Do you remember the legendary advice from the Field of Dreams? "Build it and they will come"? I have a feeling breweries share a very similar approach to this blog. "Pour it and she will come". Though they do appear to be right. In the short life this blog has already got to enjoy the hospitality of Happy Joe cider and Lapin Kulta beer.
Yesterday marked the launch of Pilsner Urquell's special edition in Finland. As of today that beer is available to everybody else too in selected alcohol-serving establishments.
The beer saw daylight in the subterranean cellars in Plzen in Czech republic. The yeast used for this is the same one they've been using since the dawn of time. The brewery actually has 3 yeast banks, one in Prague, another one in Copenhagen and third one in London, where they store this precious ingredient. At some point they tried using another type of yeast, the kind used for making of Kozel beer, but that altered the profile so much they had to drop it.
Because the beer is unfiltered, the taste profile changes quickly and the shelf life is short. The beer we sampled for instance was made on Monday. Studying the cloudy appearance and somewhat bitter scent I did not know what to expect - I'm not much of a beer drinker you see. According to the specialist however there are notes of "butterscotch-like sweetness". I, along with my plus one, The Cat Blogger, detected notes of sweaty honey instead. And here, as legendary Oz Clarke would say, comes a beer fact: wine you spit, beer you swallow. See, the receptors for bitterness (very essential for this type of beer) are located so far at the back of one's tongue.
The taste was a surprise. Being a food blogger I'm always pondering the marriage of the food and the accompanying drink and with this one I couldn't think of what to marry this (non-acidic to a point of surprising) one with. The answer came in the form of spread laid out by Kappeli.
The beer worked surprisingly well with everything. Marbled beef with shiitake mushrooms, was a real winner - the beer brought the sweetness of the Asian-inspired soy-ginger and honey marinade to a totally new level. Our table also felt that it had enough body to carry chorizo too, though the texture and taste of tonight's chorizo (from Lagerblad Foods) was a far cry from the pimenton and chilli- infused feistiness I've come to love.
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| Do pay attention to the cocktail ring - specially chosen to match the beverage! |
Because the beer is unfiltered, the taste profile changes quickly and the shelf life is short. The beer we sampled for instance was made on Monday. Studying the cloudy appearance and somewhat bitter scent I did not know what to expect - I'm not much of a beer drinker you see. According to the specialist however there are notes of "butterscotch-like sweetness". I, along with my plus one, The Cat Blogger, detected notes of sweaty honey instead. And here, as legendary Oz Clarke would say, comes a beer fact: wine you spit, beer you swallow. See, the receptors for bitterness (very essential for this type of beer) are located so far at the back of one's tongue.
The beer worked surprisingly well with everything. Marbled beef with shiitake mushrooms, was a real winner - the beer brought the sweetness of the Asian-inspired soy-ginger and honey marinade to a totally new level. Our table also felt that it had enough body to carry chorizo too, though the texture and taste of tonight's chorizo (from Lagerblad Foods) was a far cry from the pimenton and chilli- infused feistiness I've come to love.
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| They come in all shapes and sizes - men and beer. |
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ANYONE FOE SECONDS?
Nice nails but shame about the 'bling'. It was noticed ;o)
ReplyDeleteThose are my bloghand's fingers. The lack any bling in mine do not warrant any publicity...
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