It is time for Zurich Beer Tour's Top 3 beers for May 2021, again a bit late, busy drinking all those beers. Simona decided to feature a really special beer from her home country #Bulgaria. Sandro's top beer for May is a Triple IPA from a #UK brewery that we have never featured before. This month's staff pick is a heavy stout coming from one of our all time favorite breweries in the world and was brewed to celebrate their #birthday. Let's do this!
Simona's pick: Sofia Electric Brewing (BG) - Holy Kozunak Sour Ale
The Beer:
This beer was inspired by the traditional Orthodox Easter bread "kozunak" which is rich in eggs, milk and butter. This sweet bread is typical for a lot of countries from the #Balkan region, like in Bulgaria where the brewers of this beer are located. It was brewed with lactobacillus for sourness, #lactose to add sweetness and a creamy body and even with kozunak itself for obvious reasons. We have to say, the brew really reminds us of a liquid form of #kozunak dough, well done!
The Brewery:
Sofia Electric is based in the capital of Bulgaria: #Sofia. The brewery was founded in 2018 and started fermenting their first beers in #2020. The founder Simeon Parvanov was later joined by a new head brewer Remy Chaloner. They believe that good beer is a human right. Having had a couple of their brews, we have to say, even though they started just about a year ago, Sofa Electric is in our top 3 of the country’s best breweries.
Our food pairing recommendation:
Tough one here... maybe Kozunak?
Sandro's pick: S43 (ENG) - ThreeFold Triple IPA
The Beer:
This beer is a Triple IPA with 10% ABV from the UK that was brewed only using hop strains from #NewZealand. This is nothing new as nowadays hops from NZ are very popular. But the guys from S43 did not use one or two, they used 6 different strains. Nelson Sauvin, Riwaka, Waiti, Motueka, Moutere and Ekuanot make this #TIPA a tropical fruit bomb: mango, pineapple and even some white grapes. A full and creamy body and a hint of bitterness finish off a beer with a surprisingly high #drinkability.
The Brewery:
S43 stands for Sonnet 43 - a name inspired by the Victorian poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning, who was born and raised in Coxhoe, County Durham, #England where this brewery is located. They started in 2012, focusing on British style #cask ales. In 2015 they noticed that their #palettes had changed a bit and started producing hop forward beers like the one we have here.
Our food pairing recommendation:
Baked #Pork Tenderloin with Apples and Plums
Zurich Beer Tour's pick: Fierce Beer - Bourbon Maple Very Big Moose
The Beer:
V.B.M. stands for #VeryBigMoose. This beer was originally part of world famous brewery #BrewDog's collab fest. For this event every single one of BrewDog's #pubs collaborates with a local brewery, the brewed beers would then be poured in all BrewDog pubs #worldwide and the customer can vote for the #winner. The team of BrewDog Aberdeen chose to collaborate with Fierce Beer who are also from Aberdeen. And what can we say, V.B.M. won the contest. This 2021 version of the famous 12% ABV stout was released to celebrate the 5. Birthday of Fierce. It already exists in versions brewed with #maple syrup OR aged in #bourbon barrels. But this #birthday beer combines both in one can. An amazing and flavorful stout, maple, chocolate, coffee, oak, whiskey and so much more. Another sensation by Fierce.
The Brewery:
You can find out more about the brewery in this blog article.
Our food pairing recommendation:
Nothing, this beer is fantastic on its own.
These are our three beers for May. Which ones were your favorite brews this month? Tell us in the comments!
Are you looking for more personalized recommendations, that are made to fit your taste? Check our Pocket Beer Sommelier.
Stay tuned for our June recommendations!
Cheers,
Your Zurich Beer Tour Guides
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