The country badge for Romania. Have 5 Romanian beers to claim the badge, it levels up to level 100.
Romanian beers also count towards the Balkans badge, so you get twice the bang for your buck here.
In Romania, beer is considered as a food product so isn’t taxed the same way as in many other countries. The market is dominated by the big players: Asahi owns Ursus Breweries, Heinekin has Heinekin Romania, Molson Coors owns Bergenbier and Carlsburg has Tuborg Romania.
A badge sponsored by Asahi, simply check in an Asahi Super Dry between 1 November 2019 and 31 January 2020 to claim the badge. Have another one to get to level 2, all the way to level 5 for 5 of them.
Asahi has sponsored badges before on untappd, most notably Asahi Karakuchi and Go Premium Lager in 2018. While Asahi Karakuchi was essentially the same as this badge, Go Premium Lager included several other Asahi brands: Grolsch, Peroni, Pilsner Urquell and Meantime London Lager.
The country badge for Hungary. Claim this one by checking in 5 Hungarian beers. Sör is the Hungarian word for beer.
The main styles brewed in Hungary are generally lagers and Bocks. There are four main breweries in Hungary: Dreher (owned by Asahi), Borsod (Molson Coors), Heineken Hungária and the privately owned Pécs.
Celebrating English Ales, have 5 beers that are British Bitter’s for this one. It levels after every 5, all the way to level 100 for 500 Bitter’s. Three sub-styles count towards this badge: Bitter – Session / Ordinary, Bitter – Best and Bitter – Extra Special / Strong (ESB).
A bitter is a traditional English pale ale that has relatively more hops than an English Mild Ale. Usually served from a cask rather than a keg, a bitter will have an ABV of between 3 and 5.5%.
An Extra Special Bitter (or Extra Strong Bitter) is, as the name suggests, a stronger version, sitting between 4.5 and 6% ABV. The extra alcohol makes them noticeably maltier and fruitier.
The abbreviation ESB is actually a trademark owned by Fullers (Asahi).
The country badge for New Zealand. Have 5 beers from New Zealand to gain level 1. It levels up to 100 (that’s 500 beers).
New Zealand is known for its hops, especially its fruity varieties such as Nelson Sauvin and Motueka. It stands to reason then that the style of New Zealand Pale Ale is a fruity, hop forward version of Pale Ale.
The brewing industry in New Zealand is dominated by Lion breweries (Kirin) and Dominion Breweries (Heineken) with a third player trailing some way behind: Independent Liquor (Asahi). The big two have also bought up many small breweries such as Emersons, Macs and Panhead (all Kirin), Tuatara and Monteiths (Heineken).
Despite this, New Zealand has a wide range of active craft breweries. Ones to look out for include Garage Project, Moa, Behemoth, Epic and Stoke.
The country badge for Poland. Have 5 Polish beers to claim level 1.
The beer industry in Poland was nationalised under their Communist government. Since the fall of Communism three companies control 80% of the market: Żywiec, Okocim and Kompania Piwowarska (the maker of Tyskie and Lech). They are owned by Heineken, Carlsburg and Asahi respectively.
Poland also has its own traditional style of beer, the Grätzer or Grodziskie. Known as Polish Champagne due to its high carbonation and its use at special occasions, a Grätzer is low on alcohol and bitterness with an extremely strong smokey flavour. Personally, I don’t really like the style but it might be right up your alley, so give it a go!
Have 5 Australian beers to claim this badge, the country badge for Australia.
Like in many countries, the industry in Australia has consolidated around two main players, in this case Lion (owned by Kirin) and Fosters Group (owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev). Ironically, Fosters lager is not very popular in Australia despite being the best selling Aussie brand internationally.
An Australian Pale Ale is its own recognised sub-style. They tend to be fruity and slightly yeasty with a low hop bitterness. Very easy drinking for a hot climate!
Australia is also home to some great craft breweries. As well as the family owned Coopers, look out for Moon Dog, Redoak, Stone & Wood, Burleigh Brewing or the Balmain Brewering Company.
As is the trend worldwide, number of notable craft breweries have also been bought out by the major players, such as Little Creatures & White Rabbit (Kirin), Pirate Life (Anheuser-Busch InBev), Mountain Goat & Cricketers Arms (Asahi), and Feral Brewing (Coca-Cola Amatil).
The country badge for Japan. Have 5 Japanese beers to claim this one.
Japan is known for its easy drinking rice lagers and four major breweries dominate the market: Asahi, Kirin, Suntory and Sapporo. These four companies are big business and all own substantial holdings overseas.
Japan also has a growing craft beer scene with Baird Brewing being one of the more notable start ups in Asia.
For this one, have 5 beers brewed in England. And remember, they all also count towards the God Save the King badge!
As we’ve touched on the modern domination of commercial lagers in Britain already, let’s focus on England’s strong brewing traditions.
Ales originally dominated this part of the world, and while there may be some truth to the stereotype of English beer being warm and flat, Ales are remarkably versatile and range from easy drinking Golden and Mild Ales to Extra Special Bitters to Brown Ales, Old Ales, London Porters and even Russian Imperial Stouts. English brewers were relatively slow to adopt hops, yet it is also the birthplace of the hoppy IPAs that were exported all over the British Empire from working class Burton and later provided the foundation for the craft brewing revolution.
The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) group was launched in 1971 and has grown to now be the largest single issue lobby group in the UK! CAMRA assists small breweries and promotes traditional styles and techniques such as beer being served from Casks rather than Kegs.
There are too many ale breweries in England to list, but the larger ones include Greene King, Fullers (now owned by Asahi), Adnams, Marston’s, Timothy Taylor’s and Shepherd Neame.
Of course, as the home of IPA, England has had a craft beer revolution of its own. Beginning with Thornbridge who released Jaipur in 2005, other breweries worth seeking out include Beavertown (part owned by Heineken), Meantime (fully owned by Asahi), Magic Rock (Kirin), Camden Town (Anheuser-Busch InBev) and Vocation brewing.
The country badge for the Netherlands. Have 5 Dutch beers to reach level 1.
When talking about Dutch beer we have to start with their pale lagers. Specifically, the incredibly successful Heineken and the also rather successful Grolsch (owned by Asahi). Thanks to the world wide popularity of these brands, the Netherlands exports roughly half of the beer it produces, the highest proportion of any country in the world.
Other popular brands include Amstel (now owned by Heineken), Bavaria, and United Dutch Breweries who produce Oranjeboom and a host of strong lagers.
Two of the 14 Trappist monasteries are also in the Netherlands; La Trappe and Zundert.
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