There are many interesting beers to be found at
Vinmonopolet these days. As of January, the state owned liquor and wine stores in Norway has had a special focus on beers. There are many new beers available, and many styles are represented.
If you are looking for beers at Vinmonopolet, they will be among the stronger ones, as only beers with less than 4.7% alcohol can be sold in ordinary shops in Norway.
Myself I am happy to find Budweiser Budvar available at Vinmonopolet. They sell this Czech golden lager in 0.33 litre bottles. This is the Budvar svetly lezak, and it has 5.0% alcohol. It is actually cheaper than it's vycepni version in ordinary shops. The 4.5% alcohol Budvar is sold at 27.90 NOK in supermarkets, while Vinmonopolet sells it at 26 NOK. This is around 3 GBP or 3 EUR.
Among the new beers at Vinmonopolet is Goose Island India Pale Ale. This is an American beer from Chicago with a very beautiful label. It is my first American IPA, and it has a alcohol content of 5.9 %.
In the glass Goose Island IPA has a Pale and cloudy colour. It has a small, white head and there is very little carbonation. There is nearly no aroma, but some hints of apples can be found. In the mouth there is apples and hops. I feel it is nice balanced with nearly no bitterness. This is a very good and enjoyable beer and one of the best IPAs I have tried so far.
There are many interesting beers to be found at Vinmonopolet these days. As of January, the state owned liquor and wine stores in Norway has had a special focus on beers. There are many new beers available, and many styles are represented.
If you are looking for beers at Vinmonopolet, they will be among the stronger ones, as only beers with less than 4.7% alcohol can be sold in ordinary shops in Norway.
Myself I am happy to find Budweiser Budvar available at Vinmonopolet. They sell this Czech golden lager in 0.33 litre bottles. This is the Budvar svetly lezak, and it has 5.0% alcohol. It is actually cheaper than it's vycepni version in ordinary shops. The 4.5% alcohol Budvar is sold at 27.90 NOK in supermarkets, while Vinmonopolet sells it at 26 NOK. This is around 3 GBP or 3 EUR.
Among the new beers at Vinmonopolet is Goose Island India Pale Ale. This is an American beer from Chicago with a very beautiful label. It is my first American IPA, and it has a alcohol content of 5.9 %.
In the glass Goose Island IPA has a Pale and cloudy colour. It has a small, white head and there is very little carbonation. There is nearly no aroma, but some hints of apples can be found. In the mouth there is apples and hops. I feel it is nice balanced with nearly no bitterness. This is a very good and enjoyable beer and one of the best IPAs I have tried so far.
Goose Island IPA is a great beer, in my humble opinion. I think it was the first American IPA that I'd tried, too, and boy did it set a benchmark. Of course there's load out there that are more hoppy, but it's just got such a nice balance.
ReplyDeleteSurprised you got no aroma or bitterness though. I think it shoves out masses of citrus-like aroma and has a hugely solid grapefruit-like bitterness. Mmmmm, American C hops :D
I guess I need to try out Goose Island IPA once again this weekend. I really enjoyed the beer, but I did not feel the citrus notes and aromas.
ReplyDeleteThere were also other American IPAs at Vinmonopolet, and I will try others in the nearest future.
I had another bottle of Goose Island IPA yesterday. After a large disappointment with a bottle of Svyturys Ekstra, I needed some bitterness to counter the sweetness from the Lithuanian lager.
ReplyDeleteGoose Island IPA was a great choice, and its bitterness cleared my palate. I did feel some hints of citrus aromas this time around, but the big difference was the taste. There was a lot of grapefruit, and I enjoyed it very much.