THERE'S lots of hills and mountains in Slovenia. I've never been, but I believe that landscape was the inspiration for those zig-zags on the front of their shirts when they stepped out at the 2010 World Cup.
There's a fair few lakes as well, and, more pertinently, a fledgling beer scene. Co Antrim brewers Hillstown tapped into this recently when they teamed up with Slovenian brewers Lobik to produce a traditional Irish red ale with a real twist.
This involved the guys from the Randalstown-based brewery trekking all the way to Slovenia, and it was worth it as 3 Bad Bears is a real game-changer when it comes to our notions of what a red ale is.
For a start, it's strong – coming in at 8.3 per cent abv, taking it into imperial territory. But more on that later.
The beer pours a hazy, dark copper colour with a fluffy white head which holds its integrity well for such a high-alcohol brew.
Once you get your nose in, you'll realise how different it is from most red ales. There's a hint of that toasty caramel aroma you'd expect, but also fruity and piney smells.
Take a gulp and you'll discover that they've packed a fair bit of flavour into this beer.
There is sweet, biscuity malt which gives way to a juicy, peachy flavour and there's a little stickiness to the mouthfeel. The big signature addition to this brew is the new Slovenian hop Syrian Dragon and it certainly delivers a nice bitter, piney finish.
For a red ale, this is beautifully balanced. For all that flavour, neither bit is overpowering the other. Most red ales are characterised by a strong malt presence and sometimes little else after that. That's no bad thing either, I’m quite partial to a malty ale with lots of caramel and toffee flavour up front. You get that in 3 Bad Bears but it's nicely offset with the hops.
Oh, and I said I’d get back to the strength. Well, I actually didn’t know the strength of this beer before I drank it and I was surprised when I scoured the empty can and discovered it came it just north of 8 per cent. This is a beer which hides it’s strength well with an avalanche of flavours.
