These 2 Beers Are the Best House Beers of the Year
When hospitality trade magazine Entree Magazine organizes a competition, you know the jury will consist of true experts. So when the ‘House Beer of the Year’ award was recently presented, a host of beer sommeliers and international beer judges had given it their approval. A great many beers were tasted, and gold could be won in two different categories.
Namely, in the ‘strong’ and ‘light’ categories. Light was for all specialty beers with an alcohol percentage below 6.5 percent, while strong was for everything above that. And which two beers came out on top?
Season Extension
In the light category, it was Pampus Saison, brewed by Pontus Brewing. The jury’s assessments ranged from “a penetrating beer with the character of a saison” (saison is a spicy, hoppy type of beer that used to be drunk only during a particular season but is now available year-round) to “a flavorful, fresh and spicy, funky beer with a slight sweetness.” Sounds good!
Top Tripel
In the strong category, the gold went to Tarwe Tripel from Grand Café Lebowski, brewed by Utrecht-based vandeStreek Bier. “The right tripel character in the aftertaste, with a dry finish,” “little sweetness and lovely hop bitterness,” and “a good spiciness from the yeast” were some of the words of praise.
What’s in the Barrel Doesn’t Sour
Jury member Theo Flissebaalje also praised the generally improved quality of house beers since the pandemic. “Forced by the lockdowns, small brewers had time to adjust their brewing process, for example by improving the bottling process or modifying part of the brewing installation. As a result, the quality of their beers increased. In addition, the mainly lower-quality occasional brewers have stopped.”
Does this make you thirsty, or not? If you’d like to know more about the current beer trends, be sure to read this article! Or brush up on your knowledge of 7 very good beer-and-food pairings!
Read also:
- The horror of vinegar house wine
- Weizen vs. witbier: what’s the difference?
- Festival beer: is it weak stuff or the real deal?
Image: Entree/Pim Ras photos
