The Bottom Shelf

Baltika Number 2 Lager

Kristin and Wolfe got me several bottles of the Russian beer Baltika for my birthday a few months back. Last week I had the Number 2 Lager with dinner, and all I have to say is “wow!” This lager and the Trumer Pils are numbers 1 and 2 on my list of all time favorite lagers, and I’m not sure which ranks higher. I know they both clearly rank higher than any other lager I have tried.

The Baltika number two lager had a golden, yellow-orange color. It had a medium-thick white head that disappeared fairly quickly. It looked more like a hefeweizen than a traditional lager to me when I first poured it.

The primary reason I liked Baltika’s number two lager so much was that it had the crispness one would expect from a premium lager without much of the bitterness. I can appreciate that this may be a feature only to me, as many beer drinkers like a bitter bite to accompany their crisp finish. I can do without that extra bitterness, and the Baltika pulls this off quite nicely.

Posted in beer, lager | 1 Comment »

Oranjeboom Lager

I was at Trader Joe’s a couple of weeks ago, and after a quick perusal of their beer offerings, I stumbled across Oranjeboom, a Dutch lager. At least for now, Oranjeboom even has its own very crappy Wikipedia page. Anyway, I bought a six pack of it for a measly $4.99 plus tax. Good beer for less than a dollar per bottle. You gotta love that.

When Roger had the first bottle of it, he said it immediately reminded him of Heineken (which it should, with Heineken being another Dutch lager), except without the skunkiness. I couldn’t agree more. I have stayed away from Heineken more and more over the years, because I have had too many bad bottles of it. Even the one or two draft pints I’ve had didn’t excite me.

The Oranjeboom has everything you would expect in a better than average lager: it’s clean, crisp, and has just a hint of a bite to it. I had it last night with my dinner of pork chops, rice, and vegetables, and it went perfectly. That’s one thing about good lagers: they’re very inoffensive. And if you can add something redeeming on top of this inoffensive-ness, you’re in the clear.

Oranjeboom does just that. If you can find it at Trader Joe’s, I recommend you give it a shot.

Posted in beer, lager | 16 Comments »

Birra Moretti Pilsner

Continuing my theme of pilsners this summer, I decided to review the Birra Moretti pilsner. I first had the Birra Moretti at the KROQ microbrew festival several months ago. Here is what I wrote at the time:

A very good pilsner. I don’t find that there is enough to a pilsner to get really excited about any one in particular. But, I do dislike pilsners that get too bitter, and this one definitely is not bitter. One of the best pilsners I’ve had.

Well, upon further review, I must declare that I no longer agree with my previous opinion. While I find Birra Moretti to be a good pilsner, I wouldn’t rate it as a very good pilsner, much less one of the best I’ve had. At this point, the Trumer Pils and the Bavik Pils both handily beat it.

I do enjoy Birra Moretti, but I always get more excited beforehand than I do while I’m actually drinking it. There’s nothing wrong with it, but for some reason I anticipate it exciting me more than it actually does. There is no easily notable weakness; it just seems very middle of the road, which is quite an accomplishment for a style that is built around a lack of bells and whistles.

If I’m in the mood for a pilsner, and the Birra Moretti is around, I will certainly drink it and enjoy it just fine. But, if there’s a pilsner available that I have not yet tried, I will almost definitely try the new pilsner. Oh, and before I conclude this post, I must point out my favorite part of the above photo: the crazy head. That takes skill, folks, to poor a pilsner that poorly. Read ‘em and weep.

Posted in beer, lager, pilsner | 1 Comment »

Here’s To Global Warming

Being confused about whether I should weep or celebrate, I will simply report that a brewery in Greenland has started brewing beer using water that comes from a melting glacier. As you might expect, this water is some of the oldest and purest on the face of the planet, which means it’s great for brewing beer.

The beer will very soon be available in Denmark, and the brewer has plans to get involved in Germany as well. Suitors in the United States has shown interest, but from what I’ve found, there are no immediate plans to make the beer available outside of Denmark or Germany.

But isn’t it sad that we’ve come to this point? I like drinking beer just as much as the next guy, but somehow profiting and carousing over an environmental epidemic just doesn’t sit well with me. Does it make me a hypocrite that I still want to try this beer? Yeah, it probably does. Oh well.

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Gordon Biersch Light

I enjoyed a Gordon Biersch Light last night with dinner. Ariele made some chicken pesto pasta with brocolli, and the beer was a very nice compliment to the meal. I must be honest that I look toward the lighter beers, and lagers, when I select something to drink to accompany a meal. I don’t like the drink to dominate the food; I like it to be an equalizer of sorts.

Ted got me the Gordon Biersch Light for my birthday, and I went into it thinking that I would find it to be on the order of a “regular” domestic: Budweiser, Miller Genuine Draft, or Original Coors. I know it’s a “light” beer, but it’s a craft brew, so I anticipated something stronger than the light domestics.

And boy was I not disappointed. Besides reading the word on the label, there was very little about this beer that gave me the impression it was light. I don’t mean to imply it was too heavy; it wasn’t. It just came across more like a pilsner or a wheat beer, both of which I highly enjoy drinking with a meal.

The color was a dark, golden yellow. The head was quite thick, having foamed up immedaitely upon hitting the pint glass. Its color was its most significant deviation from a pilsner; it wasn’t as clear or as lightly colored.

Both the aroma and the taste were grainy and somewhat malt heavy. The finish was crisp, again like a pilser, with just a slight touch of bitterness. It was just a very good lager, one I would highly recommend drinking by itself or with just about any meal. It was quite crisp and very refreshing, perfect for the warmer than usual summer we’ve been having.

Posted in beer, lager | 1 Comment »

Bud versus Bud Select

I guess it was bound to happen. When Anheuser-Busch introduced “Budweiser Select”, they intended to reach the slightly yuppier Heineken-drinking crowd. They priced their beer accordingly. I’m not surprised that this apparently failed. Now Bud and Bud Select are sitting next to each other at the market for the same price. I like the Select, it has slightly more flavor than straight up Bud (more than none that is), but is still watery and carbonated enough to be refreshing. If they keep the price at Bud levels, I’ll continue to drink it. What baffles me is that they can still sell Bud right next to it for the same price. Most people don’t want taste in their beer.

As for the Heine to Select comparison it is difficult to say, as I’ve never had them side by side. I think they are pretty similar. Select has the advantage of shorter supply lines so it’s probably fresher (though Heine may have a U.S. plant?). Heine is formulated for the more discriminating palates of European beer drinkers (though maybe Heine here is an Americanized version). Please weigh in if you have had both, I’ll do a tasting some day and come back to this post.

Posted in lager, macro | 2 Comments »