Ten Classic Beer Brands to Try Before You Die
Pilsner Urquell, Guiness Stout & Other Brews you Should Try and Why
Sep 22, 2009
The reality is that all of the brands of this sort of beer are a simple variation of the Czech Pilsner style, which is produced by many breweries in many countries.
What’s missing from this “Pilsner-is-beer” concept is that there are so many beer styles that aren’t crisp, golden lagers. There are many other beers that are soft and full-bodied and chewy and dark –and they are ales. The point is, in order to fully understand and appreciate the world of beer we live in, beer drinkers need to step outside their safe zone and experience what lies beyond Budweiser.
To help you along, I’ve come up with a list of beer brands that will likely pickle the palates of anyone who has never ventured beyond Budweiser or Miller or Heineken or Beck’s. There’s no guarantee that you will like or enjoy all of these beers and it’s highly unlikely that you will become a convert overnight. But if there is at least one beer you try that causes you to re-think that crisp golden lager in your hand, then this little exercise in mind-opening can be considered a success.
1). Pilsner Urquell
Since this beer is the godfather of all other crisp golden lagers, it seemed appropriate to suggest this as a good starting point in beer exploration. The name Pilsner, refers to the town of Plzen in what is now the Czech Republic, and the word Urquell means “original source”. This is what pilsner style beers are supposed to taste like!
2). Hoegaarden Witbier
Hoegaarden is the town in Belgium where “white beer” was first made. It’s not really white, but it is very pale and cloudy from the use of unmalted wheat. Witbier is known for its perfumy and citrusy aroma and flavor derived from the orange peel and coriander used to spice this beer.
3). Guinness Stout
When people think of stout, they think of Guinness. Unfortunately, people also think all stouts taste like Guinness –which is certainly not true. Guinness is considered a dry Irish-style stout, but there are several other stout styles, most of which are sweeter. People also think Guinness is heavy and high in alcohol –both of which are also untrue. People tend to confuse depth of flavor and complexity with body and strength. Guinness has less body than the average German lager and only sports an alcohol content of about 3.8%.
4). Schlenkerla Rauchbier
This may be perhaps the oddest brew on this list, because the average person would never expect to taste smoke in his beer. In the Bavarian town of Bamberg, however, the brewers there smoke their malt before adding a portion of it to their brew kettle. The smoky character is then picked up in the beer as it brews.
5). Weihenstephan Weizenbier
A true Bavarian weizenbier is a hazy, spritzy golden brew topped by a thick dense head of foam. It’s hazy due to the yeast that is added to the beer at bottling time. Yeast also plays a big part in the aroma and flavor of the beer; traditional weizenbiers have spicy, citrusy, clovey and bubblegummy character experienced in the nose and on the palate.
6). Lindeman’s fruit Lambic
Fruit lambics are not simply “fruity beers” –they are spontaneously fermented beers that are flavored with real fruit. And they are anything but sweet…in fact they have a pleasing tartness and acidity to offset and complement the fruit flavor. They can be found in five different varieties: kriek (cherry), framboise (raspberry), peche (peach), pomme (apple) and cassis (black currant).
7). Goose Island Bourbon County Stout
To those unaccustomed to beer that is dark as ink, thick as syrup and strong as fortified wine, Bourbon County Stout’s complex flavor is intense and aggressive. This beer, which is basically a very rich roasty and smoky Imperial stout, is aged in bourbon barrels. This gives the brew incomparable whiskeyish caramel and vanilla notes blended into the underlying beer.
8). Rodenbach Grand Cru
It’s been said that Rodenbach Grand Cru is beer masquerading as Burgundy wine. Well, the color matches nicely, but the decidedly sour flavor makes you wonder if this really is beer. This old world style from the Flanders region of Belgium is fermented in huge oak vats, which gives it most of its color, flavor and character.
9). EKU Kulminator Urtyp Hell “28”
EKU Kulminator was once the strongest beer in the world. The “28” refers (roughly) to it’s alcohol proof…yes, it is about 14% alcohol by volume. But alcohol content is not why I’m suggesting this beer, it’s the incredibly intense malt flavor. For a bronze colored brew, this pale doppelbock packs a lot of malt flavor in. Drink with care.
10). Schultheiss Weisse
Berliner Weisse beers are fairly rare in the U.S., but beloved in Berlin. When you taste this weisse (note the spelling that includes a final “e”)—do not expect it to taste like a Bavarian style weissbier. Though both spellings hint at the whiteness of the beer, the Berliner style is considerably different than the Bavarian style. Berliner Weisse is a rather un-malty beer; it’s quite tart, in fact, which makes it very refreshing and thirst-quenching.
