One of the things that can be a part of being an international biersommelier is being asked to be a judge in a beer competition. I was asked to judge in the Dutch Beer Challenge of 2020 and of course I said yes!
We managed to get our hands on some beers brewed in America! And that's something, because they aren't easy to get around here.
As I visited Burton last year with the new students, I visited Dortmund in 2018 with my own study group. Our assignment was to brew a Dortmunder Export, but none of us ever drank a Dortmunder Export before.
One part of being a biersommelier is knowing your classics. Therefore I want to present a beer to you once in a while. Today that's going to be Boltons Ur-Alt
It's autumn and I live in the Netherlands, which makes it impossible to ignore bock beers. Bock beers in the Netherlands are based on their German counterparts but is now a proper all Dutch beerstyle on its own.
Burton-on-Trent is historically speaking a very important beer city and it is mainly known for this extensive brewing history, with its height around the 18th and 19th centuries.
I want to participate in the Dutch championships in 2020. Not to win - not saying that wouldn't be nice - but mainly to participate in the first three rounds, test myself on my knowledge and tasting abilities ánd as a bonus...
Back to 2015. I just visited Hertog Jan, I tried a different beer every time I went to a pub, I used Untappd for over two years by then, and I hadn't begun StiBON yet. Somehow Beer in a Box came to my attention
As mentioned, before the two days in Obertrum I begun my trip a week earlier in München, beer capital of the world for sure! Famous for Oktoberfest, but a city that offers so much more.