500 Classic Brews
| Below is a selection of the beers featured in the Michael Jackson book Great Beer Guide published by Dorling Kindersley. Jackson was probably the most famous writer on beer and the book captures his love of the drinks in a readable and accessible way. It also features well taken photographs of all the beers featured. Unfortunately Jackson is no longer with us, like some of the beers he recommends. However many of his articles can still be found on the beerhunter website. I've added my thoughts on the beers where I have tried them. |  |
Australian Beer
Burragorang Bock
Beer:
Coopers Best Extra
Stout: Dark stout with an incredibly tan head.
Fairly bland with a burnt taste and a dry chalky finish.
There is a hint of espresso and a suprising gassiness for a
stout. (Score - 2)
Coopers Sparkling Ale:
Tooheys Old Black Ale:
Full Sail Endeavour Amber
Ale:
Full Sail Endeavour Amber
Ale:
Malt Shovel James Squire Original
Amber Ale:
Malt Shovel James Squire Original
Pilsner:
Matilda Dogbolter Special Dark
Lager:
Matilda Redback
Original:
Austrian Beer
Mohrenbräu Schluck:
Nussdorf Old Whisky
Bier: Closed Brewery
Nussdorf Sir Henry's Dry
Stout: Closed Brewery
Nussdorf St. Thomas
Bräu: Closed Brewery
Schloss Eggenberg Hopfen Konig
Pils: Crisp golden lager with a typical pilsner
hoppiness and a mild dryness. (Score - 3)
Schloss Eggenberg MacQueen's
Nessie: Light red coloured smoked whisky malt
lager with a dry gassy taste. The whisky comes through
gently in the aroma with a light tangy, smoky finish and a
carbonated tingle on the tongue. Much lighter than Adelscot
and Innis & Gunn. (Score - 4)
Schloss Eggenberg Urbock
23°: Strong (9%) amber beer with a pronounced
malt and alcohol edge and a banana sweetness that fades
into a sour dry bitterness. More drinkable than many
lagered beers of it's strength but not exceptional. (Score
- 3)
Belgian Beer
Affligem Nöel Christmas
Ale:
Affligem Op-Ale:
Anker Gouden Carolus:
Potent amber beer with a strong spicy taste which tends to
become over alcoholic in flavour after the first few
mouthfuls. (Score - 2)
Bavik Kuurnse Witte:
Bavik Wit Bier:
Bavik Wittekerke:
Belle-Vue Kriek:
Boon Framboise:
Boon Gueze:
Boon Kriek Mariage
Parfait:
Bosteels Tripel
Karmeliet: Smooth tripel enhanced with wheat and
oats. Slightly herbal, light in colour and fells a bit
bottom heavy. There is a also a champagne fizz with a sweet
banana taste. Pleasant but a bit too gently flavoured.
(Score - 4)
Cantillon Gueuze
Vigneronne:
Cantillon
Gueuze-Lambic: Dry acidic beer with bundles of
citrus (grapefruit?) flavour. Has an odd sweetness on the
back of the tongue, but not at the front as there is little
sugar. Swiftly develops a deep and balanced taste as you
drink it. (Score - 5)
Cantillon Kriek Lambic:
Zing, zing, zing. A fruity and sharp beer with big hits of
cherry and grapefruit (or at least the distinctive
Cantillon taste) followed by a deeper interesting after
taste. One to enjoy slowly but a very impressive cherry
beer. Also tried at 3 years old when the deeper taste had
faded - still good but better when drunk young. (Score - 5)
Cantillon Rose De
Gambrinus: Sour, musty cherry beer with a sharp
citrus note to it. Like the gueuze it has a distinctive
full taste that is disconcerting at first but grows into a
fuller, balanced flavour as you continue. (Score - 4)
Chimay Chimay Blanche (Cinq
Cents): Blonde gassy beer with a bitter hoppy
taste.In the end it is neither fish nor fowl. (Score - 2)
Chimay Chimay Bleue (Grand
Reserve): Dark and heavy beer with a strong kick
and slight fruity sweetness. A slight gassy edge lightens
the beer without disturbing it's rounded flavours. (Score -
4)
Cristal Alken:
De Koninck Tripel:
De Troch Chapeau Pêche:
Domus Con Domus:
Domus Leuvendige Witte:
Dubisson Bush Ambree:
"The strongest beer in Belgium". Potent, almost vinegary
brew with a bitter edge and little going on. (Score - 2)
Dubisson Bush Scaldis
Noel: Amber beer with elements of fruit, melting
butter, dairy and gentle toffee apple in the background and
maybe a hint of brandy with an alcoholic edge. 12% in
strength but much nicer than Bush Ambree. (Score - 3)
Dupont Saison: Has much
in common with a wheat beer in both colour and taste.
Slight spiciness, mild gassiness but generally a smooth
drink. (Score - 3)
Girardin Gueuze: Sharp
and sour beer with a fruity note and little if any
sweetness. Very impressive and very interesting. Truly one
to savour. (Score - 5)
Haecht Witbier:
Heineken Hapkin:
Perfumed aroma with yeast and citrus tastes and a dry
chalky finish. An interesting mix but it rapidly feels
flat. Apparently a Duvel copy, but it is fairly distinct.
(Score - 3)
Hoegaarden Speciale:
Hoegaarden Witbier: The
classic modern wheat beer. Light in colour and taste whilst
being very cloudy. More refreshing than many of the German
wheat beers with an almost floral and aromatic taste with
hints of lemon. (Score - 5)
Hougaerdse DAS:
Huyghe Delerium
Tremens: Pure bonkers juice. Strong 9% spicy
blonde ale that chases around your brain, but not in a bad
way (unless you need to do anything complicated
afterwards). (Score - 4)
Huyghe Florisgarden
Wit:
InBev Ginder Ale:
InBev Horse Ale:
InBev Leffe Radieuse:
InBev Vieux Temps:
John Martin Timmermanns
Kriek: Very heady cherry lambic with the cherry
flavour being being very dominant and quite, but not
overpoweringly, sweet. The gassiness balances it but the
lambic base is hard to taste. (Score - 3)
L'Abbaye des Rocs Blanche des
Honnelles:
Lefebvre Saison 1900:
Leuvendige Witte:
Liefmans Cuvee Brut:
Oak aged beer flavoured with cherries. A solid kriek with a
good mix of fruity sweetness and a sour base. (Score - 4)
Liefmans Glühkriek:
Served warm as a festive beer it is sugary and fruity with
the feel of a mulled wine. Very different from a regular
beer but a good winter warmer or an accompaniment to
decorating a tree. (Score - 4)
Liefmans Goudenband:
Sour dark beer with a cherry finish. There is a bitter edge
and a rounded fruitiness. Very good, but not quite up there
Rodenbach Grand Cru. (Score - 4)
Lindemanns Cuvée René:
Lindemanns Framboise:
Lindemanns Tea Beer:
Mater Wit Bier:
Moortgat Duvel: Straw
coloured strong ale (8.5%) that floats like a butterfly on
the palate whilst still packing a hefty taste. (Score - 5)
Mort Subite Kriek:
Very, very sweet kriek. A very slight sourness at the end
balances it slightly but it's a bit like a squash. Still
easy to drink though. (Score - 3)
Orval Orval: Strong and
sharp with elements of opal fruits, apples and bananas.
When clear (without sediment) it has elements of bubblegum.
Slightly spicy and creamy as well. May benefit from time to
mature in the bottle. (Score - 4)
Palm Rodenbach:
Strange. An oak aged beer with a sweet edge that has a
massive cherry aroma that overpowers the intial taste
before chiming with the sour cherry taste in finish.
Unexpected at first but tasty after you have adjusted. A
blend of the Grand Cru and younger beers. The Grand Cru is
definitely finer. (Score - 4)
Palm Rodenbach Grand
Cru: A superb example of a strident beer. A
syrupy sweetness competes with a taste of sour cherries
whilst a gentle gassiness lifts the taste and a deep oaky
base grounds it. Aged for 24 months in oak barrels and well
worth the wait. (Score - 5)
Palm Speciale: Sweetly
wheaty 5% beer. Very smooth with a gentle froth. Nice easy
drinking. (Score - 4)
Pater Lieven Blond:
Pauwel Kwak: Amber beer
with a large head, especially when served in it's fancy
mini yard of ale glass. The faint orange aroma is overtaken
by a gassy, malty hoppy taste with a hint of sour orange in
the finish. The brewers were keen on the sugar but despite
being a bit dry it is pleasant enough. (Score - 3)
Petrus Oud Bruin: Top
fermented beer aged in oak barrels for 2 years. Dark stewed
fruits (raisins and cherries) and quite sour. Fairly fizzy
but overall it is well balanced with a roasted malt finish.
Very easy drinking for a dark beer. (Score - 4)
Petrus Speciale:
Petrus Tripel:
Rodenbach Alexander:
Retired
Roman Sloeber:
Steendonk Brabants
Witbier: Retired
Van Eecke Popperings Hommel
Bier: Yeasty, citric beer with a bright
gassiness. There is a caramelised strong alcoholic taste
with slow building hops. (Score - 3)
Van Honsebrouck Bacchus
Kriek: Moderately sweet kriek with a rounded
cherry taste. Light and refreshing and much like Liefmaans.
Could have more depth and bite. Sampled on draught. (Score
- 4)
Van Honsebrouck Kasteel
Bier:
Vapeur Saison de
Pipaix:
Verhaeghe Duchesse de
Bourgogne: Onion marmalade and cherries in a
beer that has a slight gueuze edge to it. Very fruity and a
bit of a winter beer. Has a bit of balsamic vinegar to it.
A classic flanders ale which has barley malt and is matured
in oak casks for 18 months. (Score - 5)
Verhaeghe Echte Kriek:
Verhaeghe Vichtenaar:
Oak aged beer with an amber colour and a quickly fading
head. Very tart flavour with a sweet cherry edge and a
woody base. Not as regal as the duchesse but still fairly
noble. (Score - 4)
Westmalle Dubbel:
Smooth dark beer with a surprisingly gentle taste for it's
strength when served chilled. Warmer, it has a gentle fizz
and a subtle flavour like a typical dubbel tasted from a
distance. There is a spiciness that comes through on draft
that makes it a truly heavenly 5 star brew. (Score - 4)
Westmalle Tripel: Heavy
blonde ale with a deep bitterness. Like fighting through a
deep fog. Not to my taste. (Score - 2)
Westvleteren 8: Earthy
dark beer with a velvety coffee and liquorice taste
balanced by a gentle bitterness. It tastes to it's best
when not over chilled. Deeper and more bitter than the
sweeter, complex 12, it has the heft of a stout but is
smoother and more subtle. (Score - 5)
Westvleteren Blond:
Cloudy blond beer with a wheaty and hoppy taste balanced by
a bitter crispness. Gentle and very drinkable. (Score - 4)
Czech Beer
Budejovice Budvar:
Dry, hoppy lager with a gentle malty aftertaste. Perfectly
drinkable but a little on the thin side. (Score - 3)
Gambrinus Bile:
Gambrinus Pilsner:
Gambrinus Purkmistr:
SAB Miller Pilsner
Urquell: Smooth Amber/orange coloured pilsner
with a steadily building hoppy aftertaste. It is not as
rounded as it should be leaving it feeling somewhat thin
and timid. (Score - 2)
InBev Staropramen Dark:
Danish Beer
Carlsberg 47:
Carlsberg Gamle:
Carlsberg Gammel
Porter:
Ceres Dansk Dortmunder:
French Beer
Castelain Ch'ti
Brune: Smooth dark beer with a gentle fruity
caramel aftertaste. Very pleasing in a unchallenging way.
(Score - 4)
Duyck Jenlain Ambree:
Strong (7.5% abv) top fermented beer made with 3 types of
hops grown in the Alsace. The taste is reminiscent of a
dark, malty, Czech lager and is very, very nice. (Score -
5)
Heineken Kylian:
Jeanne d'Arc Ambre des
Flandres:
Jeanne d'Arc Belzebuth:
Jeanne d'Arc Grain
d'Orge:
La Choulette Ambrée:
Malty dark amber beer with more bitterness than most French
beers. Has a slight taste hovering on top and a gentle
background carbonation. (Score - 3)
La Choulette Bière des Sans
Culottes:
La Choulette Framboise:
Pelforth Amberley:
Pelforth George
Killian's:
Saint Sylvestre 3
Monts: Straw coloured strong ale with a frothy
head. Smooth with a restrained alcoholic hoppy flavour and
a bready mouthfeel. A potent beer that feels like a warm
summer evening in the French countryside. A sipping beer.
(Score - 4)
Irish Beer
Beamish Irish Stout:
Guinness Extra Stout:
Kilkenny Irish Beer:
Macardles Traditional
Ale:
Murphys Irish Stout:
Only has a light bitterness with a bright citrus hop being
more prevalent. Light but fairly creamy. (Score - 3)
Smithwicks Ale:
Italian Beer
Heineken Moretti La
Rossa:
Isaac Birra Bianca:
SAB Miller Peroni Gran
Riserva: Light amber ale with an alcoholic edge
and a slight maltiness. The aftertaste becomes quite dry
and bitter. Not bad but somewhat uninspiring. (Score - 3)
Mexican Beer
Moctezuma Noche
Buena:
Welsh Beer
Brains IPA:
Brains SA:
Crown Buckley Brown
Ale: