Beer of the Weekend #92: Oranjeboom Premium Lager

Can the Dodgers clinch the NL West tonight? Please? They’re playoff bound, but I’d rather them be the division champs (with home field advantage) than the Wild Card.

BotW is double dipping again. The second beer this weekend is Oranjeboom Premium Lager brewed by the Brouweij de Oranjeboom of Breda, The Netherlands.


Oboom is one of the three curious Dutch lagers sold at Trader Joe’s. I say curious because at first I was skeptical of whether they were really imported; at first I thought the claim was just a marketing gimmick, and that the fine print would reveal a certain San Jose brewery as the brewer. However, they’re all legit. (Plus, I saw Oboom at BevMo! last week, so I knew it couldn’t be a TJ’s exclusive.) Oboom is the first I’ve decided to try because it was the worst rated on BA. Based on the label design, I wouldn’t have thought so. But you can’t judge beer by the label.

Serving type: Six 16-ounce cans. I have no clue why Oboom is served as proper pints, but I’m not one to complain about drinking four extra ounces of brew.

Appearance: Poured a clean golden straw color. About two fingers of off-white head rose and dissipated to leave a thin lacing and ring around the edge.

Smell: Corn malt. It has a skunky macro aroma, but nothing offensive. There are also trace notes of hops, and a pleasant fruit aroma emerges as the beer warms.

Taste: Mirrors the smell, and “oranje” shows itself as the fruit from the smell. Corn malts reminiscent of a macro. Reminds me a lot of a Mexican adjunct, but without the Latin bite.

Drinkability: It’s not complex, but it’s definitely not a bad brew. It’s a pretty decent lager.

Fun facts about Oboom:

-Price: I can’t remember for sure, but I think it was $5.99 for the sixer.

-Serving temperature: 40-45°F.

-Alcohol content: 5 percent ABV.

-Food pairings: All BA suggests is “Meat (Poultry, Fish, Shellfish).”

-According to Wikipedia, the Brouweij de Oranjeboom was one of the first Dutch brewers to brew lager in the nineteenth century.

-Dutch is a badass language, but I don’t speak it. (Shit. I can hardly speak French and I learned it for eight years.) I’ve decided I want a Dutch woman, just so she can whisper me dirty nothings in Dutch.

-Speaking of Dutch, the English translation of Oranjeboom is “orange tree.” The reference, and orange tree on the label (which looks red to me), pays homage to the orange tree symbol used by the Dutch royal family. The Dutch national soccer team also uses the royal orange for their jerseys.

-Founded in 1528, the Brouweij de Oranjeboom was originally called Three Horses Brewery because it was next to a blacksmith’s shop that had a sign depicting three horses.


The Quiet Man’s grade: C+.

Dodgers win, 5-0! The boys in blue are 2009 NL West champs.

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