Evan came to Wisconsin to visit me in early June this past summer. Early war Chain of Command and indulgence in some general tomfoolery were on the docket.

In town we have the local branch of a chain liquor store (maybe liquor paradise) called Total Wine and Liquor. We decided some libations were in order and promptly made a run to stock the drink refrigerator.

While we were on our way we got the bright idea to drink a beer from each of the major World War II combatant countries. As the name suggests, Total Wine and Liquor is well provisioned. They even have an aisle where you can mix and match six packs of different beers. Included in the deal was a relatively generous import area and we took full advantage. Some countries were more well represented while others weren’t offered in the “mix and match” deal.

After a 15 minutes of giddy beer shopping we walked out of the store with 12 beers and two big containers of cheese balls.

We then proceeded to enjoy the eclectic batch of beers over one and a half days of gaming. We thought an after action/ tasting review would be a fun idea for a “one off” article.

What follows is our completely subjective (low quality semi-professional) review of the beers. The scores are what we both agreed on at the time of enjoyment. I think the beers got better tasting and thus better scored as the evening wore on… My tactics in the games of Chain of Command however, got more daring and gusto filled. The keen-eyed will also notice that we attempted to drink them loosely in the order of their country of origin’s appearance into World War II.

Above is the group photo of the 11 different beers and our tasting equipment. We had 11 unique beers as we bought two Taddy Porters on Evan’s recommendation (spoiler it was a good recommendation.) Strangely enough, Italy wasn’t represented in the solo beer aisle besides a non-alcoholic beer. Our group of brews included a slew of different brewing styles and tastes. We figured we should kick off The June 2025 World War II Beer Sampler with a classic German brew, the black lager.

Germany – Köstritzer Black Lager

Smooth and nutty, but a little bitter. A good start to the evening.

4.5/5 – Would drink again

Poland – Zywiec Pale Lager

Skunkier than we liked but very drinkable. Tastes good but naselly and hoppy.

3/5 – Would drink again 

England – Taddy Porter

Slightly sweet caramel notes. A bit of smokiness. Really tasty.

4.5/5 – Would drink again 

Netherlands – La Trappe Trappist Quadruple

Sweet and strong with heavy notes of banana.

4/5 – Would drink again

Belgium – Gulden Draak Red Ale

This one was good, strong, sweet, and smooth. Unfortunately someone had washed our glasses over night and accidentally left a film of dish soap on them. We ended up dumping most of our glasses out after both noting the soapy aftertaste, having a laugh, and rinsing our mouths out.

4/5 – Would drink again (without the soap though)

France – 1664 Lager

Sweet, fruity, and skunky.

2/5 – dispite Evan’s aversion to skunky beer we would drink again.

Germany – Celebrator Doublebock

Dark complexion. Malty and smooth. A typical ‘bock.

4/5 – Would drink again 

Estonia – Välk Sour Fruited Gose

Sour beers are kind of derisive. We liked the rich, spicy, fruity profile. But they aren’t for everyone.

3.25/5 – Would drink again

Japan – Kurin Ichiban Lager

Smooth, light bodied, slight hops. The Emperor would be pleased.

3.75/5 – Would drink again

England – Taddy Porter

The second showing of the Taddy was just as good as the first.

4.5/5 – Would drink again

Japan – Asahi Super Dry Rice Lager

Light bodied, clean, and smooth.

4/5 – Would drink again

United States – Bourbon Barrel Quad Belgian Quadruple

Boozy, sweet, smooth, and dark. A great night cap drink.

4.75/5 – Would drink again

---

We had a blast gaming and enjoying the sampling of hop and malt libations. Evan and I decided we would be doing samplings at all of our quarterly (-ish) meet ups. There are few pairings as divine as wargames and beer. But don’t take our word for it, try it yourself. Prost from Iron Dice Gaming!