As every one (with emphasis on the "one") of my readers may be aware, I am a Pilsener guy. I'll drink anything, and enjoy most of it, but at the end of the day, I'll take a good ol' golden that goes down smooth. Much of the low-quality macro-brew variety fit into this category, and I actually find them more enjoyable than one would expect, but I am just starting to try and delve into some more upscale brews of this variety.
An interesting website: www.beeradvocate.com. The creators are two guys from Massachussets who've reviewed an enormous amount of beers. The membership of the forum are generally superserious drinkers, and quite harsh critics of beers from the most common to the most rare. It is rare for any beer to end with a consensus of > four on a five-point scale for ratings (and the site even gives you standard deviations from the norm as part of the rating rollup). I had registered, once upon a time (I thought), and logged a few reviews, but my registry seems to have disappeared. I registered again and have thought that it might be a good way for me to preserve my "research" for some posterity, and for some painless method of being able to look back and reference what I thought about different beers, if I forget down the line.
For Father's Day, Sharon bought me Pilsener Urquell, which touts itself as the "world's first pilsener," invented in Czechoslovakia (sp?). According to some reviews of the beer (which were solid but not outstanding), it is "the best non-Belgian pils," which would seem to direct me towards NW Europe for my future direction of exploration in this realm. For my part, I like the Urquell, though I do not have an experienced-enough pallette to break the beer down into a review like "Lively nose, pretty, floral, lightly spicy dandy, with a dash of honey. Neat hops on the tongue, with a long, welcome stay on the palate. Light bodied, dry, hoppy finish. Satisfying sweet hop taste that ends in a soft and silky dry bitter aftertaste." Not sure if those reviews are something I will be capable of someday, or if they're total bullshit.
Anyway, BeerAdvocate is an interesting site-one to which I would recommend a membership. Perhaps we can compare notes down the line. Favorite beers (both style and specific beer), anyone?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
2 comments:
Since I know you've watched Sideways I would say that beer, like wine, has its share of ridiculous connoiseurs(sp?). I don't know that it's all bullshit, but some of it is, and even what isn't is over the top.
I for one am an ale guy, though pale ales often strike me as too bitter (too much hops supposedly). But a smooth ale has enough thickness to it to really satisfy. Pilsners for me are more thirst quenching, but many are good, and Pilsner Urquel is one I've had a few times.
Ales sound right for a good ol' Baasten man like yourself.
Post a Comment