It is a very light, lager-like beer that is traditionally served in a tall, thin glass called a stange. Kölsch is a regional style of German ale produced by brewers in Köln (Cologne). Mount Robson Kölsch from Three Ranges Brewing in Valemount, BC
Germany is certainly one of Europe’s prime beer travel destinations. (Note: I’ve included the United Kingdom even though it’s not officially part of the EU anymore.)Įuropean-Style Beers on the BC Ale Trail Germany It is not an exhaustive list of every such beer brewed here your own local brewery might make one of these styles, too, so consider this as a starting point - like a suggestion in a guidebook that sends you to a neighbourhood in a foreign city you might never have explored on your own. Instead, why not explore the range of European-style beers that are brewed right here in British Columbia? Here is a sampling, organized by European country. You might have even had a trip to Europe booked this year, which you’ve been forced to cancel or postpone. Oh, and the Baltics: Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, too! And I almost forgot Iceland, although maybe that’s not considered Europe… Maybe you’re missing European travel, too? I can’t wait to go back again! My beer travel bucket list still includes: checking out the beer scene in Berlin a return to Prague more Belgian beer explorations Italy (yes, they apparently have a great beer scene there) and a Scandinavian tour. And on other trips since then I’ve guzzled litre steins of Märzen in the big tents at Oktoberfest in Munich and sipped my way through a wide range of sours, saisons and barrel-aged ales on a tour of Belgium. Later, when I returned as a slightly less hairy 30-something, my wife and I tasted freshly brewed pilsner in its birthplace, the city of Plzen in the Czech Republic - she still considers that style to be her favourite to this day. Now that’s a proper size beer glass! Joe Wiebe enjoys some Märzen in Munich during Oktoberfest in 2011.
Memorable standouts included black lager in Prague for 25¢/pint - we drank several in a row with some East Germans who regaled us with stories of what life had been like on the other side of the Berlin Wall cask-conditioned ales in London a long row of shilling ales at a pub in Edinburgh and Guinness stout at the Brazen Head in Dublin, a 700-year-old pub that has been serving it since the brewery opened in 1759. It really opened my eyes (and palate) to the wide range of flavour possibilities that beer could offer, and my buddy Glen and I went on to taste beers all over Europe on that trip. It was delicious and unlike any other beer I’d ever tasted back here in Canada. Some of my greatest travel memories involve sampling beers in Europe - I remember my first sip of Hefeweizen in Germany back when I was a long-haired, wide-eyed, 20-year-old backpacker. Missing out on overseas travel this year? You don’t have to travel far to enjoy these 100+ European-style beers produced by breweries right here in British Columbia.