Neighbourhood treat

The most interesting beer place in Trondheim is Den gode nabo, which means "the good neighbour" in English. The combined restaurant and pub has an excellent selection of draught beers, combining both the local macro lager, interesting Norwegian micro breweries and exciting import beers. In addition to these there are several offers of bottled beers.

During my short visit, I saw that Den gode nabo had a draught beer from Kinn brewery that I had not tasted before. According to the waiter, Kinn Prestesonen was a porter.

I was served the Kinn beer in a branded glass. Prestesonen (translated into English as "son of the preacher man") was a black beer without carbonation and a small head. I felt coffee in the nose, and the coffee took the lead in the mouth with some toffee. The finish was a combination of coffee, malts and a touch of vodka. This was an excellent beer, and I really enjoyed it.

I went into the Trondheim evening promising myself to be back. This is one of the better beer temples in Norway, and a short visit does not give any respect to Den gode nabo. This is a place for multiple beers!

A good neighbour in Trondheim

There are some beer bars in Norway that are really worth visiting. Some have the ambience, while others have the beers. In the last category you can find Den gode nabo in Trondheim.

Den gode nabo (English: The good neighbour) is situated in the Bakklandet neighbourhood of Trondheim. It is a great setting with outdoor tables next to the Nidelven river and a great view to the river from the bar itself. It is not that difficult for a bar to make a good beer selection in bottled brews. Den gode nabo has a lot of bottled beers, but what makes this restaurant special in Norway is its great variety in draught beers.

Sure, Norwegian beers like the local Dahls pale lager and Frydenlund bayer is available on tap. In addition to this there is an international representation on the taps with Pilsner Urquell and Carlsberg.

But there are more draughted beers than this. You can find San Miguel, Paulaner hefeweizen, Newcastle Brown Ale, Oyster Stout and Samuel Adams Boston Lager together with a beer of the month that was not available the day I visited.

The Norwegian Kinn brewery started up last year in Florø. Their beers are available in a few selected bars across Norway, and Den gode nabo is one of them. I usually drink Kinn beers at Naboen in Bergen, so I chose to not have any Norwegian beers during my visit.

At Den gode nabo I first tried out Samuel Adams' Boston Lager. It was a nice lager with a golden coolour and a large head. There was also a lot of carbonation. I felt yeast in the nose, and in the mouth the yeast was supplemented by some malts and tasty, bitter lemons. The finish was rather bitter, but in all I liked the beer very much.

At home I usually have bottled Paulaner when I want a wheat beer. Den gode nabo had Paulaner's hefeweizen, and I wanted to have a go at this weissbier from tap for the first time. That was a wise choice, as the wheat beer was excellent. In the glass it had a large head and some carbonation. The aroma had cloves and yeast. In the mouth I felt bananas, more cloves, some yeast and a touch of bread. Lovely!

Den gode nabo is a must for beer visitors to Trondheim. I know I will return the next time I am in the town.