Mittwoch, 13. Dezember 2017

Soiree Polska: bieres et mets polonais; hosted by Fermenthings Brussels, December 9, 2017


Fermenthings
Pierre Timmermansstraat 28A, 1090 Jette - Brussel





I am really trying to do my best to follow Poland related events in Belgium (and I don’t mean the debates in the EU parliament), especially if they have anything to do with beer and food. Last time La Louviere (https://beerlander.blogspot.com/2017/11/soiree-degustation-bieres-polonaises.html), this time Brussels.

When I have seen that the Fermenthings is organizing Polish beer and food evening I have sked just 2 questions:
-        1. What beers do you have (and I hope that they are different than La Louviere)?
-        2. Do you have enough food this time?


Answer to the first one was not satisfactory – they have originally prepared same beers as David (I think that he was providing them).

Answer to the second one was scary – we have enough food but we don’t have bigos. No bigos, no Polish evening for me.

But, honestly, I wanted a Polish evening to work and be successful thus I have proposed two things – improve your beer stocks using my friends from Browarium – Sklepy Piwne (www.ebrowarium.pl). On top – we going to provide you with bigos. I was very happy to hear that Fermenthings contacted Browarium and got three new beers for the evening. And my wife has agreed to prepare a bigos.

I will spare you an epic story of bigos preparation – just to say that we have got the real thing, cooked for 3 days, full of meat and mushrooms. Nice and juicy. I believe that this was the first time we have prepared bigos in Belgium, therefore getting all the ingredients seemed very challenging in the beginning, but nowadays Polish shops are everywhere and we have managed.
And The Bigos (yes, I am going to call it The Bigos with a capital “B”) found broad acceptation by local community.


We were also positively surprised to find that the evening has started with a nice presentation made by Cedric, who have visited Poland before and have explored the world of the Polish craft beer. In fact, I was more than pleased to hear that the Belgian beer lover can be impressed by Polish beer scene. Thanks, Ced, you made my day.
I wouldn’t be me if I wouldn’t comment few things in the presentation. First, I would argue with the lack of Beer tradition in Poland. In fact, we have a big one (that probably would be on the level on Belgian if not the history). See my article here (https://beerlander.blogspot.com/2017/11/soiree-degustation-bieres-polonaises.html). I also disagree with the fact that its better and more civilized to have a beer in the .33 bottles. 0.33 bottles are useless for the everyday use. I would be happy to pay a bit more and have 0.5 bottles only.
What I fully agree is that it is good that the size of the tasting glass for the beer festival should be smaller than it usually is in Poland (comment on that here: https://beerlander.blogspot.com/2017/06/krakow-beerweek-03-part-1-krakow.html).


Finally, I have to say that Fermenthings did a great job in bringing in some Polish sausages and pickled mushrooms. And we loved smoked cottage cheese.
Below you can see the long line of the beers for the evening – the two first from the right are the new ones. Very likely, we were the first people in Belgium to try them. Thanks, Fermenthings for nice evening
 
La Débauche / Kingpin Mango Rising

Hoppy sour ale with Mango and Tabasco sounds really brave to me. Polish/French collaboration brew is also interesting. Sadly, this as a beer it was a bit disappointing. It is a nice beer, with hoppy fruity notes, not to sour, refreshing. So far so good – but where is the tabasco? And the tabasco has (mostly) left the building. After drinking more and more of this beer you start to feel on the tongue that there is some spicy addition to the beer, but it is very subtle and could come from any kind of peppery addition. Overall – if you are looking for a nice sour beer – go for it. If you are a fan of tabasco and spiced beers – you are wrong here.

Kingpin Muerto

This pumpkin ale with sea buckthorn was clearly the weird beer of the evening. But positively weird. Clear aroma of pumpkin and herbs, some bitter hops and refreshing sea buckthorns in the taste. Must be the most original pumpkin ale I have had this year, and amazingly probably the most enjoyable one.







Kingpin Mandarin

To be frank, I like beers with the tea addition. If done correctly natural tea bitterness can add very interesting notes to the hops. Most of the beers I have tried had earl grey in it, but Kingpin dared to use green Sencha tea instead. It worked – an outcome is strong, aromatic West coast IPA, with clear tropical aromas, hops bitterness and medium tea in both aroma and flavor. Medium carbonation and a soft texture. Very drinkable.





Birbant El JaguaRIS


Another RIS? I am very RISonable person and RISpect anybody who can brew a good RIS. RISpect to Birbant for this JagulaRIS. Black, low carbonated, strong coffee aroma, dark and roasted. Bitter coffee taste is nice complemented with malt sweetness and hops. Very thick on the tongue, strong but no alcohol. Really good RIS.







Donnerstag, 30. November 2017

The Place and The Beer Part 5: Other Half Brewing, NYC, USA


Other Half Brewing Company

195 Centre St, Brooklyn, NY 11231, USA


After staying for a while in Europe, today we move back to USA. After 1 hour subway ride from the upper Manhattan to Bronx I have visited the Other Half brewery. This place is quite far from any tourist attraction but apparently a “must see” for a beer geek.

Other Half Brewing (OH) is considered to be the hottest brewery in New York. Appraised, loved, recognized – this is a very high bar, especially for an American brewery. It is very difficult to get this level of recognition at this amazingly strong craft beer market.

Just to tell you how amazing OH is – since recently, they were chosen to be the official beer of the Wall Street. Yes, that Wall Street. People used to say that the Wall Street Bankers do choose the beers that are big, bold and brash. Well, it fits to the description of the Other Half as well.

Clearly, I was curious, but also not prepared to what I have seen. I have arrived just 2 minutes after opening of their tap room and this was already almost full! OK, the room is small, but I have seen bigger rooms being empty on good days. The queue for the first round was still OK, the second was worse; finally, I had to wait outside to get the last beer.







Actually, the taproom itself is quite original place – full of stuff from different
epochs and styles. I would dare to call it rustically, it clearly has some atmosphere. Also, the tap, or rather taps are nothing I have seen before. Especially the wall with the taps. I want to have one at home.


Now, the great moment is coming. Look at this Beer Menu. They almost only brew IPAs! Double dry hopped. Triple dry hopped. It was some IPA madness. I got vertigo after just reading a half of the list, the second half caused me to quiver uncontrollably.


Seeing all this IPAs, I have decided to start with a Pils. Good decision, get rid of the bad stuff first. My suggestion to Other Half is to stay with IPAs.
But the rest of the afternoon was like the never-ending IPA party. And what was crazy, they were all at the very high level. Very thick body, low carbonation, many single hopped IPAs made in the amazing way that really makes you to realize the difference between hops used. That was like a dream.

Also, there I have tried my first beer with Lupulin ever – to be frank, in comparison to other beers of the evening that one was quite average. I had a conversation about it few weeks later with a different brewer, and he told me that the problem I s the process of production. Don’t get me wrong, it was not bad IPA, just in comparison it was not outstanding.

Just to put a cherry on a cake, I have decided to finalize the evening with the collaboration brew from Other Half, Monkish and Trillium. A triple dry hopped IIPA called Fully Loaded Baked Potato. Some mad genius has mixed here mosaic, denali, galaxy and kohatu hops. And then brew it up to 10% of alcohol.
It is important to say that I am not a great fan of triple IPAs. In my experience so fa, IIPAs are dense, and heavy and the aroma and flavor never live up to the “triple” expectations.

So far, because the Fully Loaded Baked Potato is just the opposite. The aroma burnt my nose and the flavor have killed my taste buds. Tropical fruits, mango, pine, orange aroma and flavor. Full body, good bitterness. Soft carbonation and almost no alcohol. No IPA will ever taste the same after this experience. Simply the best.

Montag, 27. November 2017

Soiree Italia: Bibibir & La Tana, hosted by Fermenthings Brussels, November 24, 2017

Fermenthings
Pierre Timmermansstraat 28A, 1090 Jette - Brussel



Today, I continue my quest in getting more likes on Facebook and entries on the blog.

No, different start.

Today I continue my effort of trying to get recognition by a local beer scene in publishing reports from small events that are interesting for craft beer, and nobody except me gives a damn to write about them.

Not wrong, but maybe wrong start.
Let’s try like that:

Today, I visit a new shop in Brussels. Fermenthings (www.fermenthngs.be) dedicated to beer… STOP… fermentation. It is fair to assume that beer brewing is the highest form of fermentation, but these people are really interested in all fermented things. Yoghurt, kombucha, they have it all. and will help you to do one at home. I have visited the shop once in our quest to get the live kefir and kombucha cultures and found out that they also organize Beer and Food evenings. The closest one was dedicated to Italian beer. Or, to be precise to a beer from Bibibir. Interesting, since I have never tried this brewery before. I have gathered an international pack of 3 Italians, complemented with French and Portuguese colleagues and there we were on Friday evening.

Overall, the shop is a nice place to be. Well renovated, neat and tidy. Very good selection of Brussel beers and beers from the north of Belgium. Real craft. No Jupiler. Some sitting places, enough standing space with tables. Everybody speaks English.
Entry price is OK.

And then the surprise of the week – the organizers have managed to invite the brewers from Bibibir to join the evening and bring even more of their beers. No, the Italians didn’t come because it was so important to be there (I hope it may be in the future), they have come to visit Vine, Beers, Rebels 2017 in Brussels. Still, the fact the Fermenthing had them there is a plus. Less OK, was the fact that the tap has failed to work. But this one can be forgiven, as Bibibir brought two additional beers to taste.

What was not OK is the amount of food, when I hear – you pay for the beer and the food is there. Then I mean that the food is there. Don’t get me wrong, I am willing to pay for my food, but I need to know in advance that it’s the case. Btw.: they have promised that the Polish evening will be better fed. I hope so.

Now the beer. Or rather Bibibir.

I would like to start with the negative beer of the evening – double IPA (Zero Sei). You really waste your time trying that one. Technically it may be the right style, but if you expect that it will hit any of your sensed with aroma or taste, you are wrong.

Then the good average: Belgian ale, American ale, triple and the wit were OK. You can go for them if you like. No harm will be taken and you can even enjoy.



VEDO QUADRUPLO

First positive out layer is the Peated Quadrupel. Vedo Quadruplo is a bit unusual with its light smoked character, but for me it adds a positive twist on top on its typical, quad like raisin, caramel and honey sweetness character. Another plus – no alcohol detectable. Very smooth to drink.  









WHITE SHOCK

The beer of the evening is the white IPA called White Shock. Amazing aroma of citrus and grass complemented with some sweet, malty notes. Body is a bit low and carbonation could be a tad lower for my taste, but the flavor of citrus and some bitterness make that one crazy drinkable and highly enjoyable. World class. Chapeau bas. 





Overall, it was a great evening with beer and friends. Thanks to Fermenthings!









Donnerstag, 23. November 2017

The Place and The Beer Part 4: Oedipus Brewery, Amsterdam






























Oedipus Brewing

Gedempt Hamerkanaal 85, 
1021 KP Amsterdam, Netherlands

Amsterdam is a popular place to get sex, drugs and rock’n’roll (not to forget that some people visit this city for business). But, in the life of every tourist/businessman there is a moment when all the above is boring and he just wants to get the beer.

Luckily, Amsterdam has a lot of to offer. Today for your after hours I propose the Oedipus Brewing (www.oedipus.com). Some of you may remember that Oedipus was a tragic hero from the Greek mythology that, because of the twist of fate killed his father and married his own mother. Sad story that left me wondered what does it have to do with the beer.

If you find the name interesting, then the will love the brewery. First, as a pedestrian, you need to take a water tram to visit it. I suggest nice sunny day; the trip is lovely and the tram is free. Then the interior of the taproom. Looks weird, may be a mix of Amazons jungle with the 70’s. Very unusual, not everybody’s case. But local people seem to like it. On top, there is a music – during an hour here I have heard some of the weirdest, psychedelic music in my life. Trust me, I mean it – really weird, Pink Floyd looks like a main stream in comparison to some of the leads.
If you still don't believe me that they are psychodelic – look at their website and beer labels.

Overall very unusual experience, but clearly interesting and positive. If you are bored with visiting just another brewery go to Oedipus.




The beer of the day is a Thai Thai Belgian Triple.


Thai Thai is another step in my search for an interesting interpretation of traditional Belgian style. This time I would even dare to call it wacky. Deep gold, strong foam. Spicy aroma of pepper and vanilla. Belgian yeast. Taste is a mix of grass, orange, grapefruit and some chili-like spiciness. Very, very unusual. Bit crazy. Interesting, worth trying. Maybe a bit over te top, as not much is left from the original Triple taste.

Give it a try if you can.





Mittwoch, 22. November 2017

The Place and The Beer Part 3: Browarium Sklepy Piwne, Slupsk, Poland



BROWARIUM - SKLEPY PIWNE

ul. Plac Dąbrowskiego 3, 76-200 Słupsk



Today a very special visit.

I have collaborated with Browarium since I have moved to Belgium and honestly, I couldn’t imagine a better partner. Professional, well connected and having access to rare beers – yes, I have got Imperium Prunum (second edition). Sadly, our communication so far has been restricted to email and Facebook. Therefore, coming back from holidays, I have decided that it is time to meet the owners in persona. Słupsk is on the way from 3City to Belgium, therefore no excuses.

The story of Browarium is a success story: Natalia and Krystian have started with their own pub in 2010, that have developed into a first craft beer bottle shop in Słupsk (2011). They have convinced the local community that beer is more than a light company lager. The growth is enormous: starting with the old location and 300 beers they have recently moved to a newer bigger place and are having over 1000 various beers from Poland and more on sale.

Impressive.

Clearly, they have been recognized by the community, Browarium have won Ratebeer award for the best beer shop in Poland in 2016.

Congratulations.
And I hope all the best for you guys.

Enough introduction. The shop is impressive, maybe not from the outside, but inside is the wet dream of any craft beer lover. Beer, more beer and even more beer. Local breweries, craft breweries around Poland and the rest of the world. Glassware, T-shirts you name it. What is more important both owners know what they are selling and doing. They both are beer lovers and will offer professional help if you need it. They also have a great website (www.ebrowarium.pl) and will be happy to help all you folks living abroad and interested in Polish craft.






The beer of the day is Bloody Belfegor from Szałpiw (https://www.facebook.com/szalpiw). Why it is connected to the shop? First: it is a present I got from Natalia when visiting. Second: the beer is as impressive as the shop. Bloody Belfegor is blackcurrant Belgian dark strong ale.  Dark-brown, low carbonation, aroma of blackcurrant, malt and Belgian yeast. Well balanced sour-malt taste. Clear Belgium but with a twist. 9% Alcohol is well composed and not detectable. Very, very good beer.  


Freitag, 17. November 2017

The Place and The Beer Part 2: World of Beer, Cambridge, MA, USA



WORLD OF BEER
100 Cambridgeside Pl, Cambridge, MA 02141, USA




Thanks to the combined efforts of heavy storm over Iceland and Icelandicair being unable to properly take care for the clients I have arrived at Cambridge with a small 26 hours delay.

And I was hungry.

Therefore, the first question to the guy at the reception desk was “where is the food?”.

Well, you know, everything is closed, but in the close shopping mall they have a place called World of Beer that is opened until 1 am; and they have burgers as well.

Honestly, the moment he said something about beer he has lost my attention and I was on the way.

Holly cow. What a nice place. 

And it has a multitap with 50 different beers…(more photos at the end).





And they have bottles as well.

And the kitchen is closed.

And who cares.

Let’s get a beer.

Before I go to the beer. I just must finish the introduction – so World of Beers is a huge chain of bars around the USA. 55 locations in 16 states. Whereas usually I am a bit allergic to chain food (burgers, pizza), but this could be the first one I promote. Very nice bar. Stylish, wood&brick interior. Amazing tap. And the barman knows his job and his beers. I have asked something and have heard some other folks asking and getting very professional and appropriate answers.

One point of criticism are the TV screens all around. But, in the USA they are everywhere. I haven't seen a single bar that wouldn't have them all around the place. For me horrible. For Americans normal. 


Enough, back to the beer.


If I cannot get a food I will get a cake - Clown Shoes Space Cake a double/Imperial IPA with a very high ranking on Ratebeer. Never had one before but it looked like a good start of the travel. Being on the east coast I have expected something in a style, but Space Cake is clearly a west coast-tropical-fruit-grassy-aromatic-blast-killer. 

This beer takes no prisoners.

This is a beer for IPA lovers who like it clear cut aromatic and bitter. Citrus and resin. It just has everything what you expect from a very good imperial IPA. A must try.

















For all multitap lovers...





Donnerstag, 16. November 2017

The Place and The Beer Part 1: Lamplighter Brewing Co, Cambridge, MA, USA

LAMPLIGHTER BREWING CO.
284 Broadway, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA



I have made a sad realization that I am not able to write a proper story about all the places I visit and all the beers I taste. But, most of those places deserve at least a short note. Therefore, I have stated a new series called The Place and The Beer. Rather short stories, lot of photos and a /the beer.
Today we end up in Cambridge Massachussets in USA. I have visited the Lamplighter Brewing in the second week of November. It is Tuesday at 9 pm. The brewery is in a walking distance from the Kendall Square being the center of the town. Typical American building, well preserved and clean.  Inside is also very typical modern style brewhouse, solid tap/party-room and a huge glass wall so that everybody can appreciate the brewery and barrel aging beer. Nice but not ass kicking.
Clearly it was a party night. We should have been checking earlier. Music was deafening. Live DJ, doing quiz. Simply horrible if you come to get a beer and talk.

But the beer, as in the most American breweries was worth the effort – I have tried an imperial stout brewed with vanilla and maple syrup called After Midnight. But they really brew something for everybody: IPA, gose, sour, wheat, saison, brett. They have it, I strongly believe that this is one of the powers of American Craft – we are eclectic, we will not concentrate on a few local beers – we are taking everything what is interesting from the world and do this better. Impressive.

So was the After Minding. Pitch dark with appealing head and nice lacing. Aroma is chocolate, malt, clear maple syrup and roasted coffee. Intensive and complex flavor, thick texture of drinking chocolate and vanilla. Surprisingly it is not sweet, it could almost be considered dry. Maybe a bit on the too much side, but clearly you would not mix that one with any other beer. For me this a a huge plus and After Midnight was the best medication to cure my jet lag.

Dienstag, 7. November 2017

Soirée dégustation – Bières polonaises. Bier Market La Louviére, November 4 2017



After a long break, I have again visited the best beer shop of La Louviere – the beer market. Well, not only of La Louviere, it is one of the few shops in Belgium that sell craft beer from all around the world. On top, its owner – David Soors is hosting regular evening events that promote the beer culture. You can see the report from one of those evenings here (…).



Since I know David, I was always trying to convince him that Polish craft beer is worth noticing, and it finally worked. Evening of Polish beer was an event, where I just must go.
It wasn’t easy, next morning I was flying in a longer business trip and I sincerely haven’t felt like getting few beers before. Here big hugs to my wife, who literally kicked me out to join the tasting, and added something about the responsibility for promoting Polish craft beer.
Let’s start with the positives – in fact almost all was positive – seriously. Beer selection was very good. David have introduced interesting selection of modern beer styles from good breweries (mostly Raduga). People were interested in the history of Polish beer and traditional Polish beer styles. Finally, I got my five minutes, where I could explain about polish craft and serve as translator for ingredients that are in the beer.
What I was missing a bit was lack of two traditional Polish beer styles in the tasting – Baltic porter and grodziskie.
Based on the feedback and people interest, before I will describe the beers of the evening, I will give a short overview of the history of beer in Poland.

Après une longue pause, j'ai de nouveau visité le meilleur beer shop de La Louvière : le Beer Market. Eh bien, non seulement à La Louvière, c'est l'une des rares boutiques en Belgique qui vendent de la bière artisanale du monde entier. En plus, son propriétaire, David Soors, organise des soirées régulières qui favorisent la culture de la bière. Vous pouvez voir le compte rendu d'une de ces soirées ici (...).
Depuis que je connais David, j'essayais de le convaincre que la bière artisanale polonaise valait la peine d'être remarquée, et cela a finalement fonctionné. La soirée bière polonaise était un événement où je me devais d’aller.
Ce n'était pas facile, le lendemain matin j’avais un long voyage d'affaires et je n'avais sincèrement pas envie de boire quelques bières avant. Après de gros câlins à ma femme, qui m'a littéralement donné un coup de pied pour participer à la dégustation, et a ajouté quelque chose sur la responsabilité de la promotion de la bière artisanale polonaise.
Commençons par les points positifs - en fait presque tout était positif - sérieusement. La sélection de bière était très bonne. David a présenté une sélection intéressante de styles de bières modernes de bonnes brasseries. Les gens étaient intéressés par l'histoire de la bière polonaise et des styles de bière polonais traditionnels. Enfin, j'ai eu mes cinq minutes, où j’ai pu expliquer à propos de l'artisanat polonais et servir de traducteur pour les ingrédients qui sont dans la bière.
Ce qui me manquait un peu était le manque de deux styles de bière polonais traditionnels dans la dégustation – Baltic Porter et Grodziskie.
Sur base de la réaction et l'intérêt des gens, avant de décrire les bières de la soirée, je vais donner un bref aperçu de l'histoire de la bière en Pologne.
 I believe that Polish history and a beer are strongly bound together. Southern countries had grapes, but north of Europe was too cold for that. On top, Poland was never conquered by Romans, therefore we have never a chance to become a wine country (thanks God for that). Here, a bunch of historical facts:
IX-X century – German chronicler Thietmar describes polish king – Bolesław      Chrobry as a beer lover (Tragbier);
1113 - bier is mentioned in the Gallus Anonymous chronicles. Gallus describes that beer used to be served in Poland way before the year 900;
1255 - fist document describing addition of hops to beer in Poland (probably before it became popular in Europe;
1187-1227 - polish prince Leszek Biały has refused to join the crusade organized by Pope Innocent III with the reasoning that there is no beer in the holy land. Sounds ridiculous, but the Pope accepted it as valid. If you know something about what Pope’s call to join the crusade call meant to the Christians, you will understand that value of the argument;
1303 - another prince - Konrad II Garbaty refused to take over the archbishopric of Salzburg using similar argument (I will not live in a city that does not know wheat beer);
Middle ages brought stabilization to the beer brewers. Beer production is more and more regulated by laws that also protect the quality;
XVII – wheat beer is slowly replaced by barley;
1643-1720 – Jakub Trembecki published first book describing interesting Polish beers;
After that beer is being slowly pushed out from the market by stronger alcoholic. Still, there are over 100 breweries in Warsaw the end of the XVII;
Finally, Poland disappears from the map of the Europe for over 100 years and so its brewing tradition;
XIX century – in the divided Poland the first wave of the English style beers is hitting. At the beginning of the 1914 there are almost 500 breweries and they brew everything from porters to lagers, apparently also being very successful on the international market
1918 – 245 breweries survive
1939 – just 137 breweries exist
1945-89 - communists have tried to rebuild breweries in Poland. Sadly, with the small exceptions of few very good Baltic Porters, most of the beers were boring lager style. Here a small personal comment – 80 and 90ties were the time of my youth. I cannot recall any positive connection with a beer. Beer meant cheap, low quality drink. Something, most educated people will avoid. A few breweries with the good reputation came from the south of Poland and getting a lager beer from Żywiec was rare event.
2010 – first organization of house brewers is formed.
Since then Polish craft enjoys a steady growth. There are around 300 breweries now, with a steady growth of almost 40 new ones opening every year.


Je crois que l'histoire polonaise et celle de la bière sont fortement liées ensemble. Les pays du sud avaient des raisins, mais le nord de l'Europe était trop froid pour cela. En plus, la Pologne n'a jamais été conquise par les Romains, donc nous n'avons jamais eu la chance de devenir un pays viticole (Dieu merci pour cela). Ici, un tas de faits historiques:
IX-X siècle - chroniqueur allemand Thietmar décrit le roi polonais - Bolesław Chrobry comme un amateur de bière (Tragbier);
1113 – Le mot bier est mentionné dans les chroniques de Gallus Anonymous. Gallus décrit que la bière était servie en Pologne avant l'an 900;

1255 - premier document décrivant l'ajout de houblon à la bière en Pologne (probablement avant qu'il ne devienne populaire en Europe)
1187-1227 - le prince polonais Leszek Biały a refusé de se joindre à la croisade organisée par le pape Innocent III avec le raisonnement selon lequel il n'y a pas de bière dans la terre sainte. Cela semble ridicule, mais le pape l'a accepté comme valide. Si vous avez une idée de ce que l'appel du Pape à joindre l'appel de la croisade signifiait pour les chrétiens, vous comprendrez la valeur de l'argument;
1303 - un autre prince - Konrad II Garbaty a refusé de reprendre l'archevêché de Salzbourg en utilisant un argument similaire (je ne vais pas vivre dans une ville qui ne connaît pas la bière de blé);
Le moyen âge a apporté la stabilisation aux brasseurs de bière. La production de bière est de plus en plus réglementée par des lois qui protègent également la qualité;
XVII - la bière de blé est lentement remplacée par l'orge;
1643-1720 - Jakub Trembecki publie le premier livre décrivant des bières polonaises intéressantes;
Par la suite, cette bière est lentement chassée du marché par un alcool plus fort. Pourtant, il y a plus de 100 brasseries à Varsovie à la fin du XVIIe siècle;
Enfin, la Pologne disparaît de la carte de l'Europe pendant plus de 100 ans et donc de sa tradition brassicole;
XIX siècle - dans la Pologne divisée, la première vague des bières anglaises frappe. Au début de 1914, il y a près de 500 brasseries et elles brassent toutes des porters de fermentation basse, apparemment aussi sur le marché international.
1918 - 245 brasseries survivent
1939 - seulement 137 brasseries existent encore.
1945-1989 - les communistes ont essayé de reconstruire des brasseries en Pologne. Malheureusement, à l'exception de quelques très bons Porter Baltiques, la plupart des bières étaient de style lager. Voici un petit commentaire personnel - les années 80 et 90 étaient l'époque de ma jeunesse. Je ne me souviens d’aucune anecdote positive avec la bière. La bière signifiait une boisson bon marché et de mauvaise qualité. Quelque chose que la plupart des gens instruits évitaient. Quelques brasseries de bonne réputation venaient du sud de la Pologne et l’achat d'une bière blonde de Żywiec était un événement rare.
2010 – La première organisation de  brasseurs amateurs est formée.
Depuis lors, l'artisanat polonais connaît une croissance régulière. Il y a actuellement environ 300 brasseries, avec une croissance constante de près de 40 nouvelles brasseries chaque année.


The beers David have chosen for the evening clearly represent a part of what is being brewed in Poland. Or, at least its pale ale side.
Les bières que David a choisi pour la soirée représentent clairement une partie de ce qui est brassé en Pologne. Ou, au moins, son côté ‘pale ale’ d’influence américaine. 

Now the beers of the evening:

Rockmill PLAY FOR ME
American Ale

Aroma of orange and mango. Rather bitter for a pale ale (but for me it is a plus). Low sparkling, nice to drink. More than decent.
Arôme d'orange et de mangue. Plutôt amer pour une bière blonde (mais pour moi c'est un plus). Faible mousseux, agréable à boire. Plus que décent.






---

Raduga LIFT TO THE SCAFFOLD

Session IPA

Not exactly my case. On one hand, the aroma is nice citrus hoppy, but it is a tad too light bodied and a bit too bitter at the same time. I know that being light bodied is not a shame for a session beer, but over-hopping it is not always the best. Still, this is a decent beer.
Pas exactement mon genre. D'une part, l'arôme est joli citrus houblonné, mais c'est un peu trop corsé et un peu trop amer en même temps. Je sais que le fait d'être léger n'est pas une honte pour une ‘session ale’, mais ce n’est pas toujours ce qui se fait de mieux. Pourtant, c'est une bière décente.


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Birbant HOPSBANT
Milkshake IPA
First example of what is in this year. The style that have started its life with Piwojad is now being brewed by almost everybody. And it does not stop to amaze me. American hops, well balanced with lactose giving it a smooth feeling of drinking a hoppy, mild sweet peachy citrus shake. Clearly on the sweet side, but drinkable like hell.
Premier exemple de ce qui est à la mode cette année. Le style qui a commencé sa vie avec Piwojad est maintenant brassé par presque tout le monde. Et ça n'arrête pas de m'étonner. Le houblon américain, bien équilibré avec du lactose, lui donne une sensation de douceur en buvant un houblon doux et sucré aux agrumes. Clairement sur le côté doux, mais buvable en diable !

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Raduga AFRICAN QUEEN
Aframon American Pale Ale
Not an everyday beer, but clearly an interesting one. Grains of Paradise (polish Aframon) is one of the rare spices, therefore it is difficult for me to say whether the aroma is right. Still, there is honey, fruits and clearly spicy on a tongue. Citrus spiciness. Worth trying.
Pas une bière de tous les jours, mais clairement intéressante. Grains of Paradise (Aframon) est une épices peu fréquente, il est donc difficile pour moi de dire si l'arôme est juste. Pourtant, il y a du miel, des fruits et c’est clairement épicé sur une langue. Piquant épicé. Ça vaut le coup d'essayer.


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Rockmill EPISODE 2
Yuzu Milkshake IPA
One of the best Milkshake IPAs I have tried. Intensively fruity, and lactose balanced with hoppy bitterness and aroma. A must have for a beer lover.
L'un des meilleurs IPAs Milkshake que j'ai essayés. Intensivement fruité et équilibré en lactose avec une amertume et un arôme houblonné. Un must pour un amateur de bière.





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Raduga TRAPEZE
Passion Fruit Wheat
This beer probably decimated the world stocks of passion fruit. I cannot even imagine what amount was used to make the beer. The effect is more like eating a soup (and look on the photos – fruit pulp is staying on the walls). Because the fruit is so intensive, you wouldn’t know that it is also a wheat. For some people a plus for some a failure. Myself, I would probably enjoy it more on a sunny summer day than now.
Cette bière a probablement décimé les stocks mondiaux de fruits de la passion. Je ne peux même pas imaginer quelle quantité a été utilisée pour fabriquer la bière. L'effet est plus comme manger une soupe (et regarder sur les photos - la pulpe de fruits reste sur les bords). Parce que le fruit est si intense, vous ne vous doutes pas qu’il s’agit aussi d’une bière blanche (de blé). Pour certaines personnes c’était un échec. Moi, je l'apprécierais probablement plus par un jour d'été ensoleillé que maintenant.

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Kingpin PHANTOM
White IPA with Kafir leaves
A solid example of white IPA style. Intensive aroma, fruity and flowery and clearly citrussy. Like by many Kafir infused beers it is slightly sour, in fact, a tad sourer that citrus aromatic. Strangely it manages to be a bit watery on top. Won’t kill you but will not knock you off your socks.
Un exemple solide de style IPA de blé. Arôme intense, fruité et fleuri et clairement citrussy. Comme beaucoup de bières infusées au kafir, elle est légèrement aigre, en fait, un peu plus acide que aromatique. Étrangement, il parvient à être un peu aqueux. Ne va pas vous dégouter, mais ne vous fera pas tomber à la renverse non plus.

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Trzech Kumpli & Piwne Podziemie TRIPADELIC
American Tripel
Another case of what can you do with a traditional belgian beer style if you dare. And this collaboration brew clearly dares. Columbus hops, orange skins change the traditional style in something amazing and original. But, the beer manages to keep its Belgian yeasty character. Best beer of the evening and amazing triple.
Un autre cas de ce que vous pouvez faire avec un style de bière traditionnelle belge si vous osez. Et cette bière  ose clairement. Les houblons Columbus, les peaux d'orange changent le style traditionnel en quelque chose d'étonnant et d'original. Mais, la bière parvient à garder son caractère de levure belge. Meilleure bière de la soirée et triple incroyable.
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Just one comment at the end – David served one more beer. A Belgian one. I understand that it was necessary to detoxicate some people overwhelmed by the power of the polish craft. The beer was rum barrel aged and it smelled and tested amazing rum. I was all excited, until I have learned that the brewers mixed real rum inside. Sorry, no Kudos for you. Cheaters.
Juste un commentaire à la fin - David a servi une bière de plus. Une belge. Je comprends qu'il était nécessaire de désintoxiquer certaines personnes accablées par la puissance de l'artisanat polonais. La bière était vieillie en fût de rhum et elle sentait et testait le rhum incroyablement. J'étais excité, jusqu'à ce que j'apprenne que les brasseurs mélangeaient du vrai rhum à l'intérieur. Désolé, pas de félicitations pour vous. Filous!