Looking for beer....

[Steve Williams]

Ok I don't know if anyone can help but,

I was in Tallin (Estonia--Baltic Country) earlier this year, and had a great beer at a restaurant there.
The restaurant was called "Old Hansa", thats the famous one they use on all the travel progs, the beer was just said to be "traditional Honey Beer", it was glorious.
The taste was great, with a terrific honey aftertaste but not any sweetness.

Anybody know where I might get a beer of this type here (UK).

All help appreciated... :toast:

BTW I have tried lots of beers which mention honey in the ingredients :look: and so far nothing comes close...

[kenkyusha]

Steven,

Have you tried the (if one exists) Baltic immagrant population of London (or other large metropolitan area)? Found the website for the restaurant, but it wasn't very helpful http://www.rk.ee/taavi/oldehansa/ ...

I'll keep my eyes out.

Be well,
Jigme

[Steve Williams]

Thanks Jigme

Actually more help than you may imagine.
The English translation is very limited :)

My mother in law is from Finland (about 80km from Estonia across the water) so I have a baltic connection (the Finns probably would disagree with the term baltic and Finland in the same sentence :D )
She just gives me a strange look when I mention "Honey Beer", mind you she often gives me a funny look...... :look::laugh:

The Finnish translation on the website is more promising, it has a menu.
With the translation (from my wife) we now have: Tumma hunajaolut 0,5l : which is translated as "Dark Honey Beer", so we are still none the wiser (not much anyway).

[Margaret Lo]

I know this is not a beer but there is a great honey drink, mead? in Ethiopian cuisine. I forget the name of the drink, but one evening years ago, I ate Ethiopian food in the lower west side of Manhattan at a restaurant called Abyssinnia

We were sitting on rattan stools which were placed around a rattan table in which was set a big metal bowl lined with a porous white bread. All around the bowl, on top of the bread was set dabs of various types of food which you scoop up with the bread in your hands.

Wash it all down with the honey mead. Yum

M

[Alacoque]

Hi Margaret,
I don't know much about Ethiopian food but, coincidently there is an ancient Irish fermented honey drink also called mead. Small world!
Alacoque Meehan

[Neil Yamamoto]

Can't help on the honey beer you describe Steve, but general comments on mead.

Mead is available at some specialty grocery stores and range from sickly sweet to a crisp dry version. All are a bit too sweet for my scotch imbued taste buds.

However, mead packs a wallop on getting one blasted I find. Only about 14-16% alcohol, it hits hard for some reason. The good thing is, minimal aftereffect for hangover if you overindulge if it is a dry version of the stuff.

Mead actually was one of the first alcohol beverages if the story I got was correct. It was from a drunken Irish man and according to him, the Irish were first with everything.

Slainte!

[Earl Hartman]

Neil:

Tell that to the Vikings. Mead was the quintessential Viking drink, although I have heard it said that the original mead was not the honey-sweet stuff that is around today, but was more like a weak beer. I have a recipe for Scandanavian lemon mead that is really easy to make and yields a carbonated, yeasty, slightly alcoholic drink. Pretty tasty on a hot summer day.

Earl

[Neil Yamamoto]

Earl, Like I said, I got it from an Irish guy. I thought some sounded wrong but I wasn't sure.

The vikings were a pretty smart bunch of guys. Incredible they explored so much of the world.

So, Earl, what will it take to entice you to share the lemon mead recipe? Perhaps we can swap. My peanut butter and jelly onigiri for the lemon mead? Whadda say?

Neil

[Steve Williams]

Originally posted by Earl Hartman
Neil:

Tell that to the Vikings. Mead was the quintessential Viking drink, although I have heard it said that the original mead was not the honey-sweet stuff that is around today, but was more like a weak beer. I have a recipe for Scandanavian lemon mead that is really easy to make and yields a carbonated, yeasty, slightly alcoholic drink. Pretty tasty on a hot summer day.

Earl


Hey Earl

This sounds remarkably like Finnish "Sima", we make it sometimes in the summer.

Very refreshing but not a patch on real alcohol, having said that I don't know if any Vikings would have drunk this (with their fierce reputation) just seems a little tame :up:


The Mead drink (original mead), sounds the closest to my original request, can it be bought now?? :toast:

[Earl Hartman]

Steve:

You take the prize. Sima it is. I was wondering if anyone else knew about it.

Yes, it is tame, but pleasant nonetheless, especially during the summer, kind of a fizzy, slightly alcoholic lemonade. However, as I said, I have been led to believe that the original mead was not that alcoholic and was more like weak beer. It has the advantage of going down easy so you can drink a lot of it. It is a good "quaff", so to speak. Still, I doubt that the Vikings had anything like lemons up there back in the day. I've heard that the Crusaders had never seen an orange until they got to the Middle East.

Neil: I would have gladly given you the recipe, but you had to go and threaten me with that damn PB'n'J onigiri, you perv you. Just for that, I won't tell you. If you're a good boy and take that back, I'll let you in on it. Still, I'm not sure you would like it; it's a harmless party drink, nothing like the nectar of the gods.

Earl

[Neil Yamamoto]

Oh Hartman Sama!

I beg foregiveness for my horrible social gaffe in offering you a PBnJ onigiri! I meant to offer you free access to my Scotch in return for the recipe. Perhaps a wee dram of some 18 year old McCallan will suffice. I also have a find Bruichladdich and a 12 year old Bowmore that are very nice. Perhaps I can drag out some of my 37 year old Glen Rothes to appease the wrathful Hartman sama?

As a fellow member of the secret MAFFR, I beg foregiveness!

BTW, nothing wrong with a light party drink. I just have to figure out what scotch to serve with it. Actually, it would probably go better with Irish whiskey. But then I have to invite Joe Svinth over to drink it with me and there goes the neighborhood.

[Earl Hartman]

Neil:

Didn't know you were a fellow member of MAFFR. Abject apology accepted.

Anyway, making sima is easy. I have to check the recipe (don't have the book with me) for amounts, but the basic process is:

1. Peel some lemons to remove all of the zest and the white outer pulp, leaving only the flesh. With a very sharp knife, slice the lemons into very thin slices.

2.Put the lemon slices in a large stainless steel bowl and add sugar and boiling water. Stir to dissolve the sugar. When the water cools to lukewarm (cool enough not to kill yeast) dissolve a bit of yeast in the mixture.

3. Cover and let ferment over night.

4. Place a small pinch of sugar and one or two raisins in beer bottles with replaceable stoppers (Grosch beer bottles are perfect. The have ceramic stoppers with rubber O-rings that are held in place with a wire arrangement)

5. Strain the liquid into the bottles, but don't fill the bottles all the way up to the top. Stopper the bottles firlmy.

6. Place the bottles in a cool location and let the mixture continue to ferment. Watch it closely. As it ferments, the raisins will absorb the carbon dioxide and expand. When they float to the surface of the brew, it is ready. This shouldn't take more than 2-3 days, in my experience.

7. Drink right away before the bottles explode (if you add too much yeast this could actually happen). Be prepared for a little overflow when you open the bottles. The finished brew is yellow from the lemons and a bit cloudy from the yeast.

Anyway, it's pretty good stuff. Sweet, lemony, yeasty, bubbly and slightly alcoholic.

It's a good summer quaff. I wouldn't waste any single malt on it, though.

I'll try to get the amounts for you tomorrow.

Earl

[Steve Williams]

Originally posted by Earl Hartman
7. Drink right away before the bottles explode (if you add too much yeast this could actually happen)

Yep, been there, done that. :laugh:

Luckily once was in the garden shed.
Unluckly, once was in the porch of the house, only a slighlty sticky mess, nice smell though.....

[kukai]

Restaurant "Olde Hansa" is one of the rare places to find that beer. Brewed in mid-Estonia by small breweries it is considered traditional (well - during 13.-18.centuries Estonia was under Swedish Kingdom,that's were possibly this tradition came from), though you cant find it in any store. They produce also a delicious wine out of honey, worth to try when you're around again. Let me know when that happens... :toast:
As to where to find these drinks in the UK, I honestly dont have any idea. Guess you have to come all the way here. :cool:

Sven Salumets

[Rob]

Steve,

If you're ever on the civilised side of Offa's Dyke (the border between England and Wales before I start getting very odd posts !) drop me a line.

There's a very nice place here in Cardiff which speciallises in lots of those odd European beers and also has a collection of over 100 different single malts.

Either send me a PM or e-me on robwallis@hotmail.com

[Bambi]

"There's a very nice place here in Cardiff which speciallises in lots of those odd European beers and also has a collection of over 100 different single malts."

jeez Rob ...I wish that I'd known that when I was livin' in Cardiff... :(

A day late and a penny short, as usual

[Rob]

Hey if you ever came back.

Same offer. Give me a call