No Stella, Ah Well Make It A Krone (Kronenbourg 1664)

Member Name: Andy.mack

Product:	Kronenbourg 1664
Date:	02/09/03 (96 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Pleasant aftertaste

Disadvantages: Couple of bad experiences

So having finally recovered from my Reading drinking session I sat down last night to my first pint of beer in a week. Not one of my usual drinks, as the Stella and Guinness are both finished for the moment, it had to be a bottle of Kronenbourg 1664. I used to love the stuff before I started on Stella and after I had finished with Fosters, but an over indulgence once to often lead to me becoming sick of the taste and as such going off of it a little.

However as it’s the only stuff in the house at the moment it was an easy choice to make as to my drinking choice for tonight. But where does this bottle before me come from, well France and to be more specific, Strasbourg. The brewery Kronenbourg comes from was founded back in 1664 by Jerome Hatt who brewed his first barrel way back in 1664, but it would be a long time before they started brewing the beer we all know today.

During the 1800’s they moved the brewery from the centre of Strasbourg to an area of the town called cronenbourg. However it wasn’t until 1947 before they actually started to make Kronenbourg. Named after the area of the town but with a K instead of the C and using the year the brewery was founded Kronenbourg 1664 was founded and the rest as they say is History.

So that’s the history lesson out of the way, what about the price? Well I normally drink it in pubs when there is no Stella and I fancy a pint of lager. And a pint of Kronenbourg in our local sets us back about £2.49, which is about the norm for most of the places around here.

You can of course buy it from your local Tesco/ Waitrose/etc delete as appropriate in various sized bottles (25 and 33Cl) and 440ml cans. The last time we bought any from this country it set us back about a fiver for 10 of the smallest bottles, however we more often than not tend to buy it by the crate from the hypermarket in Calais when a trip is made.

So onto the bottle I have in front of me. Taking
the glass, and pouring the contents into it, god I’ve waited almost a week for this. It’s a slightly darker complexion than Stella, but still has that golden tint to it. The head is quite full and stays for most of the time you are drinking it. The smell given off by the pint is a mixture of fruits, with the defining one seeming to be lemon.

And finally time to take a taste, the first thing you notice is the bubbles as you take the first sip. I find Kronenbourg is a lot more active in the bubble stakes than Stella, but this does add a little something to the taste. There is only a slight hint in the taste of the fruit, that was so evident in the aroma. Being quite a strong lager at 5.2% understandable you can taste this in the drink, providing a sort of bitter taste.

However it is not overly strong and in fact is very refreshing, with a pleasant aftertaste that isn’t overwhelming. A thoroughly enjoyable pint that leaves you feeling refreshed and even a little bit tempted to try another. Well it looks like my taste for Kronenbourg has returned again. As I said a very enjoyable pint that I will no doubt be having more of in the near future, although it is a bit on the expensive side.

Summary: