Cult Beers, Outside Of The Ordinary

Some beers you can get everywhere. Other beers you only find in some bars and pubs. Then there are some really specialist and niche beers that you only find in the most dedicated bottle shops and bars. These cult beers are often so hard to get hold of that when you do find a supplier, you keep your mouth shut so all your mates don't go down and buy up all the stock. These cult beers are special. And so is drinking them. But what are they and where do they come from?

Let's start with one we might all be familiar with. Australian sparkling ale, as made by Coopers down in South Australia. It might not be quite as cult as the others in this list but there was a time when they were the biggest secret in beer. These bottle-conditioned beers, with a characteristic fruitiness, almost taste like wheat beers. We can get hold of them here Down Under. But anywhere in the rest of the world and you can more or less forget it.

Another cult beer is actually not a beer at all. Confusing isn't it but barley wine is an old style of English beer that has a distinct winey taste and is very high in alcohol (hence why it is a wine and not a beer - although technically speaking it is a grey area). They are dark coloured and malty and ideal for the late night beer sipper in you.

Lambic beers rely on airborne yeast to set off the fermentation. This is a really old style of beer that few people in the world still make. They are usually confined to small areas of Belgium (it's always Belgium isn't it?), the Netherlands and France.

Trappist beers are made by monks. And only monks. There are strict naming laws about what can legally be called a trappist beer. Monks and beer have a long history together. We guess there's not much else to do when you're a monk but make beer and pray. With six trappist breweries left in the world, five in Belgium (where else?) and one in the Netherlands, these beers are notoriously hard to get hold of, luckily you can now buy foreign beers online.

Micro beers are fast becoming the next big thing in wine. It seems like everyone and their grandma are having a crack at making their own beer. Some are less successful than others. But occasionally someone gets it very right indeed. These micro beers are usually in limited runs and you have to rely more on luck rather than judgement if you want to taste one. You could try making your own or you could try getting friendly with your local bottle shop, so that they tell you when they're coming in.

All these different types of cult beers make trying to find them a real challenge. But it makes that moment you do get your hands on one all the more special. So, really try and savour every sip.