Milk Stout Review

Brewery: Not sure…
Brewery Location: Poland
Alcohol: Also not sure…

This was my favorite of the beers I had while I was in the PiwPaw bar. I unfortunately failed to write down the exact name and/or the brewery, so I am not too sure on all the information. I do remember asking for a Polish beer, though, so I can only assume that this was a Polish Milk Stout. Continue reading

A Weekend In Poland

Earlier this year I went to Poland for the weekend with some friends of mine. We arrived late Friday night in Warsaw and stayed until Sunday evening for a simple weekend away.

The Palace of Culture and Science, our first sight in Warsaw as we disembarked from the bus.

We quickly made our way to the hostel and dropped our stuff off before going out for some dinner at a classic Polish restaurant. All 4 of us got something different so we could all share, but I think we were too busy eating it to take any pictures! I can’t remember what we each had, but the pierogi (dumplings) were like biting into heaven itself!

After some drinks, full and tired, we made our way to our hostel to retire for the night. As soon as we got there, though, we decided to go back out and get some cocktails at a bar near our hostel.

I can’t recall the name of the bar, and the cocktails themselves weren’t really amazing, but the bartender was pretty funny. He was very intent on making custom creations just for us, so we all kind of gave him some pointers and he very enthusiastically made them for us, even if they weren’t that great in the end. Continue reading

Beer Tasting At Jameson Irish Pub

A few weeks ago I saw a posting for a beer tasting at the Jameson pub here in Cologne. I finally participated with a friend of mine last Thursday, and it was pretty cool.

Me on the left with my friend on the right

The tasting was hosted by Wolf Heisig, who owns the Braukunstladen Köln here in Cologne. Mr. Heisig was quite knowledgeable and imparted some interesting facts about beer on us.

The agenda was pretty straightforward; 7 different beers over about 2 hours. Continue reading

Angelo Poretti 7 Luppoli Review

Brewery: Birrificio Angelo Poretti
Brewery Location: Varese, Italy
Alcohol: 7%

This was the second beer my friend and I got in the bar in Rome (after the first one). This was an unfiltered lager that was a bit stronger than the 4 hops. While this was a bit more what I was looking for, for a “7 hops” beer, it was still much less hoppy than I would have wanted. It was considerably less hoppy than an IPA, so it just kind of bridged the gap between a “normal” lager and a hoppier ale, like an IPA. Continue reading

Angelo Poretti 4 Luppoli Review

Brewery: Birrificio Angelo Poretti
Brewery Location: Varese, Italy
Alcohol: 5.5%

This was the first beer my friend and I got when we arrived in Rome and went to a bar. It seemed to be the standard “big beer” in Italy, much like Heineken or Budweiser. It seemed to be in about the same tier, and my friend nailed it on the head by stating that it tasted “very commercial.” It wasn’t bad, just seemed to be like any other widely produced beer out there. Continue reading

Return to Rome

Earlier this year, a friend and I went to Rome, which would mark my second trip to Rome (after my first trip).

The friend that I went with was actually Italian, and he had a bit of knowledge that I wasn’t aware of the first time I went there. We left Friday evening after work and arrived late in the night. We went to a bar and got some Italian beers (which I will post about later), and while there we ran into a bunch of people from Wales. There was apparently a big Rugby game between an Italian and Welsh team, so the bars were full of Rugby fans preparing for the game the following day. Continue reading