Beer we go, beer we go
The Publican's blind beer taste test pitted lagers (or the closest we could find to lager) from each country competing in Euro 2004 - with surprising results.
Pubs across the land have been ringing with the sound of wailing and gnashing of teeth as fans get used to Sven's squad for Euro 2004.
"Emile Heskey?! You're joking, bloody nancy boy can't stay on his feet."
"Phil Neville? Can't play football..."
"Gary Neville? Well he's a Manc innit?"
"Ledley King?! Jamie Carragher?!!!!!..."
Friends, friends, calm yourselves and take your mind off such worries. Instead we invite you to look at a competition that took place on a tense, muggy afternoon in May, played out right here in The Publican offices. It is a competition that few can enter - there was no Stella Artois, no Harp and no Krakus Zywieck.
Yes, it was The Publican Euro 2004 beer competition.
We took a lager (or the closest we could find to a lager) from each country competing in Euro 2004 and had a blind-tasting session.
Using the same format as Euro 2004, each lager was placed in one of four groups of four.
All the beers were tasted and given marks out of 10. The top two scoring beers in each group went through to quarter-finals with knockout tastings taking place until we found our winner.
And before anyone gets the hump about the results and wants to protest, let me assure everyone: the tastings were completely blind. One thing I will concede is that some countries don't import as much lager into the UK as others - so this may have hindered the results of a couple of countries.
The judges' brief was to find the best lager to drink for Euro 2004, to find a beer that had nice balanced flavour and was easily drinkable. Complex, intricate flavours were not the order of the day.
Group A
- Portugal: Sagres (SCC brewery 5.1%)
Tasting notes: "Fruity nose, hint of banana, a bit too dry on the finish." - Greece: Mythos (Mythos breweries 5%)
Tasting notes: "Quite bitter for a lager... sharp but refreshing." - Spain: San Miguel (HP Bulmer 5%)
Tasting notes: "Floral nose with a very smooth finish... fruity, balanced and very drinkable." - Russia: Nevskoe (Vena brewery 5%)
Tasting notes: "Clean and full of flavour but with a short finish... deceptively strong taste."
Results:
San Miguel from Spain and Russia's Nevskoe stormed through as qualifiers from the opening group. Hosts Portugal found the pressure too hard to handle while Greece failed to compete up front with Russian strength and Spanish class. San Miguel's stronger finishing power saw it squeak through as the group winner.
Group B
- France: Kronenbourg 1664 (Scottish Courage 5%)
Tasting notes: "Nutty with a good body... pleasingly bitter... a bit soapy." - England: Carling (Coors brewers 4.1%)
Tasting notes: "Would be refreshing on a hot day... a bit chewy and frothy." - Switzerland: Hürlimann (Shepherd Neame 4.8%)
Tasting notes: "Fruity smell... hint of boiled sweets and quite malty... wheaty." - Croatia: Old Bohemian (Daruvarska 5%)
Tasting notes: "Very hoppy and quite bitter... wouldn't chose this to cool me down on a hot day in June."
Results:
A disaster for all English hopes and dreams as Carling crashes out at the first stage. The more fruity and wheaty notes of Hurlimann won the judges' approval, while there was a surprisingly strong performance by Kronenbourg, which saw the French squeak through at the expense of the Croatian. The Old Bohemian lacked the armoury to fully refresh the palettes of the judges.
Group C
- Sweden: Spendrups Export (Spendrups brewery 5%)
Tasting notes: "Caramel overtones but it lacks kick... starts well but doesn't quite hit the back of the net." - Bulgaria: Zagorka special (Zagorka 5%)
Tasting notes: "Fruity on the nose but gets a bit too bitter... not lagery enough for me!" - Denmark: Carlsberg export (Carlsberg 5%)
Tasting notes: "Very malty... I could dab this under my chin before going out at night... fruity without being sweet." - Italy: Nastro Azzuro (Peroni 5.2%)
Tasting notes: "Has a southern European feel, reminds me of olive groves... spicy, could grow on you."
Results:
The battle of the two Scandinavian giants Sweden and Denmark proved a highpoint of the group stages and it was the Dane, with a set-up harking back to the glory days of the 1986 World Cup side containing Elkjaer-Larsen, Olsen and the Laudrup brothers, that won through. However, it was the Italian, all smooth taste with that hint of something more potent that led the way.
Group D
- Czech Republic: Budweiser Budvar (Budvar brewery 5%)
Tasting notes: "Amazing colour and lots of flavour... very fruity with an almost orange zest taste to it." - Latvia: Porteris (Alderis brewery 6.8%)
Tasting notes: "Very strong, coffee flavour... too much flavour really." - Germany: Holsten Pils (Holsten brewery 5.2%)
Tasting notes: "A chocolatey and nutty aroma... if you closed your eyes you would think it was a stout." - Holland: Heineken (Heineken 5%)
Tasting notes: "A very mainstream feel but quite fruity... decent solid taste but no real finish."
Results:
The group of death! Three giants of the beer world and a dark horse from Latvia: who would triumph? The Latvian suffered from having a beer that offered a bit too much flavour. The strength of the porter was just too much for our lager lovers. One of the favourites, Budvar from the Czech Republic, proved to be the class act of the field and qualified with ease. And so it was that it came down to the clash between Germany and Holland - two age-old enemies head to head. The judges chose Heineken's balanced flavour over the sweeter notes of the Holsten.
Quarter-Final 1: San Miguel vs Kronenbourg
Battle of the two ScotCo brewed-under-licence titans. But for drinkability and the fruity undertones (it's always the fruit) the Spaniard wins the day comfortably - the French are out!
Quarter-Final 2: Hürlimann vs Nevskoe
The dark horse from Russia continues to impress with its hard-working fulsome flavour. The Shepherd Neame-brewed Hürlimann throws all it can at Nevskoe, with its fruity notes on the finish, but to no avail. For the Swiss brew, the tournament, which promised so much, is over.
Quarter-Final 3: Nastro Azzuro vs Heineken
A classic encounter between two technical experts. There is little to choose between the pair but that little extra fruitness and hint of spice gives the Italian an early advantage. It is however, Heineken's fatal lack of finishing power that sees it go down after extra (deliberation) time.
Quarter-Final 4: Budvar vs Carlsberg
A clash of two brewing giants is closer than expected with the imperious Czech underperforming. The Dane is punching well above its weight and takes a shock early lead in the scoring. However, the Czech flavour rediscovers its rhythm and depth and comes back to win by the odd score in thre
