When we lived in Tallinn, I drank a lot of Saku Originaal Strong. I usually drank it because it really was strong and it got me semi blazed after two beers. But now that I am in Tartu, I am trying some new beers, especially those from the Tartu brewery A. Le Coq. I used to stay clear of A. Le Coq because I thought it had a wussy French name, and what kind of straight-shooting beer drinker wants to put A. Le Coq in his mouth? But I have tried the Pilsner, and the Tõmmu, and friends, this beer is good.
Tonight I had three. How many will I have tomorrow night? Is the Tartu vaim really just a local expression for alcoholism? We'll see. Anyway, it's really cold in Eestimaa right now. My wife and daughter are fine because they have eesti veri, but I am pretty new to this stuff and I am worried certain parts of my body may fall off if I am not careful. Eps says that it is unlikely my nose will fall off though. She says it has to get much colder for that to happen.
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When I first started drinking beer some years ago my grandfather told me that in his day (before 1944) there were really only two beers in Estonia, Saku and A Le Coq. I was surprised because up until then I never heard of A Le Coq and considered Saku to be the only real Estonian beer. Turns out that A Le Coq brand name is older then Saku. I don't know history of Tõmmu Hiid but it is good, I think better than Saku Tume.
"My wife and daughter are fine because they have eesti veri," :-DD
Dont worry about cold. When you feel -25 dec C then -10 feels nothing.
Haha, welcome to Tartu indeed! ;) I've been promoting Tõmmu Hiid for years now among friends and especially foreigners, and most have really liked it. It foregoes the downsides of dark beer - it's not too strong (same as lager, 4.7%) and not too bitter, but has the proper dark beer taste. The only other dark I've tried that managed to not be bitter was Krusovice, but that just accomplishes it by being very weak.
Saku Tume is just-another-dark.
Tõmmu Hiid is a good beer. But actually you should drink some vodka instead, to get some warm:)
In our family Saku is definitely shunned... I am these days loyally supporting Tartu in all things (though I think even without any marital connections I would prefer it as a town: such an incredibly charming place). As far as lagers go, I really can't tell the difference, but in general I would say that A Le Coq clearly beats Saku. Their Christmas porter is such a treat (regularly winning the Helsingin Sanomat review of the best Christmas porter on offer in Finland).
As far as lagers go, I really can't tell the difference
I've got a standing bet with a couple friends, one from Tallinn, and one Brit that lives in Tartu on a long-term work contract. The tallinner is a Saku supporter, and the Brit doesn't believe there's any difference. So the bet is to differentiate between A.Le Coq Premium and Saku Original in a blind test. :)
And yes, there really is a difference in taste between the two.
A.Le Coq Premium and Saku Original both taste like water. If I want to drink pilsner, I'd take A. Le Coq Pilsner, dunno why anybody would waste money on those two overhyped products (seriously, I don't know anybody who would drink Originaal in any situation but drought - this is a drink for 'jõmmid' and only because this brand has good ads). Real brews are Alexander and Saku Hele. And A. Le Coq Stout is the best dark beer I've had in Estonia.
Well, I take your word for it - I guess I just can't get the concept of lager in general. Granted, it's good in hot weather for thirst or for sauna, but the taste is almost always one dimensional (or with Budweiser, dishwater). For real taste I go for the darker stuff.
My comment was for flasher t - I quite agree with kaarel. Strange how often the most popular national lagers are also the worst. Not that I really could see meaningful differences in Finnish industrial lagers, maybe Olvi is a touch better than the rest, but I can't claim that I would pass a blind test...
IMO both Saku Originaal and A Le Coq Premium have very little character. Saku Hele is indeed so much better than originaal, and so is Rock. Same applies for Stout/Tõmmu Hiid/Alexander vs A le Coq premium.
BTW, has somebody anything to say about smaller breweries' production? I quite like Frederik.
A le Coq name is of belgian-londonese origin actually and it was the name of Tartu brewery since 1913 (when Tivoli, the owner of the brewery acquired the A Le Coq company) to 1940.
See
www.alecoq.ee (firmast)
I like A le Coq Premium over Saku Originaal any time. Originaal just tastes bitter and not pleasant. I'd compare Premium to Heineken and Originaal to Carlsberg (I absolutely despise Carlsberg too). Haven't tried the darker brands though, they have always seemed like the parmude jook. Maybe I'm missing out, I promise, I'll try more different beers in the future :P
It is a long-known fact that in the blind test A Le Coq Pilsner usually wins in this category... Originaal has the best ads though...
Anyway the biggest problem with Estonian beer is the variable quality (this goes to Estonian-bottled Carlsberg also, there's always difference between Danish-bottled and Estonian-bottled beer...) It's less significant with dark beers (Hiid, Puls, etc) which I really recommend...
Anyway, I prefer light dark Czech beers, Starobrno for example... Tõmmu Hiid is Estonian light dark beer, but it's quality...
Darker brands are parmunde jook only when strong, but Tõmmu Hiid has the same alcohol content as Premium and Stout with its 6% is still inferior to Double Bock or Turbo Diesel, both blonde. Now those last two are "parmude jook" indeed.
Well, among dark beers, it is Staropramen that rules. But it is often hard to find here.
about parmujook - I saw a product called Odravein (10%) in a local store. that kind of brews are popular among schoolkids and elderly people as well, by the way.
about small enterprises - Puls is a quite good brewery. this is the former Pärnu Brewery, but they've changed everything - the brand, the machinery, even the bottles (those look really nice).
oh, and in certain bars you can buy Sillamäe München, which is quite hard to come by.
btw, both Premium and Hiid have less than 5% in them, as far as I know. Puls's christmas beer also has less than 6 degrees, if i'm not wrong. that is the only good Christmas beer I've ever had
Personally, I think Saku Kuld is the best tasting Eesti Õlu
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So far discussion over beer is winning in popularity over Ilves. Not counting the time factor- Ilves has been up longer.
Just an observation. I am a Saku girl myself, but my sister likes Coq- no pun intended.
I bet she does ^^
<.<
do try Saku's newby Abby:)
i just did..it was really good.
Keelek6rv already posted in her blog keelek6rv.blogspot.com a pun about the name of Saku Abbey - those who know the way how Estonians pronounce foreign words and our own "h" letters, know that "Abbey" would sound quite as "häbi" - "shame". A Saku shame, please.
Saaremaa Tuulik - Best Esto beer.
So far discussion over beer is winning in popularity over Ilves.
duh. I supported Ilves, but if I had to choose between him and Alexander, I would definitely choose beer.
Giustino,
Just out of curiosity, how far from where you live is the closest casino? It is just very interesting for me to understand the extent of the penetration of this new "eesti Nokia". It seems to be epidemic whereas average people are totally cool with it. Any take on that?
Holy shit, I never paid any attention to tastes! The only criteria for me has been whether I get hammered quickly, stay hammered longer, and how easy it is to throw up. I think, it might have something to do with the culture I represent.
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