This may be our last beer post until the European Football Cup in 2012. Once the list of football teams that have qualified has been published we will embark on the beer qualifying rounds.
I have promised you some information on how we sourced our beers.
Mike started off by doing shed loads of investigations about what beers are brewed in the countries competing. Our aim was to find a lager (around 5%) for each country.
First of all, we went to Tescos. Surprising what you can get there.
Then we went online to Beers of Europe - got lots there. Beeritz is also good.
Mike did a lot of googling for obscure online outlets. This yielded the Serbia beer, and the beers from Cameroon and Cote D'Ivoire (but turned out to be from Togo but close enough). This method gave us false hope, though, for Honduras. We also found a site for a store based in Elephant & Castle that looked as if it would provide some of the South American beers but they decided that they couldn't fulfil our order. I wonder if we could have sourced the beer if we went there in person.
Mike then investigated restaurants - we sourced the Swiss and Ghana beers this way.
I think we could have worked harder at locating local stores in areas with a high population from the country we were trying to source. We knew of the Korean Supermarket in Centrepoint, there must be more stores like that.
We found that some local stores (for example, Westholme Stores in Goring on Thames and the out-of-date beer shop in the Cowley Road, Oxford) have really good selections.
If we still couldn't find the right beer, we then asked lots of favours from our friends. In this way, we managed to source 2 bottles of Taedonggang from North Korea and the Slovenian Zlatorog.
And then if we still couldn't find a beer then we picked substitutes from nearby countries (some nearer than others...)
Here's the list of contestants.
If any of our readers know where to source beers from Uruguay, Algeria, Paraguay, Chile or Honduras then please let us know!
Over and out until Euro 2012!
Algeria: could not source Alga Power Beer
Argentina: Quilmes, from Beers of Europe
Australia: VB, from Beers of Europe
Brazil: Palma Louca, from Beers of Europe
Cameroon: Castel, from www.alterafrica.com
Chile: could not source Cristal or Austral
Cote D'Ivoire: Flag, from www.alterafrica.com (but small print on the bottle says it's from Togo)
Denmark: Elephant, from Beers of Europe
England: Hop, from Tesco
France: Kronenbourg, from Tesco
Germany: Bitburger, from Tesco
Ghana: Star, from Gold Coast Bar, Brixton (who charged us a full £5 per bottle, and the bottles were out of date. Beware.)
Greece: Vergina, from Beers of Europe
Honduras: could not source Port Royal Export
Italy: Peroni, from Tesco
Japan: Kirin Ichiban, from Beers of Europe
Korea (South): Hite, from Korea Foods, Centrepoint
Korea (North): Taedonggang, from Simon. Good luck finding this one!
Mexico: Bohemia, from Beers of Europe
Netherlands: Bavaria, from Tesco
New Zealand: Speights, from Beers of Europe
Nigeria: Star, from Beers of Europe
Paraguay: could not source Baviera or Cerveceria Paraguayana Pilsen
Portugal: Super Bock, from Beers of Europe
Serbia: Apatinsko, from Vardor, Askew Road, W12
Slovakia: Zlaty Bazant, from Beers of Europe (sadly only tins available now)
Slovenia: Lasko Zlatorog, from Simon. But may be available in the UK now.
South Africa: Castle, from www.buysouthafricaonline.co.uk
Spain: Alhambra, from Beers of Europe
Switzerland: Swiss Mountain Beer, from St Moritz Restaurant, Soho (who were very charming)
Uruguay: could not locate Nortena
USA: Dixie, from Beers of Europe
Friday 16 July 2010
Tuesday 13 July 2010
The Final!!!!
We had a great time with our friends Janet and Julian and their kids in Javea, Spain - see photo below for the view from the swimming pool terrace - and anticipation and excitement for the final was palpable.....
The flight back landed 15 minutes early at 6.30 p.m. on Sunday, but frustratingly we weren't able to leave the plane for half an hour... then we had to get a bus from the south to the north terminal.... then the usual junction we take for our journey home was closed....we were getting anxious as bad luck usually comes in threes...
Fortunately the fridge was still working and the contestants were in prime condition
The hard disc recorder had also done its job, so all that remained was to defrost Ali's famous chicken curry from the freezer, boil some basmati rice, and plump up the cushions on the sofa.
But on to the main event - the beer finalists............
Slovakia was first and the judges were in unanimous agreement that Zlaty Bazant was on cracking form, fully justifying its place in the final. Denmark next and Elephant packed the punch it had trumpeted throughout the competition. It was a hard decision and most of the beer was finished before the result was announced.......... Zlaty Bazant was the deserved winner of the Boxbeck Football World Cup 2010 Beer Competition!
So it's all over now, but the memories will linger as we plough our way through all the "losers"....
Thanks for following us and look forward to seeing you all again when we commence our preparations for the European Cup in two years time.
Hasta Luego!!!!!
ps We will publish the list of contestants and suppliers shortly
The flight back landed 15 minutes early at 6.30 p.m. on Sunday, but frustratingly we weren't able to leave the plane for half an hour... then we had to get a bus from the south to the north terminal.... then the usual junction we take for our journey home was closed....we were getting anxious as bad luck usually comes in threes...
Fortunately the fridge was still working and the contestants were in prime condition
The hard disc recorder had also done its job, so all that remained was to defrost Ali's famous chicken curry from the freezer, boil some basmati rice, and plump up the cushions on the sofa.
But on to the main event - the beer finalists............
Slovakia was first and the judges were in unanimous agreement that Zlaty Bazant was on cracking form, fully justifying its place in the final. Denmark next and Elephant packed the punch it had trumpeted throughout the competition. It was a hard decision and most of the beer was finished before the result was announced.......... Zlaty Bazant was the deserved winner of the Boxbeck Football World Cup 2010 Beer Competition!
So it's all over now, but the memories will linger as we plough our way through all the "losers"....
Thanks for following us and look forward to seeing you all again when we commence our preparations for the European Cup in two years time.
Hasta Luego!!!!!
ps We will publish the list of contestants and suppliers shortly
Thursday 8 July 2010
Zlaty Bazant rules!
Apologies for the delayed post. We have been busy celebrating Mike's birthday and preparing for a little trip to Spain. Sadly, we will be flying back from Spain when the Football World Cup final is on. It would have been fun to have seen the football final in Spain. Bet our friends will be doing their best to persuade us to stay!
So we know who the football finalists are. But which beer is sitting in the Boxbeck fridge, awaiting its match with Denmark (Elephant)?
Well, it's none other than my favourite, Slovakia (Zlaty Bazant)! It faced off against Mexico (Bohemia) on Wednesday. On the tasting, I was surprised that Mexico made it to the final. It just shows that lagers basically all taste the same and it's down to your mood on the day. So Zlaty Bazant was the easy winner.
We have found out that Zlaty Bazant is now only available in tins, rather than bottles. How disappointing. We had been planning to stock up (once we've worked our way through all of our losers, which will take months, if not years).
Of course, some if you will be anxiously awaiting the match for 3rd place (France (Kronenbourg) vs Mexico (Bohemia)). But, guess what, we won't have any 3rd place play off. What's the point? They've lost! You don't get the losing Wimbledon semi finalists playing off for 3rd place, do you? So you will never hear it from us how Kronenbourg matches up head to head with Bohemia. You will just have to try it yourself..
The blog will be a little quiet now until the Beer Final. And after that we will publish a post about how and where we sourced our beers in case any one wants to emulate our competition for the Euros or next World Cup. We might even have a post on Quilmes (seems they are a football team as well as a beer. What a great combination), to try to win our free beer from the Other World Cup Beer Competition.
Hasta luego!
So we know who the football finalists are. But which beer is sitting in the Boxbeck fridge, awaiting its match with Denmark (Elephant)?
Well, it's none other than my favourite, Slovakia (Zlaty Bazant)! It faced off against Mexico (Bohemia) on Wednesday. On the tasting, I was surprised that Mexico made it to the final. It just shows that lagers basically all taste the same and it's down to your mood on the day. So Zlaty Bazant was the easy winner.
We have found out that Zlaty Bazant is now only available in tins, rather than bottles. How disappointing. We had been planning to stock up (once we've worked our way through all of our losers, which will take months, if not years).
Of course, some if you will be anxiously awaiting the match for 3rd place (France (Kronenbourg) vs Mexico (Bohemia)). But, guess what, we won't have any 3rd place play off. What's the point? They've lost! You don't get the losing Wimbledon semi finalists playing off for 3rd place, do you? So you will never hear it from us how Kronenbourg matches up head to head with Bohemia. You will just have to try it yourself..
The blog will be a little quiet now until the Beer Final. And after that we will publish a post about how and where we sourced our beers in case any one wants to emulate our competition for the Euros or next World Cup. We might even have a post on Quilmes (seems they are a football team as well as a beer. What a great combination), to try to win our free beer from the Other World Cup Beer Competition.
Hasta luego!
Tuesday 6 July 2010
Penalty shoot out!
Denmark (Elephant) met France (Kronenbourg) yesterday in the first semi final. The two beers were very different. The Elephant threatened to out muscle Kronenbourg, as it has done to previous competitors. But Kronenbourg stood its ground, its more refreshing style backed with well balanced flavour. So we had to go to a penalty shoot out for the first time this competition. We had been considering blind tastings but clearly that wouldn't work with two such different beers. So we resorted to old faithful - the toss of a coin. Heads - it would be France. Tails - it would be Denmark (Elephants do have tails). Mike flipped the coin. And Denmark goes through! Bad luck France.
Sunday 4 July 2010
Review of second two quarter finals
Well Saturday was a glorious day for a barbecue. The coals were burning just right, the sausages were blackening nicely and the lamb chops and sweetcorn were waiting patiently on the sidelines. Where were the assistant judges?
Paul and Evelyn made their journey to the tasting arena by mountain bike - a 1 hour journey from Reading. Admire their outfits in this photo - perfect to get everyone in the mood for the big match on the TV at 3 p.m. - Germany v Argentina. Notice the balanced support for football teams. Paul politely failed to gloat when Evelyn's team was trounced.
Evelyn also told us much about Quilmes - for a later blog. In the meantime, admire the excellent Quilmes shirt.
Alan and Helen motored over from Little Stoke, Helen hobbling in on crutches after an unfortunate fall - an extreme measure to avoid being the designated driver, but worth it given the bucketful of tempting beers on offer.
To reward the assistant judges a taster of Taedondang was poured. This stimulated the taste buds prior to the main events and was surprisingly popular, despite its very poor performance in the group stages.
It was a close contest between Germany and Mexico, but Bitburger was not quite up to the challenge and lost narrowly 5-4 to Bohemia.
Next was Slovakia versus the only remaining African country in the competition, Cote d'Ivoire. Flag put up a spirited performance but Zlaty Bazant (crazy name crazy beer) was pronounced the resounding winner, with a score of 5-4.
Two interesting semi-finals to come:
1. The contest of the traditionalists -
France v Denmark (Kronenbourg 1664 v Carlsberg Elephant). Will the superior strength (7.2%) of Denmark carry the day?
2. The battle of the newcomers -
Mexico v Slovakia (Bohemia v Zlaty Bazant) - this is anyone's to win, but the smart money will be on Slovakia
Happy drinking!
Paul and Evelyn made their journey to the tasting arena by mountain bike - a 1 hour journey from Reading. Admire their outfits in this photo - perfect to get everyone in the mood for the big match on the TV at 3 p.m. - Germany v Argentina. Notice the balanced support for football teams. Paul politely failed to gloat when Evelyn's team was trounced.
Evelyn also told us much about Quilmes - for a later blog. In the meantime, admire the excellent Quilmes shirt.
Alan and Helen motored over from Little Stoke, Helen hobbling in on crutches after an unfortunate fall - an extreme measure to avoid being the designated driver, but worth it given the bucketful of tempting beers on offer.
To reward the assistant judges a taster of Taedondang was poured. This stimulated the taste buds prior to the main events and was surprisingly popular, despite its very poor performance in the group stages.
It was a close contest between Germany and Mexico, but Bitburger was not quite up to the challenge and lost narrowly 5-4 to Bohemia.
Next was Slovakia versus the only remaining African country in the competition, Cote d'Ivoire. Flag put up a spirited performance but Zlaty Bazant (crazy name crazy beer) was pronounced the resounding winner, with a score of 5-4.
Two interesting semi-finals to come:
1. The contest of the traditionalists -
France v Denmark (Kronenbourg 1664 v Carlsberg Elephant). Will the superior strength (7.2%) of Denmark carry the day?
2. The battle of the newcomers -
Mexico v Slovakia (Bohemia v Zlaty Bazant) - this is anyone's to win, but the smart money will be on Slovakia
Happy drinking!
Saturday 3 July 2010
Review of first two quarter finals. No "Hand of God" in this contest!
Yesterday we were back to the beers and football after a few days off. We watched the Uruguay - Ghana match on the TV and any guilt I felt about allocating Uruguay that dreadful, out of date Patagonia brew disappeared after their outrageous, deliberate hand ball that robbed Ghana of their victory. Pah. We will now boo and hiss at Uruguay, and open a celebratory bottle of Ghana (Star in a bottle) when they lose.
But on to the contest that this blog is all about - the beers!
Contrary, to the tweet (Mike says that he was tired & emotional after a hard week at work), Denmark (Elephant) out muscled Honduras (sub Cristal from Cuba) 5-4. The Elephant was just more than the Cristal could handle. I think a lot could depend on the weather. Yesterday was cooler than it has been. On a hot day (perhaps more typical of Cuba & Honduras than Denmark), the Cristal would be better to drink than the Elephant. But every cloud has a silver lining - Honduras's loss is Alan's gain, as he will be able to have a bottle or two of his favourite tipple today as we do not need to hang on to any more Cristal for the semis and finals.
The second quarter final shows how commercial beers can really be quite good. You may recall I told you how Grolsch reached the semis of the Boxbeck European Beer competition two years ago, much to my surprise. Well, this time it's the turn of Kronenbourg. France (Kronenbourg) beat Australia (VB), in a fairly conclusive 5-4. The VB was surprisingly tasteless compared to the Kronenbourg.
So in the semis, we will have Denmark (Elephant) vs France (Kronenbourg). It will be interesting. On a very hot day my money would be on France....
Must dash - have to prepare for the BBQ for the judging panel for today's quarter finals.
But on to the contest that this blog is all about - the beers!
Contrary, to the tweet (Mike says that he was tired & emotional after a hard week at work), Denmark (Elephant) out muscled Honduras (sub Cristal from Cuba) 5-4. The Elephant was just more than the Cristal could handle. I think a lot could depend on the weather. Yesterday was cooler than it has been. On a hot day (perhaps more typical of Cuba & Honduras than Denmark), the Cristal would be better to drink than the Elephant. But every cloud has a silver lining - Honduras's loss is Alan's gain, as he will be able to have a bottle or two of his favourite tipple today as we do not need to hang on to any more Cristal for the semis and finals.
The second quarter final shows how commercial beers can really be quite good. You may recall I told you how Grolsch reached the semis of the Boxbeck European Beer competition two years ago, much to my surprise. Well, this time it's the turn of Kronenbourg. France (Kronenbourg) beat Australia (VB), in a fairly conclusive 5-4. The VB was surprisingly tasteless compared to the Kronenbourg.
So in the semis, we will have Denmark (Elephant) vs France (Kronenbourg). It will be interesting. On a very hot day my money would be on France....
Must dash - have to prepare for the BBQ for the judging panel for today's quarter finals.
Thursday 1 July 2010
Quarter final preview and Roddy's cocktail secrets
I can't believe that the quarter finals are upon us, starting tomorrow.
Friday's matches are:
Now to Roddy's cocktail secrets. To get your guests into the party mood, make sure that you stiffen the Pimms with a little extra gin! And to make a great champagne cocktail (see blogs passim), always soak the sugar cube in bitters.
Friday's matches are:
- Denmark (Elephant - the contentious competitor) vs Honduras (sub Cristal from Cuba). I expect the strength of the Elephant to overwhelm the more delicate Cristal.
- France (Kronenbourg) vs Australia (VB). I think this one is too close to call, and much depends on our mood at the time.
- Germany (Bitburger) vs Mexico (Bohemia). Now, Bitburger has had a bit of an up & down tournament. So the result all depends on how it shows on the day.
- Slovakia (Zlaty Bazant) vs Cote D'Ivoire (sub Flag from Togo). I shall be rooting for the Zlaty Bazant! The Flag has also been having an up & down tournament, so this one should be close.
Now to Roddy's cocktail secrets. To get your guests into the party mood, make sure that you stiffen the Pimms with a little extra gin! And to make a great champagne cocktail (see blogs passim), always soak the sugar cube in bitters.
Wednesday 30 June 2010
Last R16 match. And a confession.
Yesterday saw the last R16 match and off we go to the quarterfinals.
We started the proceedings with Cote D'Ivoire (Flag) vs Spain (Alhambra). The Alhambra came up a bit dull and disappointing. The Flag had an agreeable fizziness and was tasty. So it was Cote D'Ivoire 5, Spain 3. Good bye Alhambra.
My personal favourite Slovakia (Zlaty Bazant! What a name! What a label!) then slugged it out with Cameroon (Castel). Close close close! In the end, Slovakia edged it 5-4. So a sad farewell to Castel.
I must admit that I have a confession to make. The Flag beer is an impostor. I had to look closely at the labels yesterday (I couldn't remember which beer was from Cameroon and which from Cote D'Ivoire). A very close inspection of the label has revealed that Flag is not, in fact, from Cote D'Ivoire at all. It is from Togo. From now on we will have to refer to it as Cote D'Ivoire (sub Flag from Togo). Apologies to all our readers.
We now have two rest days. I will do a quarterfinal preview on one day, and I hope to share with you Roddy's Cocktail Secrets on the other day. Stay tuned.
We started the proceedings with Cote D'Ivoire (Flag) vs Spain (Alhambra). The Alhambra came up a bit dull and disappointing. The Flag had an agreeable fizziness and was tasty. So it was Cote D'Ivoire 5, Spain 3. Good bye Alhambra.
My personal favourite Slovakia (Zlaty Bazant! What a name! What a label!) then slugged it out with Cameroon (Castel). Close close close! In the end, Slovakia edged it 5-4. So a sad farewell to Castel.
I must admit that I have a confession to make. The Flag beer is an impostor. I had to look closely at the labels yesterday (I couldn't remember which beer was from Cameroon and which from Cote D'Ivoire). A very close inspection of the label has revealed that Flag is not, in fact, from Cote D'Ivoire at all. It is from Togo. From now on we will have to refer to it as Cote D'Ivoire (sub Flag from Togo). Apologies to all our readers.
We now have two rest days. I will do a quarterfinal preview on one day, and I hope to share with you Roddy's Cocktail Secrets on the other day. Stay tuned.
Tuesday 29 June 2010
Yesterday's matches - question marks about Denmark
What was confusing for everyone for the matches on Sunday is that the Beer Competition followed the Football Competition (Germany v England, Argentina v Mexico).
Well there was no such confusion on Monday when we had Denmark v Italy and Portugal v Honduras.
First up was Portugal (Super Bock) against Honduras (sub Cristal from Cuba). Regular blog readers will know my views on Portugese beer by now. As it happened, we thought the Super Bock had more flavour than the Cristal but the flavour it had wasn't as nice. Result - Honduras 4, Portugal 3. Honduras are through to fight another day, and goodbye Super Bock.
The big match was Denmark (Elephant) against Italy (Peroni, one of our old standby favourites). The mouth feel and slight sweetness of Elephant, presumably from its high alcohol content, managed to edge the Peroni. 5-4.
I see from Wikipedia (so it must be true) that Elephant counts as a "strong lager" rather than a "lager". Is it really eligible for this competition? We try to have a level playing field (no stouts, bitter or banana beer...) and maybe we haven't quite managed it this time. However, Mike did find something on the Internet that he used to persuade me that Elephant was a legitimate entry. I will post it if I can find it. But it is a bit of a slippery slope, as I recall that Cote D'Ivoire (Flag) is more than 6%. So would we have to disqualify Flag (which we wouldn't as the choice of beers available in the UK from Cote D'Ivoire is strangely limited.)? Flag competes today against Alhambra, but it should win as I don't think we have the best Alhambra beer.
So only one more day of R16 then onto the quarter finals on the week end. The football will be competing big time with the tennis. However, if Serena Williams gets through on Saturday then I fully expect her match to be completed well before the afternoon football!
Well there was no such confusion on Monday when we had Denmark v Italy and Portugal v Honduras.
First up was Portugal (Super Bock) against Honduras (sub Cristal from Cuba). Regular blog readers will know my views on Portugese beer by now. As it happened, we thought the Super Bock had more flavour than the Cristal but the flavour it had wasn't as nice. Result - Honduras 4, Portugal 3. Honduras are through to fight another day, and goodbye Super Bock.
The big match was Denmark (Elephant) against Italy (Peroni, one of our old standby favourites). The mouth feel and slight sweetness of Elephant, presumably from its high alcohol content, managed to edge the Peroni. 5-4.
I see from Wikipedia (so it must be true) that Elephant counts as a "strong lager" rather than a "lager". Is it really eligible for this competition? We try to have a level playing field (no stouts, bitter or banana beer...) and maybe we haven't quite managed it this time. However, Mike did find something on the Internet that he used to persuade me that Elephant was a legitimate entry. I will post it if I can find it. But it is a bit of a slippery slope, as I recall that Cote D'Ivoire (Flag) is more than 6%. So would we have to disqualify Flag (which we wouldn't as the choice of beers available in the UK from Cote D'Ivoire is strangely limited.)? Flag competes today against Alhambra, but it should win as I don't think we have the best Alhambra beer.
So only one more day of R16 then onto the quarter finals on the week end. The football will be competing big time with the tennis. However, if Serena Williams gets through on Saturday then I fully expect her match to be completed well before the afternoon football!
Sunday 27 June 2010
Almost too depressed to blog...
What a dismal day, and I am talking about the football this time. We are considering taking down our England bunting. But that would be churlish.
Never mind, on to the beers. We had fully expected England (Hop) to have an easy win over Germany (Bitburger) but it was not to be. As it happened, I preferred the Bitburger and Mike preferred the Hop. We thought we would let the football score decide the beer winner (and therefore postpone the vexed question of beer penalty shoot outs). But when Lampard's goal was ignored, we thought Hop should win! However, unfortunately for Hop, we then watched the second half. There are no two ways about it. After such a dismal performance, we had to declare Germany the winner. Goodbye England. Goodbye Hop.
And in the other, earlier, match Mexico (Bohemia) soundly and conclusively beat Argentina (Quilmes). So goodbye Quilmes.
Never mind, on to the beers. We had fully expected England (Hop) to have an easy win over Germany (Bitburger) but it was not to be. As it happened, I preferred the Bitburger and Mike preferred the Hop. We thought we would let the football score decide the beer winner (and therefore postpone the vexed question of beer penalty shoot outs). But when Lampard's goal was ignored, we thought Hop should win! However, unfortunately for Hop, we then watched the second half. There are no two ways about it. After such a dismal performance, we had to declare Germany the winner. Goodbye England. Goodbye Hop.
And in the other, earlier, match Mexico (Bohemia) soundly and conclusively beat Argentina (Quilmes). So goodbye Quilmes.
Yesterday's matches
We're in the knock out stage at last.
Yesterday, the winner of Group A (France - Kronenbourg) faced the runner up in Group B (Greece - Vergina). We had expected an easy win for France but we were surprised. The Greek beer came up strong and it was only after much discussion that we decided that the French beer was marginally better. So Kronenbourg goes through to the quarterfinals.
In the second match of the day, the winners of Group C (USA - Dixie) faced the runner up in Group D (Australia - VB). Here, the extra flavour of the VB saw it through, so it goes into the quarterfinals.
No need yet for penalty shoot outs, which is just as well as we're not quite sure of our rules yet!
Yesterday, the winner of Group A (France - Kronenbourg) faced the runner up in Group B (Greece - Vergina). We had expected an easy win for France but we were surprised. The Greek beer came up strong and it was only after much discussion that we decided that the French beer was marginally better. So Kronenbourg goes through to the quarterfinals.
In the second match of the day, the winners of Group C (USA - Dixie) faced the runner up in Group D (Australia - VB). Here, the extra flavour of the VB saw it through, so it goes into the quarterfinals.
No need yet for penalty shoot outs, which is just as well as we're not quite sure of our rules yet!
Friday 25 June 2010
Back to beer - Group Stage results, and a focus on the losers
Dear followers
Thank you for your patience whilst we indulged in real tennis, lawn tennis and Pimms. But now we know we must focus on the important things - the football World Cup and the Boxbeck Beer World Cup!
A few thoughts about the losers. I won't blog about the winners because their time will come in the knock out stages of the tournament.
One of the disadvantages of our Beer Tournaments is that we are left with a phenomenal quantity of losing beers. Generally they don't taste so bad on their own (particularly on a hot day or after enduring 3 days worth of Tuborg at Reading Festival).
The exotic beers (ie those really hard to source beers) were a mixed bag, and so are a high risk purchase. We found the Nigerian Star, the Serbian beer, the Swiss beer and, sadly, the incredibly hard to source North Korean beer all fairly nasty.
The fact that we have to follow the football groups rather than introducing beer seedings meant that we lost some really good beers (Ghana, Slovenia and New Zealand) whilst some pretty dull beers went through (in particular Argentina's Quilmes and Portugal's Super Bock). This is sad but an inevitable consequence of our rules.
So I recommend to you Ghana (Star in a bottle), Slovenia (Lasko Brewery's Zlatorog, allegedly soon to be available in the UK - check it out) and New Zealand's Speights). But fair well, and better luck in the next beer tournament.
The full results from the Group Stage:
Group A winner: France (Kronenbourg)
Group A runner up: Mexico (Bohemia)
Group A loser 1: South Africa (Castle)
Group A loser 2: Uruguay (sub Patagonia from Argentina)
Group B winner: Argentina (Quilmes) (!!!!!)
Group B runner up: Greece (Vergina)
Group B loser 1: Korea Republic (Hite)
Group B loser 2: Nigeria (Star in a tin, brewed in Nigeria)
Group C winner: USA (Dixie)
Group C runner up: England (Hop) (and no, this result was not fixed!)
Group C loser 1: Slovenia (Zlatorog)
Group C loser 2: Algeria (sub Casblanca from Morocco)
Group D winner: Germany (Bitburger)
Group D runner up: Australia (VB)
Group D loser 1: Ghana (Star in a bottle, brewed in Ghana)
Group D loser 2: Serbia (Apatinsko)
Group E winner: Denmark (Elephant)
Group E runner up: Cameroon (Castel)
Group E loser 1: Netherlands (Bavaria)
Group E loser 2: Japan (Kirin Ichiban)
Group F winner: Slovakia (Zlaty Bazant)
Group F runner up: Italy (Peroni)
Group F loser 1: New Zealand (Speights)
Group F loser 2: Paraguay (sub Brahma from Brazil)
Group G winner: Portugal (Super Bock ) (!!!!)
Group G runner up: Cote D'Ivoire (Flag)
Group G loser 1: Brazil (Palma Louca)
Group G loser 2: Korea DPR (Taedonggang & sub Tsingtao from China)
Group H winner: Spain (Alhambra)
Group H runner up: Honduras (sub Cristal from Cuba)
Group H loser 1: Chile (sub Cusquena from Peru)
Group H loser 2: Switzerland (Swiss Mountain Beer)
Please note, dear followers, that from now on the countries competing in the Beer Tournament diverge from the countries competing in the Football Tournament. The Beer Tournament does follow the same structure as the Football Tournament (eg winner of Group A plays runner up of Group B on Saturday) but of course the Beer Tournament follows the results of the Beer Tournament Group Stage. Stands to reason, doesn't it?
Thank you for your patience whilst we indulged in real tennis, lawn tennis and Pimms. But now we know we must focus on the important things - the football World Cup and the Boxbeck Beer World Cup!
A few thoughts about the losers. I won't blog about the winners because their time will come in the knock out stages of the tournament.
One of the disadvantages of our Beer Tournaments is that we are left with a phenomenal quantity of losing beers. Generally they don't taste so bad on their own (particularly on a hot day or after enduring 3 days worth of Tuborg at Reading Festival).
The exotic beers (ie those really hard to source beers) were a mixed bag, and so are a high risk purchase. We found the Nigerian Star, the Serbian beer, the Swiss beer and, sadly, the incredibly hard to source North Korean beer all fairly nasty.
The fact that we have to follow the football groups rather than introducing beer seedings meant that we lost some really good beers (Ghana, Slovenia and New Zealand) whilst some pretty dull beers went through (in particular Argentina's Quilmes and Portugal's Super Bock). This is sad but an inevitable consequence of our rules.
So I recommend to you Ghana (Star in a bottle), Slovenia (Lasko Brewery's Zlatorog, allegedly soon to be available in the UK - check it out) and New Zealand's Speights). But fair well, and better luck in the next beer tournament.
The full results from the Group Stage:
Group A winner: France (Kronenbourg)
Group A runner up: Mexico (Bohemia)
Group A loser 1: South Africa (Castle)
Group A loser 2: Uruguay (sub Patagonia from Argentina)
Group B winner: Argentina (Quilmes) (!!!!!)
Group B runner up: Greece (Vergina)
Group B loser 1: Korea Republic (Hite)
Group B loser 2: Nigeria (Star in a tin, brewed in Nigeria)
Group C winner: USA (Dixie)
Group C runner up: England (Hop) (and no, this result was not fixed!)
Group C loser 1: Slovenia (Zlatorog)
Group C loser 2: Algeria (sub Casblanca from Morocco)
Group D winner: Germany (Bitburger)
Group D runner up: Australia (VB)
Group D loser 1: Ghana (Star in a bottle, brewed in Ghana)
Group D loser 2: Serbia (Apatinsko)
Group E winner: Denmark (Elephant)
Group E runner up: Cameroon (Castel)
Group E loser 1: Netherlands (Bavaria)
Group E loser 2: Japan (Kirin Ichiban)
Group F winner: Slovakia (Zlaty Bazant)
Group F runner up: Italy (Peroni)
Group F loser 1: New Zealand (Speights)
Group F loser 2: Paraguay (sub Brahma from Brazil)
Group G winner: Portugal (Super Bock ) (!!!!)
Group G runner up: Cote D'Ivoire (Flag)
Group G loser 1: Brazil (Palma Louca)
Group G loser 2: Korea DPR (Taedonggang & sub Tsingtao from China)
Group H winner: Spain (Alhambra)
Group H runner up: Honduras (sub Cristal from Cuba)
Group H loser 1: Chile (sub Cusquena from Peru)
Group H loser 2: Switzerland (Swiss Mountain Beer)
Please note, dear followers, that from now on the countries competing in the Beer Tournament diverge from the countries competing in the Football Tournament. The Beer Tournament does follow the same structure as the Football Tournament (eg winner of Group A plays runner up of Group B on Saturday) but of course the Beer Tournament follows the results of the Beer Tournament Group Stage. Stands to reason, doesn't it?
Results of the last day of the Group Stages, tomorrow's matches and unlucky losers
Today Portugal (Super Bock) was pitted against Brazil (Palma Louca). Brazil scored two first; why is it that Brazilian beers taste so insipid? Brahma (also a Brazilian beer but representing Paraguay in this competition) also scored two. Ali and I speculate that Brazilians must like their beers in this style, rather like Italians seem to like their white wine to taste of as little as possible. At first we thought it was going to be a 2 all draw but at the last minute Portugal went up to 3 and gained itself a place in the next round where it meets Honduras (sub Cristal from Cuba); Honduras are the favourites, but in this competition you can never be completely sure of the result....
The other results were:
Cote d'Ivoire (Flag) drew Korea DPR (sub Tsing Tao from China - a choice made on politics as well as geography) 3-3 and goes through to meet Spain (Alhambra) in the next round
Spain beat Chile 4-3 (see above)
Honduras beat Switzerland 4-2 and goes through to meet Portugal in the next round
Tomorrow's Matches
Saturday sees France playing Greece - should be an easy win for France on past performance
and USA up against Australia - USA on great form but the Aussies are real battlers
Losers - some surprises
The biggest surprise and disappointment of the competition so far is the exit of Slovenia (Zlatarog) which showed such promise in its first match against Algeria (Casablanca). Particularly disappointing given the efforts made to enable it to compete and the generosity of the sponsors Trevor and Linda Lester. We think that all it needs is bottle and hopes are high for the future.
Good to see a strong African field still in the competition but sad that Ghana (Star in a bottle)could not make it through Group D, but it was always going to be tough with USA and Germany in the same group.
Algeria (Casablanca) in Group C was also a worthy performer which might have made its way through in a weaker group but just could not stand up tothe might of USA and England.
Ali will do a round up of the results by group shortly.
The other results were:
Cote d'Ivoire (Flag) drew Korea DPR (sub Tsing Tao from China - a choice made on politics as well as geography) 3-3 and goes through to meet Spain (Alhambra) in the next round
Spain beat Chile 4-3 (see above)
Honduras beat Switzerland 4-2 and goes through to meet Portugal in the next round
Tomorrow's Matches
Saturday sees France playing Greece - should be an easy win for France on past performance
and USA up against Australia - USA on great form but the Aussies are real battlers
Losers - some surprises
The biggest surprise and disappointment of the competition so far is the exit of Slovenia (Zlatarog) which showed such promise in its first match against Algeria (Casablanca). Particularly disappointing given the efforts made to enable it to compete and the generosity of the sponsors Trevor and Linda Lester. We think that all it needs is bottle and hopes are high for the future.
Good to see a strong African field still in the competition but sad that Ghana (Star in a bottle)could not make it through Group D, but it was always going to be tough with USA and Germany in the same group.
Algeria (Casablanca) in Group C was also a worthy performer which might have made its way through in a weaker group but just could not stand up tothe might of USA and England.
Ali will do a round up of the results by group shortly.
Thursday 24 June 2010
A nail biting match - Woodcote Woodies come second!
First of all congratulations to the victors, the Shillingford Shysters, and particularly to their Captain "Tricky" Nickson who lead his strong team from the front and batted his way to victory. I choose the verb"batted" with some care as the crowd was constantly amazed at the variety of surfaces and parts of the racket selected by Simon. Mike Brooksbank was a worthy opponent, trying his hand too at shots "off the wood", but was outwitted by Tricky's superior use of the frame. Enthusiasm and noise levels on court (and occasionally in the dedans) were high and at one point a mighty bellow from Simon was matched by a deafening roar from Mike at the receiving end, after a particularly punishing rest.
The contest was ably marked by Ross Brown, whose impeccable performance was only occasionally marred by some harsh decisions in favour of the winning team. Mean spirited folk might speculate that the Shysters lived up to their name and exceeded the marker's "prize fund" put up by the Woodie's (see the rumours in yesterday's Shilllingford Bugle), but that's not how tennis is played at the Oratory... at least not this season....
In the second match, Messrs Box and Huelin started well winning the first set comfortably but "Thumper" Glyn and "Wily" Fox lived up to their nicknames and delivered a "bagel" second set for the Shysters. However this stiffened the Woodies' reserve to provide a proper battle some spectacular serving by Tom Huelin inspired a pyrrhic victory in the deciding set of the match.
The players were distracted throughout the doubles match by aromas from the gargantuan feast prepared by Mrs Tomalin which was undoubtedly responsible for the swift and continuous play. The prize giving ceremony and speeches from the Captain of the winning team were warmly received by the well-oiled and by now vociferous crowd. Medals were proudly sported by the winning and finalist teams and the new trophy was proudly held aloft by the Shysters' Captain.
The Oratory Club Captain, "Thurmper" Glyn paid a particularly moving tribute to the talents of Ross Brown, not only in organsising a throughly enjoyable competition (now firmly on the Club's calendar) but also in embodying everything to which a Real Tennis Club might aspire. He also welcomed Rachel Davies, the new Commercial Manager for the Sports Centre and Official Photographer for the Village League Competition.
Exhausted and replete the players and spectators wandered home after a long and wonderful evening of feasting and tennis. Until next year........
Next up - beer and football. Groan.
The contest was ably marked by Ross Brown, whose impeccable performance was only occasionally marred by some harsh decisions in favour of the winning team. Mean spirited folk might speculate that the Shysters lived up to their name and exceeded the marker's "prize fund" put up by the Woodie's (see the rumours in yesterday's Shilllingford Bugle), but that's not how tennis is played at the Oratory... at least not this season....
In the second match, Messrs Box and Huelin started well winning the first set comfortably but "Thumper" Glyn and "Wily" Fox lived up to their nicknames and delivered a "bagel" second set for the Shysters. However this stiffened the Woodies' reserve to provide a proper battle some spectacular serving by Tom Huelin inspired a pyrrhic victory in the deciding set of the match.
The players were distracted throughout the doubles match by aromas from the gargantuan feast prepared by Mrs Tomalin which was undoubtedly responsible for the swift and continuous play. The prize giving ceremony and speeches from the Captain of the winning team were warmly received by the well-oiled and by now vociferous crowd. Medals were proudly sported by the winning and finalist teams and the new trophy was proudly held aloft by the Shysters' Captain.
The Oratory Club Captain, "Thurmper" Glyn paid a particularly moving tribute to the talents of Ross Brown, not only in organsising a throughly enjoyable competition (now firmly on the Club's calendar) but also in embodying everything to which a Real Tennis Club might aspire. He also welcomed Rachel Davies, the new Commercial Manager for the Sports Centre and Official Photographer for the Village League Competition.
Exhausted and replete the players and spectators wandered home after a long and wonderful evening of feasting and tennis. Until next year........
Next up - beer and football. Groan.
Wednesday 23 June 2010
The Big Match
Good Morning followers!
Yesterday was a Big Day Out in Oxford for the organisers so tastings have been postponed. More news to follow as the day progresses.
But of course, today everyone is focused on the Big Match. Yes, today is the final of the inaugural Village League 2010 at the Oratory School Real Tennis Court in Woodcote. Attendance is expected to reach 30.
Woodcote plays Shillingford. First up will be the singles at 7 p.m. Mike Brooksbank for Woodcote v Simon Nickson for Shillingford. The doubles follows at approximately 8 p.m. with Mike Box (Captain) and Tom Huelin representing Woodcote v David Fox and Ian Glyn for Shillingford.
The Woodcote Broadcasting Society (WBC) secured an interview with the Captain of "the Woodies", Mike Box, over breakfast earlier this morning......
How are you feeling about the match tonight?
The team are all fit and raring to go. We will all be taking care not to get too carried away by the England Slovenia match, nor Wimbledon. Whatever the result it will not affect the way we play tonight.
What's the nickname for the Shillingford team?
We call them "the Shysters". No bad feelings of course, they are a great bunch of guys. David "Wily" Fox, Ian "Thumper" Glyn and Simon "Tricky" Nickson.
Is it true that you don't live in Woodcote?
Technically yes, but I buy my papers and groceries there and it's the nearest village to the hamlet of Collins End where I live. I have been made very welcome by the Woodcote team.
We've heard a rumour via the Shillingford Bugle about bribery allegations. Is there any truth in this?
It's certainly true that Ross Brown stands to get a six figure sum if the Woodies go through. But it's not been announced that he will be marking on the evening. In any case this is all part of the cut and thrust of real tennis at the Oratory.
What's with the facial hair?
Well Mike and I were born with our moustaches, but Tom has not been able to grow one because he's taking exams at the moment and the Board don't permit it.
Thanks Mike and good luck with the match - punish those Shysters!
Yesterday was a Big Day Out in Oxford for the organisers so tastings have been postponed. More news to follow as the day progresses.
But of course, today everyone is focused on the Big Match. Yes, today is the final of the inaugural Village League 2010 at the Oratory School Real Tennis Court in Woodcote. Attendance is expected to reach 30.
Woodcote plays Shillingford. First up will be the singles at 7 p.m. Mike Brooksbank for Woodcote v Simon Nickson for Shillingford. The doubles follows at approximately 8 p.m. with Mike Box (Captain) and Tom Huelin representing Woodcote v David Fox and Ian Glyn for Shillingford.
The Woodcote Broadcasting Society (WBC) secured an interview with the Captain of "the Woodies", Mike Box, over breakfast earlier this morning......
How are you feeling about the match tonight?
The team are all fit and raring to go. We will all be taking care not to get too carried away by the England Slovenia match, nor Wimbledon. Whatever the result it will not affect the way we play tonight.
What's the nickname for the Shillingford team?
We call them "the Shysters". No bad feelings of course, they are a great bunch of guys. David "Wily" Fox, Ian "Thumper" Glyn and Simon "Tricky" Nickson.
Is it true that you don't live in Woodcote?
Technically yes, but I buy my papers and groceries there and it's the nearest village to the hamlet of Collins End where I live. I have been made very welcome by the Woodcote team.
We've heard a rumour via the Shillingford Bugle about bribery allegations. Is there any truth in this?
It's certainly true that Ross Brown stands to get a six figure sum if the Woodies go through. But it's not been announced that he will be marking on the evening. In any case this is all part of the cut and thrust of real tennis at the Oratory.
What's with the facial hair?
Well Mike and I were born with our moustaches, but Tom has not been able to grow one because he's taking exams at the moment and the Board don't permit it.
Thanks Mike and good luck with the match - punish those Shysters!
Tuesday 22 June 2010
Match reports and group stage round up
I apologise to our devoted followers for not blogging yesterday. But there wasn't anything really interesting to report. On Sunday, Slovakia (Zlaty Bazant) beat Paraguay (sub Brahma from Brazil) 4-2. We were surprised that Slovakia could not sneak a 5. Italy (Peroni) pipped New Zealand (Speights) 5-4 and Brazil (Palma Louca) were defeated 2-3 by Cote D'Ivoire (Flag). In yesterday's matches there were some surprises, as I tasted some beers for the first time. Switzerland (Swiss Mountain Beer) made a surprise turnaround in its form and beat Chile (sub Cusquena from Peru) 3-2. The Woodcote Woodies had loved Cusquena - I didn't. Spain (Alhambra) drew with Honduras (sub Cristal from Cuba) 4 each. And finally, Portugal (Super Bock) beat Korea DPR (Taedonggang) 3-1.
With only one match left for everyone here's a round up of the group stages. Can you figure out which beers will progress? No, neither can we. And we can't insert tables in this blog, so watch out for a screen shot summarising the situation.
GROUP A:
Looks like France (Kronenbourg) is through, and thankfully Uruguay (sub Patagonia from Argentina) is out. We hope that South Africa (Castle) manages to get past Mexico (Bohemia)
GROUP B:
What a terrible group of beers. Argentina (Quilmes) is through, mainly from the lack of competition from Greece (Vergina), Nigeria (Star in a tin) and South Korea (Hite).
GROUP C:
Probably the most competitive group of all. I would happily consume any of the competitors. No clear winner yet (out of England (Hop), USA (Dixie), Slovenia (Zlatorog)). But it seems Algeria (sub Casablanca from Morocco) is out - shame! If England go out of the football World Cup on Wednesday then we are minded to bar Hop from the Beer World Cup as a matter of principle.
GROUP D:
A surprise leader in Ghana (Star in a bottle), tied in the lead with Germany (Bitburger). Australia (VB) is trailing and, thank goodness, the Serbian big boy, Atpinska, is out.
GROUP E:
Denmark (Elephant) is through. I am still concerned that its high alcohol gives it an unfair advantage. But all the others still have a chance: Cameroon (Castel), Netherlands (Bavaria) and Japan (Kirin Ichiban)
GROUP F:
Italy (Peroni) is through, and Paraguay (sub Brahma from Brazil) is out. I am hoping that Slovakia (Zlaty Brazant) gets past New Zealand (Speights) but I wouldn't put money on it.
GROUP G:
No clear winner here yet but sadly Korea DPR (Taedonggang) is out. Its peculiar lager & lime flavour just couldn't stand up to conventional lagers. Battling to go through are Portugal (Super Bock - so it must have been Sagres that represented them in the European Beer World Cup - see posts passim), Cote D'Ivoire (Flag) and Brazil (Palma Louca).
GROUP H:
A very evenly matched group. Any could go through, and any could go out (a bit of a pundit's platitude for you). Spain (Alhambra) has the lead. Honduras (sub Cristal from Cuba) is at the bottom of the table. Chile (sub Cusquena from Peru) is only just ahead of Switzerland (Swiss Mountain Beer) on goal difference.
Well, at the end of the week, all will be revealed, and we enter the exciting Knock Out Stage. Look out for our rules on penalty shoot outs!
With only one match left for everyone here's a round up of the group stages. Can you figure out which beers will progress? No, neither can we. And we can't insert tables in this blog, so watch out for a screen shot summarising the situation.
GROUP A:
Looks like France (Kronenbourg) is through, and thankfully Uruguay (sub Patagonia from Argentina) is out. We hope that South Africa (Castle) manages to get past Mexico (Bohemia)
GROUP B:
What a terrible group of beers. Argentina (Quilmes) is through, mainly from the lack of competition from Greece (Vergina), Nigeria (Star in a tin) and South Korea (Hite).
GROUP C:
Probably the most competitive group of all. I would happily consume any of the competitors. No clear winner yet (out of England (Hop), USA (Dixie), Slovenia (Zlatorog)). But it seems Algeria (sub Casablanca from Morocco) is out - shame! If England go out of the football World Cup on Wednesday then we are minded to bar Hop from the Beer World Cup as a matter of principle.
GROUP D:
A surprise leader in Ghana (Star in a bottle), tied in the lead with Germany (Bitburger). Australia (VB) is trailing and, thank goodness, the Serbian big boy, Atpinska, is out.
GROUP E:
Denmark (Elephant) is through. I am still concerned that its high alcohol gives it an unfair advantage. But all the others still have a chance: Cameroon (Castel), Netherlands (Bavaria) and Japan (Kirin Ichiban)
GROUP F:
Italy (Peroni) is through, and Paraguay (sub Brahma from Brazil) is out. I am hoping that Slovakia (Zlaty Brazant) gets past New Zealand (Speights) but I wouldn't put money on it.
GROUP G:
No clear winner here yet but sadly Korea DPR (Taedonggang) is out. Its peculiar lager & lime flavour just couldn't stand up to conventional lagers. Battling to go through are Portugal (Super Bock - so it must have been Sagres that represented them in the European Beer World Cup - see posts passim), Cote D'Ivoire (Flag) and Brazil (Palma Louca).
GROUP H:
A very evenly matched group. Any could go through, and any could go out (a bit of a pundit's platitude for you). Spain (Alhambra) has the lead. Honduras (sub Cristal from Cuba) is at the bottom of the table. Chile (sub Cusquena from Peru) is only just ahead of Switzerland (Swiss Mountain Beer) on goal difference.
Well, at the end of the week, all will be revealed, and we enter the exciting Knock Out Stage. Look out for our rules on penalty shoot outs!
Sunday 20 June 2010
Match report, and some excitement tinged with sadness
Yesterday, the beers and the football were in sync, perhaps for the first time.
We had a thrilling beer match between Denmark (Elephant) and Cameroon (Castel). Both are very fine lagers. We had spent the day walking (glorious walking weather. We went across the most English of landscapes around Mapledurham to visit the Packhorse pub) and I had spent two hours in the garden potting on the tomatoes and chillies, so we were really looking forward to a cold beer. Denmark had immediate appeal, as it was tasted first! But would the more complex flavour of the Cameroon overtake it? There was some discussion about what Cameroon's score should but. In the end, Denmark won, 5-4.
And then in the evening we actually watched the football. What a match. We were on the edge of our seats. But it was so disappointing to see the entertaining and energetic Cameroon side go out. There is something wrong that Cameroon has gone out and that England is still in, after England's woeful performance on Friday (we meant to tell you, our neighbours thoughtfully programmed their PVR so that we missed the last 15 minutes of the match. Thank you, Barrie and Suzie!). At least Cameroon may still be able to survive the group stages in the Boxbeck Beer World Cup.
Other results yesterday (subject to validation) Netherlands (that now famous Bavaria) drew with Japan (Kirin Ichiban) 3 each; Ghana (Star in a bottle, brewed in Ghana) drew with Australia (VB) 3 each.
We had a thrilling beer match between Denmark (Elephant) and Cameroon (Castel). Both are very fine lagers. We had spent the day walking (glorious walking weather. We went across the most English of landscapes around Mapledurham to visit the Packhorse pub) and I had spent two hours in the garden potting on the tomatoes and chillies, so we were really looking forward to a cold beer. Denmark had immediate appeal, as it was tasted first! But would the more complex flavour of the Cameroon overtake it? There was some discussion about what Cameroon's score should but. In the end, Denmark won, 5-4.
And then in the evening we actually watched the football. What a match. We were on the edge of our seats. But it was so disappointing to see the entertaining and energetic Cameroon side go out. There is something wrong that Cameroon has gone out and that England is still in, after England's woeful performance on Friday (we meant to tell you, our neighbours thoughtfully programmed their PVR so that we missed the last 15 minutes of the match. Thank you, Barrie and Suzie!). At least Cameroon may still be able to survive the group stages in the Boxbeck Beer World Cup.
Other results yesterday (subject to validation) Netherlands (that now famous Bavaria) drew with Japan (Kirin Ichiban) 3 each; Ghana (Star in a bottle, brewed in Ghana) drew with Australia (VB) 3 each.
Friday 18 June 2010
A night to remember! (not)
Expectations were high on the eigth day of the World Cup and we were certainly given good reason to remember why we started a beer tasting competition four years ago. Mind numbing boredom! No goals! Incompetence!
At least on the beer front things were far more exciting......
We were round at Barrie and Suzie's for a night of snacks, pizzas and beers in front of the TV.
First up was a replay of Greece v Nigeria. In a dramatic about turn after a poor performance on Thursday Nigeria (Star in a can) got a respectable draw against Greece (Vergina). Next was Germany v Serbia and the latter came very close to the second zero of the tournament so far. The Serbian team (Apatinsko)suffered badly from having been decanted from a two litre plastic bottle on Sunday. The score was 2-1 in Germany (Bitburger)'s favour. Another surprise in the Slovenia USA match. We had high hopes of Slovenia (Zlatarog in a can), but in the end quality won and USA (Dixie in a bottle) romped home 4-3. Last and not least was the big match of the day and England (Hop from Greene King) triumphed over a very steady Algeria 4-3.
We wandered home in the light drizzle pondering the dichotomy between the beer and football performances and wondering how much more we could take.....
At least on the beer front things were far more exciting......
We were round at Barrie and Suzie's for a night of snacks, pizzas and beers in front of the TV.
First up was a replay of Greece v Nigeria. In a dramatic about turn after a poor performance on Thursday Nigeria (Star in a can) got a respectable draw against Greece (Vergina). Next was Germany v Serbia and the latter came very close to the second zero of the tournament so far. The Serbian team (Apatinsko)suffered badly from having been decanted from a two litre plastic bottle on Sunday. The score was 2-1 in Germany (Bitburger)'s favour. Another surprise in the Slovenia USA match. We had high hopes of Slovenia (Zlatarog in a can), but in the end quality won and USA (Dixie in a bottle) romped home 4-3. Last and not least was the big match of the day and England (Hop from Greene King) triumphed over a very steady Algeria 4-3.
We wandered home in the light drizzle pondering the dichotomy between the beer and football performances and wondering how much more we could take.....
Match report - things are getting dull now
The match reports won't be so much fun now, all the beers have been tasted.
Yesterday Argentina (Quilmes) beat South Korea (Hite) 4-2. Quilmes perhaps showed a glimpse of its previous World Cup form? France (Kronenbourg) got the 1st 5, just pipping Mexico (Bohemia) at the post. Both these beers are really nice. We slightly preferred the Kronenbourg and so gave them an extra point. In the final match, Greece (Vergina) beat Nigeria (Star in a tin) 3-1.
Tonight will be a big night - pizzas and football at the neighbour's. We may have to do Saturday's matches a day early!
That's all for now.
Yesterday Argentina (Quilmes) beat South Korea (Hite) 4-2. Quilmes perhaps showed a glimpse of its previous World Cup form? France (Kronenbourg) got the 1st 5, just pipping Mexico (Bohemia) at the post. Both these beers are really nice. We slightly preferred the Kronenbourg and so gave them an extra point. In the final match, Greece (Vergina) beat Nigeria (Star in a tin) 3-1.
Tonight will be a big night - pizzas and football at the neighbour's. We may have to do Saturday's matches a day early!
That's all for now.
Wednesday 16 June 2010
Match report, champagne cocktails and poetic justice
A bit of a secondhand match report this time. I chose to have champagne cocktails in Mayfair with my old friend Roddy, leaving the Woodcote Woodies Village League semi-finalists to adjudicate the beer matches.
The matches were not as high quality as yesterday. The favourite beer was Chile (sub: Cusquena from Mexico. Why is it so hard to source South American beers?) - many trying to talk it up to the as yet unachieved 5. However, it still managed to beat Honduras (sub Cristal from Cuba) 4-3.
The next two beer matches did not follow the football matches. Spain (Alhambra) beat Switzerland (Swiss Mountain) 3-1. This was a weak showing for Spain - we fully expected it to be one of the favourites.
For those of you interested in beer competition history, Spain won the 2006 Boxbeck Beer World Cup with Estrella Damm.
The Swiss beer was difficult to source. We secured it from the St Moritz restaurant in London. A very nice lady sold it to us at a very reasonable price. Shame it's such a soapy, sour brew.
Finally, South Africa (Castle) had a storming 3-0 victory over Uruguay (sub Patagonia from Argentina). The well out of date Patagonia was as awful as last time and went down the sink again. I think it's fair to say that Uruguay won't leave the group stage (to everyone's relief). Next time we will find a decent beer for them!
And you will be pleased to know that the Woodcote Woodies won their match, and will be in the finals next week.
The matches were not as high quality as yesterday. The favourite beer was Chile (sub: Cusquena from Mexico. Why is it so hard to source South American beers?) - many trying to talk it up to the as yet unachieved 5. However, it still managed to beat Honduras (sub Cristal from Cuba) 4-3.
The next two beer matches did not follow the football matches. Spain (Alhambra) beat Switzerland (Swiss Mountain) 3-1. This was a weak showing for Spain - we fully expected it to be one of the favourites.
For those of you interested in beer competition history, Spain won the 2006 Boxbeck Beer World Cup with Estrella Damm.
The Swiss beer was difficult to source. We secured it from the St Moritz restaurant in London. A very nice lady sold it to us at a very reasonable price. Shame it's such a soapy, sour brew.
Finally, South Africa (Castle) had a storming 3-0 victory over Uruguay (sub Patagonia from Argentina). The well out of date Patagonia was as awful as last time and went down the sink again. I think it's fair to say that Uruguay won't leave the group stage (to everyone's relief). Next time we will find a decent beer for them!
And you will be pleased to know that the Woodcote Woodies won their match, and will be in the finals next week.
Tuesday 15 June 2010
Match reports, and keeping you in suspense
Avid blog followers are anxiously awaiting the full story about how we sourced our North Korean beer, Taedonggang. But you will have to wait a bit longer, as I only have time for a short post today.
The matches started in fine style, with Slovakia (ZlatyBazant) drawing 4-4 with New Zealand (Speights). This was a tightly fought contest, with a case being made for Slovakia to achieve the yet unachieved - the perfect 5. There was a moment of anxiety when the New Zealand beer was poured - it look like bitter. Would it have to be eliminated, as breaking the rules? But, no, it was just a dark lager. After this contest, hopes were high for the subsequent matches.
Cote d'Ivoire (Flag) vs Portugal (Superbock) was also a draw, 3-3. The result was rather flattering for Portugal, who scraped an extra point for no good reason. Portugal had a dismal showing in the 2008 Boxbeck Beer European Cup - was it Superbock or was it Sagres? Our records don't say, but I think it's safe just to avoid all Portuguese beers (unless you are in Portugal of course).
Finally, the moment we had all been waiting for - North Korea (Taedonggang) vs Brazil (Palma Louca). Similar to the football, hopes were high for North Korea, when Brazil put in a poor performance. What a tasteless and insipid brew. It only scored a 2. But, sadly, Taedonggang could not live up to its lovely label. Its peculiar, "lager and lime" flavour meant it only scored a 1. So Brazil snatched the match, 2-1.
That's all for now.
The matches started in fine style, with Slovakia (ZlatyBazant) drawing 4-4 with New Zealand (Speights). This was a tightly fought contest, with a case being made for Slovakia to achieve the yet unachieved - the perfect 5. There was a moment of anxiety when the New Zealand beer was poured - it look like bitter. Would it have to be eliminated, as breaking the rules? But, no, it was just a dark lager. After this contest, hopes were high for the subsequent matches.
Cote d'Ivoire (Flag) vs Portugal (Superbock) was also a draw, 3-3. The result was rather flattering for Portugal, who scraped an extra point for no good reason. Portugal had a dismal showing in the 2008 Boxbeck Beer European Cup - was it Superbock or was it Sagres? Our records don't say, but I think it's safe just to avoid all Portuguese beers (unless you are in Portugal of course).
Finally, the moment we had all been waiting for - North Korea (Taedonggang) vs Brazil (Palma Louca). Similar to the football, hopes were high for North Korea, when Brazil put in a poor performance. What a tasteless and insipid brew. It only scored a 2. But, sadly, Taedonggang could not live up to its lovely label. Its peculiar, "lager and lime" flavour meant it only scored a 1. So Brazil snatched the match, 2-1.
That's all for now.
Monday's matches, and how we choose the beers
Yesterday saw some high quality competition. Denmark (Elephant) edged Netherlands (Bavaria) 4-3. Cameroon (Castel - sourced from France) played better than expected (our rare beers from Nigeria and Serbia had lowered our expectations) beat Japan (Kirin Ichiban) 4-3. Finally, Italy (Peroni) had an easy 4-2 victory over a rather tasteless Paraguay (sub Brahma from Brazil).
Our supporters often ask us "how do you choose the beers when you have a choice of more than one beer per country?". For the first Beer World Cup, it was random, we just picked what came to hand. For the Beer European Cup 2 years ago, we picked the most popular beer. This led to an interesting result - Grolsch reached the semis and we often drink it now. But having Becks representing Germany was bad, unsurprisingly they did not progress beyond the group stage.
For this World Cup, we have selected beers with confusing or interesting names - Bavaria for the Netherlands, Bohemia for Mexico and so on.
But for the next competition, we are considering having qualifying rounds so the best beer gets in. The downside is that we will have to drink even more lager...
Today is the big day - North Korea - Taedongdang makes its appearance....
Our supporters often ask us "how do you choose the beers when you have a choice of more than one beer per country?". For the first Beer World Cup, it was random, we just picked what came to hand. For the Beer European Cup 2 years ago, we picked the most popular beer. This led to an interesting result - Grolsch reached the semis and we often drink it now. But having Becks representing Germany was bad, unsurprisingly they did not progress beyond the group stage.
For this World Cup, we have selected beers with confusing or interesting names - Bavaria for the Netherlands, Bohemia for Mexico and so on.
But for the next competition, we are considering having qualifying rounds so the best beer gets in. The downside is that we will have to drink even more lager...
Today is the big day - North Korea - Taedongdang makes its appearance....
Sunday 13 June 2010
Focus on our sponsors, and weekend report
What a weekend! We've been tired of football since Friday, and now we're tired of lager.
This weekend was Sponsors Weekend. If it weren't for our sponsors, we would not have been able to source South Korea (Hite), Slovenia (Lasko Zlatorog) and Serbia (Apatinsko). Of course, our real coup is the Taegandong from North Korea, but I will save that for another post.
Our sponsors gathered for a weekend of beer, food, football and tennis. The weather smiled on us and we enjoyed the great outdoors. A good time was had by all except in the England - USA football game.
South Korea (Hite) was very ordinary and had no faults. It was up against Greece (Vergina), which was slightly more interesting. Greece edged the contest 3-2. The Hite was sourced from a supermarket in London - many thanks to Alan for his contribution!
Slovenia (Zlatorog) was a very fine beer. We remembered it from our walking holidays in the country (much better than their wine). It had reasonable competition from Algeria (sub: Casablanca from Morocco). The first time we had Casablanca was for the 2006 Beer World Cup, and all 6 bottles were off. Quality control obviously has improved since then, and Algeria's team wasn't bad at all. But Slovenia's class showed through, and the final score was Slovenia 4, Algeria 3.
Many thanks to our sponsor, Trevor, who had the Zlatorog shipped over specially for us, in a delightful football shaped cardboard container. We even had the choice between green or black tins (we opted for green). We have since heard that imports of beer from the Lasko brewery are likely to have started, in time for the world cup. They will have to be quick - not sure how much longer Slovenia will last in the football. But if you do find it, give it a try.
Serbia (Apatinsko) was presented in a very unappetising 2 litre bottle. This will present it a challenge as the competition goes on, as it loses its fizz. But we can be sure that the taste won't improve.... It looked as if Serbia was not facing stiff opposition - Ghana's Star looked like the same beer as Nigeria's dismal brew but in a bottle. But Ghana's entry was brewed in Ghana, not Nigeria, and was a reasonable lager. So Ghana won, 3-2.
Bernard sourced the Apatinsko from somewhere in Shepherd's Bush from a shop we found on the web. Thank you, Bernard.
Other results this weekend:
Argentina (Quilmes) beat Nigeria (Star, in a tin) 3-1. Argentina doesn't seem to be showing the same form as the last world cup, when it reached the quarter finals. The Star was awful.
England (Hop) drew with the USA (Dixie) 4 each. Both very nice lagers.
Germany (Bitburger) drew with Australia (VB) 3 each.
This weekend was Sponsors Weekend. If it weren't for our sponsors, we would not have been able to source South Korea (Hite), Slovenia (Lasko Zlatorog) and Serbia (Apatinsko). Of course, our real coup is the Taegandong from North Korea, but I will save that for another post.
Our sponsors gathered for a weekend of beer, food, football and tennis. The weather smiled on us and we enjoyed the great outdoors. A good time was had by all except in the England - USA football game.
South Korea (Hite) was very ordinary and had no faults. It was up against Greece (Vergina), which was slightly more interesting. Greece edged the contest 3-2. The Hite was sourced from a supermarket in London - many thanks to Alan for his contribution!
Slovenia (Zlatorog) was a very fine beer. We remembered it from our walking holidays in the country (much better than their wine). It had reasonable competition from Algeria (sub: Casablanca from Morocco). The first time we had Casablanca was for the 2006 Beer World Cup, and all 6 bottles were off. Quality control obviously has improved since then, and Algeria's team wasn't bad at all. But Slovenia's class showed through, and the final score was Slovenia 4, Algeria 3.
Many thanks to our sponsor, Trevor, who had the Zlatorog shipped over specially for us, in a delightful football shaped cardboard container. We even had the choice between green or black tins (we opted for green). We have since heard that imports of beer from the Lasko brewery are likely to have started, in time for the world cup. They will have to be quick - not sure how much longer Slovenia will last in the football. But if you do find it, give it a try.
Serbia (Apatinsko) was presented in a very unappetising 2 litre bottle. This will present it a challenge as the competition goes on, as it loses its fizz. But we can be sure that the taste won't improve.... It looked as if Serbia was not facing stiff opposition - Ghana's Star looked like the same beer as Nigeria's dismal brew but in a bottle. But Ghana's entry was brewed in Ghana, not Nigeria, and was a reasonable lager. So Ghana won, 3-2.
Bernard sourced the Apatinsko from somewhere in Shepherd's Bush from a shop we found on the web. Thank you, Bernard.
Other results this weekend:
Argentina (Quilmes) beat Nigeria (Star, in a tin) 3-1. Argentina doesn't seem to be showing the same form as the last world cup, when it reached the quarter finals. The Star was awful.
England (Hop) drew with the USA (Dixie) 4 each. Both very nice lagers.
Germany (Bitburger) drew with Australia (VB) 3 each.
Group Stages - round up of Day 2
Argentina goes to top of Group 2 with a convincing 3-1 win against Nigeria. Nigeria looks like it will struggle in this competition.
Greece squeezes past Korea with a 3:2 win. A rather lack-lustre performance from both teams.
Finally the first England match lived up to expectations with high scores from both teams and a 4-4 draw.
The Korea Republic steam ponsor enjoyed the day. Today it's the turn of the Slovenian and Serbian sponsors....
Greece squeezes past Korea with a 3:2 win. A rather lack-lustre performance from both teams.
Finally the first England match lived up to expectations with high scores from both teams and a 4-4 draw.
The Korea Republic steam ponsor enjoyed the day. Today it's the turn of the Slovenian and Serbian sponsors....
Saturday 12 June 2010
Focus on Uruguay, a trip to the Cowley Road and a lesson in geography
From time to time, we will blog about particular teams, perhaps digressing a bit about how we sourced the beer or anything else that springs into my mind.
After Uruguay's dreadful performance yesterday, I felt you should know more.
As everyone knows, Nortena is Uruguay's beer of choice. Try as we might, we could not source it. So we needed to field a substitute.
We happened to be in Oxford's Cowley Road with a bit of time to spare before enjoying an Indian at the splendid Aziz and then going to the Big Pink gig at what is now the O2 (we preferred it in the Zodiac days). We found this amazing beer shop, Classic Beer and Wine. It was filled with unusual and hard to obtain beers - at amazingly low prices. We rootled around and found "Patagonia", in a discount basket, available at 50p per bottle. We realised it was out of date at that price (couldn't read exact death date) but this was a chance we were willing to take. As we left the store, we realised it only sold out of date beer and wine.
And this was what represented Uruguay yesterday. It was ghastly, completely off. Ugh.
The moral of the story - buy full price at discount stores. At 50p a bottle, you get what you pay for.
Any why Patagonia to substitute for Uruguay? Well, it's geographically relatively close, loosely speaking... We could not source beers from Algeria, Honduras, Paraguay or Chile either, so these too have substitutes. We limit the competitors in our beer world cup to lagers of around 5% strength, so that like competes with like. If we allowed bitter or stout in it would be a bit like having rugby players running all over the footballers, not fair. So that limits the substitutes (no banana beer in our competition!).
Must go. Day 2 will be action packed.
After Uruguay's dreadful performance yesterday, I felt you should know more.
As everyone knows, Nortena is Uruguay's beer of choice. Try as we might, we could not source it. So we needed to field a substitute.
We happened to be in Oxford's Cowley Road with a bit of time to spare before enjoying an Indian at the splendid Aziz and then going to the Big Pink gig at what is now the O2 (we preferred it in the Zodiac days). We found this amazing beer shop, Classic Beer and Wine. It was filled with unusual and hard to obtain beers - at amazingly low prices. We rootled around and found "Patagonia", in a discount basket, available at 50p per bottle. We realised it was out of date at that price (couldn't read exact death date) but this was a chance we were willing to take. As we left the store, we realised it only sold out of date beer and wine.
And this was what represented Uruguay yesterday. It was ghastly, completely off. Ugh.
The moral of the story - buy full price at discount stores. At 50p a bottle, you get what you pay for.
Any why Patagonia to substitute for Uruguay? Well, it's geographically relatively close, loosely speaking... We could not source beers from Algeria, Honduras, Paraguay or Chile either, so these too have substitutes. We limit the competitors in our beer world cup to lagers of around 5% strength, so that like competes with like. If we allowed bitter or stout in it would be a bit like having rugby players running all over the footballers, not fair. So that limits the substitutes (no banana beer in our competition!).
Must go. Day 2 will be action packed.
Friday 11 June 2010
Group Stages - Position after Day One
You will all have seen on Twitter that Mexico nudged ahead of the host nation to win 4/3 in a closely fought contest. The next match saw a very poor performance from Uruguay and an excellent and true to form France put the match away 4/0.
So France are at the top of Group A with three points, leading on goal difference, followed by Mexico, also with three points. South Africa and Uruguay have yet to get a point, but the host nation has managed to avoid the bottom of the group position.
A busy day ahead with three matches, including England's first match. Watch this space.......
So France are at the top of Group A with three points, leading on goal difference, followed by Mexico, also with three points. South Africa and Uruguay have yet to get a point, but the host nation has managed to avoid the bottom of the group position.
A busy day ahead with three matches, including England's first match. Watch this space.......
Thursday 10 June 2010
The Other Beer World Cup Competition
Believe it or not, there is another Beer World Cup Competition being run out there. We've entered it. The draw was yesterday and we drew...... Argentina....
It's fair to say that it was a little disappointing.
If we'd drawn North Korea, we could have described how a friend got in touch with a friend in South Korea and she went to the supermarket and bought 2 bottles and couriered them over. You can only courier over a maximum of 2 bottles at a time because of the customs laws.
If we'd drawn Slovenia, we could have described how a friend arranged for 8 tins to be included in a shipment he was receiving, and how he presented them to us in a special, football shaped container (which we will use to present the contestants for our tastings).
If we'd drawn Ghana (easy peasy to source!!) we would have described our trip to Brixton (to see LCD Soundsystem as it happens) and secured the bottles at an outrageous price and then found they are all out of date, which may put Ghana at a bit of a disadvantage. (Hope they play Nigeria at some stage. Beer experts will get that reference.)
If we'd drawn Honduras, we would have described how we tracked down Port Royal on an American website, and with great excitement put in our details (including credit card) to get it shipped over, only to find that the website was a ghost of a company that had died. (We now check our credit card bill very carefully).
But oh no it's Argentina. Good old Quilmes. Only Argentinian beer available in the UK (so not even the excitement of having to weigh up Sagres vs Superbock for Portugal). Easily available. And not even an very exciting beer, either good or bad. It reached the quarter finals in the Boxbeck 2006 Beer World Cup, where it was knocked out by Germany (Uriech).
Never mind. Come on Argentina!!
It's fair to say that it was a little disappointing.
If we'd drawn North Korea, we could have described how a friend got in touch with a friend in South Korea and she went to the supermarket and bought 2 bottles and couriered them over. You can only courier over a maximum of 2 bottles at a time because of the customs laws.
If we'd drawn Slovenia, we could have described how a friend arranged for 8 tins to be included in a shipment he was receiving, and how he presented them to us in a special, football shaped container (which we will use to present the contestants for our tastings).
If we'd drawn Ghana (easy peasy to source!!) we would have described our trip to Brixton (to see LCD Soundsystem as it happens) and secured the bottles at an outrageous price and then found they are all out of date, which may put Ghana at a bit of a disadvantage. (Hope they play Nigeria at some stage. Beer experts will get that reference.)
If we'd drawn Honduras, we would have described how we tracked down Port Royal on an American website, and with great excitement put in our details (including credit card) to get it shipped over, only to find that the website was a ghost of a company that had died. (We now check our credit card bill very carefully).
But oh no it's Argentina. Good old Quilmes. Only Argentinian beer available in the UK (so not even the excitement of having to weigh up Sagres vs Superbock for Portugal). Easily available. And not even an very exciting beer, either good or bad. It reached the quarter finals in the Boxbeck 2006 Beer World Cup, where it was knocked out by Germany (Uriech).
Never mind. Come on Argentina!!
Sunday 6 June 2010
Rules of the Competition
We have had a number of queries about how the Boxbeck Football World Cup 2010 Beer Competition works. Well it's quite simple really.... In the Group Stages the beer competition will scrupulously follow the football competition.
On Friday South Africa play Mexico and Uruguay play France. Ali and I will open a bottle of Castle and a bottle of Bohemia. We will pour an inch or so from each bottle into a separate glass. We will examine them carefully for colour and clarity. We will inhale the aroma from each glass. We will then swirl the glass and take a good mouthful. Then the moment of truth... We will each award a score of 0-5 to each bottle. We will then follow suit with a bottle of Patagonia and a bottle of Kronenbourg. If we cannot reach agreement on any of the scores an average will be taken (rounded upwards). The scores will then be entered on the Official Boxbeck Football World Cup 2010 Beer Competition Score Sheet.
It is quite possible (as in the football competition) that there may be a no score draw, but our fingers are firmly crossed for a high-scoring competition for the 2010 World Cup!
The knock out stage of the Competition may be a different story and the Beer results may well diverge from the Football results leading to possible confusion for the uninformed.
Enough for now and more to come..................
On Friday South Africa play Mexico and Uruguay play France. Ali and I will open a bottle of Castle and a bottle of Bohemia. We will pour an inch or so from each bottle into a separate glass. We will examine them carefully for colour and clarity. We will inhale the aroma from each glass. We will then swirl the glass and take a good mouthful. Then the moment of truth... We will each award a score of 0-5 to each bottle. We will then follow suit with a bottle of Patagonia and a bottle of Kronenbourg. If we cannot reach agreement on any of the scores an average will be taken (rounded upwards). The scores will then be entered on the Official Boxbeck Football World Cup 2010 Beer Competition Score Sheet.
It is quite possible (as in the football competition) that there may be a no score draw, but our fingers are firmly crossed for a high-scoring competition for the 2010 World Cup!
The knock out stage of the Competition may be a different story and the Beer results may well diverge from the Football results leading to possible confusion for the uninformed.
Enough for now and more to come..................
Sunday 30 May 2010
The Teams Line Up for the Boxbeck Beer World Cup 2010
With only 11 days to go, the teams line up for group photos as the final preparations are made for the Boxbeck Beer World Cup 2010.
What a fine looking bunch! It's set to be a hotly fought challenge and a mouth watering competition!
Group A
France - Kronenbourg
Mexico - Bohemia
South Africa - Castle
Uruguay - Patagonia
Group B
Argentina - Quilmes
Greece - Verginia
Korea Republic South - Hite
Nigeria - Star
Group C
Algeria - Casablanca
England - Hop
Slovenia - Zlatorog
USA - Dixie
Group D
Australia - VB
Germany - Bitburger
Ghana - Star
Serbia - Jelen
Group E
Cameroon - Castel
Denmark - Elephant
Japan - Kirin
Netherlands - Bavaria
Group F
Italy - Peroni
New Zealand - Speights
Paraguay - Brahma
Slovakia - Zlaty Bazant
Group G
Brazil - Palma Louca
Cote D'Ivoire - Flag
Korea DDR North - Taedonggang
Portugal - Super Bock
Group H
Chile - Cusquena
Honduras - Cristal
Spain - Alhambra
Switzerland - Swiss Mountain Beer
Many thanks to the sponsors:
Alan Cummings (Korea Republic South)
Trevor Lester (Slovenia)
Bernard Stevenson (Serbia)
Hye-Young Hwang and Simon Booker (Korea DDR North)
What a fine looking bunch! It's set to be a hotly fought challenge and a mouth watering competition!
Group A
France - Kronenbourg
Mexico - Bohemia
South Africa - Castle
Uruguay - Patagonia
Group B
Argentina - Quilmes
Greece - Verginia
Korea Republic South - Hite
Nigeria - Star
Group C
Algeria - Casablanca
England - Hop
Slovenia - Zlatorog
USA - Dixie
Group D
Australia - VB
Germany - Bitburger
Ghana - Star
Serbia - Jelen
Group E
Cameroon - Castel
Denmark - Elephant
Japan - Kirin
Netherlands - Bavaria
Group F
Italy - Peroni
New Zealand - Speights
Paraguay - Brahma
Slovakia - Zlaty Bazant
Group G
Brazil - Palma Louca
Cote D'Ivoire - Flag
Korea DDR North - Taedonggang
Portugal - Super Bock
Group H
Chile - Cusquena
Honduras - Cristal
Spain - Alhambra
Switzerland - Swiss Mountain Beer
Many thanks to the sponsors:
Alan Cummings (Korea Republic South)
Trevor Lester (Slovenia)
Bernard Stevenson (Serbia)
Hye-Young Hwang and Simon Booker (Korea DDR North)
Sunday 25 April 2010
Ghana puts in its team!
Only 7 weeks to go!!!
The Boxbeck Football World Cup 2010 Beer Competition is 7 weeks away!
Only Slovenia is yet to supply its entry and rumours are in that Monday may be the day..... Watch this space.
Preparations are well under way. The grounds are looking spectacular. Sponsors packages are being finalised and details will be issued very shortly.
Photos of the teams will be posted soon
Only Slovenia is yet to supply its entry and rumours are in that Monday may be the day..... Watch this space.
Preparations are well under way. The grounds are looking spectacular. Sponsors packages are being finalised and details will be issued very shortly.
Photos of the teams will be posted soon
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