Karjala III

Also bought Easter Sunday in Kilpisjärvi, Finland.

• Name: Karjala III, 4.6%, Finland
  
• Appearance: Pale golden. Little bit of shortlived head.
  
• Aroma: Not much, some hops and malt.
  
• Taste: Some malt and hops. Not much. Little aftertaste as well.
  
• Bought: Finland, 330 ml, €?.??
  
• Overall score: 1/6
  
• Info: 30/4-2007

Crocodile Original Imported

• Name: Crocodile Original Imported, 5.2%, Sweden
  
• Appearance: Light golden. Tiny bit of shortlived head.
  
• Aroma: Hops, slightly lemony. Some malt.
  
• Taste: Some malt and hops. Acidic? Hops in aftertaste.
  
• Bought: Beers of Europe, 330 ml, £1.25
  
• Overall score: 2/6
  
• Info: 26/4-2007

Koff III

Bought after a long day skiing in Kilpisjärvi, Finland.

• Name: Koff III, 4.5%, Finland
  
• Appearance: Light golden. Good amount of head.
  
• Aroma: Some malt and hops, not much.
  
• Taste: Bit of malt and hops. Quite boring. Hoppy aftertaste.
  
• Bought: Finland, 330 ml, €?.??
  
• Overall score: 2/6
  
• Info: 24/4-2007

Dos Equis XX Amber

I've had this one in quite a few Mexican restaurants, one of the less boring Mexican beers.

• Name: Dos Equis XX Amber, 4.8%, Mexico
  
• Appearance: Light, golden brown. Little bit of head.
  
• Aroma: Malt, maybe some caramel and hops. Sweet.
  
• Taste: Some malt and hops. Dry. Nothing special.
  
• Bought: Beers of Europe, 330 ml, £1.35
  
• Overall score: 3/6
  
• Info: 23/4-2007

Mack Ludwig Premium Bayer

Bought while on Easter holiday in the North of Norway.

• Name: Mack Ludwig Premium Bayer, 4.7%, Norway
  
• Appearance: Dark redish brown. Little bit of shortlived head.
  
• Aroma: Malty, roasted. Some fruit.
  
• Taste: Malty, fresh. Little aftertaste. Dry, some bitterness.
  
• Bought: Norway, 330 ml, NOK 17.90
  
• Overall score: 3/6
  
• Info: 23/4-2007

With a little help from my friends

My friends and family are now aware of my beer hobby, and some people have now started buying me beer when they travel abroad or come visiting. This is obviously very handy as it means free beer ;-). Seriously, though, it is cool to get strange beers from different parts of the world.

Here is a list of the people who have kindly donated beers to me:

1. GR (10)
2. ØM (9)
3. MG (4)
4. TLL (3)
5. HG (1)
6. PM (1)
   

Also special thanks to my girlfriend HG for helping me with the tasting notes.

Belgo top six Belgian beers

One of the free London newspapers yesterday had a list of Belgo's operations director's top six Belgian beers, and his rating of them. I have added my rating for comparison.

• Früli Strawberry (3/5) [Me: 3/6]
• Jupiler (4/5) [Me: 3/6]
  
• Liefmans Kriek (3/5) [Me: 1/6]
• Blanche de Bruxelles (5/5) [Me: 2/6]
  
• Barbar (4/5) [Me: 4/6]
• Duvel (4/5) [Me: 5/6]
  

I am surprised he didn't include any Trappist or Abbey beers on his list, even though they sell them in the Belgo restaurants. I have added the ones I haven't tried yet to my To-Buy list, and will update this post as I try them.

Sagres Bohemia 1835

Third and last bottle GR bought me from Lisbon:

• Name: Sagres Bohemia 1835, 6.6%, Portugal
  
• Appearance: Chestnut brown, little bit of head. Shortlived.
  
• Aroma: Malt and dark fruit.
  
• Taste: Quite malty, unpleasant dry aftertaste.
  
• Bought: Gift, 330 ml, €?.??
  
• Overall score: 2/6
  
• Info: 17/4-2007

Super Bock Stout

Second bottle GR bought me from Lisbon:

• Name: Super Bock Stout, 5.0%, Portugal
  
• Appearance: Very dark brown, almost black. Dark head, not too much of it, though.
  
• Aroma: Roasted, burnt. Malt, some chocolate.
  
• Taste: Malty, a bit burnt. Bit boring, not much to it. Slightly bitter.
  
• Bought: Gift, 330 ml, €?.??
  
• Overall score: 3/6
  
• Info: 16/4-2007

Super Bock Abadia

Another beer-gift from GR, bought in a supermarket in Lisbon, Portugal.

• Name: Super Bock Abadia, 6.4%, Portugal
  
• Appearance: Redish golden brown. Little bit of head, very shortlived.
  
• Aroma: Malt, some fruit and caramel. Metallic?
  
• Taste: Malt and caramel, can notice the alcohol.
  
• Bought: Gift, 330 ml, €?.??
  
• Overall score: 3/6
  
• Info: 16/4-2007

St Austell Tribute

After drinking another St Austell HSD (part of the 3-pack GR got me), I had the third one as well:

• Name: St Austell Tribute, 4.2%, England
  
• Appearance: Copper brown. Little bit of shortlived head.
  
• Aroma: Malt and biscuits. Hops. Dark fruit.
  
• Taste: Bit of malt, quite bitter. Unpleasant aftertaste.
  
• Bought: Gift, 500 ml, £?.??
  
• Overall score: 2/6
  
• Info: 14/4-2007

Top 10 beers

Some people have asked me to create a top 10 list of the beers I have tasted, so here goes:

1. Westvleteren Abt (12)
2. O'Hanlon's Thomas Hardy's Ale
3. Trappistes Rochefort 6
4. Samuel Smith's Imperial Stout
5. Westmalle Dubbel
6. Chimay Bleue / Chimay Grande Reserve
7. Gouden Carolus (Classic)
   
8. Silly Double Enghien Blonde
9. Paulaner Salvator Doppelbock
10. Fuller's 1845

You will find a link to this list in the "Status" section.

St Austell Proper Job

Another beer gift from GR. Pack of three St Austell beers bought by him locally in Cornwall.

• Name: St Austell Proper Job, 5.5%, England
• Appearance: Dark golden. Huge amounts of head.
• Aroma: Very fruity, some hops. Bit of honey.
• Taste: Fruit and hops. Nice bitterness in aftertaste.
• Bought: Gift, 500 ml, £?.??
• Overall score: 3/6
• Info: 12/4-2007, 16/300M

Herold Bohemian Blond Lager

Bought from Kopparberg stand in farmers marked outside shopping centre in South-East London.

• Name: Herold Bohemian Blond Lager, 5.0%, Czech Republic
  
• Appearance: Pale golden. Little bit of head, more when warmer.
  
• Aroma: Some hops and malt. Standard lager.
  
• Taste: Malt and hops. Dry and bitter aftertaste.
  
• Bought: United Kingdom, 500 ml, £1.00
  
• Overall score: 2/6
  
• Info: 11/4-2007
  

Lindemans Cuvée René

• Name: Lindemans Cuvée René, 5%, Belgium
• Appearance: Cap&Cork. Dark yellow. Lots and lots of thick head. Cloudy. Some sediments.
• Aroma: Sour, winey. Lemons. Cork.
• Taste: Sour, lemony. Quenching. Dry.
• Bought: Beers of Europe, 750 ml, £4.29
• Overall score: 1/6
• Info: 11/4-2007, 167/500, 15/300M

Drinking with OKO in Norway

During Easter I managed to catch up with one my oldest and best friends, OKO. As proven by the below picture, we managed to get through 11 different beers, giving him a kick-start on his beer project:

• Budweiser Budvar x2
• Theakston Old Peculier
• Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier
• Innis & Gunn Oak Aged Beer
• Coniston Bluebird Bitter
• Meantime Coffee Beer
• Marston's Old Empire
• Peroni Nastro Azzurro
• Grimbergen Blonde
• Kronenbourg 1664 Blanc
• Westmalle Dubbel

McEwan's Champion Ale

• Name: McEwan's Champion Ale, 7.3%, England*
• Appearance: Dark redish brown. Not much head.
• Aroma: Quite malty. Dark fruit. Some chocolate.
• Taste: Malty, bitter and sweet. Fruit. Vinous.
• Bought: Tesco, 500 ml, £1.59
• Overall score: 4/6
• Info: 3/4-2007

* Changed from Scotland to England as per Ratebeer.com 2014-07.08

Girardin Gueuze Black Label 1882

• Name: Girardin Gueuze Black Label 1882, 5%, Belgium
  
• Appearance: Muddy orange. Fizzy. Quite a lot of head, shortlived.
  
• Aroma: Sour, some fruit. Apricot. Lemon.
  
• Taste: Very sour and quenching. Unfinished wine.
  
• Bought: Utobeer, 375 ml, £2.70
  
• Overall score: 1/6
  
• Info: 2/4-2007, 165/300, 20/100
  

Poperings Hommel Bier

• Name: Poperings Hommel Bier, 7.5%, Belgium
  
• Appearance: Dark orange, hint of brown. Lots of head. Cloudy, with sediments.
  
• Aroma: Hoppy. Flowers. Lemons?
  
• Taste: Fruity. Quite hoppy. Pretty bitter aftertaste.
  
• Bought: Beers of Europe, 250 ml, £1.25
  
• Overall score: 3/6
  
• Info: 1/4-2007, 166/500