In Praise of Amber Nectar - Part Duh ! | 34 comments (34 topical, editorial, 0 hidden)

Re: In Praise of Amber Nectar - Part Duh ! (4.00 / 2)

Sangria is a way of taking wine of indifferent quality and mixing it with stuff to make a palatable long drink. People who use good wine to make it are missing the point entirely, why waste good wine on which care and attention has been lavished when the sangria will destroy that very quality anyway ?

I would imagine anybody who cares about good wine would wince if a really good bottle was used for sangria; I respond similarly regarding beer. Why waste the balance and subtlety of good beer by making it taste of acid and lemon. If you want a lemony beer, get a spanish or other biere de pays where there's no flavour to be ruined.

This affliction started when mexican and other entirely tasteless beers such as Sol and San Miguel became fashionable. For the wine bar fashionistas who didn't really like beer it was wonderful, drinking with a slice of lime allowed them to pose without having to taste anything lower class like actual beer. However, now that fashion has moved on to beers that have genuine quality and flavour, the fashion remains even when it reveals the drinker to be know-nothing phillistines.

They can do what they like to Kristall, but polluting hefe is a crime against good taste.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue May 29th, 2007 at 10:01:30 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: In Praise of Amber Nectar - Part Duh ! (none / 1)

Exactly, which is why it's okay to mix beer of indifferent quality with lemonade to produce a clara.

But remember: si Sid Vicious hubiera conocido el kalimotxo, no habria muerto de sobredosis / si Sid Vicious hubiera conocido el kalimotxo, habria muerto de cirrosis [kalimotxo is red wine with cola]

The economy needs to be thought of as a garden, not as a wild ecosystem

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue May 29th, 2007 at 10:08:17 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Sangria vicious (none / 1)

If I could read a word in spanish, I might understand whatever it is I'm to remember

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Tue May 29th, 2007 at 10:12:24 AM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sangria vicious (4.00 / 2)

though my Spanish is very limited, I believe it means "If Sid Vicious had known kalimotxo* he wouldn't have died of overdose, if Sid Vicious had known kalimotxo he would've died of cirrhosis".

kalimotxo is pronounced "ka-lee-mu-tcho" (at least here in France, in some basque bars I went to and had the privilege to discover this mixture).

Le caoutchouc serait un matériau très précieux, n'était son élasticité qui le rend impropre à tant d'usages.- A.Allais

by armadillos (armadillo2024 (at) free (dotto) fr) on Tue May 29th, 2007 at 04:05:55 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: Sangria vicious (none / 1)

Great! Your handle reminds me of this other bit from a Spanish song: para la guerra el amarillo, para bestia el armadillo. Don't try to translate it, it's not supposed to make sense.

Can the last politician to go out the revolving door please turn the lights off?

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue May 29th, 2007 at 04:11:32 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: In Praise of Amber Nectar - Part Duh ! (none / 0)

Can the last politician to go out the revolving door please turn the lights off?

by Carrie (migeru at eurotrib dot com) on Tue May 29th, 2007 at 04:14:24 PM EST
[ Parent ]

well apart from finding you unnecessarily rude (4.00 / 2)

I disagree. I also home brew a considerable range of beer styles, so a phillistine of any sort on that front I'm not.

You didn't really answer my point about southern germany, home of hefe's, and the places I was were decidedly not flashy wine bars, but solid local drinking holes, because I was with southern german friends. So I remain unconvinced.

The Sangria comparison is a very poor one, because as you correctly point out, it's a way of turning lesser quality wine into a pleasing summer drink - ie seriously altering or masking the original taste. However if you want to make a truly spectacular sangria, using a nice rose and omitting the lemonade and any other cheap fizzy is an entirely different experience.

It's quite possible to compliment and highlight the taste of various beverages by adding another flavour which enhances the original qualities. Lemon does that for a good heffe, and does nothing to disguise the taste of a poor one, in fact it simply makes it more acid.

I enjoy drinking hefe both ways, depending on the particular characteristics. I personally find people who are fundamentalist in their views on how certain things should be drunk rather silly, as they miss the fact that humans are endlessly creative with our food and drink, and half the delight is finding new ways to enjoy excellent products.

"This can't possibly get more disturbing!" - Willow

by myriad (imogenk at wildmail dot com) on Tue May 29th, 2007 at 07:14:17 PM EST
[ Parent ]

Re: well apart from finding you unnecessarily rude (none / 1)

I stand by my original point. My personal view is that the lemon is so intrusive that it buries any individual quality that the beer may have. It could be the best beer in the world, it could be Holsten or Heineken, who could tell ?

I'm not against the idea of adding flavours entirely. Berliner Weisse is traditionally served with wormwood extract and I enjoy the beer either with or without. Indeed I'll confess a childish pleasure in drinking a glass of luminous green liquid. However, it is my view that it enhances the original flavour, whilst lemon buries it entirely.

As for germans drinking it with lemon. So what ? People do it all over the world, it's just an affectation born of distaste or indifference for the actual quality of the beer. Not every german cares anymore than most brits do.

But I care. Call me rude. (Why not ? It's true and my friends list is appropriately limited). Call me a beer snob, whatever. Lemon in beer offends me because it's not just unnecessary, it's ruinous. Especially where it is the default in a bar and you end up being made to feel you're at fault for asking for another beer without the lemony thing in it.

Of course I know mine is a minority opinion but I simply do not understand why anybody would spend the extra for a premium beer and then render it indistinguishable from the cheapest crappiest beer in the bar.

keep to the Fen Causeway

by Helen (lareinagal at yahoo dot co dot uk) on Wed May 30th, 2007 at 06:49:35 AM EST
[ Parent ]

In Praise of Amber Nectar - Part Duh ! | 34 comments (34 topical, 0 editorial, 0 hidden)

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