I recently drank a beer that was my go-to beer of choice for many years. That was before I knew anything about hops or had heard of beer styles like tripel, dunkelweizen or imperial IPA’s. Those days were before I worked in Belgium and discovered just how many great, flavourful beers exist in the world.
Finishing that beer was a struggle and I found it surprising just how much my beer preferences have changed over the years. Then I stopped to take a look at some of the beers I’ve stashed away or bought since I began enjoying craft beer (and good beer in general).
A collection of 5 somewhat “extreme” beers, ranging from 32% alcohol to 35 years old.
I don’t know where the line is in terms of pushing the envelope too far when it comes to beer styles and brewing. I do know that I haven’t yet tried a chipotle / hot pepper beer that I actually enjoyed. I also know that when a rauchbier, or smoky beer, tastes like you’re drinking an ashtray it’s probably too extreme as well.
There was the battle to brew the strongest beer in the world for a couple of years. Actually the quest continues on, but a few years ago a Scottish brewery and German brewery squared off. Somewhat gimmicky perhaps, but the passion and creativity in making these beers was undeniable. I bought one of them, a 32% beer called Tactical Nuclear Penguin, included in the picture above.
A 32% beer sounds pretty extreme, doesn’t it?
Westvleteren 12, or Westvleteren XII, one of the highest rated beers in the world
It was once the strongest beer in the world. It is still one of the strongest stouts in the world, but beers have now surpassed the 50% alcohol barrier. That’s pretty extreme.
Then there is the hoppiest beer battle. Some of them are like drinking liquid pine needles, some are so bitter and dry that you can only sip them. Many people say our palate can only handle so much bitterness, that brewing something beyond a certain threshold is pointless. But this battle for IBUs (International Bitterness Units) carries on.
Then there are other quests like limited-edition beers where people buy tickets to special events to buy a beer available for only one day a year. Events like Dark Lord Day and Zwanze Day come to mind, but there are many more.
How about old beers?
Cellaring beer is something that seems counter intuitive to most people, yet certain styles of beer were originally created centuries ago to age well during long voyages at sea. Other beers are bottle fermented, in that some yeast is left in the bottle, changing the complexity and flavour of the beer over time.
While I’ve aged beers for a handful of years, I recently went on a quest to see if I could find a beer older than I am. It was actually easier than I expected and not long after I had bottles of beer that were from 1992, 1978 and 1975. How crazy is that? Two of those beers are more than 35 years old!
A bottle of Courage Russian Imperial Stout from 1978
It’s possible some of those “extremely old” beers have been ruined over time, but it is also possible they’ll all be great. I recently cracked one open, the 1978 bottle, and it opened with a faint “pffft”, just like a brand new bottle of beer. It poured out flat looking and black like engine oil. It tasted unlike any beer, wine or other alcohol I’ve ever had, with such a complex range of flavours it was hard to believe.
The ever elusive whales.
To some beer enthusiasts rare, high quality beers may be called “whales”. An extreme type of term, signifying how big, or special such a beer may be. For the most part they are old vintages of beers, similar to the 1978 beer I had. The main factor in becoming a whale is that the beer must now be very hard to find. Again, it’s a bit of a gamble as some old whales can get oxidized and ruined over the years, ending up as big disappointments. But, for some people, that is part of the fun of collection, cellaring and storing beers.
Now, those three old beers I mentioned – from 1992, 1978, 1975 – cost less than half of what one bottle of the next beer cost. This beer, from the Boston Beer Company, is undoubtedly the most expensive beer in regular production.
Each year, this being the tenth year, a blend of aged beers is brought together to create the Sam Adams Utopias. It comes with it’s own special glass and drinks more like a whisky than a beer. You can usually only buy it by the ounce at bars, if you can find it. People who seek out an entire bottle have been known to pay $200-300 for it. That beer, and its special glass are on the left in the picture at the top of this post.
Paying $200 or more for a beer is pretty extreme too isn’t it?
Then there are other beers simply created for fun. Flavours ranging from bacon to seaweed to gummy bears and everything in between are fair game to brewers. Other beers, like the huge 3L bottle of Stone Double Bastard (also in the picture up top) are simply meant to be fun, a big bottle to be shared with friends.
And that is what all of this extreme brewing comes down to. It’s about having fun and appreciating good beer. Old beers, big beers, strange beers. There is no shortage of good beer out there. I know I’m happy to have had the chance to buy these handful of special, or extreme, ones myself and can’t wait to share them with some other beer loving friends.
I’ve known about the Beer Makes History Better tour for a number of years, but never had the timing right to join the tour myself, until recently.
Run by Tour Guys founder, and fellow beer lover, Jason Kucherawy, this isn’t your typical beer tour, it’s more of a light history tour of Toronto with beer stops thrown in. It’s actually a great mix of fun and learning, as everyone – tourists and locals – are bound to walk away with a few interesting tidbits of information on beer or Toronto.
St. Lawrence Market – a stop on the Beer Makes History Better tour
I have recommended this tour to friends visiting town many times, but always felt a bit guilty as I hadn’t done it myself. Well, now I can finally recommend this tour with confidence! Jason entertained us with Toronto beer history and Toronto city history, as well as teaching us all a bit about the styles of different beers.
Kicking off at the Hockey Hall of Fame, he impressed everyone with his top secret tip of how to spot the Stanley Cup, without having to pay to enter the Museum. (Take the tour to find out!) Then we moved on down the street towards the Flatiron building, learning about the history of Gooderham & Worts. Smartly, before we had to consume too much education, we were at our first pub for some beer consumption.
Yeast Farts and Alcohol Sweat at C’est What
Too much to choose from, the impressive C’est What beer Menu
As we perused the impressive list of local beers at C’est What, Jason gave us our first beer lesson. A quick recap of the difference between top fermented ales and bottom fermented lagers and a review of the beers on the menu. He put effort into trying to determine appropriate beers for each person’s tastes. As we began to enjoy our first drinks, Jason eloquently spoke about the key ingredients of beer, in particular yeast. As he put it, the yeast eats up the sugars in the beer, and farts out CO2 and sweats alcohol.
Bet you hadn’t quite thought of beer in that way before, huh?
We had some great discussions over the first beers, including talking about whether farming of certain grain crops was started to make bread, or actually started to make beer? Hmmm.
Beer + Mustard = Good Eats. Choosing some mustards at St. Lawrence Market.
As we moved on to our next stops, Jason pointed out some interesting parts of the city. Old water fountains with separate drinking bowls for humans, dogs and horses; and signs commemorating historic places of Toronto.
The LCBO and St. Lawrence Market
Buying beer in Ontario means one of two things – visiting the Beer Store or the LCBO. As our tour friends from Denmark, the US and UK listened on, Jason pointed out how the government controls most of our access to alcohol. In some ways, good, in other ways bad, we all agreed that at least it wasn’t as bad as it used to be – the original LCBO stores required you to have a liquor buying license and were not allowed to display any products in plain sight!
Getting the low down on the LCBO during the Beer Tour
Learning a little more about Toronto, as we meandered around St. Lawrence Market, the Beer Makes History Tour, took a beer break and we sampled some fine Niagara wines, local mustards and other treats. The market is really a must stop for anyone who is coming to Toronto, not just for the foodie aspect of today, but for it’s important role in the early days of Toronto.
Half Full, or Half Empty? Beer at Betty’s.
The Betty Ford Beer Connection
Munching on some nachos and enjoying some more local beers, our little tour group was gelling quite nicely, enjoying the casual vibe of Betty’s. This Toronto bar has quite a history to it apparently, as Jason was eager to point out. Most people found it quite amusing that the bar was originally named Betty Ford, but had to change their name for somewhat obvious reasons.
Betty’s is your typical neighbourhood dive bar. Nothing fancy, just comfy and simple. They do stand out though by offering a better selection of beer than most little bars.
Some Final Learnings and Final beers…
After a couple of hours, and a handful of beers, the last stop of the tour was in sight. We ventured towards the Distillery District and learned a little more about the Gooderham facilities and buildings that still stand today. We saw all the pipes that still connect the building, which one used to carry alcohol. It was a perfect place to end the tour, as we were now at the home of the Mill Street Brewpub, and new Mill Street Beer Hall.
Historic Distillery District in Toronto
After enjoying some final samples in the retail shop, our group split up. Some buying some Mill Street beers to take back home, and others stopping to enjoy a few final beers, and some food, at the Mill Street facilities.
The tour took just a little longer than 3 hours, but didn’t feel rushed at all. We had plenty of time to drink some beers at each stop and also take some photos and learn about the development and history of the city of Toronto. All around, probably the best walking tour I’ve done in the city!
Last year I wrote about the Evolution of Breweries in Torontoand how a handful of new brewers had popped up like Indie Alehouse and Bellwoods (named the 3rd best New Brewer in the World for 2012 by ratebeer.com). Those guys are all still doing great things, but the friendly competition has gotten even tougher since then.
It’s safe to say that the craft beer scene has been amped up big time, thanks to more new breweries and a huge influx of contract brewers. The established guys are, in some cases, now brewing so many contract beers that they’re running three shifts, brewing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Since the evolution began a couple of years ago, a few new twists have recently started to happen, which are making the Toronto beer scene even more exciting.
Maverick & Gose by Amsterdam & Great Lakes Breweries
Existing Toronto Breweries have Stepped up their Game
The biggest names here are Amsterdam Brewery and Great Lakes Brewery, which was recently named the best brewery in Ontario by ratebeer.com and 2013 Canadian Brewery of the Year at the Canadian Brewing Awards. They’re both pumping out one-off beers and limited edition beers on what seems a near-weekly pace. From Wheat Wines to Barrel-Aged Russian Imperial Stouts, it’s actually become impossible to keep up as a consumer – which is great! Amsterdam Brewery moved operations in the past year, and they have some big plans, including opening a new brewpub on the waterfront. Not to be outdone by these two brewers, Mill Street Brewery has also recently done an expansion in the Distillery District of Toronto, opening a Beer Hall and serving up Bierschnaps!
Invisible Contract Brews are more Common than Ever
With little risk and no overhead, utilizing the downtime at local breweries is a no-brainer for everyone in Toronto. I say invisible contract brews here, because I’m talking about beers with no store front, bar, distributed kegs or sales force. If you blink, you’ll miss their beer.
As long as a brewery has the capacity and staff on hand, they’re getting money to fund their own operations and growth plans from these invisible guys; while these little one-off contract brewers can focus on creating a unique beer with top quality ingredients for us – the consumers – to enjoy. It’s a win-win-win relationship! The best example of this is Radical Road and their Canny Man, a Barrel-Aged Scotch Ale. Radical Road doesn’t really exist anywhere except in the form of their bottles of beer. They’re a nano-brewery that got a product on the shelves of our provincially controlled liquor stores, the LCBO. That’s a pretty sweet feat!
Passion and Pride in Brewing
Something that has become apparent over the past year is that the Toronto beer scene is a tight one. The growing number of bars supporting craft beer, and brewers themselves, are all supporting each other. We’re even seeing the transformation of some stagnant sports bars into thriving, new havens for craft beer. People are literally excited to know what the ‘other’ guy is doing, as new ideas are sparking more interesting beers to show up in the marketplace. This passion has always been there, it’s just becoming more and more apparent to consumers now who are benefiting from more tap takeovers, tastings, beer events and overall access to craft beer around the city.
On the consumer side the most exciting change I’ve noticed over the past year is that people are talking about, and looking forward to, new local beers. A couple of years ago every craft beer drinker in Toronto would be lamenting about our lack of selection and how so many other cities in the US had it better than us. Not so much any more.
Left Field Brewery of Toronto, launched in 2013.
I know from experience that if you’re a day or two behind checking your Tweets or Facebook posts, you’re quite possibly going to miss out on the best, new Toronto beer as small batch brews are selling out the day they hit the shelves at local breweries. Fun times indeed.
More Collaboration Beers
An offshoot of the pride and passion is that brewers and breweries are teaming up more and more, to create unique collaboration beers. Amsterdam and Great Lakes recently came together to produce a gose beer, dubbed Maverick & Gose, a la Top Gun movie. A visit to beer bars around town and you’ll often see something from locals like Black Oak or House Ales that are mixing it up with brewers from outside Toronto or even beyond our borders, outside Ontario.
The fact that brewers from beyond are excited to work with the beer people in Toronto just goes to show how much excitement is coming out of the local beer scene.
The Quasi-Craft Movement
It was inevitable, as the craft beer scene has grown so fast around Toronto. The big guys want their piece of the action. To some, it’s sacrilege to drink anything from the big macro breweries, but I say try them all. Six Pints falls under this category and if the big guys have to set up new ‘craft beer’ companies to re-capture some of their sales, it’s fine by me – I’ll drink good beer from any brewery.
So Who are the Newest Breweries in Toronto?
Since last summer, the following breweries have come into existence. Some of them tiny operations that haven’t yet produced anything. Others are up and running with solid lineups of beers already on the market! Be sure to check them out…
Radical Road Brewing – mentioned earlier, this is a nano-brewery that has so far put out one stellar beer. Let’s just say if you like scotch, you’ll love their first beer.
Get Well Nano-Brewery – this Toronto bar started on the craft beer wagon and kept on rolling straight into their own nano-brewery! In similar fashion, The Only Cafe recently announced they’ll start up their own nano-brewing operation soon too.
Left Field Brewery – a smartly marketed baseball themed line-up of beers, which are tasty too. The high hopes of Blue Jays baseball in Toronto could help these guys soar to success.
Liberty Village Brewery– I got turned on to these guys when I saw they were experimenting with a Gummy Beer. Yes, a beer brewed with gummy bears! How cool is that? Sadly, no they did not decide to go with this beer at their official launch party.
Shacklands Brewing – These guys kind of caught me by surprise. They contract brew at Junction Craft and have gotten their initial beers into a few good bars around town like Bar Volo and Bryden’s.
The Only Cafe Nano-Brewery – what, another nano-brewery? yes! One of the finest beer bars in Toronto is also getting into the brew scene. They’ve grown and are taking beer even more seriously, with an ageing cellar and expanded tap list. Once just a dive bar with good beer, this is a now a true craft beer destination. No in-house beers yet, but coming soon.
Six Pints Beer Academy – this is the new craft beer arm of Molson Coors. Don’t let that scare you though, it’s a cool place that is brewing some tasty beers. Perhaps not as adventurous as many others, but they are worth keeping an eye on.
Look for beers from these new guys, as they’ll be showing up at more and more bars, or on the LCBO shelves, in coming months and don’t forget about the six other new brewers in Toronto that I wrote about last year!
Craft beer in South America isn’t anything new. When I was in Argentina in 2004 there were microbrews as far south as Ushuaia and I sampled some craft beer in Sucre, Bolivia back in 2007. But when I first passed through Peru there wasn’t much to get excited about.
Thankfully Peru is catching up to some of their South American neighbours, albeit on a small scale. The beer of dominance today is Pilsen, while Cristal is pretty much everywhere as well. Interestingly, the beer that was everywhere last time I visited (Cusquena) is still popular but has branched out offering more unique styles and seems positioned as a higher-end brew now.
Dragon’s Palate in Cusco is one place that serves up good food, and their own Microbrews
As with my Craft Beers of Ecuador post, I’ll break things down for Peru in terms of mass-produced popular beers and the harder to find, locally brewed craft beers. While it isn’t so easy finding some of these brews the good news for beer lovers is that more craft, artesanal brewers are popping up in Peru. Lima, Cuzco and even Iquitos have some locally available (but still hard to find) beers. In time, hopefully craft beer will become more common in this South American country.
Popular Beers in Peru
These are the beers you’ll see on t-shirts or find in virtually any bar in Peru, they’re pretty much all pale looking lagers, with the exception of some of the more recent adventurous offerings from Cusquena. SABMiller owns a bunch of the most popular Peruvian breweries.
A 1.1L bottle of Pilsen Callao
Pilsen Callao from Backus y Johnston (SABMiller)
Straw lager taste, a light flavourless brew. That’s about all you need to know. Apparently the most popular brew in Peru at the moment (although similar claims are made by Cristal), it’s also the watery-est and dullest of the bunch. Officially, it’s supposedly a maltier beer by style, by it fails in this regard. The 1.1L bottles that are popular for sharing are fun, but lower your expectations to appreciate this generic brew. If you somehow really like the taste of this, then you’ll love Cristal.
Pale yellow, lifeless looking beer that has no head retention. At best it is an easy to drink grainy lager that is best served ice cold in the heat of the sun. Aroma is corn, soap, fermented something. Taste is light, mild sour, blandness. It’s just nothing really…flavoured water with some alcohol added. I’d say it is worse than Pilsen, hmm perhaps…hard to gauge the difference. They’re both painfully non-de-script lagers, the type of cheap beers most backpackers and travellers consume in vast quantities, then suffer the consequences for the next day. But hey…at less than half the price of a good beer, like Norton Porter, I can’t fault the budget beer drinkers.
Cusquena Premium, the first Peru beer I had years ago
Cusqueña Premium from Cervecera del sur del Peru (SABMiller)
Last time I was in Peru, this was ‘the’ beer. Things have changed and Cusquena isn’t the Everyman beer. The beer itself though hasn’t seemingly changed, so it seems that it’s just been a marketing shift in beer consumption in Peru. Insights aside, this beer is a decent brew for a pale yellow lager. Grainy? A bit. Flavour? A bit. Drink it cold…the one I had in the snow at home in Canada was better than the ones in warmer weather in Peru.
A non-SABMiller brew! Ajeper is a small multi-national beverage company and it seems their beers are a little better than some – on par with Cusquena anyways. This beer has an almost headless pour with a wafting smell of grainy wheat and sourness. Not promising. Pale yellow straw colour, this beer is unfortunately another generic brew. The especial/export label does nothing to help it. I had hoped for this to be a fine lager, but it tastes muted, a mild flavour of grains with little substance. Another forgettable Peruvian beer, but not as bad as Cristal or Pilsen Callao.
Great looking bottle, first impression is promising. Damn! It’s a light grainy lager again! I don’t have to pour this one out of the bottle to know it is likely pale yellow in colour. It’s not ‘as’ grainy as some, and is decently drinkable. I wouldn’t say it is a ‘Cerveza premium’ as the bottle states but I’d put it closer to the top of widely available Peruvian beers. Overall aroma is sweet corn and grain, a bit sugary. Taste is also grains, but a bit sweet. Abrupt, dry finish leaves you craving more flavour, as there isn’t much of it here. I put this in the league of Heineken- an over marketed, under delivering brew. Rant aside, drink this before the other big beers of Peru if given a choice.
That covers the main ‘big’ beers I had in Peru. I didn’t sample everything the country has to offer, but it’s a solid run down of what to expect. Now, on to the more adventurous macro brews. In terms of South American offerings, you could almost call these craft beer. They all have distinct flavours and styles, beyond your pale lagers.
Cusquena De Trigo, a wheat beer!
Cusqueña De Trigo from Cervecera del sur del Peru (SABMiller)
A wheat beer in Peru? This pleasant surprise wasn’t the easiest to find, but was worth the effort. Medium opaque-murkiness it’s a light orange colour. A local could mistake this for looking like chicha if it weren’t for the monstrous amount of foamy head you get while pouring. Aroma was a little grainy and typical lager yeast, not so wheaty. But the flavour was wheat beer and quite refreshing. Nothing outstanding but high marks for Peru, I would happily drink this simple wheat beer again.
Apu Cerveza de Coca from Backus y Johnston (SABMiller)
You can’t go tp peru without giving in to the coca plant hype. Chew coca leaves, drink coca tea…or drink coca beer! Very light colour with a hazy translucent look. It has a huge smell of lemons, looking and smelling like lemonade. It’s easy to drink but has an odd spiciness alongside that zesty lemon. It really doesn’t taste like a beer, but more an alcoholic juice. You would liken it to a Radlermass beer I guess, but with more of an edge. It’s actually better than what I expected…although tastes nothing like what I expected. Best part of the beer is that the label calls it a ‘smart drink’! It’s worth a try for novelty sake, but far from a good beer.
Cusqueña Malta from Cervecera del sur del Peru (SABMiller)
This black beauty is a schwarzbier and is sweet and malty as the name would suggest. One of the darkest beers I had in Peru. It was sugary and a bit syrupy but not so bad overall. There is definitely more complexity of taste to this than your common lagers. It is a beer that you can enjoy while dining on Alpaca steak! But not the most session-able brew. Decent finish, no real lingering after-taste aside from some caramel flavour. All around, a decent effort and beer.
Cusqueña Red Lager from Cervecera del sur del Peru (SABMiller)
This beer is actually a golden orange colour, not quite red or amber. The taste is fresh and mildly sweet. A bit grainy but not like most Peruvian lagers. Expect a big frothy head during the pour. This one falls in the middle of the pack in terms of quality and taste. It’s far better than the light lagers, but not nearly as good as the craft beers. If you’re looking for a bit of flavour without having to pay more for your beer in Peru, this is a decent option. Definitely passable and above average for Peru. Has a light, pleasant finish, a bit wet not dry.
Now for the good stuff! These are, in my opinion, the best beers in Peru. Contrary to popular belief, it is possible to find craft beer in Peru, in particularly around the main square in Cuzco and also in Lima. As I didn’t have time to explore Lima on my recent trip, I’ll focus on sharing the craft beers I had in Cuzco.
Nortons Pale Ale – Looks like swamp water, but tastes good
Nortons Pale Ale at Norton Rat’s Tavern in Cusco
This was the first pint I had in Peru. Yes – a pint, not a bottle of beer! Unfiltered beer I assume. It looked like some kind of orange-brown cloudy Metamucil drink and had a slight sediment left in the bottom of the pint glass. Taste was nice and crisp though. An ever so slight bitterness lingers at the end, while the smell was fresh, a bit fruity and sweet. It is not like any pale ale I’ve seen before but the taste is similar. By Peruvian standards, delicious. This beer was the first time I tasted any hint of bitterness and hops in a beer in Peru. Norton Rat’s Pub has only started brewing their own beers somewhat recently, and while they may not blow you away, they are leaps and bounds better than the light lagers you get used to in South America.
Snortin Norton Porter at Norton Rat’s Tavern in Cusco
My favourite Norton beer. It’s a shame that so many beer drinkers may pass through Peru without realizing well-crafted, tasty beers exist here!
A good beer, wit ha great name – Snortin Norton Porter
There was a definite coffee aroma to this dark, but not black beer. It had a different colour for a porter. It was dark, but with a more brown than black colour. Aside from that it was a joy to drink. Light on the lips it was a bit watery upfront but quickly delivered on coffee and toffee flavours. It had a fairly long lasting dry finish too. From wet to dry it’s a nice effort for a porter beer. The clingy light brown head is evidence that it’s been brewed with passion, or at least quality ingredients. No evident sediment in this brew, unlike their Pale Ale.
Nortons Brown Ale, ok, but could be better
Nortons Brown Ale at Norton Rat’s Tavern in Cusco
A bit dark inside the bar so the colour was hard to distinguish. Definitely a darkish beer but can’t tell how ‘brown’ it is. Aroma was wet, not so strong. Trying to discern this beers characteristics was tougher than their other two brews I had. Taste was a brown ale though. They did get the core elements of that right. A bit of molasses flavour but quite mild. As this beer warmed up, it’s flavours and aromas became more pronounced. So after 1/2 a pint we’ve got a sugary smelling brew that has a medium mouth feel and moderate caramel molasses flavour profile, with a hint of nut or nutmeg flavour. It is far from a light lager, yet fails a bit as everything was just slightly underwhelming with this. A brown ale, or even a nut brown ale, could work so well with the natural ingredients found in Peru…this one needs to be tinkered with, nice but this was my least favourite Nortons brew.
Dragon’s Tears, a tasty American Pale Ale
Dragon’s Tears at Dragon’s Palate in Cusco
Not only did this fun place have good beer, they had good food too! With a little beer garden area, it’s a great spot and right beside a good bakery too. When I visited they didn’t have their Dragon’s Breath Honey Pilsner or Dragon’s Blood Nut Brown beers available, so I got their American Pale Ale, called Dragon’s Tears. The beer poured a mildly opaque yellow-orange colour with a decent amount of sticky head. Good amount of bitterness to this brew. It smelled crisp as well, with a lemon citrus freshness to it. Does not look nor smell like a beer from Peru. It drinks easily with a nice, long finish that leaves a bit of a sour grapefruit, bitter hop flavour in your mouth. Overall, my favourite beer in Peru.
There you go, a run down of 13 beers from Peru. Hopefully on your journey to Peru you’ll be able to sample something beyond Cristal, Pilsen and Cusquena.
Anyone who has seen a beer from Sri Lanka has likely seen the Sinha Stout, also called Lion Stout.
It is by far the most exported Sri Lankan beer and is considered to be a world-class stout. Along with the milder Lion Lager, these two beers make up the vast majority of Sri Lankan brews to be found outside Sri Lanka.
Enjoying some Lion Lager with some spicy food in Bentota, Sri Lanka
But there are plenty of other options to enjoy locally, if you find yourself in Sri Lanka and want to look hard enough! I’ve compiled this little list of my 9 best beers from Sri Lanka. Yes, Sinha Stout was my favourite at #1, but there were a lot of other good beers I sampled from this small island nation.
Why is this post titled 8.8 Beers in Sri Lanka?
Well, therein lies the great beer mystery of Sri Lanka. I have pondered this many times and my guide in Sri Lanka wasn’t able to effectively answer it either. You see, Sinha Stout is brewed at 8.8% alcohol – a nice, strong stout. On its own that is not mysterious. But the more beer you drink in Sri Lanka, the deeper the beer mystery becomes.
Oddly 5 of the 9 beers on this list from Sri Lanka are 8.8% alcohol. That seems like a rather strange number for so many beers, especially considering I rarely find an 8.8% beer outside of Sri Lanka. There is also one beer at 8.0% and two at 4.8%. It seemed the number 8 is quite prevalent in Sri Lankan beers.
A sampling of the Best Beers of Sri Lanka. Notice all the 8.8% labels?
The sole beer I enjoyed that is on this list and didn’t have an 8 in it was 7.5%. So this 8.8% mystery remains unsolved. I figure that 8 is simply a lucky number in Sri Lanka and somehow it has permeated through the beer drinking culture of the country? Do you know the reason for such brewing numbers?
Mystery aside, let’s get on to the beer rankings from Sri Lanka!
Best Beers of Sri Lanka:
#9 – Lion Strong Beer. 8.8%. A yellow, strong pilsner-like brew. Not my favourite, but drinkable.
#8 – Baron’s Strong Brew. 8.8%. Grainy and malty, a bit rough. Now brewed in Singapore.
#7 – Carlsberg Special Brew. 8.8%. Pretty much the same as Lion Strong Beer taste-wise.
#6 – Grand Blonde. 8.8%. Clear gold beer, with alcohol burn but a bit smoother than some.
#5 – Three Coins Lager. 4.8%. ‘The ‘all malt beer.’
The beer world in Sri Lanka has changed a bit since my visit. That Bison beer that used to be ‘only’ 8.0% is now….surprise, surprise, 8.8%! My beloved Three Coins beers are also now mostly retired, or not currently being brewed by the new company that owns them.
Not to fret though, whether it be lagers, stouts or strong ales that you desire, there are plenty of beers left to go around in Sri Lanka.
