A Hansa Christmas

I have tried three Christmas beers from the Norwegian brewery Hansa. Hansa Julebrygg is available in two versions. The stronger one is available at Vinmonopolet, but the version with a lower alcohol content is available in supermarkets.

I started out with Hansa Julebrygg in the 4.5% version. In the glass this was a dark beer with a nearly black colour. There was some carbonation and a medium sized head. I felt malts and cold coffee in the nose. In the mouth there was caramel and watery coffee before a boring finish with a touch of sweetness. This was a rather boring beer.


The stronger Hansa Julebrygg has 6.5% alcohol. This was a dark beer with some carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose there was some caramel. The beer was somewhat sweet with plenty of cold coffee, a touch of caramel and a good body. This was absolutely the better of the two Julebrygg versions.

Hansa Juleøl is the ordinary strong Christmas beer from the Hansa brewery. The version bought at Vinmonopolet has 6.5% alcohol. In the glass this fizzy beer had a copper colour and a small head. In the nose there was caramel, while the beer tasted of more caramel, some malts and a touch of sweetness. This was an average beer, and I prefer the stronger Hansa Julebrygg to this beer.