With more time to kill in Poland while tagging along with my wife and her cartilage repair conference (didn't make that up - as boring as it sounds*) I was out of amusing activities. I would not place Warsaw exceptionally high on my "you must see this place before you die" list. Such relative boredom is often the incubator of genius, as it was in this case, when I conceived of The Great Polish Beer-off. With such a variety of Polish brewed beers, I figured why not sample them all? Yes, all of them, that's what I'll do!
In short, I am no beer aficionado. While well beyond the six pack of Natural Light (in bottles, mind you) of my college years, I either like beer or I don't. I usually tend toward Pilsner-type beers and dislike the maltier, microbrew types. They make my mouth itch...
Tyskie (5.6% alcohol) that all-too-familiar flat American beer taste - not terrible, but too Anheuser Busch-like product
Lech (5.2%) like a skunky Heineken without any discernible taste or purpose for being
Okocim (7.1%) there was a time I enjoyed Mickey's Big Mouth. There was also a time I wore corduroy OP shorts with tube socks pulled up to my patella (different times, of course)
Warka (5.7%) says Uznany Smak on the label. I don't know what that means, but I think I like it. Kinda like a Carlsberg without the punch.
Zywiec (pictured is actually the non-alcoholic version - I thought I saw a smirk on the cashier's face as she rang me up - but I had many Zywiec's on the trip. Seemed to be the most popular brand) Not bad. Not great, the definition of American beer (in my mind).
I guess I liked the Warka the best maybe? Overall, a little disappointed with the state of Polish beer. Nevertheless my wife was done with her whatever she was doing by the time the Beer-off ended, so it served its purpose.
*to stupid people like me who wouldn't understand a complete sentence spoken between two conference attendees
