Photo: Corkbilly.com
The good news is, the first step to becoming a beer aficionado is to love beer, and if you’re reading this, you’ve probably got that part covered. The next step is to break out of your comfort zone and try a lot of new beers — beers you’ve never tried before, from places you’ve probably never been. And if that sounds like work, then you’re going about it all wrong. Here are a few famous international brews to get you started on your road to becoming a beer master.
Gavroche
Sharing a name with the famous urchin of Les Misérables, Gavroche is an unfiltered amber beer bottled by the St. Sylvestre Brasserie in St. Sylvestre-Cappel, France. This beer undergoes a second fermentation in the bottle, and often comes corked instead of capped.
Gavroche is a foamy, sweet red ale with a rich orange coloration, a spicy, malty aroma and hints of flavors often described as “caramel” or “coffee.” Despite being 8.5% alcohol content, it’s a remarkably mild and creamy beer that will make for a good start on your road to beer appreciation.
Xyauyù Etichetta Oro (Gold)
Brewed by Le Baladin in Italy, the toughest thing about Xyauyù Etichetta Oro (Gold Label) might just be the pronunciation — if not the whopping 13.5% alcohol content. Bottled and corked in champagne-style bottles, Xyauyù Etichetta Oro is left to oxidize from anywhere between six and twenty-four months, with an ongoing tasting process to ensure it’s reached just the right balance of flavors.
This unusual beer won’t produce much of a head when poured, but has rich, dark, sweet notes of honey, raisins, almonds and brown sugar, but with a fully body and dry finish. Xyauyù Etichetta Oro might be tough to pronounce, but it’s easy to drink.
Delirium Tremens
Now that you’ve gotten your feet wet, you can dive into the deeper end of the pool by trying Delirium Tremens by the Huyghe brewery of Belgium. Delerium Tremens is a more expensive beer, with a price tag some people might find off-putting, but you owe it to yourself to give it a try. You can recognize Delerium Tremens by the dancing pink elephants on the bottle.
Delerium Tremens has a spicy, fruity flavor that some compare to apple, banana, and/or apricot, and a taste that hides its high alcohol content — while it might be pricy compared to other beers, DT packs a wallop at 8.5% alcohol, with high carbonation and a complex flavor that gets more nuanced and interesting the more you drink. Just don’t let your newfound love of Delerium Tremens break the bank!
Westvleteren 12
Called “the best beer in the world,” Westvleteren 12 (also known as Westy 12) can be tough to get a hold of — it’s only sold by the Trappist monks of Belgium’s Saint Sixtus Abbey, and you’ll need a reservation once you get there! (Maybe it’s time to learn German after all?) The Trappist monks exported a small amount of Westy 12 to the States in 2012, but they sold out almost immediately, and the monks have no current plans to release it again — making even finding this beer quite a score.
The distinctive bottle Westy 12 comes in doesn’t even have a label on it — it just comes in a plain brown bottle. Westy 12 has a dark, fruity plum flavor with sugary notes and relatively little head compared to many other beers. Westy 12 clocks in at a 10.2% alcohol content, so you’ll definitely know you’re drinking it.
Will trying these four beers make you a true beer aficionado? Even assuming you can land a bottle of Westvleteren 12, the answer is “probably not.” But it will get you on the road to expanding your palate and trying news beers, which is what being a beer enthusiast is all about.
About The Writer
Leslie Collins is a long time writer for Pimsleur Approach. She hopes to learn German through the program and enjoys traveling, coffee, discovering new cultures, relaxing with her friends and trying a new beer as often as she can.
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