A little beer roundup

There has not been that much updates on this blog lately, and I have many tasting notes laying around. Here is a collection of three of these tasting notes, and this post one consists of my thoughts on various draught beers.

Beer Here Ammestout is of course from the Danish brewery Beer Here. It is supposed to be a traditional milk stout, and it had a lot of coffee in the nose. The beer tasted of cold coffee with a touch of milky cappuccino. It was really an enjoyable beer as served at Henrik in Bergen, Norway.

Also in Bergen I tried out Waldemar Dark Ale at Biskopen. This beer was nearly black and had barely any head, nor carbonation. In the nose I felt sweetness and some raspberry. I felt fruit cocktail and some raspberry in the mouth, but the finish was a bit watery. I liked this beer, which is one of the better ones from Hansa's little craft brewery.

My tasting notes do not tell where I tried Ægir Alt. This Norwegian brewery has many interesting beers in their line-up, but this one felt a bit boring. In the glass this was a copper coloured beer with nearly no carbonation. It had aromas of sourness and leather. In the mouth I felt peaches and caramel before a finish with toffee and cardboard. This was not to my liking, and Ægir has more interesting beer than this.

Scottish Viking

Ægir is one of Norway's most interesting breweries at the moment. One of the newest beers in their line-up is a Scottish Ale called Ægir Lindisfarne.

In the glass, Ægir Lindisfarne has a dark copper colour. It has a medium sized head and some carbonation. I feel sweetness and some smoke in the nose. In the mouth there is some sweetness and smoke. The finish is sweet with a touch of smoke. The beer is OK, but it is no favourite.

Back at the office

Kontoret's name is just clever. In English it means "the office", and they have a slogan that can be translated as the office being open for overtime work. As a beer bar, Kontoret is one of the better ones in Bergen. There are six beer taps, and some of them always offer beers from Ægir and other craft breweries.

Kontoret is part of a restaurant house that has a anniversary this Spring. To commemorate the anniversary, Kontoret offers a house beer at the moment. This is a kölsch brewed by Ægir.

Kontoret Jubileumsbrygg had a cloudy, pale colour. There was no carbonation and a small head. In the nose I felt some fruit, yeast and sourness. The taste was fruity with a touch of citrus before a finish with some grass and yeast. This was a nice beer, but I prefer beers in other styles than this.

At an earlier visit to Kontoret, I also tasted Mikkeler Cream Ale. This was a cloudy beer with no carbonation and barely a head. In the nose citrus took the lead, while the beer had lemon to the fore. The finish was watery and boring. I did not enjoy this beer.

Bergen now has three pubs serving house beers. That is a nice development. Although Henrik Imperial Amber is the best of the house beers, Kontoret Jubileumsbrygg is a fine beer. At Naboen you can drink Naboen Bayer and Naboen Bitter. The tasty bitter is brewed by Kinn, while the Bavarian styled beer is rumoured to be brewed by Aass. The waiters at Naboen do not want to disclose the brewery site, and that is stupid. Therefore I give my kudos to Kontoret and Henrik for being up front offering relevant consumer information.

A taste of Easter

While there are a lot of Norwegian breweries making Christmas beers, there are not that many making beers for Easter. Sure, when I read other beer blogs and read Facebook posts, I see that there are some beers available. But most of them are either sold out or they have a lousy distribution.

I had a search for Easter beers in Bergen last Saturday. After visiting the better stocked Vinmonopolet outlets, the better supermarkets and some of the city's beer bars I had to make a conclusion. This year's Easter beers might be available for a selected few beer tickers, but not for the average Norwegian beer drinker.

By mistake I found one Easter beer while not looking for one. Ægir's Påskesol was available at a Meny supermarket. The beer had a best before date in 2014, so I believe this is a batch made for this Easter. In the glass Ægir Påskesol was a cloudy beer with some carbonation and a large head. In the nose I felt sweetness and some yeast. The beer had an assertive touch of Belgian yeast, some wheat and fruit cocktail before a rather anonymous finish with some tutti frutti chewing gum.

Sure, Påskesol is just another of those average beers that you would like to try again now and then but rarely bother. With a price tag of nearly 60 NOK for 0.5 litres I would rather buy something else. I could get two bottles of Lervig's Lucky Jack pale ale at the same price, or perhaps I should fork out less than an additional tenner to buy Ægir's IPA? Both are more interesting Norwegian beers, the way I see it.

A taste of IPA or three

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.

Two more Christmas beers

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!

A Rye IPA

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.

A taste of Christmas

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.

Kollaborator and more

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.

Vinmonopolet's September news

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.

Disappointment at Patricks

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.

Springtime with Ægir

It is Easter, and as the only brewery with national distribution in Norway, Ægir has made an Easter beer. Last year Ægir's Påskesol (Easter Sun) was a very good lager beer brewed at Ægir. This year Påskesol is brewed for Ægir by a brewery in Belgium.

I searched for Påskesol on tap at various bars in Bergen, but the beer was only available in bottles. But at one bar, Naboen, they had another interesting Ægir beer on tap: Ægir Hefeweizen.

I had a go at this wheat beer. In the glass it was a cloudy beer with some carbonation and a little head. I felt bread, grains and some banana in the nose. In the mouth there was biscuit, bread and banana, while the finish had banana and grains. This was a lovely wheat beer, and I hope it will soon be available in bottles.

What about the Easter beer then? Well, I have tried it several times at home in bottles. It is a nice lager, but nowhere as good as last year's version. In the nose I felt malts and some citrus, while the mouth was dominated by some fruits and a touch of yeast before a sour finish. Last year an orange taste was present. This year the orange has been toned down. Unfortunately, because this very good beer could have been an excellent one.

Another round of beers

It is a good time being a beer drinker in Norway these days. There is always a new beer to try out at Vinmonopolet, and the same goes for the shops and supermarkets. It is a pity paying Norwegian prices, though. Some beers at Vinmonopolet cost more than 100 NOK, and buying them at a bar is no cheap experience. My bottle of Kinn's Dampen mentioned below had a price tag of 150 NOK. That is nearly 17 GBP.

Nøgne Ø Sunturnbrew is a beer that has received a lot of praise from beer bloggers. I was excited about the beer when I saw it in the glass with a tempting brownish colour. The beer had some carbonation and a small head. In the nose I felt coffee, cocoa and some smoke. The smoke dominated in the mouth with a touch of malt. I have been drinking some smoke beers that I have enjoyed. Nøgne Ø Sunturnbrew was unfortunately no winner for me. Actually, I felt it was boring and onedimensional. The beer is strong with 11% alcohol.

Ægir Brime is a red lager, according to the label. It is a copper coloured beer with a large head and some carbonation. In the nose there is yeast and cold coffee. In the mouth I felt malts and a touch of dark chocolate, The beer is somewhat watery, and it has a semibitter finish. I liked it, and just like the label told me it was refreshing. I would prefer it with a fuller body.

I had a bottle of St. Austell Proper Job IPA right after I had finished a glass of Ægir IPA. That told me that the Ægir IPA was the better beer, but Proper Job is also a very good IPA. It has a golden colour, and there is some carbonation. The head is medium sized, but it dissolves quickly. In the nose there are hops and citrus, while the beer has a dominant feeling of lemon with a touch of apples. The finish is partly bitter with a hint of grapes.

Kinn Dampen is a steam beer from the tiny Norwegian brewery. I have unfortunately lost my tasting notes, but I liked nearly everything with this beer except for the finish. I felt the sour finish with some pines was not to my liking, but I will try it again at a later point in time.

BrewDog Nanny State is called an insanely hopped imperial mild on the label. In the glass the beer is copper coloured with a medium sized head. There is very little carbonation, and the beer has aromas of grapefruit. In the mouth Nanny State is watery. I feel some grapefruit and a touch of pepper before a bitter finish. This is not the best beer I have had from BrewDog, but I know I will drink it now and then. It has 0.5% alcohol and is thus considered alcohol free. Therefore I know which non-alcoholic beer to drink the next time. It will be Nanny State!

Dark Norwegians

Visiting restaurants and supermarkets, it is easy to believe that Norwegian beers are more or less pale lagers. Lager beers in the pilsner category is what most Norwegians consider as beer, and if you order "øl" in a Norwegian bar you will get pale lager.

Norway has a long tradition brewing other beer styles than pale lagers, and at one point in time the Bavarian style was the best selling. These beers, which are called bayer in Norway, are still found in supermarkets and shops, and most of the industrial breweries in Norway sell decent bayers.

Frydenlund used to be one of largest breweries in Norway. These days the Frydenlund name is used by Ringnes as a label, and you can find various Frydenlund beers in shops and supermarkets. One of them is Frydenlund bayer, which in the glass is a coppercoloured beer with some carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose I find cold coffee, toffee and earth, while the beer taste of burnt malts, toffee and a touch of coffee before a partly bitter finish. Lovely!

Ægir brewery has grown from being a tiny craft brewery to a brewery with a presence in both Norwegian shops and Vinmonopolet. The demand for Ægir's products these days is so big that the brewery now brews their bottled beers in Belgium. The draught beers are still being produced in Flåm.

Tors Hammer is a barleywine, and the name is striking. Being a barleywine, as this is a really strong beer, being named after the thundergod's hammer is suitable. Tors Hammer is coppercoloured with a small head and nearly no carbonation. The nose is fruity with a sweet punch. The beer is fullbodied with a sweet taste where apricots and prunes dominate with a touch of tobacco before a semibitter finish. The barleywine is nice, but a half litre is too much. This is a beer that is made for sharing. The price is 112 NOK at Vinmonopolet, which is nearly 12 GBP.

Grans brewery uses Lade Gaard as an extra brand name. The Lade Gaard beers have one of the finest labels in Norway, and the beer bottles look very attractive. I did not like Lade Gaards pale lager or the Christmas beer, but I am willing to give the dark lager, Lade Gaards Mørk Lager, a chance.

In the glass this is a copper coloured beer with little carbonation and a medium sized head. There are aromas of malts and some caramel in the nose. In the mouth I feel some caramel, malts and a watery feeling. The finish is very alike a malzbier. Lade Gaard Mørk Lager is an average beer, but it is the best I have tried from Lade Gaard.

Back to Baran and Cacti

After my first visit to Baran Cafe earlier this year, the cafe has become one of my favourite beer temples in Bergen. Friendly bartenders, a nice atmosphere and an excellent selection in draught beers with 16 taps. That some of them are dedicated to craft breweries like Haandbryggeriet, Nøgne Ø and Ægir make Baran a must for visitors to Bergen. In addition to this Naboen and Henrik are nearby, so the Engen area of Bergen has become a mecca for beer lovers.

On my recent visit to Baran Cafe I wanted something simple and ordered a lager. Not just any lager, actually, as I decided to have a Pilsner Urquell. Sure, it is better on tap in the Czech Republic, but it is probably the best lager beer you can get on tap in Norway.

From the visitor statistics I see that many visitors these days look at my post about Cacti Art Cafe in Bergen. A new visit was therefore neccessary to see if the cafe had changed during the last months. Cacti Art Cafe has a reputation of having many beers available, but this month I only found three draught beers. Just like in August these were Bitburger, Mack Arctic Beer and Erdinger wheat beer.

Of course the bottled beer menu is large at Cacti Art Cafe, but I am interested in draught beer. I can drink bottled beers at home. Therefore I ended up with Mack Arctic Beer from tap. This is a nice Norwegian pale lager with a distinct nose and body with a grainy character. It was as expected at Cacti Art Cafe, but I should have chosen the Bitburger. It is a better beer.

Cacti Art Cafe has a better draught beer selection than most pubs in Bergen that normally only sell Hansa or Ringnes pale lagers. But to have exciting draught beer, I prefer other places than Cacti Art Cafe. Baran Cafe is one of them, but it is on the other side of Bergen's city centre. But if you want bottled beers in that neighbourhood, why not try Bar Barista at Stølegaten street? It has an exciting and cozy atmosphere that Cacti Art Cafe lacks.

Double Ægir

The little Ægir brewery from Flåm in the Norwegian fjords is making a name for itself in Norway these days. The brewery is getting a wider distribution, and the beers are available in more and more supermarkets.

Ægir Bøyla is one of those beers. This is a blonde ale with some carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose there are aromas of yeast and orange peel. In the mouth I feel more orange peel and a touch of chewing gum. It is a decent beer, but I would prefer a Hoegaarden.

Ægir Natt is a different beer. At 10% alcohol this beer is available at Vinmonopolet. This is a black imperial porter with very little carbonation and a tiny head. I feel aromas of coffee and dark chocolate. In the mouth there is cold coffee before a partly bitter finish with a lot of dark chocolate. The alcohol is fully integrated in this fullbodied beer. This is no Swedish starköl with vodka like tones. Lovely!

I also have to mention that there has been a price hike on Ægir's beers at some bars. At Kontoret in Bergen I had to pay 117 NOK for a half litre of draughted Ægir's IPA. That is slightly more than 12 GBP. Last year the same amount of Ægir beer was priced at below 100 NOK.