Drunken Crayfish

Do you know that?

De Ryck Brewery was founded by Gustaaf De Ryck in Herzele, Belgium, in 1886.

His De Gouden Arend Brewery (The Golden Eagle) was shut down during World War 1 as the brewing kettles were confiscated.

The De Ryck family reopened its family business under the name De Ryck Brewery in 1920. In the same year, the company?s flagship beer Special De Ryck was launched.

Today, the brewery offers a wide range of excellent beers, among which the four brews under the Arend brand: Arend Blond, Arend Dubbel, Arend Trippel, and Arend Winter.

Let?s taste the latter ? winter is coming and Arend Winter is just what you need when the thermometer goes down.

Arend Winter (6.3 vol. % alc.) is an amber-coloured Belgian high fermented Ale. It has a spicy flavour due to the authentic way of brewing with pure hops and malt.

Arend Winter has a subtler mouthfeel and is less stronger as compared to other winter beers.

The beer is available both in bottles and in kegs.

Arend Winter – the most agreeable companion on cold winter evenings!

EU: A look into the EU?s beer drinking culture

Beer continues to be an important industry in Europe but, like many consumer goods, it has not been unaffected by the recession. Many of Europe?s beer markets have experienced declines in the last 24 months and in the UK, pubs continue to close at an alarming rate, SABMiller said in a report published on November, 12.

However, beer still plays a crucial part in many Europeans? lives – in friendships, communities and sociability; although the role it plays varies from country to country with each nation displaying its own unique and varied beer drinking culture.

The findings of the company?s research into beer drinking culture around Europe include:

- Britain is the biggest round-buying nation, with 82% of people saying that they buy beer in rounds – three times more than in Germany, where drinkers prefer to pay for their own drinks individually;

- British bosses are amongst the most sociable in Europe – and the most generous, whereas French bosses are the least likely to ever go out for a beer with their teams;

- British women are big believers in equality – more than half think that men and women should split the beer tab on a date;

Prague, Amsterdam and Berlin have been named the top European destinations for a beer.

The report, ?Whose Round?’ which was researched across 12 European countries, found that 20% of all respondents named Prague as their top city for a beer, although Brits chose London, followed by Dublin, as their beer-drinking destination of choice.

Prague was chosen as the top city by respondents from five countries and was particularly popular with beer drinkers from its Eastern European neighbours. Second placed Amsterdam trailed with 13% of the vote. London was fifth overall, proving most popular with Romanian, Czech and Dutch drinkers – as well as Brits.

As well as the British; Dutch, Germans and French beer drinkers all showed their national pride by voting their own capital the top place for a pint. Propping up the bottom of the league table were Bucharest, Bratislava and Warsaw, landing only 1% of the vote each.

?Your Round?’ surveyed a range of beer drinking cultural trends across Europe, including which countries are most likely to socialise after work – and which have the most generous bosses; which nation of men are most likely to expect a woman to pay her way on a date; and the celebrities that Europeans would most like to go for a beer with.

Great Britain, Romania and Italy have the most generous bosses when it comes to buying beer whilst French bosses are the most misérables. The Dutch are the least likely to go out drinking with colleagues (34%) but when they do, they have the most generous bosses, with 37% saying that their boss will sometimes or always stand a round.

Brits’ choice of celebrity beer drinking buddies were Cheryl Cole and Stephen Fry, whilst Barack Obama and Angelina Jolie were the most popular across Europe.

Trappist beers. Part 2

Early in the twentieth century and right through the 1950s, many brewers wanted to take advantage of the Trappist denomination and reputation for their products. Therefore, they produced beers and called them ?Trappists?. The Trappist monks logically started legal proceedings to protect the name, Trappistbeer.net informs.

Since the judgment of the court of Gent, on February 28th, 1962 ?? the word Trappist is used commonly to indicate a beer brewed and sold by monks pertaining to the order of the Trappists or by people who would have obtained an authorization of this kind? is thus called Trappist a beer manufactured by Cistercian monks and not a beer in the Trappist style which will be rather called beer of abbey.?

It does, nonetheless, remain that despite the legal definition of what is a ?Trappist beer?, it is never defined in a sufficiently strict way to cover all situations. This is why the International Trappist Association specified complementary criteria making it possible to define an Authentic Trappist Product.

Applied to beer, the “authentic trappist product” hexagonal logo means that:

The beers shall be produced by a production unit situated inside the monastery or its immediate vicinity.

Through its extent, physical configuration, organization, use and management, the entire business equipment required shall demonstrate both an indisputable link of subordination to the accredited monastery and a business culture that fits in with monastic life.

The work shall be carried out by the monks or nuns themselves and/or laypersons from the accredited monastery or a business entrusted with the production, packaging and marketing, provided that this business is dependent on the accredited monastery and operates under the latter’s supervision in terms of production and administrative management methods, quality, publicity and financing.

The proceeds shall be outside the scope of any independent profit motive and be intended for material, intellectual and spiritual needs, the maintenance of the buildings, their fittings and the environment of the accredited monastery, whereby any surplus arising from healthy and careful management is used for charity or social work or the needs of other Trappist monasteries.

How to store beer

Beer connoisseurs can spend more for a six pack of beer than a bottle of wine. That is why storing beer properly is so important!

Step 1: Beer, can or bottle, should always be stored in an upright position.

Step 2: Allowing beer to lie on its side for any length of time exposes the container to more oxygen which results in loss of flavor.

Step 3: Beer should not be moved from one location in the refrigerator to another since the slightest temperature change will affect the flavor.

Step 4: The colder the beer, the less flavorful it will be. Beer is served at room temperature in many countries.

Step 5: Draft beer is not subject to pasteurization process resulting in a better tasting beer as compared with cans and bottles.

Cheers!

Types of beer bottles

Beer bottles come in many shapes and sizes. Many factors contribute to the packaging of beer. Using brown or green-tinted glass ensures the product is protected from sunlight, which can cause a breakdown of the contents. Aesthetic appeal trumps content in the case of clear beer bottles, which are chosen for their attractiveness and edge in marketability. Shape plays an important part, and size determines ultimate use -whether the buyer is consuming the product in its entirety or buying a quantity for gradual use, EHow reports.

Stubby

Shorter than the typical beer bottle and with virtually no neck, the stubby takes up less room in packaging, making for compact storage and delivery. It is sturdier than the average beer bottle, comes with thicker glass, and is typically tinted brown or green. Stubby beer bottles are prevalent in Europe and used to be popular in Canada from the 1960s to the mid 1980s, according to a History of the Stubby. The stubby bottle enjoys a nostalgic reputation in Canada and has even become a collectors item. Very few American beers are bottled in the stubby.

Growler

The growler typically holds half a gallon of draft beer, but also comes in a liter and quart size. It is intended for take-out, and customers can bring in their personal growlers for refill from their favorite tap. One of the advantages of buying beer this way is that it is generally cheaper. Remember that when you’re closing a multi-use bottle, you must be careful not to compromise the carbonation. Growlers are usually tinted a dark color. Robert Simonson notes in the “New York Times” that, as legend tells it, the name “growler” comes from the sound made by the release of carbon dioxide back when take-out beer was carried in pails.

Long Neck

The long neck bottle is prevalent in most countries. Long neck beer bottles are the most prevalent type used in America. Tall and slim with a long neck, these bottles are known as the ISB, or Industry Standard Bottle, according to the Beer Club. Sizes of long neck bottles are generally uniform, and they can be recycled and reused many times. Long neck beer bottles come in clear glass and tinted, but they are more highly represented by clear glass than other types of bottles. The long neck is easy to hold, and holding the neck rather than the body keeps the beer colder for longer periods of time.

Beer + Chocolate = Love

Porters and stouts
There are three general categories of beers to pair with assorted chocolates. Dark beers, such as porters and stouts, are made from caramelized barley and toasted malts offering really deep earthy tones. They’re a perfect pairing with any chocolate, especially a caramel truffle, chocolate with caramel and nuts or caramel-infused dark milk chocolate bar, experts advise.

Fruity, spicy beers
These are Belgian-style ale beers that go great with nearly any chocolate because they are made from barley that is roasted until the nutty, cocoa chocolate tones start coming out.

The yeast the Belgian brewers use has a lot of underlying fruit tones, especially Trappist-style dubbels (double), so you might pick up some chocolate, caramel, toast, dried fruit or clove spice, experts said. For a double wow, combine any berry-flavored truffle or chocolate bar with dried berries and amber ale.

Maltier golden beers
Pale malty beers and white ales tend to pair beautifully with malt-flavor truffles, gourmet malt balls and chocolate and nut combinations.

A word about black chocolate stouts – which are an excellent pairing with a chocolate dessert. Black chocolate stout is made with black chocolate and roasted malts (not chocolate candy), so it imparts powdered cocoa and creamy, dark, bittersweet chocolate flavors.

Read the label
Skip white chocolate, since it lacks cocoa solids. Milk chocolates, which have more sugar than dark and milk solids, take away from the flavor of beer, but a good 41 percent cacao dark milk chocolate pairs well with bock or a double bock. A dark milk chocolate with nuts and a bock beer – just wait for the magic, experts said.

Essentially, you want to pair any beer with good-quality dark chocolate containing 52 percent to 72 percent cocoa mass to get that intense chocolatey flavor.