Beer Sagas

Schultheiss time

2012-02-01T00:10:00.006+01:00

I like trying new beers when I travel, and for me it is also interesting tasting beers from macro breweries. After walking in the area near Stadtmitte U-Bahn station, I passed Hotel M68 by chance. The hotel had a cafe on the ground floor, and I thought that I would find wifi possibilities on the premises. I was right, and after ordering a local beer from Berlin I was given the wifi password by the friendly waitress/receptionist.

Schultheiss Pilsener was a typical pale lager with some carbonation and a medium sized head. For some reason, I was given a San Miguel glass to drink the Schultheiss beer from. Strange. I would have believed that a hotel at least had branded glasses from a local brewery. The beer's aromas were malty with some sweetness and grass. The sweetness led on in the mouth with some grass and flowers. The beer was nice, but average. Still, it was sweeter than I would prefer. Perhaps an extra touch of hops would have been a good way of enhancing the taste experience?

One half litre of Schultheiss Pilsener was enough at M68 this time around. I was ready for the tourist part of the day. Checkpoint Charlie, Unter den Linden and Brandenburger Tor were my next stops.

My first Berliner brewpub

2012-01-30T20:01:00.008+01:00

There is no doubt that Georg Bräu has a wonderful location. Next to the river Spree in the famous Nikolaiviertel quarter in Berlin, I can imagine that this is a great place to sit outside in Summer enjoying the sun and some beers.

As it was Winter, there were no tables outside. Therefore I went inside to order one of the beers brewed on the premises. The choices were few and simple. At Georg Bräu there was a helles and a dunkles. I went for the pale beer.

A large glass of Georg Bräu helles was brought to my table by the cute, but very formal waitress. The cloudy and nearly orange coloured beer had no carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose I felt grass and mints. In the mouth a combination of mints, yeast and caramel danced along with a strange taste I could not pinpoint. The finish had some caramel and a little touch of bitterness. I liked the beer, but it was not that interesting that I ordered another glass.

There were few people at Georg Bräu the day I visited. Most of them had food with their beer. On the table next to me some Russians had a duck dish that looked very tempting. I was not hungry. Otherwise I would have tried it out.

I left Georg Bräu in a good mood, but a few hours later I remembered that the brewpub had two beers. I forgot to taste the dunkles. Well, I guess I have more than the duck to try out if I ever revisit Georg Bräu.

A taste of Berlin

2012-01-28T17:50:00.009+01:00

After a pleasant flight I was finally in Berlin. I had landed on the Schönefeld airport, and I felt a bit hungry as I left the main entrance. Next to the terminal I found a special building: An old train car had been redecorated into a hot dog stand. The place was called Die Ess-Bahn. This was a clever word play on the German verb for eating and the S-Bahn trains. I went inside and ordered a Currywurst and a lager beer to drink. Unfortunately there were no draught beers available, but a half litre of Berliner Kindl Jubiläums Pilsener felt appropriate.

The Currywurst is a standard dish in Germany. Everywhere in Germany you will find it on fast food menus. It is a take on sausage drowned in ketchup and a liberal dose of curry. I like to have a Currywurst now and then while in Germany, but the fatty sausage may not be to everybody's liking.

I had to drink the Berliner Kindl beer from a plastic cup. Unfortunately, no ordinary glass was available at Die Ess-Bahn. The Jubiläums Pilsener was a pale lager beer with a small head and barely any carbonation. I felt malts and sweetness in the nose. The beer felt balanced with some sweetness and a touch of hops before a finish with grains. I liked it. This was a nice pale lager.

I finished my beer and Currywurst and spent some time reading the complimentary Berliner Morgenpost on my table. Then it was time to find the Berlin-Schönefeld railway station just a short walk away. More than one bierstube in the city centre was waiting for me.

Swiss intermezzo

2012-01-28T00:21:00.011+01:00

I can only blame myself. As a result of my hunt for cheap plane tickets, I suddenly had to have a quick stopover at Zurich airport. If my flight to Switzerland was on time, I only had 45 minutes to catch my next flight. Of course, my flight to Zurich was late, so with less than half an hour on Swiss soil, I more or less ran through the airport.

I had a plan. I wanted to grab a beer on my way to the gate. But which beer was of interest? (In the meantime I ask you readers, of course in a rhetorically way: Which is your favourite Swiss beer?) As I approached my gate, there was a little kiosk offering snacks and beverages. Among the drinks I found several Ittinger beer bottles. Sure, Ittinger Klosterbräu was to be my favourite (and only) Swiss beer experience this time around.

I drank it straight from the bottle as I waited to enter the airplane. According to the label, Ittinger is a monastery brewery. The beer had a malty nose. I felt sweetness and malts in the mouth before a partly bitter finish. This was an average pale lager that would be quite inoffensive in warm weather. I would not turn down a cold Ittinger in Summer!

I entered my flight and was offered a bottle of the German Warsteiner beer. Actually, I would have preferred a bottle of Ittinger instead!

My visit to Zurich airport was unfortunately a stressful one. Perhaps I will be back one day?

A round of IPAs

2012-01-27T21:16:00.005+01:00

Suddenly Vinmonopolet had several new India Pale Ales available, so I bought some of them and had an IPA session.

From Denmark, Herslev Bryghus IPA is probably the palest IPA I have tasted. It looked like a pale lager in the glass, and there was some carbonation and a medium sized head. I felt some grapefruit and apples in the nose, while the beer tasted of apples, citrus and some pine before a partly bitter finish. This was a nice beer, but I was a bit disappointed that I did not feel the grapefruit promised from the aromas when I tasted it.

Skands Elvegade IPA is also from Denmark. This is a cloudy beer with some carbonation and a small head. In the nose I felt apples and some sour citrus. In the mouth there was lemon and some bitter hops. The beer was quite alright, but it was not what I expected from an IPA.

Southern Tier IPA is an American beer. This cloudy beer had a small head and nearly no carbonation. In the nose there was some assertive grapefruit, and the grapefruit also dominated in the mouth. The finish was bitter with a touch of grass. This was a great India Pale Ale and my favourite of these three.

To finish the session I went for a wheat beer with a hoppy twist. Schneider Weisse TAP 5 was a cloudy beer with a nice, white and large head. There was some carbonation, and the aromas were very hoppy. I felt grapefruit and some banana. In the mouth this was a beer with an assertive fruit cocktail in the lead. Some bubble gum and sweetness danced along before a finish with a touch of sweet pear and a touch of hoppy bitterness. This was a very good beer, but I felt that a half litre bottle was too much. As a Weizendoppelbock with an alcohol content of 8.2%, this is a strong beer.

A taste of IPA or three

2012-01-26T23:36:00.005+01:00

India Pale Ale is one of my favourite beer styles. I was therefore happy to find a new IPA acquaintance at a Vinmonopolet outlet. Scottish Joker IPA is brewed by the British Williams Brothers brewery, and of course it was given a test run.

In the glass Scottish Joker IPA is a cloudy beer. There is barely any carbonation, and it has a very small head. In the nose I feel grapefruit and some pines. In the mouth grapefruit takes the lead before a watery finish with some orange. I felt this was a boring IPA that left a lot to be desired.

Ægir Ratatosk Double IPA is named after the squirrel in the Norse god sagas. In the glass this is another cloudy beer with a coppery colour. It has some carbonation and a small head. I feel toffee, flowers, apricot and some grapefruit in the nose. The beer has a fine, full body. There are tastes of citrus, pineapple, caramel, tutti frutti bubble gium and some sugar. I also feel some alcohol touches before a partly bitter finish with some lovely hops. This is a fine beer, but I prefer Ægir's normal IPA. And after a few sips, Ratatosk also gets too sweet. Unfortunately.

Mikkeller Green Gold is a beer I have tasted as a draught beer earlier. From bottle this IPA is a cloudy beer with a medium sized head and barely any carbonation. I feel grapefruit in the nose, while the beer tastes of more grapefruit combined with some blood orange. The finish is bitter with a lot of hops. This is the best beer of these three, but it is somewhat more bitter than what I would prefer.

Primátor in Norway

2012-01-12T17:18:00.003+01:00

I was really satisfied to find a bottle of Primátor's dark lager at a Vinmonopolet outlet in Norway. It was the first time I have ever seen a beer from the Czech brewery in a Norwegian beer shelf, and of course I had to buy it. I am very fond of the Primátor beers I have tasted earlier. The stout is my personal favourite, but the Pale Ale and the pale lager are also excellent beers.

Primátor Premium Dark was a black beer with nearly no carbonation and a small head. In the nose I felt sweetness and some dark chocolate. The beer had a sweet taste with some cold coffee and toffee before a partly watery finish with more coffee. I liked this dark lager a lot, and I hope that I will find other beers from Primátor in Norway. I know that some supermarkets in the Oslo area sells Primátor Stout, and that is a beer I would like to drink frequently.

Two more Christmas beers

2012-01-11T19:52:00.005+01:00

2012 is here, but there are more Christmas beers from 2011 to write about. Ægir Julebrygg is one of them.

It is available in several versions. Ægir Julebrygg 4,7% is a copper coloured beer with nearly no carbonation and a medium sized head. There are aromas of some toffee and cinnamon. In the mouth I feel toffee, honey and some grass. I get no Christmas feeling from this beer. It is unfortunately a boring, average beer.

Nøgne Ø Underlig Jul is much more interesting. It is nearly black in colour and has barely any carbonation. It has a medium sized head with lots of aromas. I feel cinnamon and various other spices. In the mouth a combination of sweetness, ginger bread, dates and a lot of sweet spices meet. The beer is full of flavours, and many tastes are difficult to pinpoint. The finish is partly bitter with more dates. This is lovely!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-04T19:15:00.003+01:00

I would like to wish all of you a Happy New Year!

Just like last year, I will have a different kind of post as the first one in 2012. I will go into the archives and present some posts I think are of extra interest. Some are really good reads, while others present beers or pubs really worth trying out. I hope you will find something worthwhile here!

Schouskjelleren Mikrobryggeri
This is the first post I wrote about my favourite Norwegian pub in 2011. This text is from February 2011.

Beer Street, Prague
Some of the most interesting pubs in Prague can be found in a distance of 200 metres. Read about them in this post from April 2011.

Beating Ratebeer
This beer was not rated on Ratebeer when I came across it in Vienna in April 2011. Has it been rated by now?

Drinking lager beer in Vienna
A warm Spring day and pale lagers. This post from May 2011 shows that it is a good combination!

1516 Brewing Company
This Vienna based brewpub is one of the best brewpubs I have ever visited!

Gardermoen - a beer desert
Oslo's airport is not a great place for draught beers. Unfortunately!

Good beer in Copenhagen
Brewpub in Copenhagen is worth a visit!

Disappointment in Southern Norway
Patrick's in Kristiansand is supposed to be one of the better beer bars in Norway. I did not enjoy my visit there in August 2011.

The world's best beer?
I really like the unfiltered version of Pilsner Urquell!

An excellent stout
Primátor Stout is perhaps the best stout I have ever tasted. I finally tasted it once again as a draught beer in December 2011.

Stopover in Frankfurt

2011-12-30T15:48:00.010+01:00

Two hours at Frankfurt airport should be more than enough for buying a book and some newspapers in German, having a meal and checking out some local draught beers. That was what I thought in advance, but as my flight to Frankfurt was late, I suddenly had barely an hour in Germany.

After getting hold of the reading material, I sat down on a stool at Beyond in Terminal 1. There were several draught beers on offer, but I wanted to try a local one.

Instead of a pale lager and the excellent Paulaner Hefeweizen, I chose Licher's take on a wheat beer. Licher is a brewery based in the Hesse region near Frankfurt.

Licher Hefeweizen was served in a Paulaner wheatbeer glass. It was a cloudy beer with nearly no carbonation and a thick, medium sized head. I felt banana and yeast in the nose. The beer had a very fruity taste with some sweetness and tutti frutti bubble gum in the lead. I also felt some banana and bread before a yeasty finish. This was a delicious wheat beer.

I was ready to order my first glass ever of the Paulaner Kristallweizen, when I noticed that my next flight had a gate change. Unfortunately that gate was on the other side of the terminal. I therefore chose to leave Beyond and walk to my airplane thinking that Frankfurt airport is not the worst place to have a stopover. Next time around I hope it will be a longer one.

Best of 2011

2011-12-29T22:13:00.004+01:00

Just like earlier years I will present my favourites from 2011. This year I will do the same as in 2010 and present all my winners in one post.

This year has also been very nice beerwise, and I have tasted many interesting beers. On my travels I have been drinking beer in Norway, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Austria. As always my best of 2011 list is highly subjective, and I have only included beers I have been drinking this year.

Best pale lager
Pilsner Urquell (unfiltered version)

The last two years Kout na Šumave 12° golden lager has been my favourite beer in this category. It is still among the best lager beers, but I feel the unfiltered version of Pilsner Urquell was an even better beer. I have not been tasting the two beers head to head, and I hope that is something I will do some time in 2012. Kudos also to Brooklyn Lager, Kout na Šumave 10° golden lager and the 11° Zlatý Kun svetlý ležák from the Berounský Medved brewery.

Best dark lager
Budvar Černý

This dark lager from Budvar in the Czech Republic is a fantastic beer, and it is my winner also this year. Runners up in 2011 are Kout na Šumave's dark lager and Krušovice Cerný.

Best wheat beer
Primátor Weizen

Primátor Weizen is back in the lead this year. Runners up are Paulaner Hefeweizen, Weihenstephaner Hefeweizen and Velen from the Czech Cerná Hora brewery.

Best ale
Kinn Vestkyst IPA

The Norwegian craft brewery Kinn produces the Vestkyst IPA. It has overtaken Ægir IPA as my favourite ale. Among my other favourites from 2011 are Primátor Stout, Nøgne Ø's 100 and Haandbryggeriet's Pale Ale.

Best Norwegian bar
Schouskjelleren Mikrobryggeri (Oslo)

This was a no-brainer. Schouskjelleren Mikrobryggeri brewpub combines a great location with a fine beer hall environment and an excellent atmosphere. The draught beer selection is very good, and among the beers are several brewed on location. Worth mentioning this year are also Grünerløkka Brygghus in Oslo, Henrik and Naboen in Bergen as well as Den gode nabo in Trondheim.

Best beer blog
Shut Up About Barclay Perkins

For the third year in a row Ronald Pattinson's blog is my favorite. I can also recommend these blogs: Pivní Filosof, Fuggled, The Beer Nut and Boak & Bailey. One of my favourite bloggers, Cooking Lager, unfortunately stopped blogging in 2011.

Best Norwegian beer blog
Det står en-og-førti øl

Anders Christensen knows a lot about beers and his blog is a good read - especially when it comes to beer philosophy and Norwegian alcohol politics. Try reading it with Google Translate! Runners up are Kjempetorskens ølblogg and Det gyldne øls kommandørskap.

Best beer experience in 2010
Visiting Austria and drinking craft beers from Salm Bräu outdoors on a very warm Spring day. A few days earlier I had experienced snow in Norway.

Worth mentioning are also my visit to Pegas in Brno and a day in Prague where I drank Ježek svetlý ležák with Czech friends the whole evening. Just a lovely night!

A taste of Kout na Šumavě

2011-12-28T13:21:00.013+01:00

Wenceslas Square in Prague.

I am not the only one who has commented that Kout na Šumavě's lagers are among the top of the crop. The American beer writer Evan Rail has even said that the brewery's 12° golden lager might be one of the best lager beers in the world. I like that beer quite a lot and have spent several evenings in Prague drinking it both in filtered and unfiltered versions at U Slovanské Lípy in Žižkov.

But it is possible to drink the Kout na Šumavě 12° golden lager also in the city centre of Prague. The café Kávovarna at Pasáž Lucerna just off Wenceslas Square has the filtered beer on tap. I wandered into Kávovarna to have a half litre of the wonderful beer. On my way I enjoyed David Černý's statue inside the little mall. It shows St. Wenceslas riding an upside-down horse.

Inside the café I sat down at a table overlooking the bar and ordered a Kout na Šumavě lager. While waiting for the cute waitress to tap my beer, I enjoyed listening to the classical music from the loudspeakers. Kávovarna was a great place to just enjoy life. I found my book and had a wonderful time.

The beer arrived, and I felt the joyous aromas of flowers and grass from the golden lager. There was nearly no carbonation and the beer had a large head. The delicious beer was full bodied and a fabulous combination of grass, flowers and yeast before a fine, hoppy bite in the finish was a treat. I really like this beer!

Kávovarna in Pasáž Lucerna is a more expensive place to drink Kout na Šumavě beers than U Slovanské Lípy. I paid 50 CZK for my half litre of beer. In Žižkov you pay 35 CZK. Still, I enjoyed the atmosphere of Kávovarna, and compared to the local beer prices in Norway 50 CZK is quite a bargain.

Finally Primátor Stout

2011-12-27T15:51:00.013+01:00

U Prince Miroslava is a pub I try to visit while in Prague. It offers 19 different draught beers, and usually some of the available beers are from lesser known Czech breweries.

When visiting U Prince Miroslava, do not order beer after taking a look at the tap towers. Although there is a plate indicating that for instance Svijanská Kněžna is on a special tap, it might not be the case. Instead there is a special beer menu showing what is on the taps at the moment. U Prince Miroslava's website also has an updated beer menu.

Earlier this year I was disappointed when I found no Primátor Stout at U Prince Miroslava. Now in December the excellent Czech stout was back on the menu. It has been a while since I have been drinking it as a draught beer, and I was not disappointed this time either.

Primátor Stout is a black beer with nearly no carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose there is cold coffee and a touch of malts. The beer tastes of coffee with some caramel before an excellent finish with some more coffee. This is a delicious beer that I really enjoy.

After the stout, it was time for another Primátor beer. This time I went for the pale ale. Primátor Pale Ale was a copper coloured beer more or less without carbonation and a medium sized head. I felt toffee in the nose, while the toffee had a dance with yeast in the mouth before a watery finish. Another lovely beer from Primátor that would have been better with a less watery touch.

I had a look at the beer menu, and I was disappointed that there were no beers from Únětický Pivovar there. These are beers that are recommended by Czech beer enthusiasts. Instead I ordered Telčský Zachariáš from the Ježek brewery in Jihlava. Telčský Zachariáš is a 14° pale lager. In the glass it had some carbonation and a medium sized head. There was nearly no aromas from the beer, but I felt some caramel. In the mouth there was sweetness and caramel before a boring finish with some toffee. This was not a good way to end my visit to U Prince Miroslava, so I ordered another pint of Primátor Stout.

I left U Prince Miroslava in a very good mood, and while walking the few meters to the nearby Laurova tram stop I knew I would be back the next time I am in Prague.

A sorcerer and a hedgehog

2011-12-26T10:33:00.007+01:00

The restaurant Poja is based in Seifertova street in Prague. Not far from the soccer team Viktoria Žižkov's homeground, Poja is a fine place to sit down for a meal or a few beers. Some years ago Poja was a pizza restaurant selling beers from Budweiser Bürgerbräu, but now there is a varied Czech and international menu with Merlin and Ježek draught beers on tap.

I started with a half litre of Merlin. The black beer was nearly without carbonation and had a large head. In the nose there was cold coffee and some sweetness. I felt coffee, malts and a touch of sweetness in the mouth. The finish was very good with an assertive taste of worts. This was a nice black lager that I really liked.

The 11° Ježek golden lager from the Jihlava brewery is always a treat, and the hedgehog makes a simple and beautiful logo. At Poja it was served with nearly no carbonation and a medium sized head. There were nearly no aromas from the beer, but I felt some grass. In the mouth there was more grass and a touch of hops before a fine, partly bitter finish. This is a lovely lager that is very suitable as a session beer.

I left Poja very content thinking that Merlin and Ježek on tap is better than the Budweiser Bürgerbräu they used to sell. But I can not say if Poja is a better restaurant now than earlier. I never tasted the pizzas sold there before.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T11:00:00.002+01:00

I want to wish all you readers of the Beer Sagas blog a very Merry Christmas. The travelogues from Prague continue tomorrow, but here on Christmas Day I will publish a review of a Norwegian seasonal beer.

Lervigs Jul is a Christmas beer with 6.8% alcohol. In the glass, this is a cloudy coppercoloured beer. There is a medium sized head, but nearly no carbonation. In the nose I feel toffee and grapes. The beer has as sweet taste with some toffee and a touch of tutti frutti bubble gum. The finish is boring, as the tastes more or less disappear. Lervigs Jul is a fine Christmas beer, but it is not among this season's best.

Time for Březňák and Zlatopramen

2011-12-24T09:17:00.007+01:00

When I am in Prague, I usually stay at a hotel in the Žižkov neighbourhood. The rates are usually very good, and there are several nice hotels in the area. It is also easy to get into the city centre by tram or bus. In addition to this, there are several great pubs and taprooms nearby. It is great staying in walking distance from beer temples like U Slovanské Lípy, U Sadu or Království.

In Štítného street there is a fine little pub specializing in beers from the Zlatopramen brewery. Unfortunately, U Tomáše Štítného was out of Zlatopramen the December day I was there, but that was no problem. The pub also had draught beers from the Březňák and Krušovice breweries.

Březňák pale lager is a fine beer, and I have been drinking it now and then from 2 litre PET bottles that are great to take home from the Czech Republic. As a draught beer, Březňák was a new experience. The golden beer had some carbonation and a medium sized head. I felt grass and malts in the nose, while the grass was assertive in the mouth. The finish was a little bit watery with some caramel. I liked this beer, and I feel that it would be a wonderful session beer.

My short visit to the U Tomáše Štítného pub was over, but back at the hotel I treated myself to a bottle of 11° Zlatopramen. The golden lager had some carbonation and a large head in the glass. In the nose I felt flowers and grass, and the taste was very alike to the aroma. The finish had a hoppy touch, but there was also a hint of cardboard. Zlatopramen is another great Czech lager, and on my next visit to Prague I will be back at U Tomáše Štítného to try it as a draught beer.

Prague's oldest new brewpub

2011-12-23T18:35:00.010+01:00

December brought me back to Prague for the third time this year. Strolling around the Czech capital was strange, as the calender said it was Winter and there was no snow to be seen. The Christmas markets can be found all over the city, and the Old Town Square is very beautiful this time of year with the Christmas tree and various decoration.

As I was walking through Vodičkova street, I suddenly found myself in front of a brewpub. Novoměstský pivovar was the first brewpub to be opened in Prague after the Velvet Revolution, and it is supposed to be very popular among tourists. I had never been to this pub, so I felt I needed to visit it.

It was lunch time, and all tables in the cavernous restaurant were occupied. I asked to sit down with a group of Czechs who probably were work colleagues. I ordered a klobasa and a Novoměstský kvasnicový světlý ležák to go with the sausage. It was also possible to order a dark beer brewed on the premises, but that will have to wait for a later visit. Beers can also be bought to be taken away in bottles or growlers.

The světlý ležák was a pale, cloudy beer with some carbonation and a medium sized head. It had a grassy aroma with a touch of sweetness. In the mouth I felt yeast, grass and some citrus. The finish was boring and nearly tasteless, but with a feeling of cardboard. Novoměstský kvasnicový světlý ležák is a fine lager beer, but in the Czech Republic this is an average pale lager. I only need to mention Pilsner Urquell, Kout na Šumavě, Budvar and Černá Hora. These four Czech breweries make pale lagers with very distinct and different taste profiles that are much better than the beer from Novoměstský pivovar.

Best beer in Norway?

2011-12-22T00:25:00.004+01:00

Norway's best beer has been announced. After qualifying rounds and blind tastings by a jury during the finals, Borg Bokkøl has been awarded the prize. You can read more about the announcement in this Norwegian newspaper article, but my piece of advice is that you read it using Google Translate.

Borg Bokkøl is a Norwegian Bockbier, and it beat for instance Nøgne Ø IPA, Frydenlund Bayer, Ægir IPA, Nøgne Ø Imperial Stout and Haandbryggeriet Dark Force to be awarded the title. Myself, I was quite surprised of the award winner, as I had never tasted that beer.

But that has changed. Borg Bokkøl has been evaluated and tasted by me, and here are my thoughts: This is a black beer with nearly no carbonation nor head. In the nose there is some sweetness, black coffee and a touch of prunes. I feel raisins and coffee with a pinch of chocolate in the mouth. The finish is partly bitter with some dark chocolate. I really enjoyed this beer, but it is hardly the best in Norway. Without a doubt both Ægir and Kinn have better beers in their line-up, and the same goes for Haandbryggeriet and Nøgne Ø. I would even prefer Frydenlund Bayer to Borg Bokkøl. Still, it is a fine beer, and visitors to Norway could do worse than trying out this year's award winner.

Start of a tap race?

2011-12-21T18:04:00.010+01:00

Henrik in Bergen has for years been one of the better places to enjoy beers in that city. The bottle selection is very good, and there have been nine taps with draught beers for a very long time. Three of these taps have been exclusive for Nøgne Ø or beers imported by the Norwegian cult brewery.

A few weeks ago I posted on the Beer Sagas Facebook page that 15 new taps had been installed at Henrik. At that time the new taps were not in use, but that had changed at my visit last week. Nearly all of the 15 taps were now in use, and my first beer from one of them was a Danish red ale from Beer Here brewery.

Beer Here Fat Cat was a cloudy beer with nearly no carbonation and a small head. In the nose I felt grapefruit and grass, while the beer tasted some citrus I could not pinpoint with a touch of sweetness and wood. The finish was lovely with a nice taste of grapefruit that never became bitter. A delicious beer!

According to the beer menu, there might be 40 draught beers to choose from in the near future. I guess this from the special numbering on the menu. In that case Henrik will be the bar in Norway with the most beer taps. Cudos to Henrik, but will other bars follow up?

Report from a near beer desert

2011-12-20T19:06:00.005+01:00

I have visited some Norwegian airports during the last few weeks. I am not satisfied of the draught beer selection I have seen. The restaurants and bars are tied to the Ringnes brewery group in beverages. This means that Ringnes pale lager is found on tap more or less everywhere. In addition to Ringnes, you will often find Carlsberg pale lager, Kilkenny and Guinness and here and there a local pale lager from the Ringnes sortiment or a seasonal special.

There are also bottles available. Ringnes distributes Brooklyn brewery in Norway, and where available these are usually the most interesting offers. Otherwise there are bottled pale lagers like Ringnes, Carlsberg and Stella Artois on offer together with even more Guinness. Unfortunately no Norwegian craft beers are to be found on any of the airports I have been to, and that is really a shame. A tourist ought to find a Norwegian speciality also in an airport bar.

I recently had a 0.6 litre of Ringnes Pilsner at Bergen's airport Flesland. The pale lager had nearly no head and a lot of carbonation. In the nose there was sweetness and malts. I felt sweet malts and a touch of yeast in the mouth before a bitter finish with some wort and a touch of grains. This is a boring, average pale lager. The price was 94 NOK, which is nearly 11 GBP.

At Oslo's airport Gardermoen I tried Ringnes' Christmas beer. Ringnes Juleøl was a coppery beer with nearly no carbonation nor head. In the nose there was some caramel and cold coffee, and the beer tasted the same. I have tasted several better Christmas beers from Norway this year, and Ringnes Juleøl must be considered another boring beer.

I want to appeal to the bar and restaurant owners at Norwegian airports: If you have to sell beers from the Ringnes group, use your imagination and find some more interesting beers. A selection from Brooklyn brewery on tap would be a great beginning.

Rakfisk and Christmas

2011-12-09T22:36:00.004+01:00

Berentsens and Atna are two of the smaller Norwegian breweries. I have not been very fond of the Atna beers I have tasted so far, and beers from Berentsens are new acquaintances for me.

I started out with a Christmas special from Berentsens. Berentsens Jule Avec is a black beer with 9% alcohol. In the glass it has some carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose I feel coffee and roasted nuts. The beer tastes of coffee, dark chocolate and some tobacco. This was a really good beer, and it is one of the best Christmas beer I have tasted this season.

In a Norwegian newspaper Atna's Øl til rakfisk was reviewed together with the ordinary Christmas beers. This is a beer brewed to be eaten with rakfisk, which is a Norwegian fish speciality. This is a cloudy beer with loads of carbonation. In the nose I felt yeast and pine. The beer had a watery taste with some yeast. The finish had a pinch of caramel and cold coffee. Unfortunately this was another boring beer from Atna.

Three tastes of Christmas

2011-12-05T19:33:00.005+01:00

There are many Christmas beers on the Norwegian market. One of them, Tuborg Juleøl, is brewed on licence by Ringnes. In Denmark the original Tuborg Juleøl is a traditional beer, and the release day every year is marked with big festivities.

The Norwegian version of Tuborg Juleøl looks nice in the glass with a coppery colour, some carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose I feel caramel and figs. The taste is malty with some sweetness, caramel and a touch of dates before a watery finish. This was a nice Christmas beer for its alcohol strength. It has 4.6% alcohol and is available in supermarkets.

Also available in supermarkets is Ringnes Juleøl. This is a beer with 4.6% alcohol with a coppery colour as well. There is not much carbonation, but the beer builds a medium sized head. I feel caramel and malts in the nose. In the mouth I feel toffee, sweetness and some coffee. The finish is watery. This is an average beer, and I would prefer the Tuborg Juleøl.

From Vinmonopolet you can get Kinn Julefred. This is a Christmas beer with a darker colour than the other two. In the glass this is a beer with some carbonation and a medium sized head. I feel caramel and cold coffee in the nose. The beer is full of tastes. I feel both toffee, various spices like cloves and cinnamon and a touch of gingerbread. The finish is sweet with some dates. This is a very good Christmas beer, and it is among the better ones I have tried this season.

Christmas in Trondheim

2011-12-01T00:37:00.007+01:00

There are several fine places to drink beer in Trondheim. For a beer ticker, the city's only brewpub is a must. Trondhjem Mikrobryggeri can be found at Prinsens gate street in the city centre.

Trondhjem Mikrobryggeri brews various beer styles. I have visited the pub several times, and I must confess that most beers are average. This time I was eager to try out the seasonal Christmas beer, Juleøl.

At 8% alcohol Trondhjem Mikrobryggeri's Juleøl is a strong beer. It was a cloudy copper coloured beer with nearly no carbonation nor head. In the nose I felt toffee, while the Juleøl tasted of caramel and licorace before a finish with some cold coffee. This was an enjoyable beer, and it is one of the best I have tasted at this brewpub. It is also one of the better Norwegian Christmas beers I have had so far this season.

At my other visits I have liked the brewpub's IPA the most. This time I was a little bit disappointed. The cloudy beer had a small head and as good as no carbonation. I felt some grapefruit and toffee in the nose. In the mouth I felt some grapefruit and caramel before a watery finish with a touch of hoppy bitterness. It is a fine IPA, but I expected a beer with more taste and a less watery feeling.

I know I will be back at Trondhjem Mikrobryggeri. I like the relaxed atmosphere in the afternoon, and there are several fine snacks on the menu. The brewpub has a good concept, and it would be interesting to see more places like this in other Norwegian towns.

Bryggerikaia Blues

2011-11-30T19:04:00.010+01:00

My favourite place in Bodø is Bryggerikaia. Bryggerikaia used to be a brewpub, but that has changed. Nowadays beers from Mack in Tromsø are sold at the restaurant together with some bottled beers.

At my latest visit to Bryggerikaia, I was happy to find two new taps. As usual Bryggerikaia offers Mack's Pilsner, Arctic Beer, Bayer and Haakon, but now there is also a choice of Bryggerimesterens Spesial (the brewmaster's special). This is a series of draught beers brewed by Mack's own microbrewery. The beers in the Bryggerimesterens Spesial series are supposed to change now and then, and there will be both experimental beers and Mack's various takes on different beer styles.

There was no doubt which taps I was going to have my beer from. I asked the friendly and cute waitress what was on the Bryggerimesterens Spesial taps. She did not know, but she offered me to sample one of the beers. Great, I thought, and listened to the sound of the last drops of liquid coming out of the tap. There is always the other one, I thought just before she told me that both kegs were empty.

I decided to go for Haakon instead. This is one of Mack's many lager beers, and I liked it when I have tried it earlier. This brownish, but still somewhat golden beer had a lot of carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose I felt malts and caramel. The malts were assertive in the mouth with some toffee. The finish was typical Mack with a lot of grains. I was disappointed, as I remembered Haakon with a fuller and more advanced taste pattern than this.

After a meal and another glass of Haakon I left Bryggerikaia to find a taxi to the airport. Bryggerikaia is a fine place to enjoy a meal, but I hope to find beers from Bryggerimesterens Spesial when I return. The other Mack draught beers available at Bryggerikaia are nice, but they are not that impressive. And what about brewing your own beers again? The equipment is still there in the building.

Piccadilly revisited

2011-11-29T22:02:00.006+01:00

In the windy town of Bodø, I ended up spending an entire Autumn evening at Piccadilly. Piccadilly is one of those English pubs you find outside Britain with the distinct English touch, but unfortunately lacking British draught beers. Sure, it is nice with a Guinness or another Irish stout or ale now and then, but I feel that a British bitter or pale ale from tap should be a must for an English pub.

At Piccadilly there are several draught beers, and Nordlandspils pale lager is the one preferred by the locals. I was not in the mood for a pale lager, so I chose Frydenlund Bayer. This is a very fine beer in the Bavarian style, and in my opinion it is the best of its style from Norwegian macro breweries.

I was given a beer with a small head and some carbonation. This copper coloured beer had aromas of cold coffee and toffee. In the mouth there was burnt malts, toffee and cold coffee. The finish was with a bitter touch. I really like Frydenlund Bayer, and in these Christmas beer times it is worth mentioning that it is much better than most Norwegian Juleøl beers sold in supermarkets.

Piccadilly is a nice pub. I would like a bigger beer offer, and it would be nice if the pub also could offer Norwegian craft beers from tap. But I must confess that Frydenlund Bayer did its trick as a a session beer this evening.

A surprise from Waldemars

2011-11-28T18:40:00.003+01:00

After trying some of this season's Norwegian Christmas beers, I wanted to find out if there were more seasonal beers from Bergen. Hansa's various Christmas beers were not among my favourites this year, but perhaps Hansa's microbrewery Waldemars had something interesting on offer?

I went to Jacobs to see if a Christmas beer from Waldemars was available. I was happy to see it was, so I ordered a glass of this seasonal special. The price was 92 NOK for 0.4 litres of beer. In the glass Waldemars Juleøl had a nearly black colour, a medium sized head and nearly no carbonation. I felt malts and cherries in the nose. The beer tasted of cherries and some yeast before a delicious finish with a touch of cold coffee. I would not call this a typical Norwegian Christmas beer, but it was an very good beer. I do not know the alcohol strength of Waldemars Juleøl, but I believe it to be stronger than 5% due to the price.

Waldemars Juleøl was a really good experience, and it is one of the better Norwegian Christmas beers I have tasted this season. It is probably only available as a draught beer just like the microbrewery's very good wheat beer. If that is the case, it is a shame. This is is a beer I would really like to enjoy at home as well.

A Dane and a Christmas beer

2011-11-27T11:18:00.003+01:00

Back in Norway it was time to try out some of the local watering holes. One afternoon I was walking the streets of Bergen, I ended up once again at Kontoret. As mentioned in an earlier post, Kontoret now offers six draught beer taps. I chose a Christmas beer from Nøgne Ø.

Nøgne Ø Julesnadder has 4.5% alcohol. In the glass this was a brownish beer with a small head and nearly no carbonation. I felt some caramel and yeast in the nose. The beer tasted of dates, variuos spices, yeast and some coffee in a watery finish. I liked this beer, and it is one of the better Norwegian Christmas beers with less than 4.7% alcohol.

From Kontoret I went to the nearby Henrik pub. As usual the beer selection is great for a Norwegian pub in both draught beers and bottled beers. This time around I found a new beer available on tap from the Danish brewery Beer Here.

Beer Here Executioner IPA was a somewhat cloudy beer with a nearly golden colour. The beer had nearly no head nor carbonation. In the nose I felt grapefruit and some grass. The beer was lovely. It tasted of grapefruit and blood orange before a bitter finish with some grains. I really liked this IPA, and I hope to find it when I visit Denmark next Autumn.

Back at U Prince Miroslava and U Medvídků

2011-11-26T09:04:00.009+01:00

U Prince Miroslava used to be the pub with most draught beers in Prague. I visited the pub for the first time two years ago, and I have returned to it at several occations enjoying various beer. These days you will find 19 draught beers at U Prince Miroslava.

At my last visit I was somewhat disappointed. I tried to order beer after reading the labels on the taps.

A lot of the beers mentioned were not available, and the waiter pointed to a poster on a wall. Sure, all draught beers were listed, but I did not find Primátor Stout on the list. This excellent stout used to be a mainstay at U Prince Miroslava, but now it was gone.

I had a few beers. None of them memorable, as I have lost my tasting notes.

Later on the same day I went to U Medvídků in the city centre. I sat down at the ground floor bar to have a taste of Budvar. There had been changes in what used to be the Budweiser bar with all Budvar beers on tap. These days U Medvídků's own beers are also sold as draught beers in the pub. From Budvar you can only find a golden lager. That is an interesting move as the U Medvídků beers were only sold as bottled beers in the bar. You had to go upstairs to the U Medvídků brewery pub to drink them as draught beers. I had a glass of Oldgott and enjoyed it before it was time to find my hotel.

On my way I picked up a bottle of beer. Which one?

Yes, you were right! The excellent Primátor Stout was my night cap.

Glimpses of Prague

2011-11-25T21:31:00.019+01:00

There are so many bars and pubs to visit in Prague, and some of them are worth taking a look at. In this post I will share a couple of places I recommend.

Not far from the Jiřího z Poděbrad metro station you can find Hrom do Police. This cellar restaurant is special as it sells beer from the Policka brewery. Right now the dark Eliška beer is available. This is a wonderful seasonal beer that it is worth checking out.

I usually spend some time at U Sadu while in Prague. This excellent hospoda offers several good draught beers. Tanková Pilsner Urquell is a treat that usually can be found here. This is an unpasteurized version of the excellent golden lager from Plzen. At my last visit U Sadu offered the unfiltered version that is even better. That beer was only available as a Pilsner Urquell marketing campaign for a short period of time.

Also in Žižkov, at Tachovské náměstí, you will find U Slovanské Lípy. This great hospoda sells the magnificent beers from the Kout na Šumavě brewery.

These beers are not available in bottles, so my tip is to bring along a water bottle so they can fill it up for you with draught beer. The 10° and 12° lagers are worth drinking in your hotel room as well. Or any Kout na Šumavě beer, for that matter!

My friend Pivní Filosof released his great book on pub crawls in Prague earlier this year. If you go to Prague, it is a must! One of the pubs not mentioned in the book is called U Vodoucha. It opened after the book was published. The pub in Jagellonská street is in walking distance from U Slovanské Lípy. The beer philosopher brought me to the pub, and it was a treat. Here there was great beers and fine Czech food. I was lucky to find beers from the Berounský Medvěd brewery, and I fell in love with the fabulous 11° Zlatý Kůn beer. This golden lager had a fantastic taste of fresh hops, and I really blame myself for not visiting this pub again during my stay in Prague. I should have bought some PET bottles to take home from the pub.

A few minutes from U Vodoucha you will find Vinohradská street. There you can jump on tram number 11 going towards Spořilov. In Čestmírova street near the Náměstí Bratří Synků tram stop the fantastic Zlý Časy pub can be found. With 24 draught beers available, there is always an interesting beer to find.

Take the trip to Zlý Časy and enjoy some of the beers available. You will not regret it.

By the way: Since my visit to Prague this Spring, the herna bar at the Dejvická metro has been closed down. That is a pity, as I liked having a half litre of Rychtář golden lager on my way to or from Prague airport. The pub was a dive, but the beers were good.

Back at Klášterní Pivnice

2011-11-21T20:09:00.009+01:00

I usually step inside Klášterní Pivnice when I am in Prague. This neighbourhood pub near Letenske náměstí is a great place to visit. The beers are good, the service is good and the pivnice feels like anything but a tourist pub.

Klášter 11° světlý ležák is the house beer. This golden lager is an excellent beer served with a large, thick head and barely any carbonation. There are nearly no aromas from the beer, but some hops shine through. In the mouth there is grass and grains before a fine finish with more hops. This is a lovely lager that I really enjoy.

Klášterní Pivnice is a pub with a rotating tap. Therefore you will find more draught beers than Klášter available. The pub also has a decent selection of bottled beers from many Czech breweries. At this visit Podkováň světlý ležák was available from tap, so I chose that lager beer. In the glass Podkováň 12° golden lager had nearly no carbonation and a large head. I felt malts and grass in the nose. In the mouth there was malts before a malty and partly hoppy finish. Another fine beer!

I really like going to Klášterní Pivnice. The pub is excellent, and the beers are great. Unfortunately this is a very smoky pub, so I have not been able to stay inside for long. Except for that, this is a recommended taproom in Prague.

Time for Staropramen Kvasničák

2011-11-20T14:00:00.006+01:00

I have not been that fond of Staropramen's beers. The Prague based brewery's pale lagers are quite average, but Granát is a fine, Märzen styled beer. I also liked Staropramen's dark lager, but there are other Czech breweries making better examples of that beer style.

Staropramen brewery. Please note that this picture is from 2008.

Walking past the Staropramen brewery near the Anděl metro station, I decided it was time to do some on-site beer drinking at the Na Verandách restaurant. I ordered Staropramen's take on a yeast beer, Staropramen Kvasničák.

Staropramen Kvasničák was an unclear, brownish beer with nearly no carbonation but with a medium sized head. The nose had some yeast, but otherwise there were no aromas. In the mouth there was some fruit, some bread and a fruity finish with some strawberry taking the lead.

This beer was a pleasant experience, and I feel that the Kvasničák is Staropramen's best beer. But the Pilsner Urquell Nefiltrované is miles ahead!

Unfiltered Urquell time

2011-11-14T18:21:00.002+01:00

Pilsner Urquell is the original pilsner beer. This bottom fermented beer has been brewed since 1842 in Plzeň. In addition to the ordinary golden lager, Pilsner Urquell also produces an unfiltered version of the beer. It is usually only available at the Šenk Na Parkánu restaurant in Plzeň. I was therefore happy to see during my recent Prague visit that Pilsner Urquell had a campaign offering Pilsner Urquell nefiltrované at selected pubs all over the Czech Republic.

I had several opportunities trying the unfiltered Pilsner Urquell, and every time I thoroughly enjoyed it. The ordinary Pilsner Urquell is one of my favourite lager beers, and it was even better in the unfiltered version. At my visit to the U Bansethů pub I was given a somewhat cloudy beer with a large head and nearly no carbonation. In the nose I felt a solid dose of Saaz hops. The hoppy taste is also there in the mouth with a flowery touch and some strawberry in the finish. This is no less than a stellar lager beer, and together with the 12° Kout na Šumavě golden lager it is the best lager beer I have ever tried. If you can find it, drink it!

On my next visit to the Czech Republic I will have a day trip to Plzeň. Of course Šenk Na Parkánu needs to be visited to have more of Pilsner Urquell nefiltrované, but there are also other places to enjoy excellent beers in the Bohemian city.

PS: Pivní Filosof has an interesting post today about the legends around the birth of Pilsner Urquell. It is a recommended read!

A Krušovice experience

2011-11-13T19:43:00.008+01:00

Back in Prague, I ended up at the Zličín metro station. Near the entrance the little Bar Zličín can be found. It is a small, smoky taproom that will never win any awards. But it has a friendly barman and loads of draught beer from the Krušovice brewery.

I started out with Krušovice's 10° pale lager. It is still a pretty average beer with nearly no aromas. In the mouth there was some malts and grass before a partly bitter finish with a touch of hops.

Then it was time for Krušovice 11° pale lager. This was a better and tastier beer. The taste profile was very alike the 10° beer, but this beer had a more bitter feeling.

Krušovice is not among the more interesting breweries in the Czech Republic, but the 11° pale lager is a decent beer. I would rather have other Czech beers, but if you want a beer at Zličín a visit to Bar Zličín for a half litre of Krušovice is a nice move. There are worse ways of spending waiting time before taking the metro into the city centre of Prague or the bus to Prague airport.

Back at Schiphol

2011-11-12T09:33:00.008+01:00

I think stopovers are nice. I like better being a traveller than a tourist, and spending some hours at an airport gives me a great time watching people, sampling local food and getting a glimpse into the area's culture.

Schiphol airport outside Amsterdam is one of the airports I have visited the most. Being a hub for KLM airlines, Schiphol sees a lot of passengers changing planes on their way to a new destination. There are always somebody to meet and talk to, and having a drink or four at one of the bars or restaurants guarantees an interesting conversation.

This time I had nearly two hours to spend at Schiphol. As usual I ended up at the Het Paleis bar, which is also a fine place for snacks and small courses. While wine drinkers have a lot to choose from, there are only three draught beers at Het Paleis at the moment. I chose to leave the Heineken pale lager alone, and I started up with an ale from the Belgian Palm brewery.

Palm Ale is a beer that I was very fond of two years ago. This time I was a little bit disappointed. In the glass this was a nearly coppercoloured beer with some carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose I felt some caramel and sweetness. The caramel was assertive in the mouth with some sweetness and a watery feeling. Unfortunately there was also a metallic taste in the beer, so I was not satisfied with this half litre of Palm.

The third draught beer available was from the Dutch Brand brewery. I visited the southern part of The Netherlands some years ago, so I have had my share of pale lagers from Brand as it was the local brewery. The Brand lagers are not exciting lagers, but they do their trick in warm weather when you are thirsty. At Het Paleis thet could offer Brand Dubbelbock, which was a new beer to me. In the glass this copper coloured beer had nearly no carbonation and a fine, large head. The beer had aromas of plums, while there was caramel and grapes in the mouth with a tiny touch of vodka. I liked this strong beer, and I hope to find it again elsewhere. Brand Dubbelbock is to be recommended!

A Rye IPA

2011-11-11T12:14:00.005+01:00

During my visit to the city centre of Bergen this week, I ended up at Kontoret. There has been some changes in the draught beer department. Now you can find two new taps there in addition to the ones dedicated to Hansa, Old Speckeled Hen and Ægir. One of the new taps is for Erdinger wheat beer. I would say that is a boring choice. There are better wheat beers around, and I would have liked the bar to have chosen for instance Paulaner or Weihenstephaner weizen instead. The other new one is a rotating tap, and the coming week it will be used for Nøgne Ø's Julesnadder. This is one of the Norwegian brewery's Christmas beers.

I chose to try out Ægir's Rye India Pale Ale on this visit. This was a copper coloured beer with nearly no carbonation and a medium sized head. I felt grapefruit and caramel in the nose. In the mouth there was toffee and some grapefruit before a grainy finish. I liked this beer, but the ordinary Ægir IPA is a better beer - especially as a draught beer brewed in Norway. The bottled Ægir IPA brewed on licence in Belgium is a fine beer, but the Norwegian draught version is a nicer drinking experience.

Haandbryggeriet Duo

2011-11-10T19:09:00.006+01:00

At a local supermarket I found two beers from Haandbryggeriet that I had never tried from bottles. This is a nice time for Norwegians. The beer selection is slowly getting larger, and several supermarkets are offering more than pale lager beers from the big, national breweries and the ordinary import beers.

I started out with Haandbryggeriet Pale Ale, which is an old favourite from tap. In the glass this 4.5% beer was a copper coloured cloudy brew with some carbonation and a medium sized head. I felt aromas of grapefruit and grass together with a touch of apples. In the mouth there was grapefruit, spices and more apples before a partly bitter and hoppy finish. This was a lovely beer!

Haandbryggeriet London Porter was a new aquaintance. The beer was black with some carbonation and a medium sized head. I felt dark chocolate in the nose. The beer tasted of more dark chocolate and some cold coffee. This was another fine beer that I really enjoyed. Haandbryggeriet is still one of Norway's most interesting breweries!

A Hansa Christmas

2011-11-07T19:47:00.005+01:00

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.

A taste of Christmas

2011-11-04T23:55:00.006+01:00

I have tasted some of this season's Christmas beers, juleøl. Some are great, some are not. The first I tried during this session was Grans julebrygg with an alcohol content of 4.7%. That was a disappointment.

Grans julebrygg is a dark beer with a lot of carbonation, but the medium sized head disappears quickly. In the nose there is some toffee. In the mouth there is some caramel and old Coke before the taste of Belgian yeast and British washing cloth takes the lead. This is a boring beer!

The next beer was Hansa Juleøl. This was the supermarket version with 4.5% alcohol. The beer copper coloured beer was fizzy with a medium sized head. In the nose I felt some caramel. The beer had a watery feeling with some assertive toffee. There was also a metallic taste making the beer quite uninteresting.

Aass Juleøl was bought at Vinmonopolet. This was a dark beer with some carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose I felt toffee and malts, while the beer tasted of dark chocolate and some caramel before a sweet finish. Aass Juleøl was a fine beer.

Ringnes Julebokk is a strong beer at 9%. In the glass it was a dark beer with some carbonation and a medium sized head. I felt dark chocolate and caramel in the nose. The beer tasted of dark chocolate and some tobacco before a finish with cold coffee. This was a lovely, full-bodied beer that I really enjoyed. I will have more of Ringnes Julebokk before Christmas!

Ægir Julebrygg is a copper coloured beer with nearly no carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose I felt cinnamon, cloves and some spices I could not pinpoint. In the mouth a taste of gingerbread took the lead. The beer was nice, but different. Still a glass is enough, as I got bored of this beer in the end.

The great lager beer test

2011-11-02T09:57:00.006+01:00

It was the Norwegian beer blogger Lars Garshol who started it all. He did a blind test of pale lagers available in Norwegian supermarkets. The results surprised him, and they also started a very interesting thread on a Norwegian beer forum. Various posts from beer lovers and beer bloggers showed that many did not recognise certain beers they generally knew well. In other cases posts showed that people had prejudice towards certain beers or breweries, and that a beer tasted much better than they had thought in advance. The beer forum had a software update this Summer and due to no backup of data all these posts are unfortunately lost.

I have also done the blind test, and it was really interesting to see my results. Lars Garshol had used five different pale lagers in his test. I forgot to buy Grans pilsner, so I ended up with pale lagers from the Czech Bernard brewery and from the Norwegian Aass, Hansa and Ringnes breweries. All beers were served at the same temperature in the same kind of beer glasses.

The first beer out was a pale lager with some carbonation and a small head. I felt some apple in the nose. Otherwise there was nearly no aromas. In the mouth there was apple, yeast and a touch of hops in the finish. This was a boring lager that I thought was Aass.

The second beer also had a pale colour. It had some carbonation and a large head. In the nose there was some malts. In the mouth I felt malts and a touch of pears. This was an average lager that I felt was better than beer number 1. I thought that this was brewed by Ringnes.

The third beer had a nose of dried flowers and some butter. In the glass it had some carbonation and a small head, but it was a little bit darker than the other beers. This beer had a fuller body and a malty taste before a partly bitter finish. I felt this was the best beer so far, and I thought that it was the Bernard lager.

The fourth beer was paler than beer number 3. There was some carbonation, but it had a small sized head. In the nose I felt malts and some hops. In the nose the malts took the lead, but it had a boring finish that called for some hoppy bitterness. Still, this was a nice pale lager although I preferred the third beer. I believed that this beer was brewed by Hansa.

Then it was the moment of truth. I had recognized both Bernard and Aass in the test, but I had thought that Hansa was Ringnes and vice versa. The result sheet from this blind test thus looks like this:

1: Bernard. 2: Ringnes. 3: Hansa. 4: Aass

Blind tests are good tests, and I will call all beer bloggers to do more of them. Perhaps you will find out that not all pale lagers taste the same, and that one of the lagers brewed by a large brewery actually tastes better than you believed? It is also a way of checking out beer prejudices and a good challenge for the palate.

First Christmas beer and three more

2011-10-30T09:23:00.003+01:00

Christmas Day is less than two months away. As usual shops and supermarkets have started selling Christmas goods, and here and there you will even find Christmas decorations. This week I also found the first Norwegian juleøl (Christmas beers), and next week the stronger juleøl beers are to be found at the state owned Vinmonopolet outlets.

This year's first Norwegian Christmas beer for me was from Grans. Grans uses the Lade Gaards Brygghus label to promote beers that are supposed to be craft brewed. The Lade Gaards Brygghus bottles are among the prettier ones in Norway, and I really like the retro look. I have not been quite satisfied with the beers from Lade Gaards Brygghus, so I was not expecting much from the Juleøl.

In the glass the Lade Gaards Brygghus Juleøl had a dark, coppery colour. There was some carbonation and a large head. In the nose I felt some toffee, while the beer had a taste of caramel and some malts before a watery finish. This Juleøl was a decent, average beer that I probably will try again before Christmas.

Chang lager is a new beer in Norwegian supermarkets this Autumn. This pale lager from Thailand is a fizzy beer. In the glass it built a medium sized head, and I felt a malty aroma. The beer had a sweet, malty taste and felt a bit watery. In all Chang is a boring lager that needs a hoppy bite to become somewhat interesting. The way this beer is right now, it has no appeal to me at all.

Ravnsborg Rød is an amber ale from the Denmark based brewery Nørrebro Bryghus. This is a copper coloured beer with some carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose I felt chewing gum and banana and got a suspicious feeling that it was a wheat beer I was having. In the nose I felt a tutti frutti taste combined with bread and banana that gave me more wheat beer connotations. The finish was watery and not exciting at all. Ravnsborg Rød is just another average beer, and I would rather buy a Paulaner weizen than this to have a wheat beer kick.

The Goose Island brewery from the United States makes a fine India Pale Ale. Honker's Ale is another beer from the brewery, and the label calls it an English style bitter. This is a copper coloured beer with some carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose there is some grapefruit. The beer is a disappointment compared to the aroma. There is not much taste in Honker's Ale. I feel some grapefruit before a partly bitter finish with a touch of grapes. The beer is another average beer, but I had much more expectations for this beer that what it could deliver.

A porter and a stout

2011-10-15T02:52:00.003+02:00

I found two dark beers that looked interesting the other day. One was a porter from Harviestoun brewery, while the other was a stout from the Norwegian Lervig brewery in Stavanger.

Harveistoun's porter is called Old Engine Oil. It is a black beer with a lot of carbonation at once, but then the beer calms down. It has a medium sized head, and in the nose I feel burnt, dark chocolate. The chocolate is still there in the mouth with traces of burntness. There is also some sweetness before the bittersweet finish mentioned on the label. This was a fine porter that I enjoyed.

Konrad's stout from Lervig is brewed with oatmeal. It is a strong beer with 10.4% alcohol. The beer is black with some carbonation. In the nose I feel cold coffee and leather. The beer is full bodied, and it tastes of coffee with a tiny touch of tobacco. The finish has coffee and a touch of vodka. This an even nicer beer, but one bottle was more than enough. Perhaps Konrad's stout is a beer for sharing?

Kollaborator and more

2011-10-05T19:41:00.006+02:00

During the lasts weeks I have been to Kontoret in Bergen twice. On my first visit I had Ægir Harvest Ale from tap. The beer was very cold, and due to this it felt not as tasty as from bottle.

Harvest Ale was a coppery beer with some carbonation and a medium sized head. There was fruit in the nose. In the mouth I felt fruit cocktail and malts before a finish with some toffee and grains. It is a fine beer, but I prefer it served at a higher temperature.

At my visit last week the Kollaborator beers were available. These are Doppelbock beers brewed from the same recipe by Ægir and Nøgne Ø respectively. I had a large glass of Ægir's version and a taster sample of Nøgne Ø's version. The two dark beers looked more or less the same, and I felt it was difficult to distinguish the two beers' noses. There was some chocolate in both.

I liked the Ægir version of Kollaborator the best. In the mouth there was chocolate and a lot of sweetness before a partly bitter finish with a touch of nuts. The Nøgne Ø version was not so assertive in taste. It was less sweet as well, but there was some plums in the finish I did not pick up in the Ægir beer.

Kollaborator is a fine example of cooperation brewing. I know there are more brewing projects like this coming up from several Norwegian breweries, and I hope they will be interesting.

Boat beer

2011-10-01T21:52:00.005+02:00

During my stay in Bergen, I went back to Hanne på Høyden. The cozy restaurant can also be called a brewpub, as beers are being brewed on the premises. At the moment there are four beers available at Hanne på Høyden: A wheat beer, a brown ale, an IPA and a stout. All beers are brewed in cooperation with Kristiania Haandbryggerlaug in Oslo.

I tried the wit during my last stay, so this time around I chose the IPA. The Hanne på Høyden beers are served in 0.33 litre bottles with labels printed out on an inkjet printer. That is a charming touch, but I still prefer drinking draught beer on pub and restaurant visits.

The IPA is called Lehmkuhls last and has its name from Bergen's sailship, Statsraad Lehmkuhl. In the glass the Lehmkuhls last IPA had a copper colour. It was cloudy with some carbonation and a large head. In the nose I felt citrus scents dominated by grapefruit and some spices. The beer tasted bitter, but far from the fruity touch I felt in the nose. Actually, I found the taste rather boring. The finish had grapefruit and apricot. In all, Lehmkuhls last is an average IPA. There are better IPAs out there from Norwegian breweries, and the price tag of 119 NOK for 0.33 litre of beer is much too high. But still I am looking forward to trying more beers from Hanne på Høyden.

250!

2011-09-24T13:45:00.017+02:00

Beer Sagas is usually a beer blog in English. This 250th post is the first ever in Norwegian. It discusses Norwegian alcohol politics. Please use Google Translate to read this text somewhat accurately in English.

Beer Sagas er en subjektiv, engelskspråklig blogg som tar for seg øl, ølopplevelser og reiser. Dette er postering nummer 250, og for å markere jubiléet publiseres det denne gangen en tekst på norsk om ølpolitikk.

Norge er annerledes. Norge er spesiell. Økonomien vår har andre vilkår enn det vi finner mange andre steder i verden. Vi har et velferdssamfunn mange utenom Norge misunner oss. Selvsagt er det ting med Norge som kunne vært bedre, men i det store og hele har vi det veldig godt her på berget.

Turistene liker Norge. De skryter av flott natur og imøtekommende innbyggere. Fjorder, Nordkapp og uberørt natur er blant det vi kan tilby, og det er grunn til å være stolt av det. Men turistene klager på prisnivået her til lands. Mange turister står over norgesbesøket av den grunn, mens andre fyller opp bobilen med vått og tørt før hjemlandet forlates. De har rett og slett ikke råd til å betale norske priser.

Det samme ser vi med motsatte fortegn. Strømmen av østlendinger som inntar de vestlige delene av Sverige for å kjøpe flesk, godteri, sprit og øl på et annet prisnivå er stor. Östersund lokker befolkningen i Trøndelag med blant annet en fillial av Systembolaget, mens finske matvarepriser og mulighetene på Alko har fått mange fra Nord-Norge til å ta turen over grensen til Finland. Og da har jeg ikke nevnt de millioner av kroner vest- og sørlendinger legger igjen i taxfree-butikkene på danskebåtene.

Dette er en ølblogg, og jeg skal være en av de første til å slå fast at enkelte deler av norsk alkoholpolitikk er feilslått. Tradisjonelt har Norge vært annerledes. De siste hundre årene er Norge ett av få ikke-muslimske land som har hatt et alkoholforbud. I dag fremstår landet med en restriktiv alkoholpolitikk, høye avgifter, statlige vinutsalg, begrensede salgstider for alkoholvarer og krav til dem som får tildelt skjenkebevillinger.

Mye av den gjeldende alkoholpolitikken i Norge er både riktig og viktig, men det finnes trekk vi bør tenke over. Er det ikke tåpelig at man selv inne på puber og utesteder må teipe over varemerker fordi det regnes som alkoholreklame? Og nåde den pubvert som ønsker å drive forbrukeropplysning ved å gi bakgrunnsinformasjon om ølet som selges på en norskspråklig hjemmeside!

Prisnivået er også latterlig høyt. Spesielt tåpelig er prisene på utestedene, som skremmer bort både turister og fastboende. Hvem unner seg en halvliter lagerøl til nesten hundrelappen når man heller kan drikke minst tre øl hjemme til samme prisen. Likevel er prisene i dagligvarebutikkene for høye. Dette fører til handelslekkasje til Sverige, Danmark og Finland, og jeg er overbevist om at smuglingen inn i landet er mye større enn de offisielle oversiktene viser.

Jeg synes heller ikke noe om at salgstidene for øl ikke stemmer overens med butikkenes åpningstider. La butikkene ha ølsalg så lenge de er åpne! En norsk komiker sa det greit på tv en gang: Samfunnsproblemet er ikke de som vil kjøpe øl mellom klokken 8 og 10 på kvelden, men de som må ha øl mellom klokken 8 og 10 på morgenen!

Makrobryggeriene bør også gå i seg selv i utvalget de tilbyr norske kunder. Må hvert bryggeri ha fire-fem ulike lyse lagerøl som strengt tatt er temmelig like på smak? Selv kjøper jeg ikke norsk industrilagerøl når jeg for eksempel kan få tsjekkisk kvalitetspilsner til omtrent samme prisen på et norsk supermarked. Det norske ølet er rett og slett ikke like godt!

Jeg er overbevist om at bryggerne hos for eksempel Ringnes og Hansa er særdeles dyktige i jobben sin, men at det er økonomene som i praksis bestemmer hva som skal brygges. Et mer spennende produktutvalg i butikkhyllene er nødvendig. Hva med en IPA eller en Bitter, Ringnes? Og hvorfor ikke prøve en Mild eller en Stout, Hansa? Vi trenger ikke flere premiumskjærgårdssommerplatinumpils nå!

A citizen's pub

2011-09-23T19:40:00.004+02:00

Skostredet street in Bergen has had a renaissance during the last few years. Shops and cafes have popped up, and now and then there are markets days offering buyers everything from jumble sale goods to modern art.

Folk og røvere is among the newer establishments in the street. This is a pub owned by a group of 46 friends who have tried to make a pub concept that the owners believe that the city of Bergen needs.

I liked the atmosphere at Folk og røvere. The music played was quality rock from the seventies and eighties, and the cute waitress was both charming and nice talking to. But what about the draught beer in the pub? Folk og røvere only sells Hansa pale lager from tap. I have had my share of Hansa during my years as a beer drinker, and these days I usually buy other brands when I want a pale lager.

Hansa Pils was with the usual pale colour, a lot of carbonation and a small head. The nose was malty and sweet with a touch of flowers. In the mouth I felt more malts, some sweetness and a malty finish with a hoppy twist. It was better than I expected, but Hansa Pils is still among the average lager beers.

Folk og røvere also sells bottled beers from various breweries, but it would be great if some of them also were offered on tap. Nowadays a good pub should be able to have more than one draught beer. That also goes for Folk og røvere.

Another taste of Cantillion

2011-09-20T17:54:00.004+02:00

Lately I have often found a sour beer on tap at Henrik in Bergen. Earlier this month the pub offered Cantillion Gueuze. This Belgian sour beer is a blend of several lambics. In the glass there was a small head, but the beer had some carbonation. The beer was cloudy, and I felt some sour cherries in the nose. In the mouth there was cherries and not yet ripe gooseberries. I liked it, and I felt it was refreshing even though it had a sour taste.

After having tried some sour beers this year, I feel these beer styles are both different and exciting. I also like Henrik's rotating tap system, where there is always at least one surprising draught beer available from Nøgne Ø or imported by the Norwegian craft brewery. Henrik is one of Bergen's best beer bars, and beer interested visitors to Bergen should make a visit a must.

Liquid fruit

2011-09-17T18:35:00.007+02:00

Now and then I go to Baran in Bergen. This is the pub with the most beer taps in the West Norwegian city, and there are always some interesting draught beers available.

On my last visit I tried Fyr & Flamme from Haandbryggeriet. The name is an idiomatic expression meaning fire, so I was expecting a rauchbier. What I was served was something different. Fyr & Flamme was actually an IPA.

In the glass this was a cloudy beer with some carbonation. I felt grapefruit and mango in the nose. The beer was very fruity. I felt peaches and mango before a partly bitter finish. The beer was enjoyable, but one half litre was enough.

Baran is a great place for beers in Bergen, and it is more than worth a visit.

Overshadowed?

2011-09-15T20:13:00.011+02:00

Biskopen is situated in the beer district of Bergen. On the other side of the street you can find Naboen, and within a minute's walk you can find either Baran or Henrik.

The bottle selection is very nice at Biskopen, and there are also more draught beers than in most pubs in Bergen. Hansa takes care of the pale lagers together with Heineken, while Murphy's delivers both stout and red ale. It is also interesting to note that Biskopen also sells the local Waldemar beers. On tap you can find both the wheat beer and the brown ale at the moment.

I was not looking for something special, so I settled down with a pint of Murphy's stout. As always, it is a good stout. The beer has been reviewed here earlier, so I did not make any tasting notes. Instead I enjoyed the beer and the pub.

Biskopen is an excellent taproom, but the draught beer selection could have been more interesting. When it is crowded at Naboen, I sometimes think that the two pubs should have swapped beer taps. Biskopen often has a better atmosphere, while Naboen has the better draught beer selection. To have a tap dedicated to an IPA from for instance Ægir or Nøgne Ø could be a wise move from Biskopen's management, or perhaps a rotating tap could be a good idea?

Vinmonopolet's September news

2011-09-03T23:09:00.007+02:00

Every other month the state owned alcohol outlet Vinmonopolet in Norway releases new products. This month two beers are among the offers. Ægir Harvest Ale was also available last year, but Høst Porter from BrewDog is a new beer.

The little Ægir brewery from Flåm is not able to make all their beers at the brewery site in the Fjord district. Harvest Ale is therefore brewed in Belgium at a disclosed brewery. This year's beer is a brownish and somewhat cloudy beer. It has some carbonation and a small head. There are aromas of yeast and fruit. I feel grapefruit and a touch of fruit cocktail in the mouth. The aftertaste is yeasty with a touch of bitterness. The beer is nice and has 6% alcohol. It is above average, but I felt this was a better beer last year.

BrewDog Høst Porter is a new beer. For some reason this beer from BrewDog has a Norwegian name. I guess the brewery wants to check out the Norwegian market with a beer that sounds Norwegian. The name is in English translated into Autumn Porter. The subtitle of this beer is Renaissance Baltic Porter. By the way: BrewDog should be reluctant paying their Norwegian language consultant. Høst Porter should be spelt in one word in Norwegian and not in two.

This is a nearly black beer with some carbonation and a small sized head. There is lots of cocoa in the nose. Coffee and cocoa struggle for domination in the mouth with a touch of cold coffee in the aftertaste. This is a nice porter that I will not turn down if somebody offers it to me. In shops I will prefer Sumbel porter from Ægir or Aass' Gourmet Stout if I fancy a black beer.

The Session: Label, Coaster and Cap Art

2011-09-02T19:31:00.006+02:00

The first Friday each month is the day for The Session. The Session is the beer writing project where beer writers and bloggers from around the globe write on a single beer-related topic on the same day. This month the topic is "Label, Coaster and Cap Art", and it is hosted by Curtis Taylor at Hop Head Said. Thanks for hosting, Curtis! And also thanks for finding a beer related topic that is both imaginative and nice to write about.

Coasters or beer mats are a kind of merchandise I find interesting. I fancy drinking beer out of original branded glasses, and I try to buy some of the beer glasses I really like. Coasters are also of interest. Especially because pubs and bars rarely offer them here in Norway. Therefore I often ask waiters and bartenders abroad if I can take coasters home from the bar. They add to the enjoyment of having a beer at home, and they are also excellent souvenirs after a great vacation.

My beer travels have usually been to the Czech Republic. Therefore most of my coasters are Czech. Here is a collection of some of my favourites:

Pilsner Urquell is one of my favourite beers. This beer mat has a simple, but striking design focusing on a beer bottle label. The coaster from Pivovarský Klub in Prague uses the pub's logo. It is effective, and it is a fine coaster. The little brewpub Pražský most u Valšů in Prague shows hops, grains and beer in something I feel is a nice and nearly epic design. Svijany's beer mat is also visually striking combining a keg and the beautiful Svijany logo.

But my favourite? I like this coaster from the Ježek brewery quite a lot. It has a simple but enjoyable design. And it is difficult not liking the cute hedgehog.

Elephant's secret

2011-08-31T23:57:00.006+02:00

I was not recommending the pub Elefanten in Bergen after my first visit in 2009. This week I was back, and I had a much more positive experience. That also means beerwise. On the other side of the street you can find Henrik, and very near excellent beer destinations like Naboen and Baran can be found. Why should Elefanten be an alternative?

The answer is draught beer from Kinn brewery in Florø. These days Elefanten has two Kinn taps in addition to draught beers like Hansa Pils, Hansa Bayer and Erdinger weizen. There are also some interesting bottled beers available. This means that a beer interested person should also take a look at Elefanten during a pub crawl in Bergen. If for instance the Kinn beers at Naboen are not to your liking, it is worth to check out the available draught beers at Elefanten.

On my visit I had a 0.33 litre glass of Vestkyst, which is Kinn's IPA. The price was 82 NOK, which is about 9 GBP. Vestkyst was a cloudy, nearly golden beer with nearly no head no carbonation. I felt apples and yeast in the nose. In the mouth there was grapefruit and pepper before a hoppy and bitter finish. I liked it a lot, but I felt it was way too bitter compared to a bottled version I enjoyed at home a few days earlier.

I wish Elefanten good luck with the venture into craft beers from draught. Suddenly the elephant pub has become a dark horse!

Time for Inedit

2011-08-27T12:04:00.005+02:00

Inedit is a beer with a different look on the beer shelves. The designers at the Spanish Estrella Damm brewery have made a beautiful bottle that makes me think about champagne bottles. The bottles therefore easily stand out next to beer cans and 0.5 litre and 0.33 litre beer bottles in Norwegian supermarkets.

The beer is sold in 0.75 litre bottles. It is especially made as a beer to go with food. Inedit is supposed to be enjoyed from white wine glasses, and the bottle should be kept cold in an ice tin. All this promises an exclusive beer. But what about the content in the bottle? According to the brewery Inedit is a combination of lager beer and wheat beer. I therefore chose to try out Inedit in a wheat beer glass.

Inedit is a pale coloured beer with a lot of carbonation, but it builds a medium sized head. In the nose there is banana and a touch of malts. The beer is sweet with some bananas and herbs. In all, Inedit is not a stellar beer. I find it pretty average, but perhaps it would be be much better than a boring San Miguel or Estrella Damm pale lager with a plate of tapas?

A taste of Waldemar's

2011-08-26T18:16:00.005+02:00

Waldemar's is Hansa brewery's microbrewery label. The microbrewery is based in Hansa's old brewery buildings near the city centre of Bergen. There is also a restaurant at the premises that specializes in pairing food and beer, but it has never been open when I have been in the area.

Some of Waldemar's beers can be found in selected pubs in Bergen and other Norwegian cities. I am fond of the wheat beer, that unfortunately is not sold in bottles nor cans. But here and there you can find it as a draught beer.

For Waldemar's Brown Ale it is a different story. This beer is widely available in Norwegian supermarkets. It is a copper coloured beer with some carbonation and a medium sized head. I feel aromas of caramel and a touch of yeast. In the mouth there is some toffee and hoppy bitterness before a watery finish. This is a beer that can be described as inoffensive. It is nice, but not among the better beers of its style.

A fine sour beer

2011-08-24T20:06:00.006+02:00

I usually end up at Henrik at some point during pub crawls in Bergen. Henrik is one of the better pubs in town, and it also has a fine selection of bottled beers and some draught beers. From tap there are always three beers with a connection to Nøgne Ø. Usually these are brewed by Nøgne Ø or imported to Norway by the Grimstad based craft brewery. What draught beers that are available on these taps, changes all the time. Therefore it is always a bit exciting visiting Henrik. I was not in the mood for a lager beer nor a Guinness, so I found out that I wanted to try one of the beers from the rotating taps. I saw that one of them offered a sour beer from the Belgian Cantillion brewery and ended up choosing it.

Cantillion Rose de Gambrinus was a nearly red beer with a small head and some carbonation. There was raspberry and a touch of cherries in the nose. In the mouth I felt not yet ripe berries, some gooseberry and cherries before a sour finish. This was a nice and refreshing beer, and it is the best sour beer I have tasted so far.

Bergen's new microbrewery

2011-08-21T19:40:00.006+02:00

Hanne på Høyden is a restaurant in Bergen with a good reputation. The courses are made with local ingredients, and the restaurant specializes in slow food. This year Hanne på Høyden started a micro brewery inside the restaurant. As far as I know, four beers have been made at Hanne på Høyden so far.

Earlier this week I visited Hanne på Høyden for the first time. Inside I found a charming room with a bar as the central point. A tap promising Hansa draught beer was not what I expected. I would have thought that there would be a tap advertising Hanne på Høyden's own beers. The friendly and charming waitress told me that they did not sell their own beers from tap. Instead these beers were available in bottles, and that day a wit beer and a brown ale were for sale.

I chose the wit and was given a bottle of Den wite dame. This is a word play on a traditional Norwegian cream cake called Hvit dame (White lady in English). The beer was a little bit cloudy, but still paleish in colour. There was some carbonation and nearly no head. In the nose I felt yeast, apple and some sourness. In the mouth there was grains, bread, honey melon and some sweetness before a watery finish with a touch of strawberry. I would have preferred this beer with a fuller body and less watery, but it was still a fine wit beer. The alcohol content was 4.9%.

I will be back at Hanne på Høyden, and it will be interesting to see how new batches and other beer styles will turn out. But the beer is very expensive. I paid 119 NOK for a bottle of Den wite dame. That is nearly 13 GBP. Other bars in Bergen sell half litres of craft beer from breweries like Nøgne Ø, Kinn, Ægir and Haandbryggeriet at around 100 NOK or less.

Back at Naboen

2011-08-20T13:05:00.005+02:00

As I was walking the streets of Bergen again, it was beer o'clock. I decided once again to enter one of Bergen's best places for beer, Naboen.

On the street level Naboen is a nice restaurant with Swedish food, while the cellar is a charming pub. Food from the restaurant menu can also be ordered in the cellar pub, but mainly this is a beer joint.

Aass delivers the pale lager, while draught beers from Kinn, Ægir, Nøgne Ø and Haandbryggeriet are always available together with loads of bottled beers. There are also two house beers. The Bavarian styled Naboen's Bayer is brewed by an undisclosed brewery. It is a bit silly by the bartenders talking about the secret brewery all the time and not telling who is brewing the beer. Some of the rumours say Aass brewery, but there are also people gossiping that Naboen's Bayer is brewed at Hansa in Bergen. Taste the beer and find out for yourself!

The other house beer is Naboen's Bitter, which is brewed by Kinn brewery in Florø. Naboen's Bitter was a new beer for me. It was a brownish beer with a small head and some carbonation. In the nose I felt yeast and toffee, while the beer tasted of toffee and a touch of grass before a partly bitter finish. I liked this bitter, which is a fine example of this British beer style.

Return to Amundsen

2011-08-19T00:11:00.012+02:00

The newest brewpub in Oslo is Amundsen Bryggeri & Spiseri. Amundsen Bryggeri & Spiseri was established in 2011 and it is a spacious restaurant with a long bar close to the Norwegian National Theatre.

Beer tourists to Oslo have a lot of Norwegian draught beers to choose from. Breweries like Nøgne Ø, Haandbryggeriet, Ægir and Waldemars are among the ones represented. In addition to these there is an excellent and varied selection of bottled beers.

I went to Amundsen to try one of the beers brewed at the premises. I had already tasted the pale ale on an earlier visit, and a pilsner did not tempt me. Instead I chose the red ale.

Amundsen Red Ale was a dark, reddish beer. It had a medium sized head but hardly any carbonation. The nose surprised me. I felt cowberries! The cowberries were still there in the mouth with a touch of malts before a finish with some fruit salad. This beer was different and good, but I felt a half litre was enought at this time.

I will be back at Amundsen Bryggeri & Spiseri. This is one of Oslo's best beer destinations.

A more than average brewpub in Oslo

2011-08-18T18:32:00.010+02:00

The traditional brewpub in Oslo is Oslo Mikrobryggeri. Oslo Mikrobryggeri was founded in 1989 and was for several years the only brewery in Oslo. The large Ringnes brewery moved its production of beers and sodas to Gjelleråsen outside Oslo in 2001.

Oslo Mikrobryggeri is based in Bogstadveien street north of the Royal castle. The brewery brews several beers, and on my recent visit I tried three of the available six. The three beers I did not taste were Oslo Mikrobryggeri's stout, porter and weizen.

The first beer was Oslo Mikrobryggeri's Steamer. This was a brownish beer with nearly no carbonation and a medium sized head. There was not much aroma from the beer, but I felt some toffee and grapes. In the mouth toffee took the lead before a watery finish. This was a nice beer, but I felt it lacked some punch in it.

Oslo Pils was a pale lager with some carbonation and a small head. In the nose there was grass and some caramel. I felt malts, toffee and grains before a grainy finish. This was another nice beer, but there are better pale lagers around in Norway.

I also tried Oslo Mikrobryggeri's IPA and was a bit disappointed. This brownish beer was not as hoppy as I had hoped for. Instead I was served a beer with aromas of toffee and grapefruit. In the mouth there was toffee and some bitter citrus before a partly bitter finish. Again Oslo Mikrobryggeri offered another nice beer, but I like my IPAs with a more assertive hop bite.

I have described the beers I have tasted from Oslo Mikrobryggeri as nice beers. But they are not extremely good. They are adequate, inoffensive session beers that are better than the average pale lagers. Oslo Mikrobryggeri is a fine pub. There is no food served there, but the beers make the brewpub a must for a beer ticker. For the average beer visitor to Oslo there are more interesting places to go.

Pale ale tasting at Schouskjelleren

2011-08-17T22:28:00.007+02:00

I have been to Schouskjelleren Mikrobryggeri once again. Schouskjelleren Mikrobryggeri is one of Oslo's newest brewpubs, and it is interesting to see what new beers that are available from visit to visit.

During my last trip to Oslo I ended up drinking three of the pale ales brewed on the premises. A fourth draught beer brewed at Schouskjelleren Mikrobryggeri was also available together with nine other draught beers and an excellent collection of bottled beer.

I started with Schouskjelleren Mikrobryggeri's Empress of India IPA. This cloudy IPA had a small head and nearly no carbonation. In the nose I felt grass, grapefruit and yeast, while the beer tasted grapefruit and grapes before a partly bitter finish with some sweetness. This was a lovely beer!

Then I tried Schouskjelleren Mikrobryggeri's Hip Hops. This beer was described by the friendly and cute waitress as a pale ale. The beer was cloudy, had a large head and some carbonation. Hip Hops had nearly no aroma, but the beer had a touch of fruit cocktail before a finish with some sour lemon. This was an average beer that I perhaps would have liked a lot more if I drank it before the Empress of India IPA.

Transport Helicopter is supposed to be a single hop pale ale. This was another cloudy beer with some carbonation. In the nose I felt some fruit cocktail and malts, while in the mouth I felt a combination of grapefruit and sweet lemons before a semi bitter finish. This was another lovely beer from Schouskjelleren Mikrobryggeri.

Schouskjelleren Mikrobryggeri is probably the most interesting brewpub in Oslo at the moment. A beer tourist should not miss out on it.

For the record: I also tried the Dresden '45 rauchbier from the Danish brewery Grassroot during this visit to Schouskjelleren Mikrobryggeri. I feel naming a smoked beer that way is tasteless by the brewery. I will therefore not comment on the beer.

From single to double

2011-08-16T23:05:00.008+02:00

Once again in Oslo, a visit to Grünerløkka Brygghus is a must for me. As always the beer bottle collection is excellent with many interesting beers available. In addition to this, there are 13 draught beer taps with several great brews. Norwegian breweries have a good presence on the draught beer list with beers from Aass, Nøgne Ø, Ægir and Kinn represented.

The house beer at Grünerløkka Brygghus is still not brewed on the premises. Instead it is Nøgne Ø who delivers Kjell Pop Single Hop. These days it is supplemented by another house beer. This is also from Nøgne Ø and is called Kjell Pop Double Hop.

Kjell Pop Double Hop is a cloudy beer with a nearly brown colour. In the glass there is hardly any carbonation, and the beer has a small head. I feel grapefruit in the nose, while the beer tastes of more grapefruit, pepper and grass before a very bitter, hoppy finish. I liked this beer at first, but it became much too bitter for me.

Grünerløkka Brygghus has become one of the pubs I always visit in Oslo. But when will you start brewing your own beer and become a real brewpub? The Norwegian word brygghus really means brewery house in English.

Disappointment at Patricks

2011-08-15T21:43:00.013+02:00

I was recommended to visit Patricks during my stay in Kristiansand. Patricks is supposed to be the best beer place in the city, and it is easily found in the pedestrian Markens gate street in the city centre.

Patricks seemed to be a popular place. The evening I was there, the place was packed. It was difficult to find a place to sit down, and the large bar was very crowded. Beerwise Patricks was interesting. In addition to a good selection of bottled beers, Patricks had 14 draught beers on tap. Among them were beers from Norwegian breweries like Nøgne Ø and Ægir.

I wanted to try a local beer, so I ordered CB's take on a Bavarian styled lager. CB Bayer was paler than what I expected from what should be a typical brownish beer. The beer had a small head and nearly no carbonation. In the nose I felt burnt malts and some caramel. The beer felt watery, but it had a caramel taste before some roasted nuts in the finish. This was a boring Bayer that I did not enjoy.

My visit at Patricks was not that fun. The staff was playing really loud music, and because of that guests were more or less shouting to each other. It was not a must staying there, and normal conversations were more or less impossible. I had a craving for an IPA and ordered a glass of Ægir. That beer was great as usual. And then I was off. I had had enough of Patricks for that evening.

A taste of CB

2011-08-14T10:00:00.008+02:00

Kristiansand is the largest city in Southern Norway. It has about 70,000 inhabitants and is Norway's fifth largest city. It is a beautiful town, and many Norwegians travel to the area during Summer. Some of Norway's best beaches are near Kristiansand, and the biggest Norwegian zoo, Dyreparken, is based just outside the city.

Markens gate street in the city centre of Kristiansand.

Earlier Kristiansand was called Christianssand. The local brewery is called CB (Christianssands Bryggeri), and it is one of Norway's oldest current breweries. It was originally founded in 1856. CB's beers are easily found in bars and restaurants around Kristiansand, and the locals are very fond of the brewery's pale lager, CB pilsner.

I had my taste of CB pilsner at Six Pence Pub in Kirkegata street. This is a large cellar pub with few guests on my visit.

In the glass CB pilsner is a golden beer with much carbonation and a small head. In the nose there is some malts and a touch of sweetness. The beer has a malty taste before a watery finish with some grains. This was an average pale lager, and I prefer buying other Norwegian beers than CB pilsner.

Drinking local beer in Malmö

2011-08-13T20:12:00.006+02:00

There is no fuss getting from Copenhagen to Malmö. Trains from Copenhagen's central station leave several times every hour, and the trip takes about half an hour.

My visit in Malmö was short, but I had time for a beer. I had been recommended the pub Bishops Arms close to the Gustav Adolfs Torg square by fellow beer blogger Have Beer Will Travel in this post. I entered the pub and was very impressed by the draught beer selection. I counted 32 taps with several interesting ales, lagers and triples, and in addition to this a lot of bottled beers were available.

Among all the great draught beers, there was also a beer brewed in Malmö. The local Malmö Brygghus brewpub is based on the other side of the town, but at Bishop Arms there is supposed to be a Malmö Brygghus beer available on tap at all times.

Malmö Brygghus' Ribban Sommer Öl was described by the friendly waitress as a pale ale. In the glass it was a brownish beer with very little carbonation and a large head. In the nose I felt caramel and nuts. The beer had a fruity taste, and I felt both oranges and mandarins before semibitter finish. This was a lovely beer.

Another glass of Ribban Sommer Öl was what I should have ordered. Instead I paid my bill and left the nice Bishops Arms pub. A plane was waiting for me at Kastrup airport.

In the Danish Alps

2011-08-09T09:21:00.008+02:00

Not far from Copenhagen's City Hall Square (and across the street from Brewpub), you can find Heidi's Bier Bar. Heidi's Bier Bar is a cellar pub with a German bierstube theme. Inside the walls have Alpine motives, and the pub's focus is on beers and schnaps. The bar looks like a place for students, but it also has a good selection of beers both from tap and in bottles.

Heidi's Bier Bar offers 17 different draught beers. From tap can drink several Erdinger and Franziskaner wheat beers, Pilsner Urquell, Grolsch, Puur, Grøn Tuborg, Tuborg Classic and Carl Special to name a few.

I wanted to try the Belgian beer Puur, but unfortunately the keg was more or less empty. Instead I ordered a half litre of Hoegaarden from tap. This is a beer I have not tried for about two years. Earlier it was easy to get hold of in Norway, but lately I have not seen the beer in any Vinmonopolet outlets. I was therefore happy to find Hoegaarden at Heidi's Bier Bar. The friendly waitress was kind enough to fill the glass nearly to the top. The original beer glass was large and heavy, so she had a challenge serving me the beer. I was also offered some complimentary beer snacks with the beer, but I turned the offer down. This is what I call great service!

The Hoegaarden beer was cloudy as usual. The beer had very little carbonation and a small head. In the nose I felt orange peels. The beer had a fruity taste. I felt some yeast, spices and a touch of bread. It was very good and a fine drink in the warm, Danish Summer weather.

I left Heidi's Bier Bar in a very good mood. This was a nice place, and I liked visiting it in the afternoon. I do not know how the pub is at midnight, but I can imagine it is more of a party place than a cozy beer bar at that hour.

The Session: Sour beer

2011-08-07T01:22:00.008+02:00

It has been a while since I have contributed to The Session. This month I am back, and this time the topic is "Sour beer" and it is hosted by Jon Abernathy at The Brew Site. Thanks for hosting, Jon!

The Session is the beer writing project where beer writers and bloggers from around the globe write on a single beer-related topic on the same day.

I have never tried a sour beer before, so this month's The Session was a great starting point. My local supermarkets do not sell sour beers, so I had to check out the nearest Vinmonopolet outlet.

There were not that many beers to be found there. I found some Belgian triples and several IPAs and porters together with the occational pale lagers that are too strong to be found in Norwegian supermarkets. But there were no sour beers in the beer section.

By chance I went to the shelf with the newest products from Vinmonopolet. Among wine bottles and liquor I found one beer bottle. And guess what! It was a sour beer. I had hoped to find a Belgian lambic or gueuze. Instead I found Mikkeler Spontanale. The Danish brewery calls it a geubic, by the way.

Mikkeler Spontanale was a fizzy, pale beer with a tiny head. In the nose I found some fruit and a touch of yeast. The taste was very different to what I expected. I felt lemon, some spices and a touch of vinegar. It was not a favourite, and I believe this beer to be an acquired taste.

I will try other sour beers in the future, but there are other beers that suits my palate better at the moment. For instance is a can of Pilsner Urquell waiting for me in the refridgerator right now.

Back at Copenhagen's Brewpub

2011-08-06T10:20:00.011+02:00

July takes me back to Copenhagen. I have a few hours to spend before I move on, and I choose to use them on something beer related. Nørrebro Bryghus is closed, and some Danish friends tell me that Bryggeriet Apollo is not the best beer place in town. In retrospect I should have taken the trip to the Mikkeller bar or Kihoskh, but instead I ended up at Brewpub.

Brewpub is not a bad choice if you go to Copenhagen. The pub brews its own beers, and at my visit eight draught beers of various beer styles were available.

I had a visit to Brewpub last December, and I had a great time then. This time the cellar bar was closed, so I had to sit down in the backyard. That was great, as the weather was warm. I used some time to choose which beer to drink.

The warm weather chose in a way the beer for me. I needed an IPA!

Brewpub's Atlantic IPA was a cloudy, brown beer. In the glass it had some carbonation and a medium sized head. I felt some grapefruit and grass in the nose. The beer had a delicious taste with some grapefruit and apples before a partly bitter finish with oranges. Lovely!

I did not feel that it was a shame to have visited Brewpub after tasting the excellent Atlantic IPA. Brewpub is to be recommended for Copenhagen tourists.

A surprising stout

2011-08-05T23:42:00.004+02:00

Dorothy Goodbody's Wholesome Stout from Wye Valley brewery is now available in some Norwegian supermarkets. That is great, as the stout selection at Norwegian shops and supermarkets is usually Guinness. And that's it. If you are lucky, you can also find Aass Stout and/or Nøgne Ø's Havrestout here and there.

Dorothy Goodbody's Wholesome Stout is a black beer with a lot of carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose there is coffee and dark chocolate. The beer tastes of cold coffee, some malts and a touch of sweetness before a partly bitter finish. Delicious! This is a lovely stout that I hope will be available in more Norwegian supermarkets. If you want a stout in Norway, you do not have to buy Guinness anymore.

Danish stout

2011-07-31T08:28:00.003+02:00

Danish craft brewers are making several interesting beers at the moment. One of the interesting breweries in Denmark right now is Nørrebro Bryghus, and in their line-up of beers you can find La Granja Stout.

La Granja Stout is a black beer. It is a black, fizzy beer with nearly no head. In the nose I feel cold coffee and some limonade. The stout tastes of coffee and some licorice. This is a nice stout, but I would prefer to see it with less carbonation and a larger head. La Granja Stout has 7.5% alcohol.

Pilsner Urquell light

2011-07-29T23:41:00.009+02:00

Among the international beer brands available in Sweden, you can find Pilsner Urquell. If you go to Systembolaget it is possible to buy the original pilsner beer in bottles or cans. But Pilsner Urquell is also available in another version in Sweden. It is brewed by the Pilsner Urquell brewery itself on the original site in Plzeň, Czech Republic unlike the licenced beers brewed in Poland and Russia. This Pilsner Urquell version is sold in Swedish supermarkets and shops and has 3.5% alcohol. The original Pilsner Urquell has 4.4% alcohol. The Russian and Polish licence products probably have the same alcohol content.

The beer is a golden lager with some carbonation and a small head. In the nose there is grass and hops. The taste is very alike the ordinary Pilsner Urquell, but it is not that fruity nor bitter. I feel it is a watered down version of the original, but it is still a very good and refreshing beer. In fact it is the best 3.5% lager beer I have found in Swedish supermarkets.

I am very fond of the real Pilsner Urquell. I also like this 3.5% version, but I do not like that the brewery misuses its name. Pilsner Urquell is German and means original source of Plzeň. This is not the beer Josef Groll made in Plzeň in 1842 that later become the prototype of all beers in the pilsner style. It has the same hops and the same malting, but it is not the same beer. I feel that is a shame. The brand name gives a promise, but this beer is not delivering what the name offers. The same goes for the licence production of Pilsner Urquell outside the Czech Republic. Those beers are made from other water sources and not the original wells of Plzeň and should therefore be called something else than Pilsner Urquell.

Special ales for Sweden

2011-07-28T08:36:00.004+02:00

There are not only 3.5% lagers that are available in Swedish supermarket shelves. Also various ales can be found, and these exist in special lower alcohol versions only available in Sweden. The ordinary beers are found at the state owned Systembolaget outlets.

Wychwood's Hobgoblin is an English ale. In Swedish supermarkets it is found as a beer with 3.5% alcohol. There is nearly no carbonation, and the brownish beer builds a large head. In the nose there is sweetness and caramel, while the beer itself tastes sweet with fruity tones and a touch of toffee. The finish is unfortunately a bit sweeter than what I hoped, but in all Hobgoblin 3.5% is a fine ale.

Brakspear is another English brewery. In a Swedish supermarket I found Brakspear Double Dropped Bitter. This is an amber beer with as good as no head nor carbonation. In the nose there is hops and some fruit. The beer tastes apple, sweetness and some hops before a bitter finish. This is another fine ale, and it has 3.4% alcohol.

Lager versions from Sweden

2011-07-26T23:51:00.010+02:00

Swedish alcohol legislation prohibits the sale of beer with more than 3.5% alcohol in shops and supermarkets. Instead these beers are sold at the state owned alcohol monopoly, Systembolaget. This means that there is a market in Sweden for beers with 3.5% alcohol and slightly lesss. Most breweries selling beers in Sweden want to have a market share in this segment. From what I hear from Swedes, most of these beers are stronger beers that have been watered down to the right alcohol strength. Here I will take a look at some pale lagers available at 3.5% alcohol or less.

Risingsbo is a Swedish brewery. The Risingsbo 1856 Premium 3.5 is a fizzy pale lager with nearly no head. In the nose there is malt and sweetness. The beer tastes sweet with some apples and grass. The finish is watery. This is an average lower alcohol beer that does its job when you are thirst in the sun, on the beach, or after a work-out. In all it is an average lager beer.

Perlenbacher is one of the Lidl supermarket chain's beer brands. It was called Bergadler earlier. The Perlenbacher Premium 3.5 is another pale lager. It has some carbonation and a small head. There are hardly any aromas from the beer, but in the mouth I feel a touch of grass and apples. The beer is watery, and it has some hops and yeast in the finish. A boring beer.

Tuborg Pure Gold 3.5 is also a pale lager. In the glass there is some carbonation and barely a head. In the nose I feel sweetness and a tiny touch of citrus. The taste in this watery beer is of malts and some grass, but there is also a metallic touch. Hopefully it is from the can, which has a cool design.

BrewDog is the (in)famous Scottish brewery. On their website they call themselves a brewery that "makes innovative, progressive and exciting full flavour beers". The special Swedish 3.4% alcohol version of '77 Lager is not neccessarily such a beer. In the glass this is a pale beer with a lot of carbonation and a small head. In the nose there is some fruit cocktail and yeast. I feel biscuit, grass and some grapefruit in the mouth together with a watery feeling. The finish is bitter with some yeast. It is the best of all these beers, but it is a shadow compared to the ordinary '77 Lager.

Three dark ales

2011-07-24T23:31:00.007+02:00

I fancy a porter or a stout now and then. There are many good dark beers out there, and here is a round-up of three dark ales.

First out is Fuller's London Porter. The beer is black, and it has nearly no carbonation. It has a small head, and in the nose I feel cold coffee and some dark chocolate. In the nose the dark chocolate takes the lead with a touch of coffee. This is a fine porter.

Carnegie Porter is Swedish, and it is available in several versions. The 3.5% version is a black beer with some carbonation and hardly a head. I feel some chocolate in the nose. In the mouth there is some dark chocolate before a watery finish. This is an average beer.

Young's Double Chocolate Stout is also a black beer. There is some carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose I feel coffee and chocolate and some burnt notes. In the mouth I feel chocolate and some sweetness before a partly bitter finish. This was a nice stout, but it is not among the better ones I have tried.

Convent beers and more

2011-07-23T14:43:00.008+02:00

The Swedish island of Gotland is east of the mainland. It has a brewery, Gotland bryggeri, which has several beers on the market. One of them is Wisby klosteröl, a monastery beer.

In the glass this is a nearly amber beer with some carbonation and a medium sized head. I feel aromas of grapefruit, and in the mouth there is some very bitter grapefruit and a touch of apples. The finish is very disappointing, as the tastes more or less disappear.

Franziskaner is one of the better known German wheat beers. The Franziskaner weizen is a cloudy beer with some carbonation. In the nose there is sweetness and banana, while in the mouth there is banana, grass, chewing gum and a touch of bread. This is a lovely wheat beer, and it is one of the best I have tasted.

Nils Oscar is also a Swedish brewery. They have a Kalasöl, which is an interpretation of a German Märzen or Festbier. The beer is brownish with some carbonation and a small head. I feel some caramel and citrus in the nose. In the mouth I feel toffee and malts before a finish with some coffee.

Zlatý Bažant is a brewery owned by Heineken. The name means Golden Pheasant. It is based in Slovakia, and I have found their lagers also in supermarkets in the Czech Republic. This looks like a typical Czech pale lager with some carbonation. In the glass it builds a small head. I feel grass and malts in the nose, while the beer tastes of grass and some caramel before a hoppy finish. This is a nice lager, but the better Czech lagers are more interesting than Zlatý Bažant.

Two Summer beers

2011-07-22T16:51:00.002+02:00

I have yet to find Brooklyn Summer Ale in a Norway, but at 4.5% alcohol it is a beer that could be sold at ordinary shops and supermarkets.

The beer has a pale colour. There is a lot of carbonation and it builds a medium sized head. In the nose I feel lemon and oranges. In the mouth I feel malts and lemon before a watery finish with a touch of biscuits and lemon. This was a nice thirst quencher in the sun.

Sigtuna Summer IPA hails from Sweden. This a a dark and cloudy beer with nearly no carbonation nor head. Grapefruit dominates both in the nose and in the mouth. I also feel some lemon, grass and toffee before a semi bitter finish. This was a lovely beer with an alcohol content of 7%.

A taste of Dalarna

2011-07-20T10:25:00.004+02:00

Oppigårds is a Swedish brewery based in the province of Dalarna. The brewery has several interesting beers, and in this post I will take a look at two of their ales.

Oppigårds Single Hop Ale is a pale beer with some carbonation and a small head. In the nose I feel citric aromas. In the mouth there is sweet oranges with some bitterness. The finish has a lot of grapefruit. This was a beer I liked a lot.

Oppigårds Golden Ale also has a small head and some carbonation. In this beer grapefruit takes the lead in the nose. The beer is very hoppy with tastes of grapefruit and some pepper. This was another lovely beer from Oppigårds. To be recommended!

Swedish delight

2011-07-19T00:28:00.008+02:00

Last year I wrote about beer in Sweden. This year I have tried more Swedish beers, and I have tried to stay away from the more well known brands like Pripps, Falcon, Spendrups and Åbro.

St. Eriks is an interesting brewery according to its beers. I have tried two of them and was very pleased. St. Eriks IPA has 5.3% alcohol. It had a brownish colour. There was nearly no carbonation nor head. In the nose I felt grapefruit. The taste was very fruity with grapefruit and apple taking the lead with a touch of pepper. The finish was bitter and lovely. A great IPA!

St. Eriks Pale Ale had a tobacco aroma. There was nearly no carbonation, but the beer had a medium sized head. In the mouth there was rhubarb and cherries. I liked the beer a lot. It was pleasant and tasty, but the IPA was the better beer. Still, both these two beers from St. Erik are worth checking out.

Beer notes update

2011-07-18T20:00:00.008+02:00

Sometimes I get a large backlog of beer notes. This is one of the times, and here I will present my thoughts on five beers. Four of them are Norwegian, and the last one is from the United States.

Aass pale ale is a copper coloured beer with some carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose there is caramel, yeast and some sweetness. In the mouth I feel some fruit salad, toffee and a touch of yeast before a semi bitter finish. This was a nice beer that I liked.

Aass bayer is a more interesting beer. It is made in the Bavarian style, and it has not much carbonation nor a large head. In the nose there is caramel, and I feel the beer tastes of caramel and some coffee. The finish is watery but with coffee and spices still making the beer worth checking out.

Arendalspilsner is a pale lager from Arendal. It is from the same district as the Norwegian cult brewery Nøgne Ø. In the nose I feel that Arendalspilsner has some malts, grass and sweetness. This is a partly sweet beer with some maltiness and a touch of apples. The finish has a touch of bitterness. This is a decent pale lager, but there are many beers I prefer drinking compared to it.

Seidel pale lager is one of those Norwegian generic brand beers where the brewery name is disclosed on the can. In the glass the Seidel beer is fizzy with a large head. I feel malts and sweetness in the nose, and in the mouth there is some malts before a partly bitter and watery finish. This is a boring lager that it is easy to avoid.

Duck-Rabbit Märzen is an American beer. This is a copper coloured beer with some carbonation and a small head. There is some burnt malts and caramel in the nose, and the beer has the same taste except for an extra touch of honey. This beer was a little bit too sweet for me, and I felt it was boring before I had emptied my glass.

A devil and a wheat beer

2011-07-15T23:46:00.005+02:00

Mack Hveteøl is a new wheat beer from the brewery who claims to be the most northern brewery in the world. In Norway it is only available at selected Vinmonopolet outlets. The beer is cloudy with some carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose there is banana, and I feel banana in the mouth before a fruit cocktail with a touch of vodka leads on to a watery finish. This was a nice effort from Mack, but I felt it had a much too fruity taste than what I expected from a wheat beer.

Kinn Bøvelen is the micro brewery's take on a Belgian triple. Bøvelen means the devil in the local West-Norwegian dialect. The beer has a cloudy, coppery colour. There is some carbonation, but the beer builds a large head. In the nose I feel yeast and fruit. The taste is very fruity with plums and prunes taking the lead with some yeast in the background. The feels nice for a while, but in the end it becomes too sweet for me. Kinn has better beers, and if you can find the Vestkyst IPA it is well worth to be tasted.

Two beers at Oslo airport

2011-07-14T10:00:00.014+02:00

I had left the city centre of Oslo to catch a plane at Oslo's Gardermoen airport. This time I was early at the airport, so I sat down at the Christiania bar to have some beer.

As always the draught beer selection at the airport leaves something to be desired. At Christiania you can have Ringnes, Carlsberg or Stella Artois pale lagers. Are you ready for some ales, there is Kilkenny and Guinness from tap.

I would not have any of these beers, so I checked out the beer bottle selection. There I found some beers I had not tried earlier. The Ringnes brewery distributes some of the Brooklyn beers in Norway, and I wanted to check out Brooklyn East India Pale Ale.

In the Ringnes branded glass the Brooklyn East India Pale Ale had some carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose I felt grapefruit. I found grapefruit, sour oranges and some spices in the mouth before a semi bitter finish with some passionfruit. This was a lovely beer!

There was also time for a Jacobsen dark lager. Jacobsen is Carlsberg's mini brewery, and I have enjoyed some of the other Jacobsen beers earlier. The dark lager was not a favourite. It was a dark beer with nearly no carbonation and a small head. Except for a tiny hint of coffee and caramel, there was no aroma. In the mouth the beer felt watery with some caramel. I felt it was boring.

As I went to my flight, I had once again the same feeling: Why is it not possible for Oslo airport to sell some Norwegian craft beers? And why not as draught beers? The airport is the largest in Norway, and many tourists travel through it. This could be a nice place to show the better beers of Norway to visitors.

Nøgne Ø's pils at Grünerløkka Brygghus

2011-07-13T00:29:00.017+02:00

Last year Grünerløkka Brygghus started up in Oslo. It was planned to be a brewpub, but for the first months it only sold beers brewed elsewhere. The house beer, Kjell Pop Single Hop, is made for the pub by Nøgne Ø.

These days the situation is the same. On my recent visit, there were no in-house brewed beers available. Still, the pub is a great place with a more than decent menu of bottled beer and 11 draught beers.

I was looking forward to another glass of Kjell Pop Single Hop, but the draught beer list made me choose another beer. Nøgne Ø has been making a pils for the last year or so, but I had never been in a pub having it available before now. Of course, I had to try the pils.

What is a pils? Sure, most of you blog readers know about Josef Groll and his efforts to make a new beer for the citizen's brewery in Plzeň (also known as Pilsen) in 1842. Well, Nøgne Ø's pils is not a typical emulation of that beer. It has another taste profile, and I did not feel any Saaz hops. Sure, a lot of beers are called pilsners, but only beers brewed in Plzeň or with the same recipe should have the name.

After this little preach, I must confess that I really liked Nøgne Ø's "pils". It was a cloudy beer with a nearly golden colour. There was nearly no carbonation and a small head. In the nose I felt some citrus, while grapefruit took the lead in the mouth with a touch of apple. The finish was bitter and lovely. I liked the beer a lot. It should have been called Nøgne Ø lager, though, but I understand why Nøgne Ø uses the name. Nearly all breweries call their pale lagers pilsners, but a brewery that is so good at making their own versions of various beer styles like Nøgne Ø should be careful calling their pale lager a pilsner the way I see it. This is not an emulation of Pilsner Urquell, but it is still a very good beer.

Grünerløkka Brygghus is a great pub in Oslo. Do not miss out on it if you walk the streets of the Norwegian capital or somehow get on Oslo tram number 11. It is easy to find the pub at Thorvald Meyers Gate street near the Olaf Ryes plass tram stop.

Finally Olympen

2011-07-12T12:13:00.012+02:00

Oslo is an interesting destination for beer travellers. The last few years more and more bars and pubs have started selling craft beers, and Norwegian craft breweries like Nøgne Ø, Haandbryggeriet, Kinn and Ægir have made a name for themselves brewing excellent beers. There are many restaurants in Oslo selling craft beers on tap, and nowadays it is easy to make several pub crawls in the Norwegian capital testing out new draught beers on every crawl. One of the better places for a beer visit is Olympen.

Olympen is a traditional beer hall. Some years ago it had a reputation as a local smoke filled boozer, but nowadays this is a large and spacious restaurant with a solid and much better public image. Olympen is called Lompa by locals, and it has a nice atmosphere. After hearing many recommendations about the beer hall, I finally could enter it at its location in Grønlandsleiret street in the Grønland neighbourhood.

In addition to bottled beers, there are several draught beers available at Olympen. The house beer is Hansa pale lager, and it is by far the least interesting draught beer available. In addition there were five other beers on tap the evening I visited Olympen. Two of the beers were from Oslo's Schoukjelleren Mikrobryggeri, and I decided to check out one of the local brews. My choice was Schouskjelleren's Thunderbear Stout.

Thunderbear Stout was served in an original Schoukjelleren Mikrobryggeri glass. It was a black beer with a medium sized head and nearly no carbonation. In the nose I felt some coffee and burnt malts. The taste was of cold coffee and some chocolate cake. I liked this stout a lot.

It was unfortunately time to move on. I had things to do the next day, so I needed to call it a night. But I know I will be back at Olympen.

Back to Schouskjelleren

2011-07-11T23:58:00.007+02:00

Schouskjelleren Mikrobryggeri is one of Oslo's newest brewpubs. It is placed where the former Schous brewery once was based in the Grünerløkka neighbourhood.

The pub feels more like a beer hall. At this visit four beers from the in-house brewery were available. In addition to these, there were nine draught beers from other breweries and a large selection of bottled beers.

I chose one of Schoukjelleren's own beers, and I ended up with Schoukjelleren Sommer-Kölsch. This was a yellowish beer with a small head and nearly no carbonation. In the nose I felt nearly nothing except for a touch of tutti frutti bubble gum. In the mouth I felt fruit, sweetness and some yeast. Tastewise this was a lovely beer.

My second visit to Schouskjelleren Mikrobryggeri was short, but I could take home a souvenir. Schouskjelleren Mikrobryggeri's original beer glasses were available at the cheap price of 15 NOK (nearly 2 EUR). That is a great idea, as I believe this is a way to counter beer glass theft from pubs. In addition to this the pub visit will live on for a tourist. You will remember both the pub and the time spent there afterwards.

Oslo's newest brewpub

2011-07-04T09:26:00.011+02:00

Back in Oslo, I needed to check out Amundsen Bryggeri & Spiseri. This is a combined restaurant and brewpub in the city centre. It opened earlier this year, and right now it is the newest brewpub in the Norwegian capital.

In addition to the beers brewed by Amundsen, the beer selection is large both in bottles and from tap. That was really a problem for me, as Amundsen Bryggeri & Spiseri offered more than 20 draught beers from various breweries. I had a time limit and thought it over. There were many interesting brews, but I decided to check out one brewed by Amundsen.

That day Amundsen had three of their own brews for sale: A pilsner, a pale ale and påskebokk (Easter Bock). I chose the pale ale.

In the glass Amundsen pale ale was a cloudy beer with an amber colour. It had a medium sized head and nearly no carbonation. In the nose I felt some grapefruit, while the grapefruit was present in the mouth with a touch of apples before a partly bitter finish. This was a great beer, and I enjoyed it very much.

It was a shame that I had to move on from Amundsen after a short visit. It was a large, inviting beer hall with many guests and a tempting beer selection. Oslo now has many interesting places for beer tourists, and Amundsen is one of them. I must be back on my next visit to Oslo and spend some more time at this brewpub.

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Arlanda beer hunt

2011-07-03T09:30:00.011+02:00

My plane from Arlanda was late, and there would be at least an extra hour for me at Stockholm's airport. I had checked some of the beer possibilities in Terminal 2, and I had tried two half litres of pale lager at the terminal's bars. Sure, I could have some other beer I had not tasted earlier from bottle, but I wanted to check out some other part of the airport to see if I could find some exciting draught beers.

First I went into the tax free shop at Terminal 2. The beer selection there was boring. I could have Carlsberg or Tuborg. No Swedish beer brands were available, and this being Sweden's largest airport it could have been a fantastic place to sell the best Swedish beers to take home for a tourist.

No such luck. I left Terminal 2 to see what to find elsewhere. Walking towards the other terminals, I saw a sign showing the way to SkyCity. SkyCity is Arlanda's mall with shops, bars and restaurants. That would be the right place to look.

SkyCity had a facinating architecture. It was a building where space age fancy decour took the lead. It was not a welcoming place, and I did not feel at home. Free wifi was available, though, and that was a plus.

There were several bars and restaurants upstairs at Sky City. I chose one of the first I saw, New Orleans Bistro & Bar.

New Orleans Bistro & Bar had a nice selection of bottled beers, but from draught Brooklyn Lager was the most interesting beer compared to Kronenbourg 1664 and Carlsberg Export. I had to have a taste of the American beer, and I went for the largest glass: 0.75 litres.

In the glass Brooklyn Lager was a nearly browninsh beer with some carbonation and a small head. The beer had a nice aroma with caramel leading on with a tiny touch of grass. In the mouth caramel and citrus tastes danced along before a semi bitter finish with some toffee. This was a lovely beer, and i enjoyed it very much. It gave the Stockholm stopover and flight delay a nice finish.

Stopover in Stockholm

2011-07-02T11:32:00.012+02:00

On my way home, I had to have a stopover at Stockholm's airport Arlanda. Arlanda is a big airport, and it is among the largest ones in Scandinavia. The airport has four terminals, and a lot of passengers travel through the airport every day.

I started out at Terminal 2. There I chose to sit down at the East And West bar and restaurant. The bar offered Småland lager as a draught beer, and that was very tempting. I liked the beer a lot when I tasted it from can last year. Unfortunately, the beer was only available in bottles, but I went for it.

The beer had some carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose I felt toffee, grass and a touch of grapes. In the mouth some caramel, malts and biscuit were present. It was a nice beer, but unfortunately there was a metallic touch in the aftertaste. Still I liked it a lot!

I also tried a bar upstairs at terminal 2. Etage bar and restaurant had a large seating area, but I chose to sit at the bar.

There were several beers to choose from. The popular beer among the other guests at my visit was the Swedish lager Eriksberg from bottles.

As usual I prefer drinking draught beer at bars, and I could choose from three beers: Carlsberg Hof, Carlsberg Export and Staropramen. I am not a fan of the Czech brewery's pale lagers, so I went for Carlsberg Hof.

Carlsberg Hof is the traditional pale lager from the Danish brewery giant. In the glass there was some carbonation and nearly no head. In the nose there was grass and malts. The beer had not much taste, but I felt some malts and a touch of yeast in the finish. Carlsberg Hof is a nice thirst quencher, but I prefer other pale lagers.

Back to Pegas

2011-06-24T23:45:00.004+02:00

The best brewpub in Brno is Pegas. That is what the guide books I have been reading say, and I can not tell anything else. Pegas is the only brewpub I have visited in the Moravian city.

Pegas is both a hotel, a brewery and a beer hall. As a beer hall it is perfect with a great interior. As a brewery I am really impressed. The beers brewed at Pegas have a great reputation, and the ones I have tasted have been very good.

I visited Pegas two years ago and I had a wonderful time. This revisit to Pegas was just as fun. First I tried the pale lager, Světlý Ležák. It was still great. This is a cloudy beer with nearly no carbonation and a large head. In the nose yeast take the lead. In the mouth this is a wonderful beer with traces of yeast, lemon and hops before a fruity finish. This is an extraordinary beer that is to be recommended!

But there are more beers available at Pegas. On the table the beer menu said that I could also have a dark lager, a wheat beer and Pegas Gold. The latter is a stronger pale lager. I chose none of them.On a poster I found Pegas also offered another beer called Pegas Březňák. I tried that beer instead.

Pegas Březňák was another cloudy pale lager. In the glass it had nearly no carbonation and a medium sized head. The beer was fruity before a semi bitter finish. It was lovely, but I preferred the ordinary Světlý Ležák at Pegas.

If you go to Brno, Pegas is a must. This is a wonderful brewpub with excellent beers and a nice atmosphere. It is to be recommended!

A large one

2011-06-23T23:41:00.001+02:00

One of the more known Czech beer brands is the Heineken owned Březňák. These days the Březňák brewery is among the Czech breweries selling beers in large PET bottles. I found a Březňák 2 litre PET bottle, and of course it was checked out.

Velky Březňák is two litres of Březňák's světlé výčepní in a large plastic bottle. The beer has 4.1% alcohol and is a pale lager. In the glass there is nearly no carbonation nor head. In the nose I feel some grains, while in the mouth there is malts, bread and some butter. The finish is watery with some hops and a touch of toffee.

This effort from Březňák is a fine lager beer that is very suitable as a session beer. In all this is a decent beer.

Two pubs in Brno

2011-06-18T07:54:00.011+02:00

It is evening, and it is time to take a walk through the city centre of Brno checking out some of the pubs there. Brno has loads of pubs, so it is difficult to choose where to go. Czech lagers are among the better ones in the world, and it is tempting to sit down where they sell Pilsner Urquell or Budweiser Budvar. But no. I want to have something else.

In the Beethovenova street I see a sign promoting the club and restaurant Freeland. It says that Freeland sells beer from the Dalešice brewery. I tried a kvasnicove from Dalešice two years ago and liked it a lot, so I decide to stop there.

Freeland is supposed to be a trendy place, and inside there is a group of teenagers dancing and having fun. I trek towards the bar to see which beers are available.

There are four taps at Freeland. In addition to a Dalešice pale lager, you can buy draught beers from the Starobrno and Svijany breweries. There is also draugted Kofola, a Czech cola. I choose the Dalešice beer.

Dalešice's 11° pale lager is served with a large head and hardly any carbonation. There are nearly no aromas from the beer, but in the mouth I feel strawberries and some malt. The beer feels a little bit watery as well. I like the beer, but the Dalešice kvasnicove was a better beer.

From Freeland I once again enter the streets of Brno. In Vachova street I find another interesting place. Strakonický Dudák offers beers from the Strakonice brewery. That is interesting, so I walk inside.

At the bar there are several taps, and in addition to the Strakonice beers Strakonický Dudák also sells beers from Chotěboř and Měšťanský pivovar v Poličce. I choose the Polička beer and enjoy the 12° pale lager Záviš. I have tried it from bottle earlier, and it is an enjoyable beer.

After my half litre of Záviš I leave Strakonický Dudák thinking that it is a great place. There are better pubs in Brno, but a visitor could do worse than visiting Strakonický Dudák.

More Černá Hora beers

2011-06-17T20:31:00.009+02:00

Being in Brno it is easy to take a pub crawl drinking quality beers from Czech breweries. There are many exciting breweries in the Czech Republic, and some of them are available in bars and pubs in Brno.

It is no secret that I am fond of the beers from the Černá Hora brewery. As I was walking past the tiny Pasáž Typos mall near Náměstí Svobody on an evening walk, I for some reason decided to enter. Inside I found a little pub advertising Černá Hora beers. I had to sit down there.

The little pub had no name, but the waitress called it Pivnice when I wanted to try the free wi-fi offered there. That was great. I could update myself on news and e-mails and drink a wonderful beer.

I went for a Moravské Sklepní. This excellent pale lager was served with a large head and nearly no carbonation. In the nose I felt a tiny hint of malts, but otherwise nothing. As usual that changed when I tasted the beer. Moravské Sklepní is delicious with tastes of malts, yeast and a tiny touch of lemon before a partly hoppy finish. A great beer!

I also had a glass of Kvasar. This is Černá Hora's honey beer, and it is very good. Moravské Sklepní is the better beer, but that did not matter. Both beers are fabulous. I would like to sit here for the rest of the evening, but there was no time. Other Brno pubs needed to be visited.

And on to Brno

2011-06-16T23:48:00.005+02:00

There are several places for a visitor to Vienna to take a day trip. Sopron in Hungary is less than 90 minutes away by train. The same goes for Bratislava in Slovakia and Brno in the Czech Republic. I had been on a trip to Brno before, and I knew what to expect. I therefore chose to revisit the Moravian city.

I like to travel by train, and taking the train to Brno from Vienna was no problem at all. There are several trains a day, and the one I took was an express train to Prague that had Brno as one of its stops.

There are several train stations in Vienna. My Prague bound train went from the Meidling station. On the way through the city, the train passed the site of the old Südbahnhof. The Austrians are building a new main railway station for Vienna there, and right now it is nothing but a large construction site.

The hilly landscape between Vienna and the Czech border is beautiful. You see several small villages, and there is also some farm land.

Across the border the train stopped at Břeclav. I decided to walk into the station building to see if there was any beer available. One of the newsagents' was open, but for some reason it did not sell beer. The other was closed, but of course I could see through the window that various beer cans were available. I went back to the train without beer.

After a short while, the train arrived at Brno. Brno's railway station is a beautiful building. The same can be said about the city itself. It has a compact city centre, and it is easy to walk from the train station to many sights.

One of the most known buildings in Brno is the Cathedral of St. Peter and Paul. The church can be found on the Czech 10 korona coins, and it can be seen from more or less everywhere in the city centre.

Náměstí Svobody is the main square of Brno. It is a short walk from the railway station, but lazy beer tourists can of course take the tram. The trams are the only traffic in the square, as it otherwise is a pedestrian area. That is great, as the square is a nice place without cars and buses.

One of the newest sights on Náměstí Svobody is Brnensky Orloj. This is a clock, believe it or not. From what I heard during my stay in Brno, the work is called the Brno dildo by locals.

When I got to Náměstí Svobody I was thirsty. I knew where to go. Černohorský sklep is based on the square, and it is possible to drink the very good beers from the Černá Hora brewery. It was sunny and warm weather, so a beer in the sun was a must.

I sat down and ordered a Moravské Sklepní pale lager. This is an unfiltered lager beer that I have enjoyed several times earlier. It went down quickly, and I enjoyed every drop of it. Then I had a glass of Kvasar. Kvasar is Černá Hora's honey beer. This is another lovely beer, but in the end it became sweeter than I preferred. I should have chosen another glass of Moravské Sklepní.

I then chose to go inside. The whole line-up of Černá Hora beers were available, and I found out that I would try the dark lager, Granát.

Granát was a nearly black beer with a large, solid head and a minimum of carbonation. There was a touch of coffee in the nose, while the taste was dominated by cold coffee and a touch of sweetness before a semi bitter finish. Once again I had found a lovely beer from Černá Hora, and I knew that there would be more possibilities to try more from the Moravian brewery during the next 24 hours.