BEER BREWING IN EUROPE
By: Josh Collier
Beer brewing in Europe still exists as a serious traditional business. For many centuries, Europe has been a chief authority in brewing this widespread beverage. There are quite a few countries that have brewed their own beers with very many different states ranging from mexico’s many light beers to Germany’s lagers.Maintaining the characteristic of centuries-old recipes, brewers understand keeping to the traditional ways of brewing is better than trying to create something totally new. They think if its not broken no need to fix it. Even though there are some brewers in Europe that do like to experiment, most believe this should be left to the Americans as they are more of the risk taker types.
As a way to preserve the European beer culture, quite a few countries have gotten together and created organizations such as the European Beer Consumers’ Union. The three founding members of the EBCU, which was founded in 1990 in Bruges are: Campaign for Real Ale of Great Britain, Objectieve Bierproevers of Belgium and PINT of the Netherlands. These all which sound like some type of facebook groups, are legitimate one with twelve countries as members: the above three, plus Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and France.
The objectives are simple: keep the European beer culture going strong, its traditions, beer brewing and breweries; support the consumption of traditional beers; promote time-honored beers; and epitomize European drinkers in a push for choice, quality and value. You may assume this is the only European beer organization, but you would be wrong.. Others include the British Guild of Beer Writers, the Guinness 1759 Society, and the Brothers of Beer.
The repeated manufacturing of traditional beers have furthered an innovation to its traditional impression: beer tours. Founded in 1998, Beertips.com,promotes many beer-tasting events in countries like Belgium, France, England, Germany and Austria. Are you a person that is interested in tasting some of the best german beers, there is a 10-day tour of Munich’s Fruhlingsfest and Bavarian Country Breweries. A special favourite is the Scotland tour, which has many fine distilleries and brewers. Check the website for information.
It seems that each country has one type of beer that is preferred and there brewers focus on. In Ireland, they love their stout beers and that is what they stick to. Stout is thick and weighty, with an earthy, ample-bodied taste. Even though they do brew some ales and lagers their main focus and area of expertise is on beers especially Guinness. In 1759 Arthur Guinness opened the Guinness brewery. The traditional beer was quite bitter and strong.
The most popular beer of choice in spain is the lager. Spanish lagers are a tad stronger than other countries’ lager beers. The Extra and Especial are two of their most popular beers. The Extra is a pale lager while the Especial is a light pilsner beer.
Alas, until just a short time ago, Sweden really had no beer offerings. Their people have choked and sputtered for more to quench their thirst, with no real solution. History aside, it was the strictly-controlled policies for beer brewing that exhausted this country’s brewers. Because Sweden joined the European Union in 1995, its regulations have grown more tolerant and the country has transformed itself from a desert to a alive and ever growing beer culture. Since Sweden imports so much beer from other countries their have been many brewers popping up that are trying to not only make a buck but get Sweden on the map as beer goes. How better to realize a beer identity than to try many things to see what works on behalf of the people of the country?
Holland still remains the sole producer of one type of beer: Bierbok. A good kind of this type of beer is hard to brew. A 16th century beer, Bokbier, from Bavaria has really endured and been bettered. It is dark in colour, sweet on the tongue with a mixture of bittersweet flavours, such as licorice, raisins, toffee, coffee, and chocolate. These are surprisingly the flavors not the ingredients. It is very close to malt beverage because the alcohol content is so high from 6.5 to 8%.
When applied to beer brewing, the past and tradition are not inevitably dusty, boring or uninteresting akin to old history books or papers. Quite a few years ago, beer was an invention in development; it was up-to-the-minute and ever-changing. Beer brewing traditions live on and attractdrinkers because of the great tastes developed over centuries, not in spite of times past and tradition.
The author is of http://rapidbartender.com.
