You've been driving for miles around Europe and the only place to stay has a nice small restaurant & just two choices for bottled beer and none on tap. There are no wine or spirits available. Just beer.

Question:
What would your choice be?

Choices:
Heineken everytime.
I prefer Lowenbrau.
Either or both is fine with me.
I would rather drink the water.

 

I chose Lowenbrau, but only because I've never tried it; in all honesty, I'd probably have one of each.

I have several business acquaintances in Eindhoven that tell me that they'd rather drink Budweiser than Heineken. They go for Belgian beer, shunning their domestic brews.

I no longer drink, but confess that I had an affinity for Lowenbrau Dark many years ago.

I can't remember the last time I saw any Lowenbrau.

I do remember drinking both Light and Dark Lowenbrau and it was okay, but I prefer Heineken.

Keep Driving

I know its not on the choice list but I recommend Bitburger.A fine pilsner.I used to live there.If you get to Bitburg,check in at the Gasthaus Sonnen + enjoy good food + draft beer + lodgings.(shameless perk for friends but quite true).

There is one concept about beer that I don't think some or many people take into consideration, Americans as a group tend to want their beer, Ice Cold while from what I have seen most or many of the forkiegn beers are supposed to be served warmer.

Some of the beers I like and drink from time to time, when I can find them are Warsteiner Dunkel, any of the Doppkle Bocks, Stella Artois.

My beer list is short as is my taste tests on new ones. But, worth mentioning is that most any micro brew tastes were a disappointment. I just don't get why so many micro brands load their beer with hops to a point where the bitterness overpowers the main flavor or the body of the beer. I don't get it.

I only ever found one small brewery with a nice crisp snap and delicious flavor. Production is limited to about half the year. It's made in New Jersey, called Flying Fish Summer Ale and it is fantastic out of a tap, preferably ice cold. Never was a fan of suds. Hop intensity is medium with a splash of citrus that stings a bit until you get halfway through a 16 ounce glass. It can be difficult to mind my manors and not slurp. Great flavor right to the last drop. Out of a bottle, FFSA is not so hot. It comes across as a bit dirty, bitter and unrefined.

In my early years, the rich guy drove Porsche's and drank Heineken and the local beer connoisseur drove a Bug and drank Lowenbrau.

quote:

Originally posted by Crazyhorseconsulting:
I can't remember the last time I saw any Lowenbrau.

I do remember drinking both Light and Dark Lowenbrau and it was okay, but I prefer Heineken.

X2

Back in the day....if we wanted something out of the ordinary Budweiser we'd get Lowenbrau, Tuborg, Labatt's, Carlsberg or Grolsch.....there weren't that many choices back then. Now there's too many and half of them are crap.

quote:

Originally posted by Norton:
Back in the day....if we wanted something out of the ordinary Budweiser we'd get Lowenbrau, Tuborg, Labatt's, Carlsberg Grolsch..... ....there weren't that many choices back then. Now there's too many and half of them are crap.

Haven't heard those names in decades. Not sure about Labatt's blue, sort of remember it tasting similar to Pabst. But, that was so long ago.

So far...I haven’t found any beer I couldn’t drink and few I prefer not to. I prefer my beer ice-cold but “rodeo cool” is fine and can drink room temp if faced with going without.

Heineken is one of the lowest beers on my list...thus picked Lowenbrau.

Lowenbrau Dark was a decent choice 15 years ago. There are so many beers now that are so much better. And as others have already pointed out, Heineken is often skunky.

I agree with you there Bill. Lots of great beer out there.
I drank a bottled Heinekin yesterday, first time in a while. It was OK and not very cold. May have been better ice cold. No skunky notes at all, at least.
Thanks to all you fellas from Texas mentioning Shiner Bock, I decided to give it a try while I was in Texas the past few days. I like it a lot. But, prefer it ice cold as well. It wasn't near as dark and rich as I expected. I always thought bock beer was a bit "heavy". Not Shiner. Good flavor, medium body, crisp but not bitey and with a soft finish. I'll be getting more of that stuff.

Shiner Bock used to be sold only once a year for about 2 weeks;while they were cleaning out the vats;the bock is the sludge so to speak. It got so popular though that now they sell it year round.Back when you knew you had only a 2 week envelope it sold like hotcakes.

Thanks for chiming in NC. Looks like Lowenbrau is leading the survey. May have to grab some next time I head to the beer store.

+1 for the Shiner Bock. Discovered that years ago during a trip to our plant in San Antonio. Almost reminds you of an English lager.

I haven't had either one of those in decades but as I remember, Heineken is a much more hoppy beer than Lowenbrau. Sometimes I like a hoppy beer and sometimes I don't, so would depend on my mood.

quote:

Originally posted by tasunkawitko:
I chose Lowenbrau, but only because I've never tried it; in all honesty, I'd probably have one of each.

Or a couple of each, to give them a fair trial...

quote:

Originally posted by postoak:
I haven't had either one of those in decades but as I remember, Heineken is a much more hoppy beer than Lowenbrau. Sometimes I like a hoppy beer and sometimes I don't, so would depend on my mood.

I would offer that Heineken has no hop profile. Based on IBU...Beck's 20, Lowenbrau 19 and Heineken 23......medium hoppy beers are around 60-70 and hop "bombs" are over 100.

Heineken certainly *tastes* hoppy. What are the numbers for Grolsch?

Norton,

Heineken has some hop sting. But, I'm a mild hop max beer guy, and if you frequent hoppy beers, I can see how you might think it's more neutral. For my taste, a little sting (bitterness) is better than a flat profile like most all mainstream cheap and/or light beers.
A year or so ago, I had drank a Miller high life after a lapse of a couple decades. Very flat.......... Bud light, Miller light, Coors light = flat and near tasteless. Skinny beers...not for me.

quote:

Originally posted by postoak:
Heineken certainly *tastes* hoppy. What are the numbers for Grolsch?

Grolsch 12, Bud light 10

perhaps 25 years ago, Lowenbrau began brewing in the US and stopped importing. When that happened, in my opinion, that beer began a detectable change from the import. The heavy bodied DARK soon became too Americanized and lost much of the body the imported Lowenbrau had. These days I tend toward a preference of Guiness Stought for a full bodied drink. Also, I don't go for the Guiness Draft at all.

There is a restaurant here in Austin called "The Tavern" on 12th + Lamar that has good food + the best Guiness + Bass on tap.Just my opinion.

Bob, I enjoy a Guinness Stout from time to time to "keep me honest." But I'll confess I drink it colder than they serve it in the British Isles.

Thanks for the comments gents, look forward to more good conversation.

TEXAS ALERT. Robber on the loose. See My other posts.

I know it was alrea&dy said, but keep driving to another bar/restaurant/country until you find more options? Just about every bar or restaurant in France has two or three draft beer options and a couple of bottled beer options.

Thanks Wink.

quote:

Shiner Bock used to be sold only once a year for about 2 weeks;while they were cleaning out the vats;the bock is the sludge so to speak. It got so popular though that now they sell it year round.Back when you knew you had only a 2 week envelope it sold like hotcakes.

I remember when Shiner Bock was only available seasonally. That may be because the style was originally brewed in Germany in the springtime for consumption in the winter. It is bottom fermented, but it is definitely not the product of "sludge" or waste from other brewing processes. It is a style of beer unto itself that dates back to the 14th century.