It is time for Zurich Beer Tour's Top 3 beers for September & October 2021. We had some busy days in the last two months, so we decided to combine our monthly recommendations for September & October in one post, just like we did in March & April. Which means more tasty beers to look for. Simona's picks perfectly fit this time of the year, two super dark and boozy imperial stouts, that will warm up your cold autumn days. Sandro's top beers are once again on the paler side of beer, featuring a super tasty craft #lager and a beer that is probably Zurich's best #NEIPA. This month's staff picks are both from Denmark, as we spent a couple of days there and loved the local beer scene. One beer is a super complex old #ale and the other an amazingly tasty #mixed fermentation sour. Let's do this!
Simona's pick for September: Hop Hooligans & White Stork (RO & BG) - Caravanserai Port BA Imperial Stout
The Beer:
This collaboration brew by two of the best breweries in the Balkans is a super interesting imperial stout with several nice tweaks. This 13% beer was brewed with smoked #tea, which adds a smoky aroma to the roasty notes of the dark malts. It was then aged in port barrels for several months. This treatment added even more layers to this already complex beer, for example huge amounts of #oak and some subtle #port notes in the back. This amazing beer can be almost a bit overwhelming, but if you give the beer and your palate some time, they will become friends in the end.
The Brewery
Hop Hooligans: The guys from HH are a crazy bunch and so are their beers. Located in Jilava, #Romania they are brewing everything from super hoppy IPAs, sour beers with spruce tips to barrel aged #imperial stouts. They also run a taproom in #Bucharest which is totally worth a visit.
White Stork: This is a so called #contract brewery from Sofia, #Bulgaria. Being a contract (or gypsy, nomad, pirate) brewer means they do not own their own brewing equipment, they brew at other breweries. The brewery has made some awesome beers themselves and also some amazing collabs, like the one we recommend here. They also have their own #venue in Sofia, called White Stork Republic which a #taproom as well as an event location where not only beer #festivals take place but also concerts, markets and quiz nights.
Our food pairing recommendation:
On its own, nothing needs to be added to this beer.
Simona's pick for October: Soma Beer (ESP) - Chocoland Stout
The Beer:
This Imperial stout is brewed by SOMA, a brewery from Girona in #Catalunya. Chocoland was brewed with actual #cocoa beans. Reading this description you might think we are talking about a super sweet beer, but this is not the case. The 12.5% brew is heavy on dark #chocolate notes and some subtle coffee aromas on the finish. The beer pours thick like motor oil, and has a smooth and almost velvety mouthfeel. A real treat for chocolate and beer lovers alike.
The Brewery
The brewery from Girona usually focuses on hop forward beers, which are absolutely amazing. But with the #stout recommended here they show that it is also worth to try their other beer creations. Sadly, the brewery has no taproom yet, but there are several bars and shops where you can buy them all over #Girona and the rest of Catalunya.
Our food pairing recommendation:
Chocolate panettone
Sandro's pick for September: Fürst Wiacek (DE) - Berliner Landbier
The Beer:
Yes it is true, Sandro is actually going to recommend a lager beer to you. And it is even coming from the country that you would think of first when talking about lagers: #Germany. But the guys from Fürst Wiacek are not located in #Bavaria, and they are also not several centuries old. However, they brewed this fantastic lager beer called Berliner Landbier. #Landbier refers to a beer brewed with local ingredients, in this beer - German malt and hops were used. The beer was brewed using a technique called decoctation mash, which means that while the beer is #mashing (grains are steeped in hot water) parts of the liquid are removed, boiled and than added to the mash again. This results in a special malt characteristic that is typical for German or Czech style lagers (the famous Pilsner Urquell is an example of a beer brewed using this #technique). This results in a super nice and refreshing lager, that still has lots of nice malt aromas, it is the perfect beer to have several of in a #session. Prost!
The Brewery
As we mentioned above, Fürst Wiacek is not a traditional lager brewery from Bavaria. The brewery was founded by Georg and Lukasz in 2016 and is based in #Berlin. Even though they are a pretty new business, they have already become popular, especially for brewing amazing hazy IPAs, one of them even won the ratebeer.com top beer of Germany #award for 2020.
Our food pairing recommendation:
Spicy pulled pork baos
Sandro's pick for March: Bierlab (CH) - Clint Eastwood NEIPA
The Beer:
This beer is the newest take on the NEIPA beer style by our friends from Bierlab in #Zurich. This super juicy IPA was hopped with some of most popular hop varieties these days: Idaho-7, Sabro and Azacca. Clint Eastwood clocks in at 6.2% ABV and is super flavorful. On the nose you get delicious hop aromas of passion fruit, lychee and some dankness. On the palate, especially when the beer was first tapped, there was still some #hopburn, which means the hops from the dry-hop have not completely mellowed out and you can feel a slight bite on your tongue and palate (a lot of people dislike this, but Sandro is a big fan of this). Hopburn is something that only stays for a bit, so if you go and check this beer out now, it will probably have mellowed out and the beer will be way more #balanced.
The Brewery
Learn more about those guys in our recommendations blog from a while ago, where we already featured one of their beers. Check the post here.
Our food pairing recommendation:
Spicy thai curry
Zurich Beer Tour's pick for September: Amager Bryghus (DEN) - Patrizio The Persuasive Peacemaker Old Ale
The Beer:
This beer is dedicated to Patrizio Paccioretti, a man from a small town in #Michigan who became the bodyguard of a famous mobster in the 1930's. Patrizio, who everyone thought was Italian but actually had #Swiss roots, was known for two things: being a fantastic gunsman and loving himself some doppio malto beers. So this beer would be one that Patrizio would have loved, as it is as #malty as it gets. Another really complex and layered beer, featuring notes of chocolate, caramel and vanilla. The several months of barrel ageing in a bourbon #barrel added also notes of #whiskey and oak to the beer. Thanks Amager and Patrizio for brewing and inspiring this great beer.
The Brewery
Amager Bryghus was founded in 2007 by high school buddies Jacob and Morten, as they decided, that their #neighbourhood "Amager" in Copenhagen needed its own brewery. They didn't have a lot of money and also their ambitions were rather modest. They wanted to brew beer for Amager residents, but their first beer ever "accidentally" ended up on an American Top 50 best beers in the world list. From this point on they felt encouraged to brew even more and better beer. Now, 14 years later they are brewing beers for the more #traditional beer drinker, as well as more creative stuff, like Patrizio.
Our food pairing recommendation:
Roasted garlic and rosemary lamb shank
Zurich Beer Tour's pick for October: BrygBrygBryg (DEN) - Grand Cru 2 (2021) Sour
The Beer:
This beer is a mixed fermentation sour, brewed with passion fruit, gooseberry and cactus flower. Mixed fermentation means that the brewer used #Saccharomyces (brewer's yeast) and also #Brettanomyces (wild yeast), #Lactobacillus (lactic acid bacteria), and/or #Pediococcus (lactic acid bacteria). Mixed fermentation beers are known for having a higher acidity compared to other sour beers, like kettle sours for example, due to the production of lactic acid. Read more about sour beers in this blog article. This beer here is a good example for this style, really high acidity but at the same time really fruity and funky. The beer was exclusively brewed for the 1420 bar in #Copenhagen and is limited to just a few kegs and bottles, so if you want to taste it, better head to 1420 as fast as possible.
The Brewery
BrygBrygBryg is a brewery located in Skovlunde, Denmark, founded by Mikkel and Kenneth. Their love for beer started with a love for #sourdough and #fermentation in general. When they moved to Copenhagen, they found their passion for handcrafted beer. And until today they are doing everything by hand, using whenever possible only #organic and #local ingredients.
Our food pairing recommendation:
Green salad with passion fruit and goat cheese
These are our top beers for September & October. Which ones were your favorite brews these months? 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 November recommendations! Cheers, Your Zurich Beer Tour Guides
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