Today at lunch in the factory canteen I got into a conversation with one of the cellar operators (fermentation room). I asked him, how do you like our new beer brewed in the mini brewery? And he almost proudly answers – “I don’t know. I do not consume alcohol at all. I was shocked. And then I remembered back in 1994. Back then, the future Carlsberg was being recruited. There were few ready specialists in Israel, so one of the determining factors was a love of beer.

I didn’t misspell, all of us working in the brewery at that time truly loved beer. Maybe that’s why we were able to create a thriving enterprise from scratch? I guess I’m just an old grump, but I still can’t understand how you can work without love for what you do!!! It’s not like we’re making stools.

I’m told that a marketer can sell shoes and then go to a cognac factory and sell brandy. Maybe, though I don’t think it’s unambiguous… But beer, it’s alive and it feels you! Beer brewed without love will never taste good, that’s a proven fact.

And now for the beer itself. This Saturday I had some friends over for a beer. After a little warm-up with a fresh Tuborg, we moved on to some delicacies. We started with Gulden Draak Calvados. This is the second beer in the Gulden Draak Quad barrel aged beers series. It was brewed for 4 to 6 months in Calvados barrels. The beer is not bad, but no more. Unfortunately, aging in barrels did not add anything special … The taste had notes of green apple, delicately shading this strong Belgian beer. All in all not bad at all, but of course not worth the money they ask for.

It didn’t work out with Golden Dragon, so we decided to try another Belgian beer, Petrus Tripel. Once again we were disappointed – a good job by a craft brewer, nothing more. Despite the disappointment, we decided not to give up!

It didn’t work out with Golden Dragon, so we decided to try another Belgian beer, Petrus Tripel. Once again we were disappointed – a good job by a craft brewer, nothing more. Despite the disappointment, we decided not to give up!

I began to rack my brains: how to save the situation? – Of course, the good old classics! So I pulled out some Tuborg Black from a dark corner of my library. We don’t release it anymore, but I have a few bottles “insisting” in my cupboard. We poured it out and the room became lighter with our happy smiles. Of course, I could sense a slight aging in the taste – after all, the beer is exactly three years old, but this aging is kind of noble. The beer became more rounded, all the protrusions and irregularities disappeared from the taste. Our mood improved, and we decided not to take any more risks and consolidate our success.

The German beer Schneider Weisse is known to all beer lovers. You can safely take any of their beers. Each of them, in addition to the name, has a number. In my “library” I had a bottle with the number 5 – “Hopfenweisse Wheizendoppelbock”. As soon as I opened the bottle, the aroma of exotic fruits immediately filled the entire room. It was so wonderful that we just enjoyed this magical bouquet, not daring to take a sip of the beer. The taste of “Five” was just as wonderful – tropical fruit and a slight bitterness, shaded by a delicate wheat sourness. Wonderful beer!

With friendly conversation and leisurely tasting, the evening came to a close and we decided to enjoy one more, I’m not afraid to say, outstanding beer on the way. Aventinus Eisbock is marked with number 9. It has a high alcohol content – as much as 12%!, which does not hinder, but emphasizes the richness of taste.  The aroma is full-bodied – dried fruit and walnuts, they are felt in the taste. The nuts are followed by raisins and dried apricots. I’m not afraid of the lofty words, but this is truly a royal beer!

Such a spontaneous tasting I had on Saturday. It once again confirmed my opinion that all these newfangled brands and varieties come and go, but the classics stay with us always.