With you on Estrella Damm, but what is your beef with the solid and reliable Mahou? I also like Alhambra, especially their super-dooper 6.5% number. san miguel tastes a bit metallic for my refined palate.

As we speak, I have a bottle of Okocim (Poland) in the fridge waiting for the football to start.

One of Europe's greats, I would venture to suggest. I like Zywiec, too, but it's not as malty.

I will also stand up for beer from Croatia. Maybe because it was hot and I was having such a great time there, but I really enjoyed all the beers I had there - Ožujsko is a belter, and Karlovacko was generally very tasty.



Then again, perhaps it was the fact that they were usually sold in litre bottles...

I have 4 bottles of Oranjeboom X, but I dont suppose that will help...

No, I don't suppose it did - quite the contrary. In fact I hold you responsible for last night's shocker.

Holland, I mean, not any disgracefulness that you yourself might have been up to...

StephL wrote:


The chain stores in france usually have the same prices nationwide, whether in Paris or in Lille. IIRC, Carrefour stocks Westmalle along with Rochefort at slightly higher prices than the above.

There's also a nice dark beer, Pietra I think it was called.

Lucy Waterman wrote:


Gaffel and Sion aren't lagers. (Edit: I see tCC spotted this, and also spotted Reissdorf.)

What people have said, really: if we stick to lagers it's a Germany v Czech Rep final, with the rest nowhere. Like the Cyclist, I think Germany edge it.

If we allow all kinds of beer, then Germany walk it, unless we also allow non-qualifiers like Belgium and England, in which case it's a close Germany-Belgium final which Germany win on penalties. If a third-place playoff were held between England and CR (which of course it wouldn't be), it would also be close, but to be honest I think third place would be England's.

If allow non-lagers but exclude non-qualifiers, the losing semifinalists would be the Dutch and (yes) the French--for the likes of Ch'ti, Jenlain and La Choulette.