Step aside, Wetherspoons…
There is general acceptance among ale enthusiasts that, while most beers might be brewed equally, not all are consumed equally.
A pint in the pub might go down well after a long day at work, but it doesn’t compare to the first sip of a beer served in an iced glass sat out on the balcony on holiday. And while you’ll find few things that beat a can on the couch in front of the television, it’s got nothing on the first sip after 18 holes on the golf course in blazing hot conditions.
And the same can be said of the breakfast beer, too.
The breakfast pint holds an unrivalled position in the pantheon of beer drinking. Paired with a hearty plate of grub it soothes the soul in a way few other drinks can. It puts a sparkle in the eyes of the dreary and hungover, puts an instant sheen on the day ahead and can even make your mate’s stories about blockchain and Chat GDP seem like reasonable chat.
At least that is how we’ve viewed them since Wetherspoons cemented a culture of enjoying a few frothy ones next to a calorific fry-up served on Churchill China plates. Tim Martin reinvented the breakfast beer in Britain, and the country’s train stations, airports and high streets have never been the same since.
But it wasn’t always that way.
In the Middle Ages, beer was often drunk at the start of the day because it was seen as being purer than water and full of calories. Indeed, as late as the 1980s breweries would often hand out free beers to their workers at the start of the day, although many would argue this was just to prevent pilfering later in the day.
Many other places around the world also have their own unique traditions. Aside from the obvious, here’s just a few of them:
Bavaria, Germany
Dubbed Germany’s most “German” meal in a recent BBC report, this traditional sausage-pretzel-and-beer-breakfast is consumed across the so-called “white sausage equator” which separates – culturally, at least – Bavaria from the rest of the northern parts of the country. Made with veal, back bacon, onion, parsley and spices, the white sausages are poached and served in a bowl of water. They are served alongside soft pretzels and sweet mustard and washed down with a wheat beer all before the church bells ring at midday.
Lyon, France
France might be known for its café culture of pains au chocolats and croissants over a mini mugs of coffee with handles that are too small to fit your fingers through, but Lyon has a long-standing tradition of tucking into wine and offal at breakfast that not many people know about. This petit déjeuner is called mâchon and consists of dishes of calf’s kidney, breaded tripe and calf’s head to ensure no part of the animal goes to waste. It all gets washed down with a glass of Beaujolais wine from local producers.
Van, Turkey
Dubbed the capital of breakfasts by CNN, Van in Turkey boats an entire street that is dedicated to the morning meal, with restaurants serving up nine-plate breakfast spreads that encompass a number of local delicacies. The coveted dairy products from cows that graze on the nearby Anatolian plateaus are frequently heavily included in these morning buffets. It pairs wonderfully well with an ice-cold drop of the local brew.
Barcelona, Spain
There’s only one way to kick off your day in Barcelona, and that is with the classic Catalan dish Pa amb tomàquet. Rustic and crusty bread is layered with fresh tomatoes and served with olive oil and salt. It is a common feature in bars across the Catalan Countries and, indeed, throughout Spain, where it is also known as pan tumaca.
Trang, Thailand
Continuing with the theme of cities that are obsessed with breakfast, Trang in Thailand opens its dim sum halls and vintage cafes at 4:00am to allow people to get their morning fill. There are literally dozens of steamed and deep-fried options of dim sum as well as noodles and rice dishes. But Trang’s famous roast pork has to be the dish worth looking out for.
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