July 2007 Archives

Being that Malta really is a warm country, it makes sense that birra such as Lagers and Pils are produced as it better suits the climate. Ales, on the other hand 'generally' suit the cooler climates. However after having the above
Hopleaf Pale Ale, I was impressed at just how good an ice-cold Pale Ale can be.

Initial impressions of the birra were of the lovely bronze colour (especially when compared to other Maltese Birra), and the hoppy and almost toffee like fragrance.

The flavour was quite had a contrast of almost spicy hops and a sweet, biscuit like charm to it. It was not heavily carbonated, almost like a Kilkenny. Whilst I enjoyed this, it just didn't have the refreshing properties of the Cisk. Still it was worth drinking it, so I'm giving this 4 steins:

..... oh and I was experimenting with my exposure settings, hence the 'different' picture above

As I mentioned the other day I spent the other weekend in Malta and I tried a few of the local birra. This is just another photo of the previously discussed the Cisk, this is just another photo, of a can (or 'tinny') on the beach.

As a reminder, I loved this lager and I gave it 5 steins:

#Update#
I've also submitted this photo to the recent Photo Friday challenge, Vacation. What better way to indicate a vacation, but a cold beverage, sand, sun an the sea in Malta.

If you are visiting from Photo Friday, be sure to check out the rest of Bier Adventures and it's partner site, Urban Atrophy.

I took a few extra days off last week and made myself a 'long weekend' in which I visited the beautiful Island of Malta. The island is dripping with history and culture, which was surprising for somewhere that is 35 Kilometers in diameter. What was even more surprising for me was the quality of the local birra there.

Above is my first of what was to be many Cisk birra. Cisk is a local lager of stupendous quality. In Australia, where I spent my formative years, most beers are of the lager variety and to be honest, are really lacking in quality. Therefore my opinion of lagers was shaped with a certain lack of respect for the cold-gold beers. So I was dumbfounded to find a mass produced lager that really hit a specific note with me.

Cisk is your typical gold, served extra-cold, bottom-fermented lager. But the flavour does not border on boring, but more towards brilliance. It has the depth and malty flavours of most lagers, but rounds in a slight fruity taste which certainly compliments the Maltese environment (which I might add averages 30 degrees during July). You can drink this in the morning (I did), afternoon or evening and it goes down easier than any lager I've ever had.

Having said all of that, this birra is without question a 5 stein winner. In fact this is my first non-weizen birra to be awarded the top award.

If you ever get the chance to have this surprising birra, grab a case or two, you wont regret it.
Ohh and I'll have more photos of this birra in different locations over the coming days.

As I mentioned in my last entry, I spent the weekend of July 6th-8th '07 in Trier, Bastogne and Luxembourg. Whilst in Trier I managed to try a new Hefeweizen (auf Deutsch), the Pschorr Bräu from München.

I'm starting to find myself becoming increasingly subjective in my recent trials of different weizen. It is so far my favourite style of bier and everyone I try opens my mind, but also forces me to become increasingly focused on the ones I like. The problem is that when you like one type of bier you tend to rather not waste your money on a risky bier, especially when there is a good or even great bier residing as it's neighbour.

Still this recent Bräu was good. It had the typical body of a good weizen, without being to gassy or lacking the caramel and banana after taste. I really liked this, but it's not quite a 5 steins bier... yet. So I have to give it 4:

On another note, a commenter 'Alex' has left the following link to another Bier Adventurer, russa0@gmail.com. So have a look at his video of biers he has consumed:

Secondly, I've recently visited Malta and will be posting some biers from there soon.

I spent the last weekend (July 6th-8th '07) in Trier, Bastogne and Luxembourg. Was a great road trip!

Anyway, I'll start with the last beer I had (above). The 'pint' (yes thats what they called it?) of Diekirche is a Pils from the 'Brasserie de Luxembourg Mousel Diekirch' brewery.

As far as pils go, this is no comparison to an Urquel or even some of the German Pils. It wasn't completely flat on flavour & did have some hoppy tones, but generally I just didn't enjoy drinking it. Which is surprising seeing that Luxembourg is surrounded on two sides by the Belgians and Germans??

Therefore I give this a 2 Steins