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VINTAGE versus FUTURE

Art / Media / Music / Technology

locations:

Enschede (The Netherlands / German border) + ONLINE

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]]> http://hywelsbiglog.wordpress.com/?p=683 Thu, 10 Jul 2008 21:32:11 +0000 hywel http://hywelsbiglog.wordpress.com/?p=683 THE final leg of my tour of green-bottled lagers from North-West Europe (until I find more) brings me to Grolsch Imported Premium Lager. A bottle you probably know better as "the one with the funny top". There was no way I could look at bottles of beer without this one. The traditional "Swingtop" give it style points right out of the starting blocks. A normal bottle top trumps a screw top. This trumps a normal bottle top. But a traditional "Swingtop" is top of the pile... until someone mass produces beer with wine bottle style corks.

Of course you can get regular size and shape Grolsch bottles with normal tops. But they aren't imported. And don't have the novelty opening mechanism. First impressions then, are outstanding. The downside is that the off-license where I bought this were charging £1.99 pence for the privilege.

Apart from the bung and metalwork up top, there is much more to admire. The bottle is larger than its rivals. It dispenses with front and back labels, favouring instead elaborate embossment. There's the large "Grolsch" name embossed on two flatter sides. There are what look like grips on the other two sides to help you to grab hold of the bottle.

And there's the "G B" crest. The one that features the G and B initials and hops, with the year 1815 either side. A date that gives it competitive levels of heritage of its rivals.

With most of the bottle dedicated to style, the neck label is where it all happens.

And it all looks very nice. The familiar "Grolsch" logo is there, helpfully reminding you of all the advertising they have. At this point, I must say that I do like the name "Grolsch". It's impossible to say out loud without making you sound Dutch. Try it yourself. Unless you are a native Dutch speaker, in which case you'll sound perfectly normal when you say it.

Back to the label, and I'm glad to see the words "Premium Lager" standing out for all to see. Look a little closer though, and the crest above it is different to the crest embossed on the bottle. Why is that?

Squint even harder and you can make out some interesting words around it. The top says "Royal Grolsch Holland". Does that make it as royally approved as Carlsberg, which is famously by "appointment to the Royal Danish Court"? Sadly, the writing around the bottom doesn't answer any questions. Can someone out there translate "Vakmanschap Meesterschap" please?

I like the strip of label that extends upwards displaying the text "The Original Swingtop" and "Imported". But, isn't it in the way of the swinging metalwork? We'll see how it fares later on.

As you would expect, the neck label wraps around the bottle and is crammed full of details. Here is just the left-hand-side of it.

The only details worth noting on there are some of the most important. That is to say, the vital statistics. This bottle is the ever so unusual 450 millilitres (45 cl) capacity. So, be ready with a pint glass, but don't expect it to be filled. The alcoholic volume is sadly rather less interesting. You could tell before you even picked this bottle up in the shop that it would be the continental favourite of 5%. On the plus side, at least it isn't a weak, domestically produced lager. A fact reinforced on the other side of the label.

That is because, buried deep in a multi-lingual morass of text are the words "Brewed and Bottled by Grolsche  Bierbrouwerij, Enschede - Holland". The other small-print on this side is the ingredients list. For the curious, they are "water, malted barley, hops". Nothing you wouldn't expect.

With that done, it's time to delight in the unusual opening of this bottle and sample the contents within. Not forgetting of course to answer the big questions of our time. Questions such as what it Grolsch Imported Premium Lager like? And how does it compare to Bavaria Holland Beer, Heineken Imported Lager Beer, Beck's Imported and Carlsberg Export?

That was exciting. The neck label duly gave way to the swinging metal work. And the bung unbunged itself with a loud pop. That's an experience every beer and ale should give you.

Grolsch Imported Premium Lager is head happy, so you have been warned. Fortunately it does settle down fast enough so as to not leave you waiting for long. And some careful pouring on your part could mean you don't have to stop at all.

So it has a good thick head. But what about everything else? The colour is a pale amber. But better looking than the anaemic yellow of most other lagers. Although this ones does look very fizzy.

The smell is weak. There isn't much smell, but sniff hard enough and you can detect a whiff of malted barley and hops. The best way I can describe the smell to you is with the word "clean".

This is a lager with flavour. And that flavour is... well... lagery. Much stronger and more prominent than I was expecting. I didn't expect it to taste any different to its rivals, but it does. It tastes as different as it looks.

The overwhelming taste is bitter. From the first taste to the lingering aftertaste. It's not as "sharp" as some cheaper and nastier lagers. More full and, relatively for a lager, intense. What about the flavours within that taste? They are the usual lager flavours of malted barley and hops. Probably. I can't actually detect much beyond Grolsch Imported Premium Lager's bitterness.

What do I like about Grolsch Imported Premium Lager? It's not as gassy as I feared. Three quarters of the way through the bottle and I still haven't burped. This is a lager with flavour which is unusual in itself. And, even more unusual, that flavour is one you can grow used to. Its high-quality, and drinkable. And, it comes in a fun bottle.

What don't I like about Grolsch Imported Premium Lager? I've been here before. With a good quality lager trying to scoot around the fact that I don't like lager. So yet again, the taste and flavour that is has, is off-putting to anyone who isn't already a fan of lager. It's also quite expensive.

Where does all of this leave Grolsch Imported Premium Lager compared to the competition? Unlike with other green-bottled Continental lagers, you can tell it apart from the competition. Unlike other strongly flavoured lagers such as, say, Michaelob Lager, it's made well enough for you to get to used to the taste without pouring it down the drain in disgust.

If you like your lagers strongly flavoured or with an interesting bottle, then this is the lager for you. Recommended for the "Swingtop" if nothing else. Good lager too.

Rating: 2.7

Have you tried Grolsch Imported Premium Lager? What did you think of it?
Share your corrections, opinions, thoughts, ideas, suggestions and recommendations with the world in the little box below.

Wer auch mal leiden möchte: Parkgarage Irene / NL-Enschede :D
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Enschede
plattegrond-innovatief-enschede

Ik vond het daarom zeer leuk om in de meest recente uitgave van het blad Emerce, een plattegrond te zien van Enschede met daarop namen van verschillende innovatieve bedrijven en instellingen. Onder andere X-sens, TeleTop en NDIX staan hierop vermeld. Ik ben zelf een Achterhoeker, maar zeker niet minder trots op wat bedrijven uit Overijssel realiseren!

Kembali ke McLarren, dia akhirnya berlabuh ke FC Twente, Enschede. Mungkin tidak banyak yang tahu dengan klub ini dan boro-boro menjadi fansnya. Tetapi karena kebetulan aku pernah "bermain" dan tinggal di sana selama 1.5 tahun tentu aku cukup "dekat" dengan klub ini. Kebetulan rumah beberapa teman ada di dekat sana, jadi ya mau ga mau selalu melewati kandang-nya punggawa-punggawa sepakbola FC Twente.

Tentu saja aku di sana bukan bermain bola, tetapi lebih tepatnya sebagai pemain bulu tangkis amatir dari PPI-Enschede (catat, bukan FC Enschede ya :-) ) dan bersekolah di ITC-Enschede (bukan mangga dua ya :P ). Namun demikian, aku pernah juga ke markasnya FC Twente pada acara dies Natalis ITC tahun 2005. Jadi sempat juga berpotret ria di kandang FC Twente ini. Sempat juga berkeliling dan melihat-lihat foto pemain, sayang tidak ada yang kenal :-P karena memang Twente banyak berkubang di divisi tengah. Guratan sejarah baru memang tercipta setelah tahun ini FC Twente lolos ke liga champion setelah duduk di peringkat ketiga tahun kompetisi 2007/2008. Kelolosan ini tentu membawa berkah bagi para penikmat tayangan liga champion yang ingin menonton langsung dari kandang FC Twente. Semoga pemilihan meneer McLarren tahun ini bisa menambah kedigjayaan FC Twente baik di Belanda maupun Eropa.

Selamat Berjuang Meneer McLarren dan Bravo FC Twente!!! Salam kuda jingkrak

Saat ini, walaupun listrik tetep aja susah stabil, tapi sudah beragam merek es krim beredar di pelosok dan semua menjanjikan kenikmatan sesaat. Terutama saat krim dingin itu mampir sejenak dalam mulut, sesaat sebelum tergelincir kedalam tenggorokan.

Wall's, siapa yang gak kenal dengan merek ini..? Dengan sistem penjualan yang menusuk ke pedalaman dan dengan suara "penarik perhatian" yang khas, semua anak-anak, dan juga yang sudah bukan anak-anak lagi, hampir pasti pernah mencoba es krim yang satu ini. Saya juga pernah doong...

Gimana dengan Wall's di luar negeri tercinta ini..? Ada gak ya..?

Saat suatu waktu dimasa lalu sempat menelusuri pedesaan di Enschede, Belanda, dan lorong-lorong pertokoan di sekitar kanal-kanal di kota Amsterdam yang penuh dengan orang Belanda itu, tidak ada sama sekali yang jualan es krim Wall's. Ini bukan berarti es krim berlogo bentuk "hati" itu gak ada, tapi rupanya mempunyai nama yang berbeda. Di Belanda si es krim yang kita kenal dengan nama Wall's ternyata mempunyai nama OLA.

Logo hati bernama OLA juga ditemui saat keluyuran di Brugge, Belgia, saat melarikan diri sejenak dari Workshop Hyperspectral (bukan napak tilas Ikal dan Arai dalam Edensor-nya Andrea). Saat itu tahun 2005. Es krim OLA cukup banyak juga di jumpai di kota cantik seperti Leuven ataupun Gent dan Brussel. Ternyata merek OLA memang beredar di Belgia, Belanda, Portugal dan Afrika Selatan.

Lain lagi saat menikmati teriknya matahari dalam temperatur permukaan bumi sekitar 40 derajat celcius di pedesaan Spanyol bagian selatan, tepatnya di Kota Campillos. Juga di kota-kota seperti Cordoba, Granada dan Malaga. Di daratan Eropa bagian selatan yang semi tandus ini es krim yang tentunya sangat nikmat dalam taburan suhu sedemikian panas (saat mengalami di bulan Juni 2003) mempunyai nama yang lain lagi, yaitu FRIGO. Merek FRIGO beredar hanya di negeri matador ini, Spanyol.

Bagaimana dengan negeri-negeri lain..? Apakah sang hati merah melingkar-lingkar ini punya sebutan lain juga..? Rupanya jawabannya adalah ya. ALGIDA adalah nama es krim ini untuk negara Yunani, Hungaria, Itali, Polandia, dan Turki. ESKIMO adalah nama yang dikenal di negara Austria dan Ceko.

Di Denmark sang es krim dikenal dengan nama FRISKO. Sedangkan di negara Swedia dan Finlandia bernama GB GLACE. Di negaranya Obama, sang kandidat presiden Amerika, es krim ini bernama GOOD HUMOR.

Di Irlandia dikenal dengan nama yang antik, hanya dua huruf, yaitu HB. LAGNESE adalah sebutan es krim ini di negara Jerman. Di Swiss, para penonton Euro2008 pastilah akan menikmati es krim ini yang dikenal dengan nama LUSSO.

Untuk masyarakat Perancis, MIKO adalah nama untuk es krim ini. Lalu nama WALL'S sebenarnya ada dimana saja..? Ternyata WALL'S adalah merek untuk di Inggris Raya dan beberapa negara Asia, termasuk Indonesia.

Logo bisa sama dan mendunia, tetapi nama berbeda. Sang penggemarnya tentunya cukup gampang dengan mengingat gambat hati berpola melingkar yang gampang ditemui dimana-mana.

Mungkin ada nama lain yang beredar di negeri yang belum tersebut diatas. Entahlah... belum sempet googling... keburu ngiler...
: )

Atemberaubend ist dabei vor allem, dass nicht einmal der Versuch unternommen wird, eine neue Nutzung für die Scharnhorstkaserne zu schaffen. Ich hatte hierzu vorgeschlagen, die ehem. Scharnhorst-Kaserne künftig als Campus für eine Hochschule zu nutzen. 

Dazu aber muss man reden, reden können und reden wollen, Herr Oberbürgermeister! Zum Beispiel mit Wim Boomkamp, dem Chef der erfolgreichen Saxion Hogeschool in Enschede, die etwa 20 % deutsche Studenten hat und in Twente aus allen Nähen platzt. Dort werden Sie offene Ohren finden. Schon einmal hat die Saxion nämlich vergeblich ihre Fühler nach Deutschland ausgestreckt, scheiterte im nordrhein-westfälsichen Gronau aber an den rechtlichen Hürden. Wenn es also für eine niederländische Hochschule -trotz EU und Europa-  tatsächlich auch im Niedersachsen des Jahres 2008  rechtliche Probleme für einen Campus mit dem Landesgesetzgeber geben sollte, sollte es sicher möglich sein, mit Landesregierung und Parlament in Hannover für Abhilfe zu sorgen. Stellen wir uns bloß einmal vor, die Scharnhorst-Kaserne wird erhalten und ein Campus für 2000, 3000 Studenten entsteht mit vielen Arbeitsplätzen und neuen, europaweit einmaligen Strukturen. Welch eine Perspektive für die Stadtentwicklung!

Ein solcher Campus stände übrigens auch in einer guten Tradition. Als sich Willem III. van Oranje-Nassau  nach dem niederländisch-spanischen Frieden von Münster Gedanken über seine neue Grafschaft Lingen machte, gründete der kluge Monarch gerade keine Garnison sondern eine Hochschule.

Also, Oberbürgermeister, 'ran ans Telefon!  Denn die Lingener Abrisslösung vernichtet nicht nur Millionen Euro, sie verspielt auch eine einmalige Chance. Im nordniedersächsischen Lüneburg jedenfalls hat man die Zeichen der Zeit erkannt, und schon vor mehr als zehn Jahren ist die Hochschule komplett in die verwaiste ehemalige...   (richtig!) Scharnhorstkaserne umgezogen. Es geht also. Allerdings waren dafür seinerzeit die Sozialdemokraten in Lüneburg und Hannover verantwortlich.

Where is Enschede ? / Où est Enschede ? : http://maps.google.com/maps?q=enschede&ie=UTF8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&ll=52.234949,6.891174&spn=0.201008,0.601501&z=11&iwloc=addr

Adrien, Gabi, Léa et moi avons décidé samedi 24.05.2008 de profiter de la gratuité des trains (avec la carte d'étudiant de la fac de Münster) pour aller à Enschede aux Pays Bas. Nous avons commencé par faire le tour tour du marché, où nous avons bien évidemment gouté l'authentique fromage de Hollande (qui était d'ailleur plutôt bon). Nous nous sommes ensuite balladés dans la ville, et l'avons trouvée assez jolie (du moins c'est mon avis). Je pense que nous y retournerons un jour pour faire du (coffee???)shopping.