Europe's Best Beer: 2006
From Denmark to England to Germany to the Czech Republic, locals pride themselves on their beer. How does a tourist best tap into this flavorful fountain of European culture? Share your favorite locations and labels!
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Favorite German Beers
Frankenheim Alt, available in Duesseldorf, is a very tasty "old style" dark beer that is cold brewed like a lager using ale yeasts. It has a light hop profile with a pleasant malty taste.
My favorite lager was König Pilsener which I enjoyed at a Duesseldorf pub. It's served in a fluted glass with a little paper skirt designed to catch the over-brimming head foam.
Raymond <email>
Boston, MA USA Sat 12/23/2006
Dark Beer
I had what tasted like chocolate beer in Belguim. It was very dark. I don't remeber the name.
Jane
North Dakota, USA Fri 12/22/2006
Beer
Best German Beer
The Germans have a much stronger beer than the US. The best is during Oktoberfest, the second best has to be any beer from Bavaria. Pils is like the Budwiser's of Cech and the US. Heffy is the dark German beer, a bit grainy but it defenitly is a good beer. Radler is a pils with Sprite, yes Sprite. You must try it, it is a very light and sweet beer, I have to try it back in the states. Paulner, Hb, Lowes, or Wuerzburger are great brands of beer. The best place to have a beer is with the locals, or at one of the many German fairs.
TW
Landstuhl , Germany Thu 12/21/2006
Beer in Holland
I was surprized to find how much tastier Heineken is in Amsterdam than it is here. I never really liked it until I went there. It must lose something as it crosses the pond!
Robin
IN USA Thu 12/21/2006
The Best BEER!!!
I've been all over the world, the best beer I've ever had was Kilkenny's. This beer is made by Guiness and it's not sold in the U.S. When I was in Europe and the Middle East, I just could not get enough of this sweet nectar!
Cesar
El Paso, Texas USA Wed 12/20/2006
Czech Beer
Hi Lindsey from College Station Texas. I was in Prague in the Spring. The beer your refering to is called Kozell. I had it over there too. I'm not a big beer drinker but that one went down nicely :).
Cheryl
Kitchener, ON Canada Wed 12/20/2006
Europe's Best Beer
Brugges, Belgium. A chilly damp afternoon. We stepped into a little bistro. Had some hot and mildly spicey fish stew....and a cold Framboise, Belgian raspberry beer. I can still taste it!
Linda
New York, NY USA Mon 12/18/2006
Czech Beer
I was in Prague last summer and had the best dark beer I've ever tasted in my life. Problem is I can't remember the name of it. It's sorta sweet with absolutely no hoppiness to it...almost like drinking chocolate milk. Someone told me it's the most common dark beer there. Anyone know the name?
Lindsey
College Station, TX USA Sat 12/16/2006
Re: worst and more
Ahh...you have touched on one of Europe's dirty little secrets, they have bad beer too. There are a number of swills, usually sold under some mock German name and usually in resort areas (ran into quite a few in Greece)that make most ridiculed American beers seem downright tasty. Europe is also undergoing some of the same changes that the US did early in the twentieth century, a preference for a lighter, crispier beer. Bud Light and Coors Light are big in England, and it is spreading. For those of you who like a book with your beer, this is a great book on some of the English beer trends: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Man-Walks-into-Pub-Sociable/dp/0330412205 Enjoy.
Paul <email>
IA USA Tue 12/12/2006
And... The WORST!
Just so ya don't bother... The very worst beer I've ever had in Europe was in the former Yugoslavia (To be exact, in what is now Croatia). YUK! It was so bad that we left it outside of our tent while camping near Rijeka hoping someone would steal it. It was still there when we left a week later. We ended up drinking wine while there. Not great, but at least it was swallow-able! :-)
Bob C. <email>
North Little Rock, AR USA Thu 12/07/2006
Staropramen is the best I've ever had. It's so good it almost has a sweet taste. Flensburger Pils is a distant second, followed by Saris from Slovakia.
Ken
Fullerton, CA USA Mon 12/04/2006
BEER
Palm Beir in Holland was delicious...almost sweet tasting. And lets not forget about Guiness...When poured in Dublin it is the worlds best beer (It is crap here at home).
Steve
Sonoma County, CA USA Fri 12/01/2006
Castle Eden Ale pulled in the Duncow Inn, Durham, England.
USA Wed 11/29/2006
As far as European beers, Jever Pilsner from Friesland in northern Germany is my favorite beer on a hot day, while various English ales are my favorite beers any other time.
Dan
Seattle, WA USA Sat 11/25/2006
To Kevin
Kevin, that would be "Berliner Weiße mit Schuss", that is Berlin-style wheat beer with syrup.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berliner_Weisse
L
Germany Fri 11/24/2006
Best Beers
Poland has some really nice ones to try. To me, Zywiec, which after a few gets easier to pronounce, is one of the best beers I've tasted. Poland is sort of underrated in the beverage department. If you are anywhere over there sneak into Poland, you'll love it!!!
Jason
Jason Anderson <email>
Portland, OR USA Wed 11/22/2006
Czech Beer
Gambrinus in the Czech Republic is, to my taste, the best European beer money can buy. Yum.
Ashley <email>
Baton Rouge, LA USA Wed 11/22/2006
Beer in Berlin
Does any one know the name of the beer in Berlin that they turn red or green? I was there last summer and I can't seem to remember the name?
Kevin <email>
KY USA Sat 11/18/2006
Beer IS Travel
I have been to just a few of Beer's Holy Lands in the Euro nations.
Czech Republic and Bavaria, Germany are both essential for knowing the soul of lager-based recipes. From Pilsner Urquell and Budvar in the Czech Republic, to the Bocks, Doppelbocks and Märzens that appear seasonally in Munich and Bamberg, you will consume the beer fresh at source in small brewpubs as people have for centuries. Special mention for Hefe-Weizen, the ancient style of cloudy Wheat ale that once migrated from Bohemia long ago & now lives in modern-day Bavaria.
Still on the list to visit are Belgium and England.
GB is the quintessential everyday Ale stylist, while Belgium elevates its more intense and unusual beers to the serious status of good wine.
Belgium has beers you've never imagined; Flemish Brown ales and Gueuze that range from mildly sour to mouth-puckering; Rich dark abbey Dubbels and full, hoppy pale Tripels, right up to deeply fruity Quadrupels nearly as strong as wine. There are pale foamy Wits flavored with spice, and surprisingly serious Lambics brewed with whole cherries or raspberries. Belgium kind of tries everything and never stops following tangents, so look beyond the Stella if you go there.
England, by contrast, is a wide gradient of variations on a few themes of Ale. There is brown ale, porter, Stout, and Imperial Stout, ranging upward in intensity from highly refreshing to something richly savoured by a fireplace. There are also Pale Ales, hoppier India Pale Ales, & Best Bitters that aren't really so bitter at all. Actually what typifies most British beer is balance, and drinkability so don't be afriad to try anything you've never heard of. Chances are it will be quite agreeable.
Jonas K
Toronto, CAN Wed 11/15/2006
Europe's best beer
Belgian beer: "GRIMBERGEN"
BEST BEER, ANYWHERE! Yum!
Erik Ohlson
Morgan Hill, CA USA Mon 11/13/2006
MMMMMMMBEER!!!!
I just came back for Europe and I think the best beers were (in order)Belgium, Czech and German. Honorable mention to the Brits!! Belgium seemed to have the biggest variety and the best overall tasting beers. Czech Pilsners were very good and cheap!!! Can't forget to mention the great German beers at Oktoberfest. My liver hurts!!!!
Troy
Vancouver, BC CAN Sun 11/05/2006
Beer Highlights
Belgium has by far the greatest variety of beers, and probably the best in general. German beers are good, but do offer a lager "sameness" after awhile. Many British ales are tasty as well. Beer is a major part of my travels, have yet to break 100 different ones in a single 3 1/2 week trip, but 85 ain't bad. Highlights:
Drinking Pilsner Urquell on the tour, directly from the wooden casks in the finishing caves...slight taste of pitch from the barrels. Sitting on a sunny street in Koln having multiple flutes of Kolsch, watching the crowds go by. BEST Brewery tour anywhere: Theakston Brewery in Masham, England. Victorian era brewery, still using mostly original equipment, still making cask ales. Try to go early in the week while they are brewing the mash.
Paul <email>
IA USA Fri 11/03/2006
I have been to Europe several times, including 4 weeks in Austria and Germany this past summer.
The beer is very good and the beer halls are not to be missed.
But the beer is generally lager beer and I like my beer with a lot more hops.
Sorry to say, my favorite beer is a good Pacific Northwest IPA. :-(
P.S. I'd gladly suffer through another 4 weeks of Austrian and German lager beer, though. Maybe a few more beer halls and I'll change my mind. :-)
USA Fri 11/03/2006
If you're ever in Amsterdam, be sure to check out the drink shop De Bierkoning. They stock 600-700 varieties of beer. You can find some great stuff, and don't overlook the locally brewed varities! It's located directy behind the Royal Palace, on Paleistraat. If you don't make it before they close, check out the Cracked Kettle on Spui, with a smaller selection and great, helpful staff.
Jeff
Seattle, USA Thu 11/02/2006
I'd say Belgium has the best beer, though England has the best pubs.
Felton
USA Wed 11/01/2006