Culturally speaking, the United States and France couldn't be much farther apart. In France, it's customary to greet your friends(even those of the same sex) with a kiss; in America we're obsessed with the notion of personal space. It seems like 98% of the French population are cigarette smokers, but the anti-smoking crusade here in the states makes smoking in public nearly impossible and highly frowned upon. We watch shows like "Wife Swap", "Toddlers in Tiaras" and "Hole in the wall" on T.V. while they watch shows like "La Traviata" and "La Boheme" at the theater. Obviously all of these statements are generalizations, and there are plenty of Americans and Frenchmen who don't fit the mold of this stereotype, but it's pretty safe to say that middle America and French high society don't see eye to eye on many things. Strangely enough however, brewing culture can sometimes transcend the confines of one's national identity, and there's at least one thing that is sure to bring Billy Bob and Jean Luc together; amber ale.
Amber ales are technically a variation of pale ale, with a deep reddish or amber hue about them. Most amber ales have been brewed almost exclusively in the United States for decades. You'll be hardpressed to find a locally brewed red ale anywhere else in the world except for in....you guessed it; France. (Ok, so the Aussie's have developed a taste for amber ales as well, but tonight we'll stick with talkin about the frenchies). I've never really found a satisfactory answer as to why amber ale could be so popular in the states and France, but go relatively unnoticed in other fine beer producing nations. Maybe it will always be a mystery, but tonight's beer is called Fischer Amber Ale and it hails from the Alsace -Lorraine region of northeastern France.
One of the most obvious features that stands out with Fischer Amber Ale is it's fun little swing top opening system that is reminicsent of the much more popular beer Grolsch. I must admit that I have a strange fondness for the swing top design, partly because it gives you the option to "re-cork" your beer and save it for later (which might sound a little wussy to many of my readers out there, but when you drink as much beer as I do, it's nice to have the option of saving some for later), but most importantly, I just think that the swing top looks cool. It's a surefire way to make you beer at least visually distinctive, and it was definitely the swing top that drew me to this beer. So how does Fischer Amber Ale taste? In my opinion this beer was just mediocre. The French take on amber ale is a bit different from what we're used to here in the states, and the formula used in Fischer Amber Ale was noticeably less hoppy than your average American amber. I was underwhelmed when I took my first sip, and I kept waiting for some little tiny thing to come along and wow me, but Fischer kept me disappointed throughout. This beer was a light transparent brown color and had the enticing nutty aroma that has become characteristic of so many English beers, but the taste of Fischer just didn't really come close to any of those English beers. Fischer Amber Ale is just another example of an okay beer that uses some kind of gimmick like the swing top to appeal to gullible beer drinkers. This beer is the equivalent of a movie that you wait for to come out on netflix or blockbuster, because it's just not quite good enough to spend the money to see it in the theaters(if that makes sense). If you just like the swing top like I do, stick to the Grolsch.
A Votre Sante!
Ian
http://www.fischerbeverages.com/
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