there is no greater crime in the history of humanity than the creation of The Beer Snob. Feldschloessli is a perfectly fine beer served cold after a hard day on the pitch or in the garden, and it goes down rather easily when standing in front of a grill, grilling up some of that world-famous British sausage.
Hang on a minute, there are definitely different qualities of beer in exactly the same way there are different qualities of wine.
Feldschloesschen is not a fine beer, it is a very poor beer which can only be 'enjoyed' when almost frozen...it is in the league of your Carlings, etc.
People should be picky when it comes to consuming anything, or nobody will bother to make nicer things. Using Grumpy as an example, if no one was a cheese 'snob' (which I think you are misusing, as enjoying something that is in your opinion nicer than something else isn't really snobbery) then we'd all be eating Laughing Cow and Kraft Cheese squares, and he'd be out of business.
You don't need to be an oenologist to appreciate the difference in quality between a fine Tuscan Chianti and a bottle of blue nun from Oddbins bargain basket.
That being said Leffe is quite a nice beer (given that it's now being mass produced by inbev or interbrew or whatever they are calling themselves these days)but much better on draught than in bottles.
Feldsclossen is pretty good in the slug and snail traps I put in the garden. I can't really see what else it would be good for.
I'm no fan of Feldschlosschen by any means. To me, it tastes "metallic". But having said that I'm a believer in "one man's meat is another man's poison".
My guilty pleasure at the moment is the Prix Garantee Brie from Coop. I love all cheeses to varying degrees but this cheapo bargain variety has got me hooked and will probably be responsible for a rather fetching set of saddle-bags around my hips in the coming months.
Most cheese connoisseurs would probably snort with derision at my choice of cheese but to me it's the dog's knackers.
Perhaps Crazygringo has a taste for Feldschlosschen in the same way.
Don't get me wrong, everything has a time and a place. I am quite partial to a bit of Cathedral city on beans on toast, or having a heineken watching the footy with my mates, but I'm not going to say that that is a fine cheese or a fine beer.
I think the only thing worse than snobbery, is anti-snobbery, deriding people for appreciating the finer things by pretending to see no difference yourself.
the point in anti-snobbery is not "deriding people for appreciating the finer things", but rather deriding people who presume to magically possess a greater talent for discerning the "finer things". I like a good blonde ale as much as anybody, just as I like a nice strong Scotch ale or a hoppy craft brew from the west side of Michigan in the US, but that doesn't mean that a couple of cold Feldschloessli over a hot grill are somehow less than "fine".
I don't think anyone magically has this sense, it takes work, like anything else. I've been on a wine course that I very much enjoyed ( and can recommend www.uncorked.ch ), but would in no way say I or anyone else have any sort of talent, it's just that having been exposed to a greater selection of wines than I had been before, you can judge what you like and crucially, what goes into making a wine which is regarded as good, which you can learn to appreciate. Beer is no different.
Yes, a Feldschloesschen is drinkable at a BBQ (if very cold), but why settle for ok, when the shop you bought it from has almost certainly got a selection containing much nicer beers? Even in the 'mass market' Swiss lager section, Quöllfrisch knocks the socks off it, so why not try that instead?
I'm just saying let's not make an excuse for mediocrity, but celebrate the craft that goes into making nicer things, and labelling Feldschlosschen as fine really does it a great deal too much credit.
I was kind of wondering about that. I first tried it many years back when as Swiss friend was visiting me and I remembered him telling me it was Swiss. So I was pretty surprised to "Austria" on the label.
British ales are not served warm but at around 12 degrees (it will vary depending on the style). Like a red wine which is served at room temperature, you cannot get the complex flavours if it's served cold. With Feldschlosschen though it doesn't matter what the temperature is, there is no significant flavour there to start with.
Ok, you are talking to someone who literally knows NOTHING about beer... it all tastes like piss to me. I only wrote what I was told by my Swiss friend visiting. Thanks for the info. I doubt I'll be trying it. Was just trying to help the OP find a "Swiss" beer with high alcohol content and maybe doesn't taste like piss to him
Your friend was close enough, that's damn strong for a beer. The alcohol in beer comes from the yeast, which in turn dies if it produces too much, so proper beer cannot be very strong. So when you see a beer advertised as 30% alcohol you know that they cheated to make it that alcoholic. Not much craftsmanship in pouring ethanal in.
Stick to the 3.8 - 5.5% range I say. 7% for winter specials and old perculier. Anything stronger tastes crap as a rule of thumb
Love your enthusiasm but Leffe is an 'Abbaye' beer. There are only six official trappist beers from Belgium, Westmalle being as you quite rightly say one of the best. Can you name the other five?
