In With the Old, In With the New

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This is the badge for Gueuze (or Geuze) beers. Have five to claim the badge.

A style of Lambic, this Belgian style is typically made by blending a young (roughly 1 year old) Lambic with an older Lambic (2 to 3 years old). The mix is then bottled and further fermentation occurs to create the Gueuze.

A resulting mix is dry and sour. Traditionally served in champagne style bottles, the term is now protected by the EU (as is Lambic). Notable producers include Boom, Lindemans, Belle-Vue (owned by Anheuser–Busch InBev) and Timmermans.

Call of the Swiss

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The country badge for Switzerland, have 5 Swiss beers to claim the badge. The badge can be leveled up to level 100, which is 500 Swiss beers.

Switzerland is one of the countries with the most breweries per capita, however they are almost all small regional breweries. There are two exceptions to this rule: Feldschlösschen (which is now owned by Carlsburg) and the independent Rugenbräu. In fact Feldschlösschen/Carlsburg brews roughly a third of all of the beer in Switzerland.

Amazons & Andes

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A continent badge! Have 5 beers from South or Central America to claim this badge. It levels up every 5 beers all the way to level 100, which is 500 beers.

Lagers are popular in the hot climates of South America, including Quilmes of Argentina, Cusqueña from Peru and Club Colombia from, well, Colombia (all are owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev).

Central America, Argentina and Brazil also have their own badges, which means beers from these places count towards two badges. Other South American countries are up for the vote, so head over to Untappd’s website to vote for them.

Never Finnished!

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The country badge for Finland. Have 6 Finnish beers to get level 1. It levels up to level 100, which is 500 beers.

Finland is 9th in the world in per capita beer consumption and most of it is pale lagers. Their industry is dominated by three main breweries: Hartwall, Olvi and Sinebrychoff. Olvi is privately owned whilst Hartwall is Heineken and Sinebrychoff is Carlsburg.

Finland also has its own style of beer, Sahti. A traditional farmhouse ale, it is made with rye and barley.

To The Alt

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German for Old Beer, the style of Altbier is associated with the town of Düsseldorf. Track down 5 of them to earn this badge.

A top fermenting lager, it is an old style that is a darker colour than most lagers, with fruitier notes. However it is cleaner and crisper than an ale due to the largering.

There is a friendly rivalry between Altbier drinkers and drinkers of Kölsch, which comes from Düsseldorf’s neighbouring city of Cologne.

The Great White North

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The country badge for Canada. Have 5 Canadian beers to get level 1 of The Great White North. Of course it goes up a level after every additional 5 until it reaches level 100.

Canada’s three largest beer producers are Labatt, Molson and Sleeman. Labatt is know for its Labatt Blue branded lager and is owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev. Molson is one half of the Molson Coors conglomerate while Sleeman is owned by Sapporo. Sapporo also own Unibroue who are a Quebec based brewery that specialises in Belgian styles.

The largest Canadian owned brewer remaining is Moosehead, who have about 4 percent of the total market. Craft breweries occupy roughly 10 percent of the market that is very much dominated by multinational lagers.