Beer Hunting Basel

Basel
for Switzerland v England

Friday 5 September
Saturday 6 September 2014

I've been to Basel before. There is a little bit of beer hunting to be done. And things change quickly in the micro/craft world. But, it's more of a simple than a major destination. I took most of my leads from Ratebeer.

The number 50 airport bus drops you right outside the Drinks Of The World off licence/bottleshop. It's essentially in the railway station.  They have an excellent bottle line up. A lot of international stuff. Mainly organised by country (best way IMHO).

The staff were helpful. But a little uncertain on the Swiss beers. I asked for "small independent breweries". My lack of knowledge basically had me choosing this this & that.

If you need a few bottles for the hotel room, the picnic on the Rhine, the train journey - I'd heartily recommend Drinks Of The World.

The second "objective" was All Bar One on Steinenvorstadt (37). In general you see much less Chain than in the UK. So, I'd assumed it was just called All Bar One. But, it was actually the chain we'd see back home.

They had a good range of the major international bottles - Sierra Nevada, Brewdog, Fullers, etc. They have what I'll call House Beer from Kitchen Brew (Sygama SA). Three - on keg & bottle.

It was a nice place. High benches & stools spilling out on to the pedestrian area. Simple bar area & an open upstairs mezzanine caper.

The barstaff were efficient & helpful.

The initial tracked down list;

Wartmann's No 4 Blanche Grand Cru at 10.5%.
Wartmann's No 2 Bitter Ale at 9.5%.
Kitchen Brew Summer Ale at 4.5%.
Kitchen Brew Cascade Amber Ale at 5.8%
Kitchen Brew India Dark Ale at 5.5% - the bottle was MUCH better than the keg

The Kitchen Brew Cascade Amber Ale was the best of the bunch.