Almaza

My wife and I took a mini-vacation to the Monterey Bay area for Valentine's Day. When we were in the Cannary Row area, I found a little Mediterranean market that had all sorts of funky Greek, Russian, and North African/Mediterranean foods and drinks. I was fascinated by their beer fridge; in addition to beers from the Baltic region and Greece, I found a beer from Lebanon, so naturally I had to buy it. That beer: Almaza, a pilsner.

The Brasserie Almaza S.A.L. was founded in the Baouchriye sector of Beirut in 1933 by Lebanese shareholders as the Brasserie Franco-Libano-Syrienne; the name stems from the fact that France administered Lebanon (then the Lebanese Republic) at that time, but still administered under the French Mandate of Syria. Lebanon saw many conflicts throughout its existence, and throughout the bombardments, Almaza still kept brewing its beer, changing its name to the Brasserie Almaza S.A.L. in the 1990's. (Almaza profile)

In 1995, Almaza beer became the only beer brewed in Lebanon (no longer true, ever since the 961 Brewery opened in Beirut in 2006). In 2002, the Heineken group purchased a significant portion of the brewery, which means I'm not sure if the beer I purchased was actually brewed in Lebanon. In addition to the Almaza pilsner, their flagship, they began brewing Rex strong ale (8% ABV) in 2004 and Almaza Pure Malt (6% ABV) in 2007; they originally began experimenting with additional styles in the 1990's. Since Lebanon has a large Muslim population, it also brews Laziza (a non-alcoholic malt beverage it acquired in 2003) and Almaza 0% Alcohol. The only thing I wasn't able to find was when their pilsner was first brewed (I assume 1933, when the brewery opened) and what "Almaza" means; "al-maza" is a type of Mediterranean tapas called mezze, and "almaza" means "why," so I'm not sure. (Almaza profile)

Almaza
BREWERY: Brasserie Almaza S.A.L., Beirut, Lebanon
U.S. IMPORTER: Lebanese Arak Corporation, Glendale, CA
STYLE: Pilsner
FIRST BREWED: 1933 (as far as I can tell)
CALORIES/SERVING:
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 4.1%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS:
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: Lebanese food, I imagine
AWARDS:

The year comes from the Almaza website, and the (limited) rest comes from the bottle and the importer's website. I think some e-mails are in order.

When I poured the beer, a smell I can only describe as "pilsner" emitted from the brew. It was that hoppy metallic aroma that I've smelled in beers from Poland to Honduras. Full disclosure: I'm not a fan of that smell, but I fully support anyone who does. Also for full disclosure: I'm fairly certain the beer smelled funky; I'm not sure how long my bottle had been in the case, and the green bottle doesn't exactly help with UV radiation and hop oil spoilage. The beer had a light golden color with a white head that dissipated moderately quickly. Taste-wise, this beer tasted like a diluted version of Okocim, which was nice; no penny in the taste and a light carbonation. There also was a little skunk in the taste, which I chalk up to the bottle and its unknown age. The finish was a little bit of a sticky hoppy taste, with a slight touch of skunk.

I probably would've liked this beer more if it were fresher or newer. I'm sure those people who like pilsners will enjoy this one. Order one from your local Lebanese restaurant in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., France, Australia, or the Persian Gulf.

Kesak!

Harar Beer

Let's go back in time to January 2008. The economy was still somewhat good but about to burst, George W. Bush was still president, Michael Phelps was dreaming of eight Gold Medals in Beijing, and in Reno, a new Ethiopian restaurant, called Zagol, opened up. Me, my wife, and my parents-in-law decided to try it out. The food was interesting, the honey wine was fantastic, and the beer was Hakim Stout, what I called a "surprisingly good beer". Some of the commentors agreed, some didn't, but hey, we all have different tastes, and that's why I never bad-mouth a beer.

Now, we come back to the present. Barack Obama is president, Michael Jackson is dead, Alabama won the BCS National Championship game, and the family returned to Zagol for my father-in-law's birthday. Last time, I came with a 1.3 megapixel cameraphone, but this time, I came prepared with a 10 megapixel digital camera. I even knew that I wanted the light beer this time. Problem is, I had no idea what it was called, and neither did our waitress last time. I soon found out it was Harar Beer, a lager from the same brewery as Hakim Stout (thus the brewery info is the same). This beer is brewed in the pilsner style and runs at 4.25% ABV, less than the stout. Like the stout, the name of the beer is printed on the label in English as well as in Ethiopian, with the transliteration of the text being "Harar Bīrā," or (surprise!) Harar Beer.

Unfortunately, also like the stout, there's not a lot of information about the beer itself, so I've decided to include a little more brewery information. Of Ethiopia's four breweries, the Harar Brewery Share Co. is the only one who exports. It gets its brewery equipment from the Czech Republic, so it's no wonder that what is probably their flagship beer is in fact a pilsner. Their hops come from Germany, and the malt comes from the Assela Malt Factory in Assela (it used to be imported before the factory opened up). From what I've read, the brewery seems to be in good working condition, and it draws its water from the Genela Spring located on-property, as well as the Finkile deep well and the Alemaya Pump Station. (The Beverages Sector: The Private Sector)

Here come the stats:

Harar Beer
BREWERY: Harar Brewery Share Co., Harar, Ethiopia
US IMPORTER: NTS Enterprises, Oakland, CA
STYLE: Pilsner
FIRST BREWED:
CALORIES/SERVING:
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 4.25%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS:
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: Ethiopian food
AWARDS:

I got this extremely limited information from the bottle. I really need to e-mail the brewery with my questions. Who knows, maybe they'll answer.

This beer poured a golden color with a very nondescript white head that faded away almost instantaneously. The beer had a very malty aroma to it, but I thought it was pleasant. The taste was a little sweeter than I was used to for pilsners and was a nice surprise. I tasted malts, slight hops, carbonation, and a citrus taste reminiscent of a hefeweizen. The aftertaste was a combination of hops and slight metal, but faded pretty quickly. Matching the beer with Ethiopian food like Gored Gored and Ya Doro Wat made the aftertaste non-existant.

I liked this beer better than the Hakim Stout and better than most other pilsners I've had. Some complain that it's too sweet, but I think it's nice to not have a lager that tastes like I'm sucking a penny. Like Hakim Stout, you can find it at your favorite African restaurant or importer.

T'chen chen!

Cusqueña Premium

UPDATE: Additional information was found once I called the importer and found out it was MillerCoors.

About 6 months ago, I noticed that a new restaurant was going to open in a strip mall on Moana Ln. near Kietzke. It was called "El Tumi," and they specialized in Peruvian food. I thought, How exotic, I'll need to try them when they open up. And for the next half a year, I was always so disappointed driving by and continually seeing the "Coming Soon" banner still waving in front of the restaurant. I was worried that they would never open in this economy.

Well, as luck would have it, about a week ago, I noticed that they were finally opened for business. So I took my wife out to Peruvian food tonight to see how the cuisine was comparable to other Latin American food I've had while in Reno. I have to comment that the food was excellent for the price. My wife got a half rotisserie chicken for $6, and I got a delicious chicken, pork, and potato dish called carapulera for $8.95. The fried plantains were also fantastic.

But enough about the food: While I was there, I had to try one of their Peruvian beers. Of the two that were offered (Cristal and Cusqueña), I had to go with Cusqueña for no other reason that it sounded more Spanish (it's the "ñ"). Now, just from looking at their Peruvian website, I imagine that Cusqueña as a company is similar to Budweiser, mostly because it appears they sponsor all sorts of sporting events, concerts, and movies without giving a detailed history of the company of their beers.

So I called the 800 number of the US Importer, "Latam Imports," supposedly based in Fort Worth, Texas. Turns out that Latam Imports is another name for MillerCoors International Brands (which imports Cristal, as well as Pilsner Urquell and others). He directed me to MillerCoors' "Great Beers" website (click Imports and scroll down) and Cusqueña's English website (which for some reason I was unable to find) for the information I didn't get from the Spanish website. So here goes the history; hopefully it's accurate and not just a legend.

In 1908, two German brewers came to Cusco, Peru, and found that the water there was incredibly pure. So they decided to brew a European-style lager in Cusco that adhered to the Reinheitsgebot, or the 1516 German Purity Law, using this water. Enter Cusqueña (Spanish for "from Cusco"), which was first brewed in 1911 and is still apparently brewed using that same water source found 18,000 feet in the Andes. The teardrop bottle shape caught my eye when it was served to me. The bottle also contains an engraving of an Inca wall, including the famous "12 angle stone," a one-ton stone crafted to have 12 unique sides that still sits on a main street in Cusco today. (Like I said, it all sounds pretty legendary, but hopefully true as well.) (Various pages on Cusqueña's English site)

Here come the stats.

Cusqueña Premium
BREWERY: Union de Cervecerias Peruanas Backus Y Johnston S.S.A., Lima, Peru
US IMPORTER: Latam Imports, Fort Worth, TX
ALSO KNOWN AS: MillerCoors International Brands, Milwaukee, WI
STYLE: Pilsner
FIRST BREWED: 1911
CALORIES/SERVING: 130 per 11.2 oz. bottle (I've also seen 140 and 143 for 12 oz.)
BITTERNESS: 13 IBUs
ABV: 4.8% (I've also seen 5%)
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: (proprietary)
MALTS: Meltcalfe, Scarlett, Caramel, and Barke
HOPS: Nuggest, Styrian, Saaz
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 36°F (2°C) (the Spanish site advocates serving it between 28 and 35°F, or between -2 and 2°C)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: Peruvian foods, I assume; also couscous tabouleh, spicy prawn stew, steamed scallops, and others
AWARDS:

The brewery and importer came from the bottle; style, and the first three malts came from Cusqueña's Ingredients page, translated from Spanish; first brewed, calories, IBUs, the last malt, hops, and serving temperature came from Cusqueña's Facts page; and additional food pairings came from Cusqueña's Food Pairings page.

This beer was served to me in an 11.2 oz. bottle accompanied by a frosted mug, which made it look all the more delicious after I poured it. It had a foamy white head with a translucent golden color. At this point, it reminded me of Corona, but with a stronger grainy nose. The real difference between Cusqueña and other Latin-American lagers I've had is that this one had no metallic taste, which I usually chalk up to bad water when brewing. In fact, now that I think about it, Cusqueña may have been one of the best pilsners I've had, mostly because it didn't taste like it was brewed using pocket change. It wasn't skunky, and tasted malty with a little bit of a hoppy bite, but nothing even approaching an IPA. The finish was faint, with a little bit of malt and fruity notes before vanishing.

While it's not my favorite beer in the world, it's a pretty good beer considering it's from a part of the world that brews mostly forgettable lagers. It paired very well with my carapulera, and I imagine other Peruvian dishes would go well too. Since it's the height of summer, it'd even make a good thirst-quencher after a long day's work (or relaxation) in the sun. In Reno, you can pick one up at El Tumi (although they're kind of expensive) and possibly Machu Picchu, the other Peruvian restaurant in town; otherwise, your local Peruvian restaurant or store may have it. Or, use this Find Cusqueña tool I found (it may be out of date, as it only listed locations in Las Vegas for Nevada).

¡Salud y amor y tiempo para disfrutarlo!

Tuborg Gold Pilsner

Coming in at number 5 on the "Clean Out the Fridge Countdown" is Tuborg Gold pilsner in the golden-brown bottle. I could actually find some information on this beer, because it's a very well-known Danish beer. The Tuborg Brewery was founded in 1873 in Copenhagen, and began brewing its flagship beer, Tuborg Grøn, in 1880. Tuborg names a few of its beers after the color of the label, with Grøn referring to the green label. Other beers named this way include Rod ("red") and Guld ("gold", the beer I'm having).

Tuborg Gold itself was first brewed in 1895 for export (but has since grown popular in Denmark), and is nicknamed "The Golden Lady" after the company made TV commercials for the beer in the late 1950's starring model and actress Anette Strøyberg, a Danish Brigitte Bardot. It is currently available in Denmark, Switzerland, Croatia, Turkey and Nepal, but somehow managed to find its way into my Beers of the World pack. The beer, like the others in the Tuborg line, have been brewed under the Carlsberg family of breweries since the two merged in 1970. (About Tuborg (UK) (requires age verification), Carlsberg's Tuborg Gold Page, Annette Vadim (Anette Strøyberg) IMDB Profile, Carlsberg's History)


Here are the stats:

Tuborg Gold Pilsner
BREWERY: Carlsberg Brewery, Copenhagen, Denmark
FIRST BREWED: 1895
CALORIES/SERVING: per 11.2 oz. bottle
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 5.8%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS: "Lager"
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 41-46°F (5-8°C)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: Fish dishes, spicy dishes
AWARDS:

I got the first brewed date, ABV, malts, serving temperature, and compatible foods from Carlsberg's Tuborg Gold website.

The first thing I noticed about the beer was its smell. This is a very aromatic beer, and I noticed the grainy smell from a couple feet away as I was taking that picture. The head was a half-foamy, half-bubbly white mixture, and it revealed a slightly cloudy golden-yellow beer in the glass. The taste was a very light grainy flavor with a slight metallic undertone that most pilsners have (I couldn't make out the fruit and nuts Carlsberg says I should be tasting, and I don't know what fennel is). While there wasn't a ton of flavor, the beer was very smooth and not at all acrid, finishing very cleanly and without aftertaste.

Overall, while this beer may not be the most flavorful, it's definitely one of the smoothest beers I've had, making it different from most pilsners. Try one if you're in Denmark (or Nepal, apparently).

Skål!

Radeberger Pilsner

The number of beer bottles in my fridge is dwindling, mostly because I want to clean out my fridge of all the beer I received and picked up before the wedding. I'm down to seven beers, and this is number 7: Radeberger Pilsner. I originally picked it up in one of those "beers of the world" multipacks from the BevMo! store in Sacrament three months ago. Since then, it's been relegated to the back of the fridge, waiting for it's day to shine. Well, today's the day, little pilsner.

The Radeberger Brewery started out in 1870 as the Aktienbrauerei Zum Bierkeller in Radeberg, a small town outside of Dresden in the Saxony region of Germany, by Conrad Brüne. In 1872, they became the first brewery in Germany to produce a pilsner, a style born 30 year prior in the town Plzeň in what is now the Czech Republic; in fact, it was the first beer they produced. In 1907, word of the brewery's success reached Saxony's king, King Friedrich August von Sachsen, who requested to visit the brewery. He must have been impressed, because in 1911 Brüne was designated as a Königlichen Kommerzienrat, or a "royal counsellor of commerce" (my 80+ year old German-English dictionary says that it was an honorary title bestowed upon merchants). The Radeberger Gruppe now owns many German breweries and brews many beers, including Clausthaler (non-alcoholic) and the aforementioned Henninger beers. It even controls a Czech brewery, the Královský Pivovar Krušovice (the Royal Brewery of Krušovice). (Radeberger Brewery Information (in German), Radeberger Gruppe AG Information, Geneaology of the Junod de Neuchâtel, German Beer Institute: Pils)

As a side note, if I were the President of the United States, I would visit breweries on a goodwill tour of our nation's brewing tradition. Microbreweries only, no big three macros. I would give brewers I particularly enjoyed some sort of Presidential commendation. And I would denounce any temperance/prohibition movements publicly.


Mini-rant over, here are the facts:

Radeberger Pilsner
BREWERY: Radeberger Exportbierbrauerei GmbH, Radeberger, Germany
FIRST BREWED: 1872
CALORIES/SERVING: per 12 oz. bottle
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 4.8%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 11.8° Plato (1047.74)
MALTS:
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 46-47°F (8°C)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH:
AWARDS:

The first brewed, ABV, original gravity, and serving temperature came from the Radeberger Pilsner website. I may contact the importer for more.

Once I poured the beer into the glass, the head seemed to explode skyward, with lots of foamy white bubbles filling up the entire space inside the glass. Once the bubbles reduced significantly, a cloudy golden beer was revealed. The aroma that emanated from the thick head that remained was grainy with a hint of metal. That metallic hint carried over into the beer, but it was largely muted by the hoppiness of the beer, making it a fair shake better than most pilsners. It's finish left a slight aftertaste, mostly grainy in nature.

Like I said, it tastes better than most pilsners that I've had, so if that's your style, try the one endorsed by a former King of Saxony.

Prost!

SITE UPDATE: I've updated the Deschutes Black Butte Porter page with additional info I received after placing a phone call to the brewery today. I'd like to thank Jimmy Seifrit, a brewer at Deschutes, for taking the time to answer questions from a tiny little blogger from Reno. Check it out!

Okocim O.K. Pilsner

Back in my review of Żywiec Full Light Pilsner, I mentioned that my Polish co-worker had purchased me another Polish beer for me to review for this blog. Well, she brought it in a couple days later, but I had other beers to review and other things to get ready for (like a wedding), so naturally, it started gathering ice in the back of my fridge. Well, I finally rediscovered it there and decided to review it. The name is Okocim O.K. Pilsner, a very amusing name.

Okocim O.K. Pilsner (pronounced OH-ko-cheem) is brewed by the Okocim Brewery of Poland. The brewery itself was established in 1845 (the year in the shield on the O.K.'s bottle) by Johann Evangelist Götz, but was expanded under the ownership of his son, Jan Albin. Under Polish communist rule, the brewery was nationalized in 1945, but re-privatized after the collapse of the Iron Curtain. In 1996, the brewery was absorbed into the Carlsberg family of breweries. It now produces several beers in addition to the O.K., including a porter, a malt liquor, and a couple non-alcoholic beers. According to a sales sheet from the importer, Stawski Distributing in Chicago, this beer helped define the "Polish pils style," which sets it apart from other pilsners. On the label (which hasn't been changed in almost 40 years), the beer is listed as a "full pale." I still don't know what the significance of the goat in the shield and the woman on the label signify; I suppose that's a question for the importer. (Brewery history in Polish, plus beer information in English)


Here are the stats (which aren't much at this point):

Okocim O.K. Pilsner
BREWERY: Okocim Brewery, Brzesko, Poland
FIRST BREWED:
CALORIES/SERVING: per 16.9 oz. bottle
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 5.6%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS:
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH:
AWARDS: World Beer Championships Silver Medal Award Winner

The brewery and ABV information came from the bottle, and the awards info came from the aforementioned sales sheet. I plan to call the importer to get some more information. Hopefully they'll know some more.

The beer poured very smoothly into the glass, giving off the aroma of wheat and grain. It was a rich dark amber color with a nice white head that was mostly bubbles, but it lasted for about a minute, taking its own sweet time to fade away. Taste-wise, the beer had a little bit of a bite to it, but it transitioned into a smooth grainy taste. Unlike every other pils I've had, this one didn't taste like a penny had been dropped into the bottle, a major plus in my book. The aftertaste originally finished clean, but as I started drinking it, I started to develop a residual taste in my mouth that reminded me of when I drink IPAs.

Overall, a decent beer. Those Poles sure know how to brew. I'm looking forward to trying the Okocim Palone, complete with fire-burned malts. Mmm.

Na zdrowie !

Sierra Nevada Summerfest Pilsner

It's good to be back after a short absence. Life has been kinda busy and I haven't had much time for beer (unfortunate, I know). But now I'm back, and I decided to try yet another seasonal beer: Sierra Nevada Summerfest.

In Spanish, sierra nevada means "snow-covered rocky mountain range" (or "snow-covered saw," if I am to believe my dictionary), and it was the Sierra Nevada mountain range that a Chico, California brewery adopted in 1979 to be a leader in American craft-brewing. Ken Grossman, who first opened a home brew store in Chico with dreams of opening his own brewery, brewed his first batch of the brewery's flagship Sierra Nevada Pale Ale on November 15, 1980, and he hasn't looked back. In 1992, he released the Summerfest, which won a Gold Medal in the European Light Lager category of that year's California State Fair.



Here are the stats:

Sierra Nevada Summerfest Pilsner
BREWERY: Sierra Nevada Brewing Co., Chico, CA, USA
FIRST BREWED: 1992
CALORIES/SERVING: 158 per 12 oz. bottle
BITTERNESS: 32 IBU
ABV: 5.0%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY: 11.8° Plato (1047.74)
MALTS: Two-row pale, munich
HOPS: Perle, saaz
SERVING TEMPERATURE: 40°F (4-5°C)
FOODS TO PAIR WITH: Spicy meats and sauces, specialty mixed salad greens
AWARDS: 1999 California State Fair Gold Medal (European Light Lager category)

I got most of this info from Sierra Nevada's Summerfest page, and a couple other pieces (the date and the temp) from an e-mail I sent Sierra Nevada. Thanks Laura! The rest came from sources within the brewery.

The first thing I noticed about this beer is how incredibly clear it was. It may just have been the fact that I took the picture outside, but that golden color just stood out. It had a thick white head that would not go away. The taste was a little bitter and deep at first, but it finished with a light grainy taste. The aftertaste was a little too strong for my taste, personally, but it was not metallic-tasting like just about every pilsner I've had, which is a big plus.

The bottom line is that I guess I just don't like pilsners, but you might. If so, reach for a cold Summerfest and enjoy it.

Prost!

Żywiec Full Light Pilsner

Man, it was hot today! I could tell sitting in my office that I was going to catch on fire if I stayed outside too long. (For those of you not in the know, it was 108°F in Reno today, which probably broke a record.) So I decided to wait until it was a little bit cooler to enjoy this beer that had been sitting in the cold fridge for the past week or so: Żywiec Full Light Pilsner. My Polish friend gave this beer to me after I told her that I was starting a beer blog. She's actually already bought another Polish beer for me as well, spoiling me and my love of foreign beers.

Żywiec Full Light Pilsner (pronounced ZHUH-viets, nothing like it's spelled) was first brewed in 1956 by the Żywiec Brewery, which was established 104 years earlier by Albrecht Friedrich Rudolf, Prince Imperial and Archduke of Austria, Prince Royal of Hungary and Bohemia, Duke of Teschen (that's a mouthful!) while he was the governor of Hungary, along with Karl Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria. A Habsburg (an important European ruling family lineage), the brewery was passed down from generation to generation until it was nationalized in post-World War II Poland. (It also was almost destroyed by the German army in that war.) As a result, descendants of the original Habsburgs sued the Polish government for use of their family name and coat-of-arms in marketing campaigns in the 1990's, which was settled in 2005 for an undisclosed amount. During this time in 1994, the brewery changed hands again, this time to Heineken International, the fourth largest brewery in the world.



Here are the very limited stats:

Żywiec Full Light Pilsner
BREWERY: Żywiec Brewery, Żywiec, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland (a part of Heineken International, Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
FIRST BREWED: 1956
CALORIES/SERVING:
BITTERNESS:
ABV: 5.6%
ORIGINAL GRAVITY:
MALTS:
HOPS:
SERVING TEMPERATURE:
FOODS TO PAIR WITH:
AWARDS:

These stats came mostly from the bottle, but the year came from the company history website.

I had the 500 ml bottle, which their website describes as good for "When you want a pleasure to last longer." (I assume they mean the pleasure...the entire site is full of small English grammatical errors, but I forgive them.) The interesting thing about the bottle is that on the back the Żywiec logo will appear when the beer is at the optimal drinking temperature. The beer had a night light aroma and was a rich golden color, but had an unimpressive white head. The taste was nice and light, but the finish was slightly metallic, lingering long after I had my sip. Becky noted that a friend of hers made this comment about pilsners: "It tastes like you've put a penny in your beer and are sucking on it afterwards." I have to agree with that assessment.

In summation, I really just don't like pilsners, although this one was the best of the ones I had. If you like pilsners, give this one a try. I'd have liked to have tried a more localized Polish beer, but you get what you get. I look forward to the next one.

Na zdrowie !