It is time for Zurich Beer Tour's Top 3 beers for August 2021. Due to our recent trip to the Baltics, Simona decided to feature a brew from #Latvia, but this time not a beer but a #mead. Sandro's top beer for #August is a New England style IPA coming from our local brewpub, just 5 minutes from where we live. This month's staff pick is another brew from the Baltics - a dark beer sensation brewed with amazing ingredients and aged in #barrels. Let's do this!
Simona's pick: Alus Darbnīca Labietis (LAT) - Gaismas Ragana (Witch Of Light) Braggot
The Beer:
To be fair, mead wouldn't normally be considered a beer, as it is its very own category of fermented drink. But this brew is actually a so called #braggot, which is defined as either a mead mixed with some amounts of beer, or a mead brewed with #grains and/or #hops. The Gaismas Ragana is more of the second option. The guys from Labietis took the inspiration for this brew from an #archaeological found. In 1929 archaeologists found a girl in Egtved, #Denmark, burried 3400 years ago. She was buried with a bucket of fermented beverage. Scientists later found out that the recipe of it contained wheat, honey, cranberries, cowberries, meadowsweet, bog myrtle and lindenblossom. And so does this braggot, it is sweet with a light body and well hidden 8% ABV. A dangerously tasty beverage from the past.
The Brewery:
Labietis is a brewery from Riga in Latvia. They consider themselves to be a #contemporary brewery. The were founded as the counter-current to boring beer. They do not brew beer according to #traditions or the recipes of German beer barons. For them, modern day brewing has no #boundaries, they like to brew with whatever ingredients they find interesting. Also they are inspired by history: "History is enigmatic and we interpret it to taste".
Our food pairing recommendation:
Honey cake
Sandro's pick: BIERlab (CH) - The Show Must Go On NEIPA
The Beer:
This amazingly fruity New England style #IPA is made by our friends at the BIERlab. Nowadays a craft beer bar cannot live without a #juicy IPA on tap. This is one of the newest releases by Bear'n'Stein aka. BIERlab brewed it with a more #floral and #herbal hop bill. They used Idaho-7, Tri2304 and Loral to give this hop juice its distinct aroma. Clocking in at 6.7% ABV this beer is not too heavy to have several of on a good night.
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:
Duroc ribs with Whiskey-BBQ marinade
Zurich Beer Tour's pick: Sori Brewing (EST) - Shadow Game VII BA Imperial Stout
The Beer:
The 7th version of this barrel aged Imperial Stout was brewed with #honeycomb and #tonka beans and was then aged in a Heaven Hill Bourbon barrel. This 13.1% ABV brew has aromas of dark chocolate, whiskey, tonka, honey and oak. The best about all those aromas is that they are extremely well #balanced, which is hard with bold aromas like tonka and oak especially. This beer is perfect to end an evening with - the most complex and tasty Imperial Stout you could imagine. The ultimate #dessert beer.
The Brewery:
Sori Brewing was founded by 3 young #Finns, but is located in Tallinn, #Estonia. To understand why they left their home country to brew in Estonia, you have to know that in Finland every beer over 4.7% ABV can only be sold in restaurants or a #monopoly store. For them brewing craft beer in Finland would be like "being painters painting only with black and white". The brewery was also founded with help by the public, as they started a #crowdfunding campaign and raised 500k $ to open the brewery. As they grew, they needed more money the update the brewery to meet the demand, so the crowdfunded another 500k $. A brewery that brews amazing beer thanks to the public and also is a statement directed at Finnish alcohol #policy.
Our food pairing recommendation:
Braised venison cheeks
These are our three beers for August. 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 September recommendations!
Cheers,
Your Zurich Beer Tour Guides
Comments