No meal would be complete with a beer or two. Here’s our selection for some amazing imports. Prosit!
Mexico
Victoria – Grupo Modelo S.A. de C.V. (4.0% ABV) – Victoria is one of my favorite Mexican made beers. Most beer experts do not give Victoria good grades. It is a very smooth beer with a crisp taste along with back notes of grape. Drink a Victoria with a few corn and black bean quesadillas.
Pay the Ferryman Porter – Los Muertos Brewing (5.0% ABV) – In the tradition of an English porter, Pay the Ferryman pays tribute with its complex flavors. At first you get caramel, chocolate and coffee flavors that stay with you and finish with a smoky pepper flavor. Have a cold mug with churros or flan.
Brazil
Bodebrown/Stone Cacau IPA – Cervejaria Bodebrown Ltda (6.1% ABV) – This Brazillian IPA pops with flavor. At first sip honey and caramel is followed by mid tones of grapefruit, orange peel and cacau, balanced into a good beer. Try it with crunchy batons of manioc, bolinhos (little balls) or coxinha (little thigh), with shredded chicken and potato puree shaped like a thigh and covered in golden breadcrumbs.
Petroleum – DUM Cervejaria (12.0% ABV) – Talk about high octane beer. Petroleum is an intense, thick black Russian style stout. Up front is a smoky flavor followed by notes of banana and chocolate. Hold Petroleum for dessert and drink it with Brigadeiros, Brazil’s answer to chocolate truffles.
Lebanon
Lebanese Pale Ale – 961 Beer / Gravity Brewing (6.3% ABV) – 961 Beer Lebanese Pale Ale is a great marriage between Western beer and Eastern complexities. With ingredients such as za’atar, sumac, mint, sage, anise, and chamomile, LPA is a real treat for the taste buds. 961 Beer LPA pairs well with a Lebanese Zaatar Pizza.
Almaza Pure Malt – Brasserie Almaza (6.0% ABV) – Almaza Pure Malt is very malty with notes of caramel, brown sugar and molasses. If you like German Dunkel beers you’ll like this Pure Malt. Almaza is a good dessert beer to go along with a star anise yogurt mousse or while snacking on figs.
India
Jaipur IPA – Thornbridge Brewery (5.9% ABV) – Jaipur is a hoppy beer loaded with earthy flavors and back notes of apricot and grapefruit. Let this IPA warm up so you can get the flavors to come out. Pair this with Maili Kofta (veggie balls in sauce).
Flying Horse Royal Lager – United Breweries (4.7% ABV) – This is a simple, good tasting beer, At first sip you taste a smooth beer flavor with back notes of honey and apple. A tall, cold pilsner glass goes good with Navratan Korma (nine gem curry).
China
Snow Beer – China Resources Breweries Limited (4.3% ABV) – Snow beer is the biggest selling beer in China and may be the biggest selling beer in the world. It’s a very light beer with slight hints of lemon. Snow Beer is like Bud Light. This beer goes with any Chinese food. Give it a try with sweet and sour pork.
Tsingtao Beer – Tsingtao Brewery Co, Ltd. (4.8% ABV) – Tsingtao is a smooth American style lager with an upfront rice and yeast flavor with floral back notes. Have a tall, cold glass with a dish of Moo Goo Gai Pan. Warning: Do not let this beer get warm. It skunks quickly.
Thailand
Singha Lager Beer – Singha Corporation Co. (5.0% ABV) – Brewed in the tradition of German style lager, Singha falls miles short in flavor. It’s just not a very good beer. Pair it with Pad Kee Mao if you can choke it down.
Chang Beer – Cosmos Brewery (6.4% ABV) – If you are looking for cheap beer in Thailand, this is it. You will spend about $1 per bottle and the taste reflects the cost. It has a very basic lager taste and pairs well with any spicy Tai food.
Ireland
Leann Follain – O’Hara’s Brewing Co. (6.0% ABV) – Leann Follain means wholesome stout in Gaelic and that’s what this is. This beer has tons of chocolate with hints of coffee. Pair with traditional Irish apple crumb cake.
Galway Hooker Irish Pale Ale – Galway Hooker Brewery (4.4% ABV) – A very smooth pale ale with some grassy flavors and hints of citrus back notes. Goes great with bangers and mash . The Brazen Head is the oldest pub in Ireland established in 1198.
Italy
Xyauyu – Birrificio Le Baladin (14.0% ABV) – This potent beer is medium brown with a mahogany hue. It has a strong oak- like smell with a “boozy” odor. If you want a beer with a buffet of flavors, this is it. First taste brown sugar, figs and dates. Honey, tobacco, vanilla beans and leather come next followed by light caramel and lots of oak barrel mid palate. Toasted coconut, more caramel, honey, brown sugar, dates and mild rum come together in the finish with a lightly bitter charred note from the oak barrel.
Nastro Azzurro – Birra Peroni Industriale (5.1% ABV) – Peroni makes the most recognized Italian beer in the U.S. If you compare Nastro Azzurro to an American beer it’s Miller. Nothing good, nothing bad, just beer. Pair this with sweet Italian sausage on the grill.
Germany
Weissee – Hacker-Pschorr (5.5% ABV) – You can’t get a more traditional Weissbier than the Weissee brewed by Hacker Pschorr. Weissee is a smooth beer with hints of bananas and honey that melts on your tongue. Hacker-Pschorr has brewed beer since 1417. Drink Weissee with a big hunk of German chocolate cake.
Spaten Oktoberfestbier Ur-Märzen – Spaten-Franziskaner-Bräu (5.9% ABV) – Spaten Oktoberfestbier is the measuring stick for all of the Oktoberfest beers brewed around the world. Spaten invented the Oktoberfest style and is served at Oktoberfest every year in Munich. Oktoberfestbier has an aroma of walking into a bakery. It has a well-balanced malty flavor with a perfect blend of spices. You can pair this beer with a whole chicken at Der Wienerwald restaurant in Munich or just by itself at Oktoberfest.
