Beers You Can't Buy Here

Beers You Can't Buy Here

By Richard Goldsmith
Published August 26, 2011
| FoxNews.com
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It's human nature to want what we can't have. We look fondly at Aston Martins, yachts, Kate Upton and anything else mere mortals can only dream of possessing and envy those who do. So it's only natural that here in the U.S., despite hundreds of amazing craft beers popping up on store shelves virtually everywhere, we gaze wistfully across the deep blue sea toward Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia and wish we could get our grubby mitts on some of the amazing beers they're gleefully downing from bottles and taps.
Sure, plenty of them are exported to America, but some of the best stuff stays home. Whether because there's not enough to go around, a fanatical devotion to serving the stuff on tap, or simply a matter of the brewer not wanting to bother with our labyrinthine distribution regulations, there are literally hundreds of brews that never take the trip to the U.S., leaving it up to adventurous travelers to discover them and bring back word – or sneak a few through customs. So whether heading off to Belfast or Bangladesh, keep an eye out for a few of these and carry the tale back home where we'll all be waiting to hear about the best things we can never have.
De Struise Brouwers Black Damnation – It's no surprise that Belgians brew up some of the finest beers in the world, but it is a little frustrating that they keep so many to themselves. This Russian Imperial Stout is supposedly one of the tastiest dark beers ever made, but that knowledge really doesn't help those of us too broke to jet off to Bruges for a weekend.
Landskron Premium Pilsner – Another country of beer fanatics, Germany is holding out on us, too. Landskron Premium Pilsner is a classic German pils that stands up to the best of any found on continental shores. But if you want a drop, better head out to the city of Gorlitz. They don't make all that much of this stuff and most of it doesn't travel far from home.
Zhuhai Kirin President Brewery Haizhu Beer – The Chinese have their issues with manufacturing, but they've proven to be fast learners on the brewing front. Produced by the makers of Kirin, the classic beer to pair with sweet & sour chicken, Haizhu 12° is a pale lager that makes the rounds in the region, but nowhere near the U.S.
Hansa Draught – Deep in Africa, Namibia is a former German colony that still follows the German Purity Laws for brewing known as Reinheitsgebot. That means its beers have nothing in them they shouldn't, and taste crisp, clean, and delicious. One of the best is only available on draft in the country, according to several distributors, and they say it's worth the trip.
Caracu – South Americans love their beer, too, and Brazil in particular tends to down more than its fair share. What they don't share with us is the Brazilian stout called Caracu. A cross between a milk and a sweet stout that dips its toes into dark lager territory, it's different than virtually anything on tap in North American bars. Oddly enough, it's apparently traditional to mix it with a raw egg – truly the breakfast of Brazilian champions. A few of those and you may be ready to take your shot at Kate Upton after all.
Mountain Goat Steam Ale – Leave it to the Aussies to keep a great beer with them on the bottom of the world. Steam Ale is produced with organic ingredients and is a steam beer – a uniquely American style brew developed in the late 1800s in California. The brewmasters at Mountain Goat keep this taste of the U.S. all to themselves, or at least to their fellow Australians. A few bottles make it home in suitcases and on to eBay, but it's all too rare to see one on our shores.
Bucanero Max – Perhaps the ultimate in forbidden fruit, Bucanero Max is an American Adjunct Ale brewed and bottled in sunny Havana. At 6.5 percent ABV, Castro's people brew this one strong, and like the country's most sought after export, the cigar, it's reputed to be an acquired taste – a complex beer for a complex country. But despite the universal language of malt and hops, the politics remain the same. Obviously, this one isn't about to hit our shores any time soon.

A Lamborghini Reventon and Harpoon microbrew. Life might still be challenging, but far more enjoyable. I've even called them (the brewery, not Lamborghini. Lambo would just laugh at me in Italian) to see if they would open up a delivery route to Colorado from Boston. They just said "no" with a slight New England accent. I consequently had to just suck it up and drink Left Hand brew. Oh well.

/chuckles

There are no mountain goats in Australia. I think they're drinking too much beer.

No mountain goats? Really? In Australia?

I dunno about you, but I found one:

http://www.goatbeer.com.au/

LOL

You're killing me. On an early Friday morning, I've got to read about an unobtainable brew from the land down under. I'm sure it's more than tasty. Now I've got to wait for eight hours before I can even have a splash of something not as satisfying. Damn! :beer:

hehehe

Sorry :)

I think its your turn to come down here, I'll take you to Rock Bottom. Did you buy when we were up there? I can't remember (slept since then).

lol

You're right. I think it is my turn to come down there. We'll have to schedule it in the near future before you bug out. I'll bring my wife.

I think I need to buy too. Man, I feel like a real lamo :lame:

I don't know who bought last time. LOL!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Rick Donaldson

I don't know who bought last time. LOL!

---

In a way that's good. Oskar Blues has yet to dissapoint.

/chuckles

It's not beer but I would like to try absinthe someday. Anybody know where to get some? Matteo?

Its in the BVI. I saw people drinking it there.

So.. I guess I'm going to Bahamas. Guess I will try it. I just dont olike the idea of 30 bucks a shot.

LOL

Given the ingenuity of mankind, I suppose there are millions of brews I will never have the opportunity to partake. Even here in the middle of Missouri baseball beer, Budweiser and all it's offshoots has some what ruled the roost so to speak.

I remember one particular childhood weekend trip to Illinois coming home with a trunk full of Coors and being on top of the world, still can't stand the taste of Coors.

I wonder if clan Donaldson isn't planning on sailing the world in search of the ales of the world? A noble yet formable task indeed.:D

I, personally, vow to try.... all millions of them. LOL

Well, eBay used to be a great source to get otherwise unobtainable beer. Yes it is generally against the law to ship beer under most circumstances but only because of arcane and outdated laws preventing a truly free marketplace. Fact is, no one really cares about these laws and sales/trades of limited availability beer occur all the time.

Now eBay is no longer the great resource it was thanks to a couple of self-righteous breweries crying to eBay because their limited release beers were selling for way over retail on the secondary market.

http://beerpulse.com/2012/07/ebay-an...e-end-is-nigh/

http://beerpulse.com/2012/07/hill-fa...beers-on-ebay/

http://embracethefunk.com/2012/07/30...wer-reactions/

I can tell you I have no plans to ever give any of my business to Hill Farmstead, Russian River, or Cantillion the biggest players believed to be behind this.

As I said, eBay used to be a great resource. I have purchased several Dogfish Head beers on there I would not otherwise have been able to get. Noble Rot was nowhere to be found in my area when it was released earlier this year. Positive Contact was just released and no place local was going to be getting any. The biggest Dogfish Score I got on eBay was some Wrath of Pecant. This was not released outside of the state of Delaware and being the Star Trek fan I am, I had to have some. And some of you may remember my quest for Dogfish's Bitches Brew.

It has been funny to look around some of the beer websites and see people cheering about eBay shutting down the sales because people weren't charging "fair" prices or were "gouging" with their prices. Fact is, the market will only bear what someone is willing to pay for something.

Bunch of fucking socialists... I knew I was going to be paying a premium to get those beers because they were not otherwise available to me. I didn't cry because it wasn't "fair". I wanted them and paid the piper.

My bad luck... I had stumbled on 10 bottles of Dogfish Urkontinent at a local store. I snatched them up knowing they were rare and I planned to flip them to make some more beer money! :D I listed my beer the same weekend eBay decided to start pulling listings. :be2:

So, if anyone is looking for any rare, liquid-filled, glass reactive shooting targets (;)) I have them up for sale - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=150873061295

:D

If you want a real laugh, go do a search for some Pappy Van Winkle and tell me what you find. THAT is somehow okay but suddenly craft beer is not. :mad: