Beers and cacti

Not far from the harbour in Bergen you can find Cacti Art Cafe. It is located in Øvregaten street, and it is a great place for tea connoiseurs. The cafe brags about having the biggest selection of tea in Bergen.

I visited Cacti Art Cafe earlier this week, and I was not there to drink tea. Instead I wanted to check out the beers sold at the cafe. On a street sign Cacti Art Cafe advertises that more than 80 different beers are available. That was a reason to visit the cafe.

Any bar or restaurant can build a good selection in bottled beers. That can also be said of Cacti Art Cafe. In addition to beer in bottles, Cacti Art Cafe had three kinds of draught beer: Mack Arctic pale lager, Bitburger pale lager and Erdinger weissbier.

The Arctic beer is the cheapest one, and a half litre of the North-Norwegian beer costs 50 NOK. For a half litre of Bitburger you must pay 65 NOK, while a half litre of Erdinger costs 75 NOK.

I chose Bitburger, as it is the first time I have seen it available as a draught beer in Bergen. It had a lot of carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose there was little aroma, but some malt and grains could be found. In the nose the grains were more present and it was blended with sweetness and a nice, bitter finish.

Bitburger is supposed to be the best selling beer in Germany, according to the friendly and service minded bartender. That does not mean that it is the best beer in Germany. In my opinion Bitburger is an average pale lager, but it is a better alternative than many Norwegian lagers.

Cacti Art Cafe looks like a place for local students. The atmosphere is nice, and the cafe also hosts a small exhibition of pictures. For beer tourists it is not a must in Bergen, but a place to find something else than Hansa or Ringnes on tap. But perhaps the three available draught beers can become five or six on my next visit?