Euro 2012 - beer edition

Brenton · Post edited by Brenton at 2012-06-08 16:57:13

The great folks at Free Beer Movement have put together reviews of beers from each represented country. This obviously leads directly to what I see as an entirely necessary aspect of major soccer tournaments: The all-beer tournament.

It's pretty simple: Each country is represented by their best beer, or at least their best-known beer. These beers go head-to-head facing the same competition that their soccer equivalents face.

This morning that means Group A beers: Poland v. Greece and Russia v. Czech

I will be choosing my own beers to represent each country; feel free to advocate for your own choices. And I'm going to try to choose beer that is widely available. Today I'm going to stick with the choices reviewed by FBM: Poland's Tyskie and Greece's Mythos are today's tournament openers, followed by Russia's Толстяк v. Czech's Pilsner Urquell.

Not even a contest today. Tyskie, as bland as it is, beats Greece's Mythos without much trouble, 2-0. (Though I've never tried the Greek beer.) Tyskie has some flavour to it; it's a typical Euro lager, but more watery. But I can't imagine the Greeks putting anything better on the table.

In our second contest, the classic Czech Pilsner wins in a heartbeat, 5-0. The Russian beer looks like something college dudes drink at Coachella, while the Czech beer is one of the tastier editions of the pilsner, if a predictable and very middle-of-the-road one.

Group A standings:
Czech 3pts, +5 GD
Poland 3 pts, +2 GD
Greece 3 pts, -2 GD
Russia 3 pts, -5 GD

rich16

My pals and I have done a version of this since WC'98...have to drink a beer from each participating country every game you watch. Much easier to find beers for Euro than WC...no Middle Eastern or African countries! No real anticipation for today's beers...which I believe are the same as your selections.

Brenton · Post edited by Brenton at 2012-06-09 17:26:48

UEBA has made some last-second changes to the competition, and Russia's late entry will have another chance to impress. Kudos to Legacy Liquor store for creating a "Beers of the Euro Cup" display. First up, Baltika from Russia.

Wow. What a boring and not-very-good beer. Baltika, you are shameful. Like Heineken, but worse. EDIT: Not even nearly as good as Heineken. Like Budweiser, but worse. I'm not sure I can finish my half-glass. After some serious thought, the UEBA officials award a 4-0 win to the Czechs.

Revised Group A standings:
Czech 3pts, +4 GD
Poland 3 pts, +2 GD
Greece 0 pts, -2 GD
Russia 0 pts, -4 GD

Sadly, they only had ouzo from Greece.

Brenton · Post edited by Brenton at 2012-06-08 16:57:34

And coming up tomorrow, we have Holland v. Denmark and Germany v. Portugal.

Grolsch v. Carlsberg
Schneider Weisse v. Unicer Super Bock

I am open to beer suggestions, so if you think there are better beers, let me know.

Brenton

I've just had a taste of, I mean look at, the Croatian team. Does not bode well...

MattBinYYC

Is there Swedish beer readily available in Canada?

Brenton

Sadly, no. Legacy had a super sweet fruit cider in a can on display. I tried one once, and it was like bubbly cough syrup.

Brenton

Ukraine's training sessions don't look so good.

Markus

Brenton said: And coming up tomorrow, we have Holland v. Denmark and Germany v. Portugal.

Grolsch v. Carlsberg
Schneider Weisse v. Unicer Super Bock

I am open to beer suggestions, so if you think there are better beers, let me know.

That Germany-Portugal matchup looks enticing, didn't know that Portugal made Bock beers! Is that the equivalent of a German-born player playing for Portugal?

Brenton

I can't imagine it's very good, but the packaging says it has won 27 gold medals.

Boxing_Day_Massacre

I was in Portugal a few years ago. The only beer I saw was "Sagres" it was everywhere. I don't remember if it was any good, mostly drank the wine.

Seathanaich · Post edited by Seathanaich at 2012-06-13 11:43:30

.

Brenton · Post edited by Brenton at 2012-06-08 20:13:52

Here are the groups as they stand*:

Group A
Poland's Tyskie
Greece's Mythos
Russia's Baltika
Czech's Pilsner Urquell

Group B
Holland's Grolsch
Denmark's Carlsberg
Germany's Schneider Weisse
Portugal's Unicer Super Bock

Group C
Spain's Estrella Damm
Italy's Moretti
Croatia's Ožujsko
Ireland's Guinness

Group D
France's Fischer Amber Ale
England's Fuller's London Pride
Sweden's gross cider
Ukraine's Lvivske 1715

* These groups were put together on a shoestring budget.

DannyBoy

seathanaich said: I'll predict a Belgium vs Cechy final. Yeah, I know I'm really going out on a limb with that. 1-0 to the Belgians, on a goal by their Trappist Monk striker, Chimay.

Good thing Kazakhstan isn't in the euros. But I'll admit I've never tried their beer....

MattBinYYC

And Sweden doesn't a chance. :(

Brenton

MattBinYYC said: And Sweden doesn't a chance. :(

Not with the refs already asserting their opinion like that. Totally biased.

chauchi09 · Post edited by chauchi09 at 2012-06-08 21:55:06

One of the Trappist beers is from Holland, La Trappe

chauchi09

Kronenburg 1664 France although I'm sure what you've got down there is tastier.

barca99

Brilliant idea! Group B is not only the group of death at the Euro's, now this! That's a tough draw for those beers!

Good fun! When will the results be posted? Interested if Estrella and Moretti can touch Guiness.

Brenton

chauchi09 said: Kronenburg 1664 France although I'm sure what you've got down there is tastier.

The Fischer is a very good beer. I thought about the Kronenbourg, but the Fischer won out. It's a difficult balance between popularity, quality and availability.

Brenton · Post edited by Brenton at 2012-06-09 07:38:50

barca99 said:

Good fun! When will the results be posted? Interested if Estrella and Moretti can touch Guiness.

We'll follow the gamedays of the real Euro Cup.

Guinness and Moretti and Estrella Damm are about as different as any beers in the competition; it'll be tough. Like Spain v. Italy, both teams have strengths and weaknesses.

Bistchen · Post edited by Bistchen at 2012-06-09 08:22:05

Rothaus Tannen Zaepfle ! :D

Brenton · Post edited by Brenton at 2012-06-09 10:59:58

Group B
Holland's Grolsch v. Denmark's Carlsberg

No one will be too surprised by the result this morning if they've ever tasted either of these Euro lagers. Carlsberg is THE example of how to make a boring, bland, mass-produced, green-bottle Euro lager. You might as well drink Corona or Bud Light.

Grolsch, on the other hand, is a good example of how to make a middling quality mass-produced green-bottle Euro lager that retains some beer essence and flavour. It's not great, just a step above Heineken really, but clearly the better of the two.

Grolsch ekes out a 1-0 win to claim the 3 points and a deserved lead in Group B.

FreeBeerMovement1

Cool work Brenton. Thanks for linking to us. We're working on the finishing touches of Group D, but our B and C are up now. We went with craft beer Mikkeller for Denmark and then it shouldn't be surprising that the Danes won this morning, beer and soccer-wise!

bili · Post edited by bili at 2012-06-09 12:34:03

seathanaich said: I'll predict a Belgium vs Cechy final. Yeah, I know I'm really going out on a limb with that. 1-0 to the Belgians, on a goal by their Trappist Monk striker, Chimay.

Which group are the Belgians in?

Brenton

Glad you made it by.

Too bad Mikkeller isn't available in Vancouver. Or at least I haven't seen it. We're stuck with the derisible Carlsberg.

DannyBoy

bili said:

seathanaich said: I'll predict a Belgium vs Cechy final. Yeah, I know I'm really going out on a limb with that. 1-0 to the Belgians, on a goal by their Trappist Monk striker, Chimay.

Which group are the Belgians in?

The 'out on a limb' group.

Seathanaich

bili said:

seathanaich said: I'll predict a Belgium vs Cechy final. Yeah, I know I'm really going out on a limb with that. 1-0 to the Belgians, on a goal by their Trappist Monk striker, Chimay.

Which group are the Belgians in?

Danny Boy's answer is a good one. If it were a true beer competition, the Belgians would have romped through their pool, so I gave them a free pass into the competition. I just really like Chimay. I also should have had the Scots win their pool with an Innes and Gunn. That could have been good for a spot in the finals . . .

Brenton

In the late Group B game, Germany's Schneider Weisse takes on the little-known Super Bock from Portugal. Will the plucky upstart upset the German powerhouse?

Turns out no. Schneider Weisse is a near-perfect example of a yeasty German wheat beer, perfectly carbonated, light yet flavourful, evoking sour stonefruit, fresh bread and some light grass or spice.

Meanwhile over in Portugal they have been perfecting Port and vinho verde, not beer. I didn't buy this beer, as I didn't want an entire six-pack, so I'm maybe erroneously going on reputation alone. Reviews of Super Bock are not generally good though, mostly comparing it to other tasteless Euro lagers. It's also quite popular amongst Manchester United fans, much like Ronaldo and Nani, two of the most annoying players in world football.

In the end this is pretty one-sided. A stellar, stellar German wheat beer destroys a bland Portuguese Euro lager 4-0.

Brenton · Post edited by Brenton at 2012-06-09 17:35:21

Group B standings after Round 1:

Germany's Schneider Weisse 3pts, +4 GD
Holland's Grolsch 3pts, +1 GD
Denmark's Carlsberg 0pts, -1 GD
Portugal's Super Bock 0pts, -4 GD

Boxing_Day_Massacre

Sour stonefuit?
Are you smoking that light grass?

Brenton

Try it. There's some sort of sour flavour, and it's kind of peachy without being fruity.

Bad_Gones

Quit baiting me!

Brenton

Stop being racist.

JP82

Mikkeller is available Brenton at Firefly on Cambie

Bad_Gones

Brenton said: Stop being racist.

??

Brenton

JP82 said: Mikkeller is available Brenton at Firefly on Cambie

How interesting? Perhaps the Danes will field a different starting XI next game.

Arne, your double question marks are fooling no one. One question mark maybe. But two? Methinks the Arne doth protest too much.

Bad_Gones

Actually I was trying to figure out what I said that could be interpreted as racist. I've never pretended I could fool anyone. Just ask my wife.

BledforDays

Are good beers supposed to taste like grass clippings? Some of the ones I tried in Portland left me feeling like I just finished sucking on a mouthful of dirty pennies. Carlsberg for the win.

Brenton

Who's the fool? The fool who can't fool his wife or the fool who calls that fool a racist? Or the fool who thinks beer tastes like dirty pennies? Good questions all-around.

Brenton

Tomorrow in Group C:

Spain's Estrella Damm v. Italy's Moretti
Croatia's Ožujsko v. Ireland's Guinness

Bad_Gones

Spain & Ireland for the win.

danimal

You really should use Harp or something to make it a fair fight. International Battle of the Lagers.

BledforDays

Pity the fool

Bad_Gones

You coming to Roxy Burger today Jason? I have a handful of pennies for you.

BledforDays

Yes I am. I will use those pennies to subsidize a Bud.

Brenton

danimal said: You really should use Harp or something to make it a fair fight. International Battle of the Lagers.

That would be like Spain playing without Xavi to make it a fair fight. The cream rises to the top, my friend.

Bad_Gones

Cream in my beer can fuck right off. :-P

Brenton

In the first match-up of the day, Spain's oddly rich Euro lager Estrella Damm takes a few shots at Moretti's drier and thinner Euro lager.

If Spain had fielded the Estrella Damm Inedit, this wouldn't even be a contest, but for some reason (a reason that maybe Le Tissier and Cassano can relate to) the Spanish team fielded the more popular and easy-drinking regular Estrella.

It's typical of the Euro lagers we've already talked about, a golden lager that goes down well on a sunny Mediterranean afternoon (or morning, as is often the case in the cafes of Barcelona). It has a good hoppy flavour, smooth not-too-sweet maltiness, and is very well-balanced. An excellent example of the type.

Italy's Moretti is a dry lager, nothing much to write home about. It's better than Carlsberg.

Not sure how, but the Italians score something yet are overpowered by the Spanish brew, 2-1 in the end.

Brenton

Bad_Gones said: Cream in my beer can fuck right off. :-P

I do enjoy a milk stout, though.

Bad_Gones

Inedit? Really? I found it really underwhelming, and I'm a fan of Ferran Adria, the chef who helped develop it. I realize I'm one of the few people I know who don't like it.

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