Five Beers & Five Days in Berlin

These four are few of the German beers that I got to try in Berlin: Becks, Berliner Kindl, Schultheiss, Hofbrauhaus.

With only one week in Berlin to try the different kinds of beers, I was surely not able to try all five thousand beers available in Germany!

Becks: I noticed how it was widely drank during festivals, it's a golden pilsener with a fruity taste and a crisp finish. A good beer that I enjoyed while walking in the streets.

Berlinger Kindl: I got this bottle from a local store after asking suggestions from a local. It's an amber pilsener, well balanced sweetness and bitterness, a crisp finish. Also a good beer.

Schultheiss: Also a light golden pilsener that I randomly chose from a market shelf. Taste was bitter and lost its crisp and flavors after a short while. I did not enjoy the beer much.

Hofbrauhaus Traunstein Weissbier: One of my favorite beers. A beer that I got on draft in a beer garden. It's a wheat beer with a hazy honey color, citrus taste, persistent foam, and a certain fullness in the mouth.

With five beers off of my checklist (including Berliner in the previous post),  I still got 4995 German beers to try!

Berliner Beer in Berlin

Beer & wurst in Berlin, what a great combination!

The first thing I did when I arrived to Berlin was to try the famous street food Currywurst with a bottle of beer. I was overwhelmed by the endless choices of beer, so as advised by the locals I asked for a Berliner Beer.

Berliner beer is a well-balanced blond pilsner that although is on the sweet malty side, it also ends with a light bitterness. Like most pilsner beers, it could be easily drank out of its own bottle and is really very refreshing.

Bomonti Beer of Istanbul

I asked one of the locals in Istanbul what other Turkish beer would they recommend, and he suggested Bomonti Beer. Bomonti used to be brewed in Istanbul in the 1900s & served in beer gardens. Currently, it is brewed by Efes.

The difference is that it's an Ale honey colored beer, tastes bit bitter & fruity, goes down smooth. Even when it becomes warmer, it can be drank easily. I personally appreciated Bomonti more than Efes.

A Glass of Efes in Istanbul

While in Turkey, the first beer that will grab your attention is going to be Efes beer.

Although Turkey is not a country of reference in terms of brewing, Group Efes is one of the largest beer brewing companies in Europe.

Efes is a pilsner beer with a golden clear bubbly body, a non-persistent white foam, a good balance of sweet and bitter, and a dry finish. You can enjoy a cold draft Efes with your Turkish meze.

However, Efes is not the only beer in Turkey. While there, I was lucky enough to discover another very good beer in the small streets of Istanbul that I will be posting about soon.

Beirut Beer - A New Beer In Town? Or just another version of Almaza

Beirut Beer is a pilsner beer presenting a light blond color with white foam that vanishes quickly. When freshly poured, it gives a hint of lemon zest, however the smell is not persistent. It leaves a bitter end, and it is better kept cold to be enjoyed. It did not retain any smells or flavors after minutes of being poured. 

Colonel Beer - Finally a Beer Garden in Lebanon !

After my visit to Colonel Beer in Batroun, my first impression was "finally a beer garden in Lebanon".

The great thing about the place is that it offers beer on tap!

The Lager (currently offered in bottles in the market)

The German Light, that offers a lemony hint at first scent, light rich body.

The Red Irish, a great mixture of sweet and bitter, like a bittersweet symphony in one sip. smooth tasting and a great smoky color.

The Black Irish, dark heavy color with a caramelized taste, not too much on the bitter side.

Colonel beer in Mar Mikhael - what a pleasant surprise!

Another hidden gem in the north of Lebanon: Colonel Beer. Newly born beer from Batroun, also the work of a micro-brewery. That's the Lager, presenting a hazy golden color, with such richness till the last drop. What really got my attention to this beer was the surprisingly overwhelming bubbles that fill the mouth. Too bad I did not capture the foam when poured.

I was introduced to Colonel Beer at Tawlet Restaurant, surprisingly enough I was able to find it in L'Osteria in Mar Mikhael, and I will be visiting them soon in Batroun for more tasting.

My story with 961 Beer

My story with 961Beer goes back to almost a year ago, after I had that first sip at Tawlet.

In comparison to the current national beer offered in the market, 961 Lager is rich in taste with a hint of bitterness that gives it its edge. I searched for this beer everywhere in Beirut, it is only found in Large supermarkets or places offering organic food. It is fighting its way up in the market, unfortunately the Lebanese market is still very young in terms of beer culture. It is until recently that micro-breweries are starting to show up in the market slowly.

961 Lager can not be drank directly from the bottle, it is a must to feel the scent into your nose & the foam while drinking it from a pint.

961 Beer, the new taste in Lebanon

During my lunch at Tawlet restaurant, I was introduced to 961 Beer. Apparently, we have another national beer, and for sure a great one! This is the Lager, on the light & sweet side. 961 Beer is a micro-brewery that produces handcrafted beer. It is best enjoyed at 6c. I became very fond of this beer!

961 Beer also brews different kinds that I will post about soon. 

Meet Almaza, the oldest national beer

Meet Almaza, the Lebanese national pilsner beer. To be drank cold at -2c, crisp, refreshing when still cold. It is so national that when Lebanese ask for beer, they say "I want an Almaza". 

Discovering Beer Beyond Borders

In my country, we had one kind of beer, a blonde crisp beer savored at -2c, looks great in a tall slim glass, very refreshing in hot summer times. To me, the national beer was De beer of the times.

Then I went for my first trip, and my second and third, and suddenly the new tastes hit me so fast & strong that I didn't realize what I was getting myself into, and then I discovered BEER! 

Beer… white, blond, brown, red, dark, bubbly, bitter, smooth, extra cold, chilling in a tall glass or a mug or a pint, mixed with cherries, fruity, malty, creamy, aromatic, smoky…  

The world of beer is so vast that you can't just get by by only looking at the cover, one has to taste and try, mix with food, feel it with all senses. 

In my blog, I will share with you my beer experiences and the memory I kept of each, enabling you to discover the tip of the beer iceberg as much as possible and hopefully you enjoy the ride.