Headed to Europe anytime soon, If Holland’s on your itinerary, don’t scoff at the beer. It may seem like an endless sea of Heineken clones, but it isn’t. Ron Pattinson, the English travel writer, who lives in Holland and can read German and writes the Don’t Tell Me About Barclay Perkins blog has just posted “Ten Dutch beers you should try.” Here’s the first one, which I’ve seen in good beer stores here in the San Francisco Bay Area:

Christoffel Blond

Christoffel is the only new Dutch brewery to concentrate exclusively on lagers. Not surprising, as it was founde by a member of the Brand family who had studied at Wehenstephan. A pale lager, it’s usually classified as a Pilsner, despite its 6% ABV. The first thing you notice is the massive hop aroma. It’s one of those beers I could just sit and sniff all day. The aroma is that good. Should you manage to get it into your mouth, you’ll be greeted by more abundant hop flavours and a scorching bitterness. (Here’s an alternative description for American hopheads: there’s a little a hoppiness in the aroma and a slight trace of bitterness in the finish.) Distinctive and very drinkable. That’s a winning combination in my book. READ THE REST OF THE POST…

Also, Ron does the very authoritative European Beer Guide Web site.