Finally we got the contest of “which beer is best in the sauna” started!
In the first round we tested Gambrinus and Premium-Bier. You haven’t heard of Premium-Bier? This is actually a side product of Premium-Cola, which is made along the original receipe of Afri Cola. Since Afri Cola had changed their receipe in 1999, an Afri Cola fan group decided to start a production of coke, which tastes like the good old Afri Cola. The production is made completely without profit. We read about this in Mixology and found a whole seller in Frankfurt, who actually sells this coke. So we drove there to get a case of it and were introduced to a bio beer of same producers. As we showed quite an interest for it, we got a sample bottle for tasting, although with a warning, this beer wouldn’t be so good.
Positively suprised of the Premium-Bier! Smooth, refreshing taste. A bit like Finnish beer, but more tasty. Maybe it was the light lemony after taste, which actually came very good in the sauna. 9 of 10 possible points. On the other hand Gambrinus was not so far behind. It has a full, round taste, but just a little bit too heavy in the sauna. Also the size of the bottle was too large, with 0,5L it was too much, as the beer gets warm quite fast (=fast drinking). For Gambrinus 7 of 10 possible points. Both beers have 5,0% alcohol.
In second round we had Hövels and Monthy Python’s Holy Grail in contest.
Both of these beers have a slight bitter note, wheras in Holy Grail the bitterness holds quite long and covers all other tasting notes. Not an ideal beer for sauna. 4 of 10 points. With Hövels our opinions didn’t quite match. As I thought that beer, which actually tastes good, lost its taste in the sauna becoming more waterly, Jens would rate it as good as Gambrinus. So 6 points from me, 7 points from Jens. Both bottles have 0,5L; Holy Grail 4,7% and Hövels 5,5% alcohol.
With 9 of 10 points the first contest winner is Premium-Bier. This will not be an easy one to crack, but we will continue testing, more to follow…
