For a comprehensive, ongoing list of all beers reviewed, follow @swallreview on Instagram – whilst I’ll list the top ten I encountered whilst still refining my beer taste within this post, a larger Best European Beers list can be found here.
I’m going to avoid the popular European beers readily available beyond their home nations (Heverlee, Heineken, Carlsberg etc) and list the best of the rest.
10. Cruzcampo (España 🇪🇸)
Cruzcampo is a perfect thirst killer in the warmth. The logo features Gambrinus, a mythical European king (famous for his beer drinking exploits)
9. Jupiler (Belgium 🇧🇪)
Jupiler another brilliant thirst quencher. Lots was consumed during the 2018 trip to Brussels. I was only familiar with it from their football sponsorships (and its’ logo was EVERYWHERE in Belgium due to their sponsorship of the national football team during the World Cup season) though after trying it, I made sure to stock up on some cans in duty free on trip home.
8. Bernard Amber Ale (Czech 🇨🇿)
We stumbled across a restaurant in Prague named Bernard and I decided to try all the beer made by their brewery. The Amber Ale stood out above the rest, and was slightly fruity in taste.
7. Birra Flea (Italy 🇮🇹)
Birra Flea is a relative newcomer to the Italian beer scene. Their creators aspired to only use local hops, and added the most popular local fruits to add a fruity taste to it.
6. Schöfferhofer (Germany 🇩🇪)
Schöfferhofer is a gorgeous weissbier with a grapefruit tinge to it. Whilst it’s not as common as Paulaner, or Erdinger – it is a must try if you’re ever in Germany. Even for non-beer drinkers – the fruity tinge will make it drinkable.
5. Leffe Brown (Belgium 🇧🇪)
There are many variations of Leffe on tap in Belgium, the brown stands out above the rest for me. Leffe has been brewing since 1152, and was originally brewed by monks – being one of the more famous ‘abbey beers’ brewed in Belgium.
4. Grimbergen Blonde (Belgium 🇧🇪)
Grimbergen is another Belgian ‘abbey beer’, originally brewed by monks. It’s flavoursome and very thirst cleansing. It’s now brewed in 2 locations, one in Belgium and one in France.
3. Duckstein (Germany 🇩🇪)
Duckstein is a famous reddy-blonde beer with a slightly bitter taste. It’s got a lovely soothing taste and a pleasant foam head. Brewed in Hamburg, it’s more common in the North Germany – and is a must try.
2. Master Dark Beer (Czech 🇨🇿)
Master dark beer is 7% alcohol, and slightly bitter but it’s so tasty despite the strength which is masked by a sweet caramel/coffee taste. It definitely lives up to the name.
1. Zlaty Bažant ’73 (Slovakia 🇸🇰)
This is the undisputed champ of my swall reviews, Zlaty Bažant is Slovak for Golden Pheasant – but it is delicious. I had it on a day where the temperature was above 30°C, and it not only cooled me down, it truly was delicious. I wish it was stocked up by bars at home.
Whilst there are still some parts of Europe I’ve yet to explore, Belgium, Germany and Czech Rep. are renowned for their beer – however I’m open to perhaps finding a top 10 beer from one of the remaining European countries I’ve yet to visit, or when I visit Bavaria, the home of Octoberfest. Stay tuned.
