Memorable Moments Drinking Beer Around the World
Part Four in a Series dedicated to drinking beer around the world.
As lovers of beer, we try our best to take a photo of every new beer that we sample while on the road, making for an awesome photo collection with over 300 different types and brands of beer. Because tastes and preferences are so subjective, our goal for this series was not to find the “best beer in the world”, but rather to find “amazing beer moments” or “incredible beer drinking settings”.
Below are ten more unforgettable moments drinking beer around the world.
Cheers!
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From Beer Around the World |
Angkor Premium Beer – Siem Reap, Cambodia
Cambodia’s national beer. We enjoyed these tall, cold bottles of beer after our first day exploring the world famous Temples of Angkor. You can actually see the bottles sweating in the humidity. Though heavy on tourism, Siem Reap is a fun backpacker/traveler town with plenty of restaurants and bars to sample its popular beer.
The beer verdict – Light, sweet and refreshing, but weak on body and taste. We give it 6.5 out of 10
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From Beer Around the World |
Alexander Keith’s India Pale Ale – Banff, Alberta (but from Nova Scotia)
Fellow Canadians will be the first to claim that there are much tastier beer options in Canada. We agree. But remember, this post is not only about the beer, it’s about the moment. There are few places on earth that match the beauty of Banff National Park in Alberta. This was the view from our campground just outside of the town of Banff. As if almost on cue, a flock of Canadian geese floated across the lake to get in the picture.
The beer verdict – Light, clear and sweet but limited on flavour. It shouldn’t be classified as an IPA (more like a lager). We give it a generous 7 out of 10
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From Beer Around the World |
Tooheys New Lager – Surfers Paradise, Australia
This memorable beer moment comes from inside our oversized four-berth campervan. We drove the East Coast of Australia from Cairns down south to Sydney. We remember this evening well because we had to stay in a sketchy motor home park, with most sites being semi-permanent. We had no idea Surfers Paradise was so developed and posh. We foolishly assumed it was a hippy surfing town that would have plenty of cheap campgrounds – not the case!
The beer verdict – Clean, clear, slightly malty with good flavour. We give it 7 out of 10
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From Beer Around the World |
De Koninck – Amsterdam, Netherlands (but from Belgium)
Let us start by saying this – we love Amsterdam! Who doesn’t? It’s a “must visit” on the Western European backpacker circuit and is arguably one of Europe’s best party destinations. We sampled several beers during our time in Holland’s sin city, so it’s difficult to match beer with location or moment. That said, this amber from De Koninck left a good impression on our taste buds and kicked off a great evening in the Dam.
The beer verdict – Great colour, fruity and flavourful but soft on body. We give it 8 out of 10
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From Beer Around the World |
Tsingtao Beer – Hong Kong
Without question, Hong Kong is one of the world’s greatest cities. Tucked between the high-rise mega structures are dense alleys filled with street vendors and colourful markets. As China’s largest brewery, we had to sample its prized beer after an evening of shopping the popular “Ladies Market” in Kowloon. Why is it that a cold beer always tastes better when consumed at an outdoor food market?
The beer verdict – Light, crisp and refreshing with a smooth bitterness (great compliment to spicy noodles!). We give it 7.5 out of 10
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From Beer Around the World |
Brahma Beer – Huacachina, Peru
There’s so much more to Peru than Machu Picchu. Located on the Pacific coast of Peru, Huacachina is a desert oasis with giant sand dunes as high as mountains. We had to move indoors after baking by the pool in the desert sun. As we enjoyed our afternoon beer, we noticed that our hostel was a little ‘out of the ordinary’. The walls were filled with paintings of aliens and outer space, giving it a weird sci-fi vibe. When we were offered to purchase weed at the restaurant bar we realized that we were staying at the ‘happy hostel’.
The beer verdict – One of the better South American beers. Good body, sweet and tasty. We give it 7.5 out of 10
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From Beer Around the World |
Chang Beer – Koh Chang, Thailand
If you’ve been to Thailand and you enjoy beer, you’ve likely sampled one of Thailand’s most popular brew. What this picture fails to do is properly illustrate the quiet, peaceful jungle lodge surroundings. Our guest house was located high above Lonely Beach, just off the main street. We were there in the off season, so we had the comfortable restaurant to ourselves for the entire week. It was the perfect serene setting that you seek when visiting a lush tropical island.
The beer verdict – Nothing special, tangy sweet, little sour but refreshing. We give it a modest 7 out of 10
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From Beer Around the World |
Philadelphia Lager – Aqaba, Jordan
After an unusually long day of traveling from Egypt to Jordan, we were happy to finally arrive at our hotel. As a Muslim country, we expected to have a hard time finding beer in Jordan. Not the case. In fact, there was a liquor store right across the street from our hotel. We enjoyed our Philadelphia Lager on our 4th floor balcony, high enough to overlook the bustling city below. It was the first night in what turned out to be one of our favourite countries.
The beer verdict – Not good, but it’s cold beer in the Middle East! We give it 5 out of 10
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From Beer Around the World |
Ursus Premium – Brasov, Romania
Our day was spent exploring the fabled Bran Castle, proclaimed to be Dracula’s Castle, located in the Transylvanian countryside of Romania. We ran into a solo English traveler that we met in Veliko Tarnovo a week prior. We swapped travel stories over traditional Romanian food (lots of pickled vegetables) and live entertainment. It’s always interesting randomly meeting people for a second time while on the same trip.
The beer verdict – Average taste, sub-par when compared to other European Beers. We give it 6.5 out of 10
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From Beer Around the World |
Beer Vending Machine – Yokohama, Japan
Cold beer + vending machine = awesome! Canadians can’t even buy beer from the grocery store; we need to purchase from government stores or heavily regulated merchants that overcharge. So you can imagine our delight when we arrived in Japan and were able to buy beer at all times of the day from a machine!
The beer verdict – Being able to buy beer from a machine gets a unanimous 10 out of 10
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Do you have a memorable beer moment that you’d like to share?
Leave us your comments below or post a message on facebook
Hey what about Greek beer – on Santorini? I think that’s a pretty memorable beer memory?? Efes beer in Turkey is also a delight. Check it out!!
Got ’em in there already – Efes in Turkey is in Part 3 and Greece is in Part One 😉
That’s awesome! 10 out of 10 for the machine!
I’ve always preferred Chang over Singha in Thailand and find it to be quite decent myself. And I agree that Brahma is one of the better beers in S. America. Actually, I don’t remember liking any others at all down there!
Ya, the South American beers were not the greatest, though I did like Cusquena and Brahma. I’m the opposite on Thai beers – Singha all the way! 😉
I’ve already got Part 5 selections picked… should be less of a gap between postings this time
I’ve enjoyed many beers around the world, but the best beers sometimes are less about what type it is then who it is shared with…..
Couldn’t agree more 😉
I’ve been enjoying a lot of Tsingtao Beer lately and most of it with spict noodles like you say, it’s sooo cheap as well!
We really enjoyed the Tsingtao and cheap noodles. Wait until you get to SE Asia… the beers will get even cheaper!
You’re missing Beer Laos–by far the best of SE Asia 🙂
It’s definitely up there!
I had a chance before to taste De Koninck and I must say that it is really great to taste this beer. I think I had 4 to 5 bottles of it. Good luck to your journey.
Thanks! Yes – De Koninck is a good one. One of the better ones on this list.
I love these beer articles. Of these, I’ve tried Angkor, Tsingtao and Chang beer. I love trying new beer when traveling. I make it a point to do my research before I go anywhere to know what kind of beer to try. I’ll have to try these beers now. Know of any good beers in Greece?
Hey Steve – glad you’re enjoying the beer posts! More to come in the future…
As for Greece, we liked Mythos. It’s the ‘popular’ beer. There were a few more that we tried, but Mythos seems to stand out.
We just moved from Prague to Halifax, Nova Scotia – so, we agree on your rating of Keith’s ….7 is very generous. Sad.
I just discovered you guys. Cool stuff.
Well, I’m going to look through the Series, hoping to discover a Czech beer. It must here, somewhere…
-jeff
It’s funny, when I was in my early 20’s I thought Keiths was a great beer, but that was a very different period! we’ve got plenty of Czech beer shots, not sure how many are posted right now but we’ll be adding at least 5 more of these over the coming months (hard to find the time!)
love the beer posts – have been thinking about doing a beers-around-the-world post myself soon. You have given me plenty of “food” for thought!
Cheers Michael! 😉