WITH England going head to head with Ukraine tonight, there is every chance you are going to need a beer . . . or two.
Ben McFarland and Tom Sandham, aka the Thinking Drinkers – the award-winning drinks experts and comedians – have selflessly tackled some of the best lagers from the Euro 2020 quarter-finalist nations. While some will be drowning their sorrows, let’s hope we’ll be raising a glass in celebration.
Here, they pick their star players. Cheers.
- The Thinking Drinkers are touring their new Pub Quiz Show from this month. See thinkingdrinkers.com.
Brixton Brewery Cold Harbour Lager
4.4%, 330ml, £2.20, Ocado: This fresh, crisp and floral pilsner-style lager, which is unfiltered and unpasteurised, is good enough to beat the Germans at their own game. Born in buzzing Brixton, South London – just like David Bowie – it’s a beer for Heroes. Let’s hope so, at least.
Duvel
8.5%, 330ml, £2, Tesco: It may be smoother than a Kevin De Bruyne through-ball but this awesome iconic Belgian ale also has the strength of Romelu Lukaku. Too many of these could, much like the Belgian midfield, be Hazardous. Widely thought of as the definitive Belgian strong ale.
1936 Biere
4.7%, 33cl, £2.03, beersofeurope.co.uk: This is a splendid lager brewed in the least-populated region of Switzerland, with more cows than people and where women only got to vote in local elections as recently as 1991. Stammheimer hops is brewed with barley grown 1,650 metres above sea level in the Alps.
Peroni Nastro Azzurro
5.1%, 10 x 330ml, £11, Tesco: Just like their strikers approaching the penalty area, this premium lager from Italy goes down very easily. The crisp and refreshing pale lager is now a regular in our pubs and on supermarket shelves. Italy fans have been enjoying raising a glass to the Azzurri.
Alhambra 1925
6.4% 700ml, £4, Tesco: Brewed in Andalucia, this is a classy selection – just like the Spanish team that has won the Euros a record-equalling three times. This full-bodied beer comes with a high-quality reputation and is a crisp quencher – with the cajones to stand toe to toe with spicy tapas. Or crisps.
Carlsberg Special Brew
7.5%, 4 x 33cl, £7.50, Sainsbury’s: Raise a glass to battling midfielder Christian Eriksen, the greatest Dane since Scooby-Doo, who is recovering after collapsing on the pitch from a cardiac arrest. This strong brew was originally created for Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
Pilsner Urquell
4.4%, 6 x 330ml, £6, Tesco: First brewed in 1842, in Pilsen, this is the first-ever pilsner beer and one of the best. No wonder the Czechs drink more beer per person than any other nation in the world. And their spirits were lifted by star striker Patrik Schick’s wonder-goal against Scotland.
Corona
4.5%, 12 x 330ml, £10, Sainsbury’s: We couldn’t find a beer from Ukraine, but as the team’s nickname is the “Blue and Yellow” we looked for a suitably coloured beer label: Corona. Come on, at least it’s topical. This sunshine lager gets its wheaty, golden colour from the barley, malt, corn, yeast and hops. It is lightly fruity, with a crisp, refreshing bitterness.
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