BEST BREWS For the world’s best dads —PHOTO COURTESY OF DON REVY PHILIPPINES
Happy Father’s Day to all the dads!!! You all deserve a special beer today so here are a few recommended brews from around the world for you!
Pilsner Urquell
If your father is a beer connoisseur, this is for him.
This was the world’s first pale lager, characterized by a golden color and clarity, with some of the world’s greatest pales, including our own San Miguel Pale Pilsen, inspired by this very beer. Its quality is unquestionable, using 100-percent Czech ingredients, including water! That is because nowhere else in the world can you find what is referred to as “soft” Plzen water, i.e., water that is so pristine that its freshness cannot be reproduced in any other country. That is also why all Pilsner Urquells are brewed and bottled in Plzen, Czechia.
It also uses Saaz hops specifically from Žatec, a historic Czech town famous for 700-year long tradition of growing Saaz noble hops.
This brand is also obsessed with the “perfect pour” because foam is important not just for texture but for flavor. A thick “head” (top part of the pour) of dense, wet foam seals in the freshness of the beer by protecting its delicate flavors from oxygen. It creates a balance of flavors: the foam is sweet and smooth as against the bitter hops.
Pilsner Urquell uses three traditional pouring styles. Hladinka is the standard style, with about one quarter foam, which gives the perfect balance of sweetness and bitterness and goes well with rich food like ribs. Šnyt has two “fingers” of beer, three fingers of foam and one finger of empty glass. This pour was created for drinkers who wanted to order less than a full glass but needed to avoid the shame of ordering a small beer. This also goes well with heavy food. Mlíko, or “milk” beer, is a glass almost entirely full of foam except for a sliver of beer at the bottom. This is typically taken at the end of the night, even with sweet food, because the foamy, sweet taste is supposed to give the drinker “a jolt of energy before stumbling home.” Evidently, these pours are for those who go to the pub. But what is impressive is that even the can or the bottled Pilsner Urquell distributed here manages to give a semblance of the “perfect pour.”
Peroni Nastro Azzurro
For the father who is always relaxed, unbothered yet dapper, and always cool, calm and collected, try this.
Peroni was founded by Francesco Peroni in Vigevano, a small town near Genova in the region of Lombardi in 1846. Its headquarters later moved to Rome and it became the biggest brewery in Italy. As for its European-style premium lager Nastro Azzurro—that is, thankfully, now available in the Philippines via DonRevy.com or even at S&R—this was created by the Peroni family in 1963. It was named after the luxury Italian liner SS Rex that won the coveted Blue Ribbon or Nastro Azzurro, a symbol of national pride, for crossing the Atlantic Ocean the fastest.
The original Peroni became known because of its use of the town’s glacial water in the town of Vigevano, thanks to its surrounding mountains. For the Nastro Azzurro, the distinguishing ingredient is the Nostrano dell’Isola maize, exclusively produced for them in Bergamo in northern Italy. The result is what they describe as “a crisp and refreshing beer with a delicate balance of bitterness, citrus and spicy aromatic notes, combined with a fast and clean finish.”
Moritz
If your dad loves sushi, this is the beer to get because this one goes well with fish, sushi, white meat and can also be ideally paired with mild, creamy cheeses.
Although now produced in Zaragoza, Moritz was originally produced in Barcelona, dating back to 1856. Louis Moritz Trautmann, one of the pioneers of the Catalan beer industry, founded Moritz using the Alsatian art of the “brassage” or art of making beer. Alsace is France’s leading brewing region, with the recipes following the seasons, e.g. smooth and spicy notes for Christmas beer and fresh, fruity beer for spring.
This one also prides itself with the water used: Montseny Water from the Font d’Or in the Montseny-Guilleries massif that belongs to Vichy Catalan company. As for hops, they also use the world-renowned Saaz hops to give their beer its extraordinary floral aroma.
Dark brew
For the dads who love dark beer, there are Chimay from Belgium and Kozel from Velké Popovice near Prague.
Whatever beer you choose for your dad, including our good ol’ San Miguel (pale, not light!), do give him a bear hug and a beer hug today.
To all dads everywhere, we are so grateful for you!