Kronenbourg - A Classy Beer For a Classy Part of Town

Another day, another beer reviewed...

I found that I had to get up early this morning to pick up a tree as part of the local conservation authority's recent tree-drive. And after ending up on video "for their website" (due mostly to the ridiculous lengths we went through to secure the tree to the bed of the pickup truck), I found myself with some more running around to do after picking up the beforementioned pool pump. Naturally, this took me to that part of town I drive through, which again involved a stop at the local alcohol dispensary.

After scooping up a Kronenbourg, which rings in at a rather pricey $2.60, I made a short jaunt over to my favourite trail in the city, which just happens to run adjacent to the "roaring" Thames River (no, not that Thames) and behind the richest community in the city (called River Bend), found a quiet spot with a great view, and prepared to crack open the beer.

 With the forest coming alive, I initially placed it down at the edge of a ridge, and snapped this photo of the tallboy beside the budding trillium. However, a quick view down the ridge opened up an even more opportune drinking area - a fallen log precariously suspended over the ridge, and far more private.

Sensing the opportunity, I hopped on down, saw my feet dangle above the 40 foot drop, and opened Mr. Kronenbourg up.

Now, I've been a big fan of this beer since I first tried it - it has a smooth, slightly-sweetish initial taste, followed by basically no aftertaste. The beer feels a little thicker than a usual lager on the tongue, but it's well worth it since it goes down so incredibly smooth. It truly is one of the best beers I've had, with the only real downside being the higher price tag. If I had to compare it to another beer, it would be closest in taste to Heineken, although more smooth.

In fact, the only downside to this beer was that while I was walking into the woods, I slipped on the trail and dropped the can in a creek - so the first few tastes were a bit Earthy, but that probably had more to do with the dirt on the lip that I swallowed (and even then, the Kronenbourg made that dirt damn tasty).

One thing that's always confused me about this beer was the "made in France" label proudly plastered on the can. Since France is more known for their wine, and I can't remember ever enjoying having a French beer before, it seemed particularly suspicious that the only one I could find was also particularly fantastic. So, once again, a google search came to the rescue.

This beer is brewed in Strasbourg. For those that don't know, Strasbourg is a border city in southwestern France, right beside the beer baron known as Germany. While I'm not familiar with the history of the city, I do know there was a (series?) of war(s) fought between the two nations for control/ownership of Strasbourg in the past, which I can only assume was based entirely on ownership rights to the Kronenbourg brewery.

Think about it: Kronenbourg says it was created in 1664, and the last-ish war fought over Strasbourg was in the early 20th century. The Kronenbourg label has "made in France" all over it, like a taunt to Germany that France can make tastier beer than the masters (fighting words if I ever saw them).

Naturally I have nothing to prove this wildly accurate claim, but you also can't provide evidence that it wasn't about owning the Kronenbourg brewery (except for all that evidence).

My only main criticism of this beer is the price - and although I acknowledge that it's a fantastic tasting beer, I find it hard to justify the $2.60 when I can drink beers with great tastes for around 2.00-2.20. And as a Net Zero Drinker, four Kronenbourgs could potentially equal 5-6 other beers.

Now, there is a silver lining to this 2.60 debacle I got myself into. While walking out of the forest, I did happen to scour the area and find 7 empties (not including the empty of the K-bourg itself). With it being a dramatic ravine, finding empties often proved to be a precarious and injury threatening situation. But where there's a will, there's a way...

Would I risk bodily harm going down this ravine for a potential 10 cent reward? YOU BET!

 In the end, the 80 cents found made the Kronenbourg a far more manageable net $1.80.

Net Zero Drinking:
$8.45 bought
$10.90 returned
$2.45 up