All Black Lager Alright - Steinlager Classic
By Martin Pilkington
For a rugby fan who loves beer it is one of life’s little tragedies that the Rugby World Cup is being played in New Zealand. The time difference means it’s just not on (in the early rounds at least) to down a cold one while watching the games.
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Should England (substitute Wales, Scotland or Ireland as personal identity requires) make the latter stages of the tournament, however, the beer of choice for armchair fans (even still in the pit fans) could be Steinlager, New Zealand’s biggest beer export. You have to make the effort and feel closer to the action; at least you do for the semi-final and/or the final, so why not add a little bit of Kiwi culture. Play a bit of Dame Kiri very softly in the background, but not the crossover stuff.
 Steinlager is actually a good telly beer: like any lager it has to be cold, which hides some of the flavour, but it has that pleasant background maltiness you want when focussing on other things – a beer that’s there for you but not trying to show off and distract. In other words when you want a cold one watching the All Blacks forwards get away with yet another offside, it’s a logical choice. Like New Zealand’s rugby it’s pretty direct – no hidden subtleties, and no strange additives.
At a decent 4.8 per cent ABV even if you have one on a weekend morning watching your national side perform you are pretty much out of the running for shopping and DIY for the rest of the day. Not a good habit to get into, but as the RWC is likely to be down under at most once every eight years it seems justifiable, worthwhile even for one or two of the really big games. And if you have a couple maybe you’ll work out why England chose Matt Banahan over David Strettle.
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