Beer of the Weekend #3: Steinlager
The beer this weekend is New Zealand’s finest, Steinlager
brewed by…
I’m looking on the label at the rather unoriginal name of the brewer: New Zealand Breweries Limited of Auckland, New Zealand. Seems very corporate, uncreative — like a big building in an office park with mirror-like windows reflecting the sunlight. According to the website it’s brewed by Lion Nathan, brewer of Australia’s Castlemaine XXXX, but I’m not seeing it on the bottle. Weird.
Instead of buying this weekend’s specialty brew at BevMo! I picked it up at the Ralph’s on Garfield and Golden West. Lately, I’ve only bought Pabst at Ralph’s because it's been sold out at BevMo!. The supermarket has a surprisingly diverse selection of brew, but I go to BevMo! because of this:
My ClubBev! card. The west coast is club card crazy, and the Midwest should catch the fever (Iowa should make out with Oregon, or something). It’s like a Ralph’s card. I get discounts on certain beer and their store system keeps track of my purchases. Once I’ve spent $250 — which will take a while since I only buy a sixer once a week — I get a coupon for 25 percent off. Yay. I think I have about $190 to go.
Anyway, Steinlager is your average, smooth lager. It was first brewed in 1957 when New Zealand’s Minister of Finance, Arnold Nordmeyer, challenged his fellow countrymen to develop a native beer with international flavor. It's original name was Steinecker, but it changed names in 1962 in accordance with a lawsuit from Heineken. Apparently the Dutch felt the names were too similar.
It’s the first Kiwi beer I’ve ever tried and I thought it was going to be spectacular, like the Moosehead of the Southern Hemisphere. But it’s nothing special. It’s straw colored, effervescent, with a thin, white, quickly dissipating head. It has a very Moosehead-like smell right after the cap is removed, which I can only describe as a pleasant skunk scent (trust me on that one). It’s very smooth and only a slight hint of hops is left on the palette. It’s very clean and refreshing, but not distinct. It’s no Moosehead, but it is something different.
Interesting Steinlager facts:
-Style: Pilsner.
-Alcohol content is 5%.
-Serving temperature is 43°-46°F (6°-9°C).
-According to "Beers of the World" Steinlager goes well with "an appetizing aperitif."
The Quiet Man’s grade: C+.
brewed by…
I’m looking on the label at the rather unoriginal name of the brewer: New Zealand Breweries Limited of Auckland, New Zealand. Seems very corporate, uncreative — like a big building in an office park with mirror-like windows reflecting the sunlight. According to the website it’s brewed by Lion Nathan, brewer of Australia’s Castlemaine XXXX, but I’m not seeing it on the bottle. Weird.
Instead of buying this weekend’s specialty brew at BevMo! I picked it up at the Ralph’s on Garfield and Golden West. Lately, I’ve only bought Pabst at Ralph’s because it's been sold out at BevMo!. The supermarket has a surprisingly diverse selection of brew, but I go to BevMo! because of this:
My ClubBev! card. The west coast is club card crazy, and the Midwest should catch the fever (Iowa should make out with Oregon, or something). It’s like a Ralph’s card. I get discounts on certain beer and their store system keeps track of my purchases. Once I’ve spent $250 — which will take a while since I only buy a sixer once a week — I get a coupon for 25 percent off. Yay. I think I have about $190 to go.
Anyway, Steinlager is your average, smooth lager. It was first brewed in 1957 when New Zealand’s Minister of Finance, Arnold Nordmeyer, challenged his fellow countrymen to develop a native beer with international flavor. It's original name was Steinecker, but it changed names in 1962 in accordance with a lawsuit from Heineken. Apparently the Dutch felt the names were too similar.
It’s the first Kiwi beer I’ve ever tried and I thought it was going to be spectacular, like the Moosehead of the Southern Hemisphere. But it’s nothing special. It’s straw colored, effervescent, with a thin, white, quickly dissipating head. It has a very Moosehead-like smell right after the cap is removed, which I can only describe as a pleasant skunk scent (trust me on that one). It’s very smooth and only a slight hint of hops is left on the palette. It’s very clean and refreshing, but not distinct. It’s no Moosehead, but it is something different.
Interesting Steinlager facts:
-Style: Pilsner.
-Alcohol content is 5%.
-Serving temperature is 43°-46°F (6°-9°C).
-According to "Beers of the World" Steinlager goes well with "an appetizing aperitif."
The Quiet Man’s grade: C+.
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