Imperial

Brand: Imperial

Country of origin: Costa Rica

Alcohol: 4.6% vol/ 350ml

Type: Lager?

Had before: yes

So this is my first "while away" review. I'm currently sitting on my hotel room balcony enjoying the most popular beer in Costa Rica, Imperial. They don't export this beer out of the country, to Canada at least, so you will have to travel here to enjoy it. Something I strongly recommend! It is a beautiful county and it is a beautiful Cerveza (Spanish for beer). It reminds me of the taste of Moosehead from back home, it's refreshing and flavorful. Mild  aftertaste, but unlike some other beers, the aftertaste does not taste much different from the initial drink.

This beer is brewed strictly from malt, grains and hopps, probably my favorite combination of ingredients for a refreshing beer.

In Costa Rica, they call it the beer of adventure, and I have to agree. After our white water rafting trip,  they had ice cold Imperials waiting for us and there could not have been a more refreshing moment. The trend continued as well. After a long rainforest hike, another delicious one was waiting for me.

Even if adventure isn't your thing, there is beauty in this beer. Sitting on a balcony watching a family of Howler Monkeys, as I am doing right now, is a perfect time to enjoy ths beer.

Delicious and refreshing, it's worth the trip to Costa Rica to try Imperial. As they say here, "Puta Vida!"

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Brand: Stiegal
4.9% alc/vol 500ml
Country of origin: Austria
Type: not exactly sure (Lager?)
Previously had? No

For this review, I thought I would try a beer that's new to me. Stiegal comes from Salzburg Austria, and is brewed from a receipt believed to date back to the 1400's. Traditional brewing techniques in this area are to use only Barley, Hops and Mountain spring waters which gives the beer (or bier) a nice, lighter and fresh taste.

Personally, I find the taste of this beer to be very mild, smiler to a few of the more popular lagers. There is mild to no aftertaste, which would make this beer appealing to those (like my darling wife) who shy away from most beers due to said aftertaste. It's subtle, but there is almost a fruity undertone but it's is very mild. You know those pictures where you relax your eyes and see a 3D image? Well, relax your taste buds and you may taste an orange.

If you are looking for a light summer beer to go with your BBQ, this would be a great beer to treat your guests to. It's light, it's refreshing, and it's tasty. 

"The problem with the world is that everyone is a few drinks behind."
-Humphrey Bogart

Guinness

Brand: Guinness

4.2% alc./vol 440ml

Country of origin: Ireland

Type: Stout

Previously had? Yes

For my first review, I decided to talk about one of my favorite beers. At first I didn't care much for Guinness, and often would end up wasting half the can which goes against my belief that wasting beer is blasphemous. It wasn't until a trip to England in 2010 that I found my liking for Guinness. In 99% of pubs I visited, and believe me, there were a lot, they would serve Guinness from a sub-zero tap which dispensed the sweet black gold at a temperature below 0 degrees Celsius. When you purchase your Guinness draught tall boy cans for home, I would suggest putting it in the freezer for an hour prior to drinking to simulate the effect. A friend recently traveled to Ireland and told me that they serve Guinness from kegs located directly below the counter (most bars keep kegs in the basement), and it was super cold and super fresh. The least amount of distance your beer has to travel before your glass, the better

One of the reasons I like this beer is because the enjoyment starts even before you drink. You should always pour Guinness into pint glass to enjoy (I have heard arguments to the contrary but I stand firm), and the visual is really beautiful thing. The amber bubbles of CO2 fall heavy to the bottom of the glass like a golden waterfall before rising to the top and settling into a delicious and thick head, the likes of which are thick enough for talented bartenders to be able to draw designs into the foam. Guinness, like most brewers of class, uses a widget in there draught cans in order to release CO2 into the beer to make it taste like fresh from the tap.

Guinness is either a beer that you really like, or you really don't.  I was fortunate enough to change from a strong dislike to a very strong enjoyment. A Stout is made from roasted malt or barley, hops, water and yeast. This gives it a light smoked flavour which is well matched with the coffee flavour typical of most Dry or "Irish" stouts. Drinkers looking for a lighter tasting beer with less after taste should tread lightly with Guinness. An un written rule I have heard from many a seasoned beer drinker such as my father, is that if you can finish the first, each one tastes better than the last. I have just poured my second pint of Guinness of the day and I can say that this statement is very true. On my second pint, the flavours taste smoother and you can taste the coffee and toast flavours that were not as noticeable the first time around.

If you have the opportunity to travel to the UK, I strongly recommend heading to the nearest pub and ordering a sub-zero pint of Guinness, even if you are not a fan. You may just be as lucky as I was.

"I am a firm believer in the people. If given the truth, they can be depended upon to meet any national crisis. The great point is to bring them the real facts, and beer."

-Abraham Lincoln