Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Things I Love: Part Two

Grolsch is my favorite beer. Probably my very favorite beverage.

Technically, my favorite beer is Grolsch Premium Lager, which strangely enough, is actually a Pilsner, but is marketed as a Lager in the United States, probably because most Americans know shite about beer. Grolsch is a Dutch brewery which crafts several other types of beer, but the one that comes in the big green beugel is my favorite.

Bottles of this type use a swing-top cap, eliminating the need for an opener. It can also be resealed, for times when you're busy playing Wii, driving a tractor, breakdancing, or floating down the lazy river in an inner tube.

Grolsch is the second largest brewery in the Netherlands, after Heineken, and annually produces over 3.2 million hectoliters, which is a lot of beer. Apparently the Vegetarian Society named Grolsch Blond, Grolsch Premium Lager and Grolsch Premium Weizen as suitable for vegetarians. Grolsch won in the "Best Vegetarian Wine or Beer" category in the 2003 Vegetarian Society Awards.

I had no idea that other beers used meat, or other animal byproducts, and I just learned that this morning, which really grosses me out, and makes me like Grolsch even more.

What do you guys think? Do you like meat in your beer? Or just with it? I happen to love chicken wings with a beer, but I don't dip the meat in the beer.

Otherwise, what's your favorite beverage?

42 comments:

Bish Denham said...

Water's good for me...I know sounds so boring. Occasionally though I like a Little Kings.

Shain Brown said...

I had no idea, which concerns me as to what they are putting in other stuff I like.

Creepy Query Girl said...

what? Animal by products in beer? yuck! I like heinekan or Carlsberg (sp?) kind I get here in france.

Kelly Polark said...

I don't like heavy or different beers. Just give me a cold Coors Light on a hot day! Weird. Now I have a taste for one. But probably not good to crack one open at this point in the day!
And my all time favorite drinks are Coca Cola or chocolate milk!

Sommer Leigh said...

I don't like beer, but I have to admit I'm impressed that you can breakdance with your beer without worries.

I like pomegranate martinis sometimes, but mostly I'm just a water and latte girl.

Luanne G. Smith said...

What the hell? Meat products in beer?

Ted Cross said...

I've never had a beer. I can't stand the smell of alcohol.

Sarah Ahiers said...

Aww! That bottle is awesome! Do you think it'd be difficult to find up here?
Also, i too, did not know about the meat thing, and now i need to do some research...

Lori M. Lee said...

I'm not a drinker so I avoid alcohol unless my husband is coaxing me to have a mixed drink that's more sugar than alcohol lol. But I love me some hot cocoa? =P

vic caswell said...

i'm with ted. never had beer. but i LOVE diet dr. pepper... and coffee! :)

Kelly Lyman said...

I"m with you. Meat with beer, not in it. I love beer--love going to different breweries and sampling. After this post, I now know what to buy next. I love a good stout myself expect when I'm out in the sun...then it's a good, ice cold lager.

A Daft Scots Lass said...

Och you just like it coz of the fancy bottle, right?

Anita said...

No way!!! Animal in my beer? I know what I'll be researching today.

Favorite beverage is water. I also drink a couple gallons of green tea/day.

Michael G-G said...

Yup, gotta cap me that beer bottle when I'm breakdancing on the tractor.

Matt, you are both cool and funny, and I'm loving this "lovin' feelin'" series.

I love all sorts of drinks--from my vino to my beer (prefer a stout myself.) Daily, I douse myself in tea. The only drink I don't drink (barring soda, but is that really a drink?!) is coffee. Like the smell, but the taste gives me the jitters.

Off to breakdance on a lazy river.
Have a great day!

Hilary Wagner said...

My hub's favorite is Duvel--loves it! I'm partial to Skyy Cherry. Yes, I know, could that be more girlie?? ;)

xoxo -- Hilary

Unknown said...

I had no idea people used animal by product in beer. I used to wait tables at a brew pub so brew pub beer is still what I prefer. Other than that Sierra Nevada, Summit or Surly.

I've been worried about gluten lately so I've switched to Crispin cider.

Other than that I drink tea and water.

Bkloss said...

Gross! I had no idea. Guess I'll stick to wine.

Hannah said...

Huh, I had no idea about the meat thing. I usually drink Killian's or Asahi. I'll have to research because I don't want meat in my beer. That's just weird. mmmm, beer. I need a beer...or five.

Josin L. McQuein said...

Not a drinker myself. (Though I was the weird kid who shoved french fries in her straw and slurped Dr. Pepper around them, and who dunked her bread in kool aid.)

As to why alcohol isn't vegan:

edible gelatin is made of bone

refining certain types uses a process that includes fish swim bladders

there are milk proteins in certain types of beer and ale

there's the albumin made from egg and dried blood.

vodka can be refined through bone charcoal (the same kind used for refining white sugar)

You've got crushed sea shells, honey and dairy products to refine other sorts of liquor

Basically, it's the use of animal materials in the process, not in the actual finished product, that disqualifies them from being vegan.

(Though if you want "meat beer" there is one that calls for an entire dead chicken during brewing.)

Matthew MacNish said...

Thanks Josin! I knew I could count on you.

Jared Larson said...

Ummm... warm milk. Though, I did drink a Fosters once and that was pretty good.

Emily White said...

Not a beer person, myself. I like cheap, sweet wine. :)

Tracey Neithercott said...

My favorite beverage is unsweetened iced tea. I brew it at home and if I don't stop myself I'll drink an entire gallon. (But not the sweet tea they have in the South.)

My favorite beers are Hefeweizens, especially in the summer.

Bryan Russell said...

Mmmmmmm... chicken beer... mmmmmm...

Old Kitty said...

Oh I was horrified to discover meat derivatives used in beer and wine making!! HORRIFIED! So yay for Grolsch and NAY, NAY, AND THRICE NAY to meat in alcohol!!!

:-)Take care
x

Rachel Searles said...

Whaaaat? Animal products? My favorite beer is Augustiner Helles, which is brewed in Munich and unfortunately does not get exported to the U.S.

Different favorite beverages for different times: latte in the morning (that's more about the routine of making it), ice water after the gym, red wine with a friend or a piece of chocolate, Hefeweizen on a hot summer day. I guess I'm a drink polygamist ;)

Carolyn Abiad said...

TMI! :( Now I won't be able to touch a beer for...well, I won't be able to! Is rum safe? No...don't tell me.

Jess said...

This beer always reminds me of the movie Sliding Doors with Gwyneth Paltrow (one of many where she plays a Brit). There's a scene where she gets fired and her boyfriend promises to get her "disgustingly drunk on Grolsch." Love the bottle :)

ShaunaKelleyWrites said...

My first experience with this beer was in driver's ed ironically enough. I had this very weird instrutor that constantly smelled of smoked salmon who loved iced tea. So every day I got in the car for my driving instruction, he would whip out a Grolsch bottle and make me sniff it to assure me that he had replaced the beer with tea. I still think of it every time I see Grolsch, and it makes me laugh in a confused sort of way...

... but its nice to know that the beer is actually good, too :)

BTN Hip Hop said...

its a tasty one

dolorah said...

You never heard of beer batter prawns?

Well, I don't drink beer, never could tolerate the taste - except cooked in foods.

I liked your post for STICK too - sorry, coming back late. I'll have to check out his blog.

........dhole

Charmaine Clancy said...

Beer on meat, yes, meat in beer... not so much :/

I got surprised when I learned I could get vegetarian cheese, naive little thing I was, I thought it was made from cow milk???

Grolsch is nice, I've only had it for special occasions.

Wagging Tales - Blog for Writers

Angie Paxton said...

What a great bottle. I wish I liked beer because if I did I'd drink that kind just because of the bottle. I'll have to tell my husband to try it and tell me what he thinks.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Animal byproducts? Why?

Karen Baldwin said...

Yup...I just learned about "meat glue" that's put in ice cream, yogurt and a whole bunch of other foods.It may even be pork blood, I'm not sure on that. My beverage? Coffee in the A.M., Modello Especial in the P.M.

Lisa Gail Green said...

You're awesome, but I am now seriously disturbed. Maybe I'll stick to wine...

Susan Kaye Quinn said...

Meat in beer is just wrong. I'm no vegetarian, but I'm calling ick on that one. Right up there with octopus ice cream.

Paul Joseph said...

I'm a Yuengling guy, probably since I'm from PA. I'll treat myself to Corona in the summer, and Miller Lite when the beer gut starts returning.

I love wings and beer - or chicken fingers. There is a local joint that serves beer battered chicken fingers, and they're freakin' awesome. A former co-worker used to make beer bread, which I was a fan of as well. She used Yuengling!

kah said...

Learn something new every day. I'd never even heard of that beer. My fav is still a White Russian. They even called me "The Dude" at WFC conference. ;)

ali cross said...

Oh my gosh. I totally don't drink--but I loved this post!

Sherrie Petersen said...

Whoa! I had no idea animal byproducts were used in beer. That is so bizarre. Grolsch here I come!

Ishta Mercurio said...

Count me among the Americans who know shite about beer. :-) And I had no idea other beer companies used animal products to make beer! But now I'm really curious...

I've used ber in recipes before - meat marinated in beer, beer in the sauce of a steak and kidney pie, that sort of thing. It's actually good.

As for my favorite beverage, it's coffee. Or hot chocolate. But I mostly drink water. Color me boring, but that's what I drink: it's cheap, it has no additives, and it quenches my thirst.