Saturday, July 25, 2009

A Refreshing (Red) Beer

I have no idea what this beverage is. It's in a beer glass, so I tend to think that it's a) some kind of beer, or b) beer with something red added to it (a beer kir?). It looks like beer, foamy head and all. It's just red. Anybody out there know what it is?

Red beer at the White Rabbit.

The point of our walk in St.-Aignan on Bastille Day was to go have a drink at one of our local cafés, le Lapin Blanc (the White Rabbit). We sat and had white wine, along with a pizza from around the corner. They guys next to us were drinking this stuff. I didn't ask what it was, but I should have.

After a couple glasses of wine, our friend M.-J. treated us to a surprise: a little glass of calvados (apple brandy) for me and a little glass of poire (pear brandy) for Ken! Merci!

20 comments:

  1. pretty sure it's what they call a Diablo here in normandy - beer with grenadine syrup. :-) Pretty tasty cause it's got a bit of a sweetness to it.
    Hope that helps!

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  2. I guess MilkJam is right about Diabolo. But it's made with soda (limonade in French). It's a "cocktail" without alcohol. This one is a Shirley Temple in English according to:
    http://36cocktails.fr/news/diabolo-grenadine

    There is also a "diabolo-menthe."

    I've never heard of that drink made with beer.

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  3. I saw an advertisement for a Leffe beer that had red berries in it. And the picture of the beer on the advertisement really looked like your picture so I'm guessing this is it: Leffe with red berries!

    And yes, diabolo is usually made with lemonade + the kind of syrup you want (mint, grenadine, lemon etc.)

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  4. In Belgium we have a drink called 'Tango'. It's lager (pils) beer with a touch of grenadine. It looks similar to the beer in your picture. Martine

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  5. With more research, I found this:

    http://www.1001cocktails.com/recettes/cocktails-a-la-biere.html

    Beer cocktails galore! Take your pick.

    Verification word is bersh. Would that be that drink?

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  6. I'd bet the farm on Killian's Irish Red beer...the foam and color look right.

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  7. ummm, I'm sure going to miss the farm.

    The label on the glass is Kronenbourg and they do make a red ale but I've never seen it. This is now looking to me like the likely answer.

    You will, of course, have to do some extensive investigation at that cafe to solve the riddle for us.

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  8. I'm late tot he party (beer tasting?) here, but a brewed red beer seems a real possibility because of the color. I've had red beers that look exactly like that. In Germany I've seen almost any kind of fruit syrup poured into beer, and the result has included lime green beer, all shades of orange and even magenta.

    In a week I'm off to the Glimmerglass Opera Festival in Cooperstown NY. In addition to the opera and the Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown hosts the Ommegang Brewery which makes secondary fermentation in the bottle beer in the Belgian style. Because of the spice mixes used in the brewing process, their beers are richly colored and at least one looks like the one shown in your extremely inviting picture.

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  9. It's a "Monaco" (like the city).

    Beer+grenadine syrup.

    Et puis c'est tout!

    (a french guy)

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  10. Maybe it's a plum sauce ale? *LOL* Whatever it is, I sure hope we're not going to end up being left hanging in the dark, not knowing for sure what it is! You and Ken will have to go back into town to that café and ask :))

    Judy

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  11. Seine Judeet is being too trusting on this (a common mid-west affliction). The folks at the cafe may not give you a correct answer. I'm afraid you're going to have to order several (to check for consistancy) and (gulp!) drink them.

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  12. I've never seen one, but I have heard of flavored beers.

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  13. I think it's a beer with a red syrup added. Grenadine, as suggested by Martine, and the French guy is the likely suspect.

    Bill: You can't trust what the glass says in France like you can in Belgium. You could get any old beer in any glass in France.

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  14. Susan's right about not going by the name on the glass in these little French village cafés. They put whatever they want in whatever glass. That's why I always order wine. We had very nice glasses of Quincy wine at the café the night we were there — no grenadine, plum sauce, or even crème de cassis added.

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  15. I continue to be amazed a which posts generate the most interesting comments! Thanks to everybody.

    It looks like I have some research to do. Don't wait up... it may take some time.

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  16. WOW! When Alex and I come to visit, can we go for a Red Beer, too?!!! Looks good!

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  17. It's beer with grenadine ... all my colleagues drink it (the Monaco name suggested is correct). I am not a fan. It is made with a light pilsner like 1664 or some other crap, I usually stay away from pilsners anyway, so the thought of one with fruit syrup in it has never been that appealing to me. :-) They also make them with Picon, which will look like a brown coffee colored beer.

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  18. Yep, I third (fourth, fifth?) the Monaco answer. I'm not a big cocktail drinker (since my favorite, whiskey sour, is so rare here), so at apéro time I usually get a Monaco, especially in summer. I think it's a nice, light drink, especially when it's hot, but thanks to Justin you can see that not everyone agrees. :D

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  19. leesa, sure thing!

    justin, thanks for weighing in with an expert opinion!

    vivi, I think you're right. As for me, I go with a white or a rosé. :)

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