A Taste of the Old World

A few weeks ago I brought a bottle of Bordeaux to an after-dinner party at a friend’s apartment. She remarked how after drinking so many new world wines from South America, Australia and the Pacific Northwest, that she had forgotten how satisfying old world wines could be. This morning in the supermarket, I had a similar revelation.

As the only person in the store buying a six-pack at 9 am, I was already catching looks from the mostly non-English speaking patrons of my local grocery; my pajama pants and slippers didn’t help. The woman in front of me, buying a bottle of antioxidant rich pomegranate juice no doubt to go with her yogurt, granola, and fresh fruit for breakfast, twisted her face at me and said, “Is that beer?” I hadn’t brushed my teeth yet and was afraid she would be knocked unconscious by the green gas that would surely come out of my mouth if I responded so instead I gave her a look that would accompany a growl if I were a dog. I walked the long block home in the rain and locked the door and drank a beer in peace while I made breakfast. Then I drank another one with breakfast and another one after breakfast.

B.B. Burgerbrau from Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic is pretty much the original Budweiser. It served as the inspiration for many of the original American style lagers when the first American brewing revolution was taking place in the late 1800’s. This light golden beer has a malty, slightly metallic aroma. The taste is perfectly balanced. The malt complement the hops and vice versa to create an extremely refreshing beer that I literally could not put down.

Lately I’ve been focused on American craft beer, and small regional breweries that I forgot how good the classics can be. Like old world wines, these brewers have been making beer for centuries. And while these American upstarts are exciting and different with their funky names and fruity flavors, they are mere infants in the larger scope of beer history. Take some time to seek out some old world beers from Czech Republic, Germany and Holland (NOT Heineken), you won’t regret it.