Back in the spring of this year, I received an email from an enthusiastic traveller with great news. This wandering soul had actually discovered an airport hotel which boasted a good selection of interesting and flavourful beer. As those of you who travel frequently will immediately recognize, this was cause for some celebration, as most hotels -- particularly those in North America and especially those located at airports -- think that stocking a full range of beer means offering all three kinds -- Bud, Miller and Coors.

     The hotel turned out to be the Four Points Sheraton at the Los Angeles Airport. And the man behind the beer is Phil Baxter, vice-president, general manager and head beer sommelier.

     I contacted Baxter and asked about his project. He replied: "This is a franchise hotel and as such I threw away the brand mandates the day I arrived. We performed a $17 million renovation on the Hotel (and) while the budget for bar improvements was limited, I still managed to get six taps through the wall into a beer box. I started the Beer Sommelier program -- which is really all about training and certification -- having no idea that other hotels/restaurants were not doing it."

     (You may have read about Baxter's beer sommelier program in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal or USA Today. In essence, it is a certification program through which the staff are taught beer basics and trained in how to recommend the right beer for each customer or occasion.)

     After further discussions, Baxter and I agreed that it would be fun for me to come out and host one of his beer appreciation nights. And so it was that I found myself speaking to a roomful of LA beer aficionados on the evening of October 18.

     With the Premium Beer Drinker's Guide just hitting store shelves (see http://worldofbeer.com/features/feature-200009.html for details), a comparison tasting of premium classics seemed an appropriate theme. With only a few bumps along the way, Baxter and I were able to assemble a stellar line-up.

Old World Meets New
A Beer Tasting From Stephen Beaumont's New Book,
The Premium Beer Drinker's Guide

     1) Celis White and Hoegaarden White
     2) Floreffe Dubbel and New Belgium Dubbel
     3) Eau Bénite from Unibroue and Westmalle Tripel
     4) Maclay Oat Malt Stout and Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout
     5) North Coast Rasputin and Saku Porter
     6) Schlenkerla Rauchbier and Alaskan Smoked Porter

     As the name we gave the tasting would indicate, the idea was to compare North American versions of classic beer styles with the European originals. We weren't after winners and losers -- in my opinion, all of the beers involved were absolute winners -- but we did hope that the comparison would open minds and expand taste buds. Even I hadn't sampled some of these stellar brews side by side.

     The first tasting went largely as I expected, with the more assertive Celis providing a punchy counterpoint to the softer Hoegaarden. Eyes opened wide, however, when the second set was reached and many in the room had their first taste of the tremendous Floreffe Dubbel from Brasserie Lefebvre of Belgium. An oft-overlooked dubbel, it typified the versatility of the style, showing the structure that makes it great drinking with a meal, with chocolate or on its own.

     The third set was for me the most interesting. I am a fan of the Eau Bénite from Québec's Unibroue, and when tasted first it drank fully as well as I expected. But once the classic Westmalle was sampled and attentions returned to the Eau Benite, there was no contest. The powerful and supremely complex Westmalle left the 1.3% alcohol weaker in its dust, testament not to any failings on the part of Eau Bénite but rather to the excellence of the Westmalle.

     Tasting a little hoppier than I remember it, the Barney Flats Oatmeal Stout pleased almost everyone in the audience, while the Maclay showed an unfortunate and uncharacteristic buttery flavour and aroma. (Fresh, the Oat Malt Stout is a tremendous pint.) In pairing five, the formidable Rasputin, perhaps the best Imperial stout brewed anywhere today, ran roughshod over the much milder and bottom-fermented Saku Porter. Even so, however, a number of tasters approached me at the end of the night to comment on how interesting they found the Estonian brew.

     A fitting conclusion to the tasting of classics came in the form of what are arguably the most respected smoked malt beers in the world. For those who had never tasted such delightfully but intensely smoky brews, it was a revelation. For the rest of us, it was simply a pleasure.

Feature Articles

• Spirited Foods June 2007
• The Culinary Beauty of Belgium May 2007
• Considering Oysters & Beer April 2007
• A Country, a Beer, and an Equation Not Necessarily Sound March 2007
• Besting Wine with Beer and Chocolate February 2008
• A Year in Beer & Food January 2008
• Cooking Up My Last Supper December 2007
• The Best of Beer Fests? November 2007
• My First Visit to Oktoberfest October 2007
• So What IS Balance, Anyway? September 2007
• Revisiting the Beer Cocktail August 2007
• Sampling The Ubiquitous Chip July 2007
• Three Stops in Philadelphia June 2007
• Time to Kill the Cold May 2007
• Sahtis and Saunas in Lammi April 2007
• Turning St. Patrick on His Head March 2007
• A Tale of a Tasting February 2007
• Twelve Months of Beer January 2007
• The Year in Beer Blogs December 2006
• The 25th Edition of the Great American Beer Festival November 2006
• Why Can't Somebody Explain this Beer to Me? October 2006
• Ten Years Can Be a Long Time September 2006
• Rethinking the Draught-Bottle-Can Paradigm August 2006
• Light, fizzy beers are losing popularity July 2006
• Beer & Health June 2006
• Tallking Tin May 2006
• Consider the Cocktail April 2006
• The Future of Big Breweries? March 2006
• A Potpourri of Beer News February 2006
• Looking Forward in 2006 Janaury 2006
• Gifts for the Gourmand December 2005
• Beer Tasting 101 November 2005
• The Great Canadian Beer Festival October 2005
• The Passion of Mondovino September 2005
• Belgium Came to Cooperstown ... Again August 2005
• Ten Truly Great Summer Beer Experiences July 2005
• Great News for Good Beer June 2005
• Flogging A Dead Horse May 2005
• Hey Molson-Coors, What Do You Have Against Taste? April 2005
• Beer and Food Pairing Gains Popularity! March 2005
• Bud for the Cocktail Set February 2005
• Looking Back and Looking Ahead January 2005
• Holiday Wishes December 2004
• The 2004 Great American Beer Festival November 2004
• The Empty Words of Beer October 2004
• A Visit to the Griffin Brewery September 2004
• Oh Look, It's Another Major Brewery Merger! August 2004
• Interview with John Sleeman July 2004
• Creating a Blend June 2004
• World of Beer turns 40 May 2004
• Eighteen Ways to Improve Your Beer Life April 2004
• Drinking Old Beer March 2004
• Drink Local or Drink Quality? February 2004
• 2003 - The Year That Was January 2004
• 2004 - The Year of Lambic December 2003
• Perspective on the Premium Beer Market November 2003
• So What Makes a Bar Great? October 2003
• Random Reflections at Summer's End, September 2003
• Why I Drink Beer, August 2003
• American Beer Month: Controversial Again, July 2003
• The Case for the Complexity of Beer, June 2003
• Enough of the Lowbrow Chic Already!, May 2003
• A Beer Called Lambic, April 2003
• Of Snow and Barley Wines, March 2003
• Lament for a Brewpub, February 2003
• What We Didn't Get Done, January 2003
• More Belgian Bliss, December 2002
• Joanna Blythman is an Idiot, November 2002
• Brakspear and the Name Game, October 2002
• Taking a Taste of the Midwest, September 2002
• Oregon Brewers Festival 2002, August 2002
• In Praise of Expensive Beer, July 2002
• Le Mondial de la Bière, June 2002
• Beers that Go to the Dogs, May 2002
• In Praise of the Pub, April 2002
• A Great Restaurant Town, True, But a Magnificent Beer Town, March 2002
• Right Beer, Wrong Weather: Imperial Stouts in New York, February 2002
• What I've Learned About Beer, January 2002
• Deceptive Names, Deceptive Drinks, December 2001
• The Truth About Dutch Beer, November 2001
• A Very Personal Message from Stephen Beaumont, October 2001
• Smell Your Beer, September 2001
• Travel Karma, Great Beer and the Oregon Brewers festival, August 2001
• Switzerland after Samichlaus, July 2001
• A Tale of Three Bus(c)hes, June 2001
• Announcing a New Great Canadian Beer Guide, May 2001
• Beer Belongs at the Table, April 2001
• A Bevy of Barley Wines, March 2001
• Why Craft Beer is Here to Stay, February 2001
• Y2Beer -- The Year in Review, January 2001
• No Age Verification Necessary, December 2000
• A Tale of a Tasting, November 2000
• In Praise of la Belle Province, October 2000
• The Premium Beer Drinker's Guide is Here!!, September 2000
• The Downside of Beer and Brewing, August 2000
• So Why Do You Drink Beer?, July 2000
• The Summer Joy of Wheat, June 2000
• In Defense of Beer, May 2000
• Ten Days in Belgium, Part II, April 2000
• Ten Days in Belgium, Part I, April 2000
• Ten Days in Belgium, Introduction, April 2000
• A World of Stout, Mar 2000
• The Glass From Which We Drink, Feb 2000
• The Year As It Was: Brews, Fests and Damn Foolishness , Jan 2000
• New Years Eve, Dec 1999
• Beer in the Land of Stout, Nov 1999
• Visiting the World's Best Beer Fest, Oct 1999
• The Secretive Charm of the Bière de Garde, Sept 1999
• The Mixed Marriage of a Beer and a Cigar, Aug 1999

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