Beers Of The Americas vs Sausages - Part 4 of 4

Remind yourself of our crazy scoring system here - Points System

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Number 7 - Peru

Flavour - Not a lot. Not enough to keep you interested. Needs more ooomph. 5.75

Head - Awful. 0.5

Alcohol By Volume - 5.0

Looks - Label looks "shrug", just average. The bottle however is nicely embossed with some kind of ancient runes. But the label is as weak as the head. 3.5

Value For Money - 3.62

It's Personal - Plus 2 for having the best bottle.

Beer/Sausage/Combo/Factor - Good sausage spoiled by the beer. 1.0

Gas - 0.75

Total - 22.12

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Number 8 - Canada

Flavour - Not bad but couldn't get the honey. 5.0

Head - Pretty good compared to some of the others. 3.0

Alcohol By Volume - 5.2

Looks - Plain. Clear. Embossed. Good! The bottle is kind of shaped like a UK stout bottle. 3.75

Value For Money - 2.39

It's Personal - No award.

Beer/Sausage/Combo/Factor - At the end of a long test the tastebuds were tired. 1.75

Gas - 0.5

Website - Sleeman

Total - 21.59

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Final Score

We are happy to announce that the best beer from north/central/south America to drink while you're eating sausages is from the Brooklyn Brewery and is their Insulated Dark Lager. Well done chaps!

1 - USA - 29.55

2 - Cuba - 26.01

3 - Mexico - 24.52

4 - Peru - 22.12

5 - Canada - 21.59

6 - Barbados - 18.22

7 - Argentina - 15.80

8 - Brazil - 15.04

Congratulations to all our competitiors, and thanks for the beers! CHEERS!

Sausages Versus Beers Of The Americas - Preview

As John Anderson used to bellow on Gladiators...."Contenders READY". The beers of the Americas have been sourced and on Friday we will be going beyond the call of duty and testing which of them works best with sausages. As always, it's a tough job but someone has to do it. On this occasion I will be joined by my rather hot girlie, for her first foray into this dangerous business.

We are open for suggestions for the scoring system, complicated is good....

What a handsome line-up. Feast your eyes upon this west-of-the-Atlantic hangover-in-waiting....

Cucapa Clasica (Mexico) and Cubanero Fuerte (Cuba)

Brahma (Brazil) and Brooklyn Insulated (USA)

Sleeman Honey Brown (Canada) and Quilmes (Argentina)

Banks Caribbean (Barbados) and Cusquena (Peru)

All beers were found at the world's best shop, Beers Of Europe near beautiful downtown King's Lynn. The spirit of Oliver Reed walks the aisles....

Sausages vs Beers of the Americas!

Today I am venturing witth Junior Sidekick to the infamous Beers Of Europe super-offie, just a few miles from our King's Lynn base.

We're going to purchase beers from the Americas, to carry out a new test of sausages vs beer. It's a tough job, etc.

We previously compared European beers with their sausage synchronicity, and it was great fun. Trying to decipher my hand-written notes was almost as much fun as drinking the beer and eating the bangers. The reults are here if you want to check it out (still not sure how Ethiopia got in):

European Beer Test Part 1

European Beer Test Part 2

European Beer Test Part 3

European Beer Test Part 4

The new round of in-depth journalistic adventure will be carried out by me and my awesome young lady. It will be a difficult day for us both but we'll try to see it through and provide you with yet more invaluable sausage/beer information.

Keep frying!

What Is The Best "Beer Of The Americas" For Sausages?

Do you remember when we found the best European beer to drink with sausages?  Glad you do, I can't remember a thing after Ethiopia.....


We're doing it again, but this time we're testing beers from north and south America.  We've gathered beers from Canada, the USA, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Guatemala and Cuba, and battle will be joined soon....

The scoring categories are:

Alcohol By Volume – Is it a potent brew?  One point per one percent

Flavour – How does it taste?  0 (liquid poop) to 10 (nectar).

Looks – Includes the beer in the glass, the bottle, and cap.  From 0 (Widdecombe) to 5 (Kirsty from The Woolpack).

Head – Good head or over too soon?  From 0 to 5.

Beer/Sausage Compliment Factor (BSCF) – Match made in heaven or George & Mildred?  From 0 to 5.

Would a fugitive Great Train Robber enjoy this more than a Fosters? – Yes +2, no -2.

Price – Taking £5 as a price I would consider waaay too much for a beer, the score is “5 minus Actual cost”.

Are their football team a bunch of handballing World Cup cheats?  No +1, Yes -15.

Let battle commence!  Check back here in a couple of weeks time for the results, the photos, and the backstage gossip.

Which European Country Makes The Best Beer To Drink When You’re Eating Sausages Challenge - Final Part

Number 7

Germany.  Will they be the best or the wurst?  The wurst!  Geddit?  Fair play is essential in taste tests like this, so we deducted the Jerries ten points for cheating at the 2010 World Cup.  Ooooh, unlucky!

 

Country - Germany

Beer – Veltins Pilsener

ABV – 4.8%

Flavour – Classy!  Clean, fresh, hint of autobahn with Trabant overtones.  7.5

Head – Thin and didn’t last long.  Like Thomas Brolin at Leeds United, except he wasn’t thin.  1.5

 

Looks – Quite boring.  1.5

Better Than Fosters? Much.  Y.  2

BSCF – Does a German bier go with sausages?  Are you mad?  Yes!  4

Do Flies Like It? 0

Punishment For Cheating At The World Cup:  -10

Score – 11.3

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Number 8

Greek alcohol.  Ouzo.  Retsina.  But beer?  Demis Roussos looked like he enjoyed a pint or two....

Country - Greece

Beer - Mythos

ABV – 4.7%

Flavour – Bitter, tangy, tart, rather good.  As Socrates said “Get it down ya son!”.  7

Head – Crappos!  1

Looks – Nice moulded bottle.  Good curves.  Attractive, for a Greek.  4

Better Than Fosters?  So much better.  2

BSCF – There’s a conflict here.  Imagine your mouth is Cyprus, the beer is Greek, and the sausage is a hairy Turk.  Not fab.  2

Do Flies Like It? 0

Score – 20.7

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The Result

Belgium - 25.3

Italy - 22.6

Greece - 20.7

Holland - 20.0

Ethiopia - 18.0

Luxembourg - 17.8

France - 14.2

Germany - 11.3 (oooh, unlucky)

So, the best beer to drink with sausages remains the same - something brown and brewed in England.  Failing that go for something strong and Belgian.

Which European Country Makes The Best Beer To Drink When You’re Eating Sausages Challenge - Part 3 of 4

Number 5

Next up in the “Which European Country Makes The Best Beer To Drink When You’re Eating Sausages Challenge” is Ethiopia.  Yes, I know....

Country - Ethiopia

Beer – St George Beer

ABV – 4.5%

Flavour – Hints of hop, but not enough going on.  Quaffable.  5.5

Head – Weak, soon gone.  1

Looks – Gory death scene of dragon.  Arabic writing.  Good.  3

Better Than Fosters? Y  2

BSCF – Just average.  Prob don’t go for a European imposter. (Not sure what we meant here). Do they have sausages in Ethiopia?  2

Do Flies Like It? 0

Score – 18.0

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Number 6

“Here Come The Belgians!” as Stuart Hall used to bellow on It’s A Knockout, all those years ago.  I wonder if Eddie Waring liked a pint and a sausage?

Country - Belgium

Beer – Affligem Dubbel

ABV – 6.8%

Flavour  - Smoky, heavy, intense, breathy, hardcore.  6.5

Head – Dark.  Intimidating.  Hung round like the hard kid outside the school disco.  4



Looks – Dark.  Intimidating.  Styx in a bottle.  4

Better Than Fosters? Oh damn Y.  2

BSCF – Doesn’t like sharing anything with anyone.  It says “Grrr”.  2

Do Flies Like It?  0

Score – 25.3



Which European Country Makes The Best Beer To Drink When You’re Eating Sausages Challenge - Part 2 of 4

Number 3

Can you name a beer from Italy, apart from Peroni?  Can you?  We worried whether the Italian lager would change sides halfway through the test and become a cider.

Country Italy

Beer – Birra Moretti

ABV – 4.6%

Flavour – 6.5

Head - 2

Looks – Cheesy.  Manufactured Italian?  BIIIIG glass on label, small bottle.  Embossed bottle, nice.  3.5

Better Than Fosters?  Y 2

BSCF – Good combination!  4

Do Flies Like It?  0

Score – 22.6

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Number 4

The French are not well-known for their beer.  Even their wines are being bettered by newcomers like Iceland, South Sudan, St Helena and Macclesfield.  Bon chance!

Country - France

Beer – Kasteel Cru

ABV – 5.2%

Flavour – Harsh, snappy, but only for an instant.  Then disappointed.  3

Head – Goood (sic), thick head.  3.5

Looks – Looks like a bottle of champers!  “Cru” is like “Krug”.  Stylish, like the French.  3.5

Better Than Fosters?  No.  -2

BSCF – Not good.  Beer froths on impact.  Potential vomit situation.  1

Do Flies Like It? 0

Score – 14.2

Which European Country Makes The Best Beer To Drink When You’re Eating Sausages Challenge - Part One Of Four

Number – 1

First up was the Dutch entry.  Surely a good benchmark for the entire field would be set?



 

Country - Holland

Beer – Lindeboom Pilsener

ABV - 5.0%

Flavour – Mild.  Quaffable.  Passive.  6

Head – Impressive when fecund, shrank quickly.  2

Looks – Green.  Boom is Dutch for beer!!  I want orange!  2.5

Better Than Fosters?  Yes!  2

BSCF – 2.5

Do Flies Like It? 0

Score – 20.0





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Number – 2

Ahhh, Luxembourg.  Tiny place.  Very wee indeed.  Been there, wasn’t impressed.  But how would their beer measure up?

Country – Luxembourg

Beer - Bofferding

ABV – 4.8%

Flavour – Tasted slightly flat.  Sharp, tangy flavour, otherwise unremarkable.  5

Head - 0

Looks – Simple.  Uncluttered.  A little boring?  3

Better Than Fosters?  Y  2

BSCF – Beer faded quickly.  3

Do Flies Like It?  0

Score – 17.8



Sausages And Beer Anyone?

A question I am often asked is “What beer goes well with sausages?”

The obvious answer is a good quality English real ale.  A marriage made in heaven, like Peter Andre and Jordan.

 

“But the supermarket’s sold out of Plume’s Old Knob!  And there’s no Cockin’s Greasy Choirboy Light Ale left either!”  Where do you go from there?  Thinking laterally, sausages are a staple of the Great English Barbie, and what beer is handed out at 99.2% of barbies?  Foster’s lager.

 

You’re now looking at plundering the European lager section for the perfect accompaniment for your bangers.  And there you experience another conundrum....”Which European country makes the best beer to drink when you’re eating sausages?”

It’s a serious question.  Hence the latest cutting edge investigation by the fearless Rate My Sausage team.

Welcome, gentlemen, to the “Which European Country Makes The Best Beer To Drink When You’re Eating Sausages Challenge”. 

We invented an extremely complex and subjective scoring system, which we think fitted the nature of the debate.  Beers were purchased from BEERS Of Europe, which is situated conveniently around the corner from Rate My Sausage HQ.  Sausages were provided by Lynda Clark, who harvested them from some of the best butchers in Lincolnshire.

The scores are awarded in the following categories:

Alcohol By Volume:  Does exactly what it says on the, errrm, bottle.  Points awarded equate to the number on the label.

Flavour: We’re not complete heathens, so we chose to award a maximum of 10 points depending on how delicious the lager was.

Head: We all like good head, in a beer, so there are up to 5 points available, depending how long the head lasts.

Looks:  Does the bottle look sexy?  Inviting?  Do you want to guzzle the contents?  Up to 5 points for grabs.

Is It Better Than Fosters?  It’s a simple question.  Is the beer better than the default English barbie drink?  2 points if it is, -2 if it isn’t.

Beer/Sausage Compliment Factor (BSCF): Does the drink mix well with the sausage?  No point buying it if it doesn’t!  Up to 5 points on offer.

Do Flies Like It?  Flies are pretty bloody disgusting creatures, we all agree.  But they have a good nose for lager, and you often have to hoik them out of your pint.  So, an extra point awarded for every fly that dives into the beer.

The draw for the order of tasting was made by landlord Ian of The Woolpack pub.  Let battle commence!

Note:  The comments are reproduced verbatim from notes made during the tasting.  In vino veritas was our aim.  Bold text indicates a comment made after the event.