What is better than a couple of pilsners with a toasted cheese sandwich? I cannot think about anything, at this moment, that sounds better!
This is what I did for this #BeerSaturday, I cooked up a nice toasted cheese sandwich and I cracked open a couple of beers. The maltiness and the slight bitterness from he pilsners paired so well with the bread that I craved more afterwards.
The art of pairing food with drinks is somewhat lost. So many people drink fizzy drinks with their food and for me personally it overwhelms the subtle taste of food, even fast food! Taste and smell is so intimately connected with memory, and for me some fast food chains are a direct link back to that nostalgia. But when my mouth is coated with the sugary drinks that they offer, I cannot taste anything else. (This is obviously a very personal and subjective opinion, one that other people will obviously differ from.)
In any case, I paired these beers with a buttery toasted cheesy toasted cheese. The crispy fried bread on the outside with the melted cheese on the inside did wonders with the beers that completely refreshed my palate with each taste. Yet, the incredibly well balanced maltiness worked so well with the myriad of other tastes that I allowed myself to experience.
Herewith then are a couple of my tasting notes as I drank these beers.
Folk & Goode Pilsner
The beer had a very hoppy nose as I poured it with slight alcoholic notes. I think it was bottle conditioned so there were also strong yeasty notes.
The first taste was surprisingly, but well received, bitter. It was "crisp" and "refreshing", if I can use these terms again.
Even though on the bottle they say that there is not a lot of hoppiness to the beer, I found the opposite to be true. But in a good way, I loved the added hoppy notes. They also aimed for a malty sweetness which I did not get.
It was slightly cloudy, and as I drank the beer, the hoppiness came through stronger and stronger.
Striped Horse Pilsner
The pour did not yield too much on the nose. Subtle hints of malt and no real bitterness from the hops. It actually reminded me of their lager, with nothing new added to the mix.
The first sip was refreshing and signaled a good beer. But it was nothing special. The hops and the malt was perfectly balanced, yielding a very predictable beer (which is not always a bad thing!).
This beer had much more malt characteristics compared to the previous beer.
In the end, the beer was a bit flat, and did not really work that well for me compared to the last beer... But I am getting ahead of myself!
I cleaned my palate with a bite of my toasted cheese. On towards the last beer.
Cape Brewing Company (CBC) Pilsner
The pour yielded an incredible maltiness. I loved the first smell of this beer, and I could tell it would be a good one. There was no real hoppiness coming through.
The first taste confirmed the malty nose, and it tasted like the mash tun I so fell in love with when I started brewing beer. The taste had more bitterness and hops to it than the smell alluded to.
It was an incredible beer. From all three, I really enjoyed this much more than the others.
Postscriptum, or One last sip, one last bite
There is always space for that one last sip, that one last bite, just to hook you onto the next time. The next round of beers, the next meal. Food and drinks, when they are well paired, can complement each other so well. It is a lost art, I think.
I hope that you had a good beer or three for #BeerSaturday.
For now, happy drinking and keep well!
All of the musings and writings are my drunken own, and the opinions are my own. The photographs are my own, taken with my Nikon D300.
Inside the Philosopher's Beer Fridge
| Boet Beer Brewing Co | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Boet Beer Lager | |
| 🍺 Boet Beer Easy Blonde | |
| 🍺 Boet Beer Pale Ale |
| Boston Breweries | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Naked Mexican | |
| 🍺 Premium Lager |
| Buffelsfontein Beer | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Lager |
| Cape Brewing Company (CBC) | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Amber Weiss |
| Cape Collective | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Session IPA | |
| 🍺 Lager |
| Cederberg Brewery | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Voertsek IPA |
| Charlie's Brewery | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Cormorant Bourbon Stout | |
| 🍺 Harbour American Pale Ale | |
| 🍺 Wild Flower SAPA | |
| 🍺 Sandveld Lager |
| Clarens Brewery | Brews (All Brews Reviewed in this post): |
|---|---|
| 🍺 IPA | |
| 🍺 Hazelnut Brown Ale: Clarens Goes Nuts | |
| 🍺 Stout | |
| 🍺 Tondon Pilsner | |
| 🍺 Village Lager | |
| 🍺 Weiss | |
| 🍺 English Ale | |
| 🍺 Blonde | |
| 🍺 Mulled Apple Cider | |
| 🍺 Red Ale | |
| 🍺 Citrus Haze APA |
| Darling Brew | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Warlord Imperial IPA | |
| 🍺 Arrow Head Russian Imperial Stout | |
| 🍺 Long Claw Modern Saison | |
| 🍺 God Father IPA | |
| 🍺 Just Beer Lager | |
| 🍺 Just Braai Lager |
| Devil's Peak Beer Company | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Jucy Lucy Hazy IPA | |
| 🍺 King's Blockhouse IPA | |
| 🍺 Lucy loves Candy NEIPA |
| Drakensberg Brewery | Brews (All Brews Reviewed in this post): |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Cathedral Peak Pilsner | |
| 🍺 Champagne Castle Blonde Ale | |
| 🍺 Giant's Castle Stout | |
| 🍺 Amphitheater Red Ale |
| Folk & Goode | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Stout |
| Hey Joe Brewing Co | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Session IPA |
| Jack Black Brewing Co | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Skeleton Coast IPA | |
| 🍺 Butcher's Block Pale Ale | |
| 🍺 Original Cape Pale Ale | |
| 🍺 Brewers Lager |
| Mohope | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Lager |
| Old Harbour Beer | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Old Harbour Lager |
| Route 96 Brewery | Brews (All Brews Reviewed in this post): |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Zamalek Lager | |
| 🍺 Summer Blond | |
| 🍺 Africa Pilsner | |
| 🍺 Stout |
| Sabie Brewing Co/Hops Hollow Sabie Brewery | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Dravidian Draught IPA | |
| 🍺 Glynn's Gold Golden Ale | |
| 🍺 Safari Gold Marula Infused Blonde Ale | |
| 🍺 Cockney Liz English Bitter | |
| 🍺 Shangaan Stout |
| St. Francis Brewing Co. | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 The Beach Blonde Lager |
| Striped Horse | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Milk Stout | |
| 🍺 Lager |
| Swellenbrew | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 IPA |
| That Brewing Co. | Brews (All Brews Reviewed in this post): |
|---|---|
| 🍺 That Blond Ale | |
| 🍺 That Subtropical Ale (Delicious Monster) | |
| 🍺 That American Pale Ale (APA) | |
| 🍺 'el Juicy IPA | |
| 🍺 VESS KISS IPA |
| Yeti Underground Movement | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Black H-Ops Black IPA |
| Imported (Non-South African) Beers | Brews: |
|---|---|
| 🍺 Super Wit | |
| 🍺 Duvel Tripel Hop Citra IPA | |
| 🍺 Maredsous Bruin | |
| 🍺 Trappistes Rochefort 8 | |
| 🍺 Stangen IPL (India Pale Lager) |
Nice to see local brews, it's the perfect weather for an ice-cold beer.
Lovely photos as always @fermentedphil!
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. So true, the Cape has been very warm lately and these cold beers go down very well!
You have an amazing way of describing each beer. Your descriptions makes me salivate as if I am sipping the beer.
Thanks for sharing
I am so glad that you can share in the joy and experience! Keep well.