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Malaga
Tuesday, 11 July 2023, 17:35
It is the undisputed king of drinks in the bars and at the beach, and the first thing you look for in the fridge when you get home to accompany a tapa, or dinner. There is a wide variety of beers available, although everyone agrees on drinking it chilled. But which are the best to accompany meals this summer?
To try and find out, Spain's Organisation of Consumers and Users (OCU) conducted a comparative analysis of 17 classic lager beers in cans (mild, with an alcohol content of between 4.5 and 5%, and dry extract of less than 13%). The results have now revealed what people enjoy the most about them and key differences between the beverages.
The final rating reflects both laboratory results on elements such as composition and fermentation, as well as the assessment of their labelling and the blind tasting conducted by a panel of expert judges with international BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Programme) accreditation.
They found that several beers use hop extract instead of hop flowers, which results in a loss of flavour and aroma, weighing down their ratings. But perhaps most striking is that only three beers are 100% malt. The rest also incorporate small amounts of other cereals such as maize or rice. But the real crime was the beer that used glucose syrup, which was detected in one of the beers analysed.
Other factors that also influenced the final rating are the choice of water, yeast (which affects fermentation), the type of hops and the proportion of cereals used.
Two of the beers stand out among the best, namely:
Price: from 0.49 to 0.75 euros/can. Alcoholic volume: 4.52%. "The best rated beer in the taste test is characterised by its limited bitterness, low medium body and high carbonation. It incorporates corn and rice in its recipe," the OCU said.
Price: from 0.56 to 0.72 euros/can. Alcoholic volume: 4.82%. "It had a good evaluation in the blind tasting test: medium bitterness, medium fizzy sensation and little body. It adds corn to the recipe," the organisation said.
The OCU analysis pointed out that white labels are an interesting alternative, some of them also stand out among the best in the survey. On top of that, they cost half as much as the top brands, which rarely drop below 2 euros per litre.
Is 100% malt the best?
Purists argue that the best beers are made from 100% barley malt, which produces a fuller-bodied, more bitter beverage with a stronger flavour. "However, it is more common to add other cereals, such as unmalted barley, corn or rice, precisely to soften the bitter taste and obtain a more neutral, herbaceous or sweet finish," the OCU said.
Hops are a different matter. The addition of the flowers of this plant, usually dried, ground and pressed, is essential to give beer its distinctive bitter taste and other aromas and flavours that depend on the variety used. But substituting the flower for the extract, as many products do, undermines the artisanal character, and the OCU penalised this.
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