Imported beers brew foreign fun
By Connie L. Sheehan
Senior Editor
Many students might consider
not only the beer he sells but the
job itself as exotic.
Doene Moos, a business junior,
selects the beers for the import
section at N Street Drive-in, 19th
and N streets.
Moos "got ahold of" the import
section about four mon ths a go a nd
since that time has been selling
odds and ends, slowly accumulat
ing new offerings and tasting
whatever new types are available.
Moos' technique is definitely
not hit and miss. He has sampled
manv of the imported beers that
line his section and was more than
willing to offer a floundering novice
to imported beers some sound
advice.
With more than 31 countries
* currently represented, the selec
tion seemed overwhelming, but I
let Moos pick and choose through
the different sizes, colors and
sh« s of bottles.
nichlaus Pale Bier, a Swiss
beer, is rated as the strongest beer
in the world and one of about half
a dozen beers Moos considers
"sipping" beers.
Agea for a couple years, Moos
said the beer has a unique taste.
We looked over the few pine
tree decorated bottles left from
the holidays filled with Anchor
Brewing's "special ale, which is
brewed only for Christmas. Moos
said the beer was somewhat dark
and had a good taste.
Moos pulled a tall winclike bottle
with a cork off the shelf and
dubbed it one of the store's most
unusual.
Chimay, an unfiltered ale, is
made by Belgium monks because
their own water is undrinkable.
Three types are made: the Grande
Reserve, which is saved for spe
cial occasions and holidays, the
Chimay red, which is an everyday
drinking beer and the white label,
which is used on weekends, Moos
explained.
Holding up the bottle, Moos
pointed out the sediment floating
in the bottle and explained how
filtering alters the taste of most
beers, plus, unfiltered beer is proba
bly more healthful.
I thought the unfiltered beer
would be strong, but Moos dis
agreed and said it actually tasted
fairly sweet and it was one he
enjoys.
Next to the Chimay sat the first
Russian beer carried oy the store,
Moscova. Although Moos hadn't
tasted the betr, which had just
arrived on Friday, he anticipated
an English taste.
A lot of the countries copy the
English taste of beer, making it
bitter aftertaste rather than the Eng
lish taste, Moos added. Broken
Hill and the No. 1 beer in Austra
lia, Foster's, are similar in taste,
and Moos gave them hisapproval.
Sheaf Stout from Australia isan
extremely dark beer, he said,
moving down the aisle. The Aus
tralian beers have a taste of their
own and Sheaf Stout tastes some
what like Guinness but quite a bit
stronger.
Australia's lagers lean toward
America's slightly sweet with some
bitter afterthought taste rather the
English taste, Moos added. Bro
ken Hill and the No. 1 beer in
Australia, Foster's, are similar in
See BEER on 11
Wine prices range high and low
By Connie L. Sheehan
Senior Editor
Chateau Lafite Rothschild
1983— even the name rings of
exotica. The wine currently retails
for $99.99 per bottle.
Scott Stoehr, the general man
ager of N Street Drive-In, was
honest as he guided me through
the exotic wines from the top vine
yard in the world, Rothschild's of
France.
"This is something that people
’drink, but I would' say tnat 95
percent who would buy a bottle
like this is for collecting," he ex
plained. "Usually in something this
exotic, they're going to save and
collect it and it's probably in 10
years not going to be any good.
That's just the way it works."
Stoenr said at this point in time,
the Chateau Lafite Rothschild,
which is a dry Bordeaux, is still
drinkable. He said only a limited
number of bottles a re made a year.
Oriental plum wines and sakcs
aren't part of the traditional Ne
braska fare, and they aren't even
served like American wines, Stoehr
said.
Sake is served warm and is made
from rice, while the plum wines,
which are sweet, are served in
much smaller portions than our
wines, he said.
See WINE on 9