A great bartender can make the difference between an average night out and a fantastic one. You might not think so, but a bartender at the top of his (or her!) game can really enhance your night out. Here are the qualities to look for.
Attentive, But Not Too Attentive
You don’t want a bartender that’s going to dominate your conversation or engage with you and neglect all his other customers. What you do want is someone who’s quick of wit, glib of tongue, and always notices when your drink is running low. If you’re having to chase down your bartender to remind him you need a refill, then you’re not in the presence of a great bartender.
Knowledgeable
If your bartender doesn’t know more about beer than you do, you’re in the wrong place. Any question you’ve got about any beer the place serves, and many that they don’t, should be at your bartender’s fingertips. If he hesitates or doesn’t know, find another place. It shouldn’t be up to you to train the staff. On a related note, bartenders need to be passionate about the beer they serve. It should show in their presentation and when they talk about it. In particular, they should be fussy about temperature, and be perfectly prepared to accept your decision if you find that the beer is not tasting right. Beer is a living substance and it can be moody. A great bartender knows that and will change the barrel if you say so.
Clean and Fast
The bar should be spotless. The bartender should be tending to it anytime he’s not fixing someone a drink, and where those drinks are concerned, he should be lighting fast on the delivery.
Gives Good Head
Okay, get your mind out of the gutter. Draught beer needs a good, foamy head. Not too big, and not nonexistent. Presentation matters, and a beer delivered to you with just the right amount of foam adds to the scent and flavor like you would not believe. A great bartender understands this and can pour a perfect pint every time, probably in his sleep.
Come enjoy the wonderful world of beer at the Edmonton International Beer Festival.
There are a number of fantastic beer museums scattered around the globe. If you’re a beer aficionado and have never visited any of them, then you owe it to yourself to do so. Below, we’ll outline three of the best, from third place to first and tell you why they’re worth the trip!
Sapporo Beer Museum
The beating heart of Japanese beer traditions, Sapporo has been brewing since 1877. The museum is housed in a former brewery from the nation’s Meiji Period. It provides visitors with an introduction to beer and brewing in Japan, and the grounds of the museum contain a small beer garden where tastings are available after you get your fill of history. If you’re in Japan for business or pleasure, this is one destination you won’t want to miss!
World Beer Museum
Surprisingly, two of our three “best” museums are located in Japan. This one’s in Tokyo, and unlike Sapporo, this museum has a much more cosmopolitan feel to it, featuring an extensive beer garden with beers from around the world, making it truly the best of the best in that regard. A full fledged museum located in SkyTree Town along with a mind boggling array of beers from around the world, it is unlikely you could try them all in a single visit, at least not if you plan to still remain upright. A fantastic place to visit again and again.
Deutsches Brauereimuseum
Japan might have two of our top three museums, but the crown for best of the best has to go to the German brewery museum. Located in Munich, it offers tons of great information about the German brewing tradition, and in its antiquities collection, you’ll find a drinking cup from the 4th century, BC. There’s even a dedicated microbrewery right there on the grounds, which makes for a fantastic way to end our tour through the museum proper.
If you don’t have your passport yet, get it, because these fantastic museums are ready and waiting for you.
If you can’t make it to Japan or Germany, how about Edmonton for the 2015 Edmonton International Beer Festival?
What would a pub be without pub games? Games are very much a part of pub culture and the whole experience, and over the centuries a number of classics have been developed. You may not find all of these at every pub, but if you make the rounds, you’ll see them on display and actively being played. Here are some of the best of the best.
Darts
Nearly every pub has a dart board. There’s something about drinking beer and hurling sharply pointed objects that just go together, making darts probably the most popular and beloved of all pub games. Just try to stay out of the line of fire. One Hundred and EIGHTY!
Ringing The Bull
A bit less common and more old school, the idea here is that you’ve got a placard mounted on a wall with a picture of a bull. At the bull’s nose, you’ve got a hook. There’s a rope hanging down from the ceiling some distance away with a ring on the end of it. The idea is to swing the rope, aiming the ring so that it catches on the hook at the bull’s nose. Needless to say, this game’s difficulty increases exponentially as the night wears on and more beer is consumed, which is part of the fun! Quite a rarity, pubs offering this game are deserving of special notice as they are likely to have great beer.
Bar Skittles
Think of this as miniaturized bowling that you do from your chair. You’ve got a table or board. On the board, there are pins set up. You’ve got a stick rising up from the board with a string on the end of it, hanging down. At the end of the string, you’ve got a ball.
You have three tries to swing the ball around and knock all the pins down before your competition has a go, and yes, the game can get surprisingly competitive. A fun game that’s easy to learn and a fair bit harder than you might think.
To see games like these in action, and have a go yourself, beer in hand, visit the 2015 Edmonton International Beer Festival.
Cans or bottles? It’s the age old question, and the debate rages hotly to this day. Most discerning beer drinkers will tell you that of the two, they prefer bottles, but cans are nearly as popular. There are pros and cons for both, and we’ll take a look at each just below.
The Argument In Favor Of Bottled Beer
Bottled beer drinkers will tell you that the beer stays colder longer, and thus holds its flavor longer. There are specific reasons why beer bottles are brown or green, having to do with filtering light to keep the beer fresher longer. Those beer drinkers who are also environmentally conscious will be quick to point out that the energy required to produce a bottle to put beer in is far less than the energy required to create an aluminum can, and they’re absolutely correct there.
They’ll also point out that beer from a can tends to have a metallic taste. However brewers have been lining the interiors of their cans with a thin coating of plastic since the thirties, which makes this complaint less likely, unless those doing the complaining are having a few too many and licking the exterior of the can between sips. Of course, if you drink out of the can you are going to be in onctact with metal which many people just don’t enjoy.
The Argument In Favor Of Canned Beer
Proponents of canned beer point out that despite the tricks of tinting the beer bottles, canned beer stays fresher longer, and the beer remains completely airtight, which also contributes to longevity. Perhaps the biggest benefit of beer in a can is ease of transport and that nothing is required to open the can. Granted, a bottle opener isn’t a big expense, but it’s still a tool you have to use to get to your beloved beer, unless you’re exceptionally talented at opening bottles with your teeth, or on the sides of a sturdy table. (So that’s all of you then….)
Huffington Post recently did an extensive taste test spanning twenty-five beer brands that were sold in both cans and bottles. Surprisingly, in a blind taste test, canned beer edged out bottled beer in nearly every case in terms of flavor, though it should be said that it was close, with canned beer coming out ahead 51 to 54 percent, so the margins are extremely tight. It should also be said that during the blind test, barely fifty percent of drinkers were able to correctly identify whether the beer they were drinking originally came from a can or a bottle.
Beer has been sold by the bottle for as long as it has been a commercial product, so there’s no chance that beer bottles will be disappearing from store shelves anytime soon. The brewers know that if they did that, they’d face open rebellion from legions of beer bottle aficionados. Nonetheless, as the recent Huffington Post survey revealed, canned beer is beginning to edge out the bottled variety, and that trend will probably continue over time. Craft brewers have taken note, and are increasingly offering their product in cans.
Bottled or canned, you’ll find the choice of beers outstanding at the 2015 Edmonton International Beer Festival.
There are some things we just know. Russia is famous for Vodka; it’s their “thing.” France is likewise famous for its wine, and more specifically for its champagne, but what about beer? If you had to list the top five beer making nations on the planet, what would such a list look like? Below, you’ll find our picks. Our selection was made not just on the sheer amount produced, although clearly that plays a role, but also on the nation’s brewing history.
5.Canada
Canada makes the cut for both its long tradition of brewing, plus some star studded brands. Labatt, Sleeman, Moosehead and Molson are all staples of the beer drinking world, which secures Canada a spot on the list. More than that though, there is the depth of commitment to microbrewing that you see in Canada today. That really makes them a remarkable entrant, because not all nations do that as thoroughly and completely as Canada has.
4.The United States
No list would be complete without the United States. In the US, beer makes up 85% of all the alcohol consumed. Additionally, the US is home to more than 1400 breweries that run the full gamut from micro to mega, and it’s such a vast nation that distinctive regional flavors have not only cropped up, but have flourished and thrived.
3.Belgium
Belgium’s entry in the top five is secured by the existence of Stella Artois alone, when of the most widely distributed beers in the world. With fifteen different brands being distributed, Belgium takes top honors where macro-breweries are concerned, and that alone secures them a high place on the list. But it’s the small artisanal breweries and the Belgians’ wholehearted dedication to drinking beer that make this tiny country a standout in the beer world.
2.Germany
The home of Oktoberfest, Germany is well known the world over for their masterful brews. Germany and beer are nearly synonymous. It’s a huge part of German culture. “Lift you stein and drink you beer” might be the national slogan of Germany. The German contribution to the world of beer is undoubtedly the lager style.
1.England
There are many reasons why England gets top billing. England has a long, proud brewing tradition, and produces some of the finest beers ever made. The English famously love to drink, but what is often not realized is that along with the unfortunate culture of binge drinking, goes a dedication to the finer points of the enjoyment of gourmet real ales.
Germany may one day knock England from its throne, but it would take quite a lot. Also consider that Scotland (part of Great Britain) by itself comes in at number six, just missing the list, and that Canada is part of the Commonwealth, receiving much of its beer tradition from the mother country. England’s position of dominance is all but assured.
To decide for yourself which country makes the best beer, come and sample a mind blowing range of offerings at the 2015 Edmonton International Beer Festival.
