purposes

This pilsner won the silver medal in the Bohemian-style Pilsner category at European Beer Star, which isn’t the World Cup or the GABF, but does receive over 1600 beers from 42 countries to judge.   We had just landed from Germany and our standards were pretty high and this one got our attention.

 

Tasting notes:  Clean malt with herbal spicy and metallic hops.  A bit of creaminess at the end.  Easy to drink — a nicely echt pilsner beer that would not be out of place in Germany.

Food Pairings:  The brewery recommends chicken, grilled meats, fish and green salads.  They’ve pretty much got it, though there might just be enough crisp hop bitter to hold its own with Chinese dishes.

Beer Review # 0122    20170922

 

NEXT WE’LL FEATURE Voria Session Ale from Sparta

 

 

 

 

September 22, 2017 by Tupper Leave a Comment

AMAZING ATHENS: SO MUCH TO SEE, SO MANY TO DRINK… SUCH A SHORT WEEK.

AMAZING ATHENS: SO MUCH TO SEE, SO MANY TO DRINK… SUCH A SHORT WEEK.

The Parthenon looms over the Temple of Olympian Zeus

The Parthenon looms over the Temple of Olympian Zeus

It’s easy to get into a rut when chasing great beers in Europe.   England, Belgium, Germany, Scandinavia and, increasingly Italy and Iberia beckon with bountiful brews from skillful and dedicated brewers.   Greece, we thought, might be a stretch.   The last time we were in Greece–long before the European Union changed so much—the law forbid imported beers.   Under the circumstances the Greek-brewed Amstel tasted pretty good – an ordinary Fix was the only easily available alternative.

Oh how the world has changed since then.   It’s still not Italy, which is pushing a thousand breweries, but we count over 60 breweries and the number continues to grow.

The impressive range of local beers mingles with a healthy range of imports.  The EU busted open the floodgates and it’s easy to find German and Belgian classic beers in bars that treat them well.

Athens: "Europe Starts Here"

Athens: “Europe Starts Here”

We’ll have a few posts on Athens during the year as we sort through material for our next book dealing with great beer near great sights in Europe.  Today’s post is just a start.

First:   Some travel tips that not all the guides include:

Staying:   Airbnb has some great Athens options, including a slew of attractive places smack in the center of almost everything.   We booked really late – the only hotel options were either way out of town or way out of our price range  ($400 to $600 a night).   Airbnb set us up with an apartment that overlooked the Temple of Olympian Zeus for about $75 a night.   Four different markets were within a ten minute walk, including one virtually at the apartment door, to provide superb breakfasts at a bargain price.

Arriving:  The cab ride from the airport is a flat fee, 35 Euros this summer.  To take Metro, you have to buy a special ticket that’s pricier than a regular fare.   Trains leave every half hour.   If you have a rail pass you can save a few Euros but taking the train toward the city and transferring to the metro at Holandri.  You’ll pay regular in-city rates from there.    There’s also a bus that takes you to Syntagma,  Parliament square.

Orientation. Athens is one of the most walkable of the European capitals, but you’ll save yourself blisters by buying a multi-day metro pass.   The passes are good for 24 hours, so it’s worth considering a series of single passes since you’re not paying for the time between the expiration of the first and the validation of the other.

Plaka is at the base of the Parthenon.  It’s touristy and crowded, but old and fun, and if you choose even moderately wisely, you can eat and drink well here.   Syntagma is an uphill hike, Monastiraki is a bit farther out, but still within easy view of the Acropolis.   Some of the best beer is much farther out – in Halandri.  It’s worth the adventure to go there if you there for more than a couple of days, but otherwise you’ll be drinking downtown and still drinking well.

Must see sights near the Plaka:

The Acropolis and the Acropolis museum.   Get a good guide to tell you more than we do here, but just to whet your appetite:

The Acropolis is only a part of what it once was, due primarily to Turkish cannons and British Thieves (they called themselves archeologists).   What’s left is still simply stunning.   There are two routes in.  We recommend entering by the gate closest to the Acropolis museum, taking the long hike up and then descending on the other side close to the old Greek and more “modern” Roman agoras.

The current Acropolis museum sits below the hill.  Opened in 2009 it’s a history course in a box.  You can spend forever looking at the details or get a perfectly good overview in a couple of hours.   There’s a dedicated part to hold the famous “Elgin Marbles” that still reside in the British museum.

Oh yeah—there’s beer there.  Check out our “Beer of the Day” for a few of our favorites, but Athens Beer, 20 Nikis, is a great starting place.

The Parthenon looms over the beer at Athens beer.

The Parthenon looms over a few of the beers at Athens beer.

Just a few minutes from the heart of the Plaka, choose from street-side tables or duck sort-of inside for sort-of cooler temperatures when it’s hot.   A wall of beer bottles lets you know from the start you’re not in an ordinary bar.

A few of the mane beers at Athens Beer.

A few of the mane beers at Athens Beer.

A very nice range of local-centered drafts gives you more than enough to accompany a memorable dinner.  Return to sample the extensive bottle list; there’s plenty more on a menu that is clearly Greek, yet avoids or reinterprets stereotypical options.   [Post 0036  20170920]

 

 

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What’s New Inside

 Gold Metal Winning Tuppers’ Hop Pocket Ale Returns!

Join us at Dynasty Brewing on July 17 between 3PM and 8PM to savor the first batch of Tuppers’ Hop Pocket Ale in almost five years.  We’ll be there signing books at a huge discount and the brewery will be pouring the beer that was created to be “Hoppy enough for Bob and balanced enough for Ellie.”

It hasn’t been easy to resurrect Tuppers’ Hop Pocket Ale, winner of a gold metal at the GBBF in the ’90s when well hopped beers were rare and almost non-existent in the east.  We’ve collaborated with Dynasty’s head brewer Favio Garcia, the brewer who produced the last batch of Tuppers’ Hop Pocket at Old Dominion to reproduce an authentic version of the original.    Dynasty is in Ashburn, Virginia– almost within walking distance of the Old Dominion brewery that brewed the first batch just over 25 years ago.

NOW PLAYING: on Beer of the Day—  Some great beers in the San Francisco Bay area.  Scroll down below this entry to find the featured beer of the day.   >>>>>

Later — in July we resume some great weekend destinations for beer travelers that we’ve found researching our guide to breweries and inns of the Mid Atlantic.  Whether you’re looking for a turn of the (20th) century 100 year old quaint and slightly rickety hotel, an engaging B&B or a magnificent survivor of the great era of railroad hotels, we’ve found hem– within walking distance of a brewery.   We’ll present more previews of the book’s best here rolling up to Pennsylvania before we’re through.

 

 

 

Beer of the Day

only beer pub 27 IMG_3154

 At Pub 27 in Pompeii

Far From India: India Pale Ales in the 21st Century.

Date:  March, 2019

The Story—

The Beer—

Value —

Values:  “fair” is a good beer at an above market price, “good” is worth the money, “very good” is a bargain, and “excellent” is a steal.

In mid-March we’re taking a look at the incredible variety of IPAs.   The style is by far the biggest seller among craft beers in the US and probably in Europe as well.   Even century-old breweries in Reinheitsgebot-narrowed Germany are brewing IPAs (if the brewer calls it “ale” it doesn’t have to conform to the strict purity law).   But you have to ask these days: What is an IPA”?  We’ll take a look at almost a dozen recognized and semi-recognized styles of IPAs in the next couple of weeks.

 We’re often asked to share our tasting notes on over 33,000 beers; this blog is in answer to those requests.   Not all our notes, though.  The great beer writer Michael Jackson admirably followed the Thumper Rule, and we’ll try to do the same.  (“If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nuthin’ at all.”)   All the beers we post are from the top half of our ratings and most are from the top quarter.   Of greater value, we think, are the stories behind the beers,   and we try to give you enough about the brewery, the style and the places to find great beer to help you on your own beer journeys.   At CulturAle Press we try to write books and publish posts that will help you “Drink Well and Travel Safely.”

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