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.

Henrik's house beer

With 44 beer taps, Henrik in Bergen is the leading beer bar in Norway at the moment. In addition to all these draught beers, Henrik also offers bottled beers. But there is a new treat at Henrik. The pub now offers a house beer. Henrik Imperial Amber is brewed by Lervig in Stavanger, and it is only sold at Henrik.

In the glass Henrik Imperial Amber is a copper coloured beer with a medium sized head and barely any carbonation. In the nose I feel burnt malts and some caramel. The beer tastes of toffee, some fruits I can not specify and a touch of coffee. The finish is partly bitter with a touch of raisins. This is a very good and balanced beer, and it hides its 8% alcohol very nicely. If you are in Bergen, I advice you to visit Henrik just to try this house beer.

Lervig's best

My favourite beer from Lervig brewery is Rye IPA. This is one of the best Norwegian beers at the moment, and lately I have been drinking it frequently both from bottle and from tap.

Recently, Henrik in Bergen expanded its selection of draught beers. There are now more than 40 taps at the bar, and this means that Henrik probably has the best offer of draught beers in Norway. It is difficult to choose what to drink at Henrik, but during the visit I had this week I chose the Rye IPA from Lervig.

In the glass the Rye IPA was cloudy with a brownish colour. It had some carbonation and a medium sized head. The beer had a hoppy nose with loads of grapefruit. In the mouth grapefruit ruled with some grass. The finish was bitter and fruity with an assertive touch of citrus. A lovely beer!

Start of a tap race?

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?

A Dane and a Christmas beer

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.

A fine sour beer

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.

Henrik and Nøgne Ø

Henrik is one of my favourite pubs in Bergen. One of the reasons is that there is always a draught beer there that I want to try out. Usually this is one of the beers from one of the three Nøgne Ø taps. Most of the times this is one of Nøgne Ø's own beers, but now and then this could be a beer from a brewery Nøgne Ø considers as a friend brewery like Mikkeler or BrewDog.

During the last month I have had two visits to Henrik. On one of the visits Nøgne Ø's porter was on tap. I have tried it before, and I remembered it as a nice beer. In the glass this was a black beer with nearly no carbonation and a small head. There was some coffee in the nose, while the beer had flavours of cold coffee and dark chocolate before a bitter finish. I liked it a lot, and I consider Nøgne Ø's porter a very good beer.

On another visit I had Nøgne Ø's IPA. This is a beer I drink now and then from bottles at home, and I consider it a much better beer now than when I reviewed it on this blog. Over two years have passed, and IPAs are no longer extreme beers to my palate. The draught version of Nøgne Ø's IPA was somewhat unclear in the glass. It had a copper colour and there was a medium sized head. In the nose I felt grapefruit, and the grapefruit took the lead in the mouth with some pepper and a hint of herbs. The finish is bitter with a touch of orange. These days I like this beer, but I prefer IPAs with a less bitter bite to it.

Henrik is a great pub. If you are in Bergen, it is worth checking out.

Wheat and more

Kinn brewery from Florø is one of the smaller craft breweries making themselves a name in Norway right now. In Bergen some Kinn beers are always available as draught beers at Naboen. Last week I found a new beer there, Kinn Jubileum.

This was a wheat beer brewed after Belgian traditions. In the glass this was an unclear beer with a nearly golden colour. The nose was fruity with a hint of orange peels, while the mouth feeling made the orange peels take the lead. This was a lovely wit, but I would love to try it in Summer in the sun. In that case, Naboen is not the right place as it lacks outdoor seeting.

Outdoor seating can be found at Henrik, where you now and then have exciting beers from tap. In December the Danish Mikkeler brewery was present on the taps with their Beer Geek Bacon. This was a dark beer with nearly no head. In the nose I felt coffee and a touch of yeast, while it tasted coffee, tobacco and dark chocolate. A lovely beer.

Earlier this week a beer from BrewDog could be found on one of Henrik's taps. I had some bottles of 77 lager in Sweden last year and liked the beer quite a lot. It was also very good as a draught beer with a nose of grapefruit and straw. In the mouth there was orange, malts and a touch of grapefruit before a nice and not too bitter finish. Another lovely beer.

During the last two weeks I have visited Kontoret several times to try some of the Ægir beers. They have not been available due to weather conditions near the brewery, and the management at the pub has decided not to make other beers available on the taps. Thus I ended up with a glass of Old Speckeled Hen this week. This beer with a toffee based nose is OK, but I prefer the Ægir beers to it. In the mouth Old Speckeled Hen is creamy with toffee and malts dominating. It is a nice ale, but nothing more than that.

Some beers in Bergen

This week I ended up doing a pub crawl in Bergen. My plan was to start at one of the bars I usually never attend. Not far from Torgallmenningen I found Scotsman. This is British themed pub with a young following. If you want to see a football game, Scotsman is a place that always will show Premier League or Champions League.

There were no beers for me that evening at Scotsman. The pub had not opened yet, so I walked on. It was probably a good thing to do. The Heineken tap I saw through the window did not tempt me.

About a hundred metres from Scotsman, an Irish themed pub is located. Straight across the Bergen theatre Den nationale Scene, you will find Finnegan's. Inside this is a typical pub, but there is also outdoor seeting. Due to the ban on smoking indoors at Norwegian bars and restaurants, this is where you find the smokers. Usually this is a great place to sit down. Blankets are available to keep yourself warm, and there are also outdoor ovens.

I went in to have a beer, but turned around and walked on. From tap there was Hansa lager, Guinness, Kilkenny and Murphy's Red. I like a pint of stout now and then, but I was not in the mood that night.

From Finnegan's you can see towards Henrik, which is a must for people interested in beer. Sure, you can drink draughted Kilkenny, Guinness or pale lagers like Carlsberg or Frydenlund there, but what lures me in are several Nøgne Ø beers on tap. This week you could drink Nøgne Ø's Christmas beer Special Holiday Ale. This was one of my favourites last year, but I tried another beer from the Nøgne Ø taps. It was marked with a Friends of Nøgne Ø label, and there I found BrewDog's Punk IPA. I liked it in the beginning, and enjoyed the scents of grapefruit. In the mouth there was more grapefruit and a hint of pepper before a bitter finish. I liked the first sips better than the last ones, but in the end I felt this was a much too bitter beer for me.

After Henrik I went to another of my favourite haunts in Bergen, Naboen.

At Naboen there is a good selection of draught beers, and I set my eyes on a new addition to the beer lineup: A metallic plate introducing Oppigårds from Sweden.

Oppigårds Indian Tribute was a nice IPA. In the nose there was lemon. The beer had a full body with tastes of lemon, toffee and a hint of bread. This was a lovely beer with some lovely bitterness. I liked it! I also tried Kinn's Austkyst, which is a British styled IPA. It was not a good experience with a lousy aroma and a dominant taste of pine. The Vestkyst IPA from Kinn is a much better beer.

The evening had a final stop at Kontoret. I enjoyed draught beers from Ægir there. I did not make any tasting notes, but Ægir's Rallarøl was an excellent night cap.

Captains, Henrik and Nøgne Ø

Henrik is one of the bars in Bergen that I always look forward to be visiting. The beer menu is solid, and Henrik has also several good draught beers.

I am not running to the city centre of Bergen to drink draughted Carlsberg or Frydenlund pale lager. Nor is Guinness or Kilkenny on tap a reason to visit Henrik. Instead you can always find beer from Nøgne Ø on tap.

I have not been to Henrik for a few months, so I was very happy to see that they now have three Nøgne Ø taps. This week you could choose between Nøgne Ø's Blonde, Porter and Two Captains Double IPA.

The Double IPA is a new beer for me. It is supposed to be available at the Norwegian Vinmonopolet outlets next month, but some bars have been selling it in bottles for the last few weeks. In the glass Two Captains Double IPA is a copper coloured beer with little carbonation and a medium sized head. It the nose there is grapefruit, flowers and a hint of sweetness. In the mouth the grapefruit take the lead dancing with some plums. The finish is very bitter but still feels balanced. I liked this beer a lot. It is strong, and at 8.5% alcohol it is not a session beer. The price at Henrik is 78 NOK for 0.35 litre. That is about 8 GBP or slightly more than 8.50 EUR.

The Session: Summer Beers

Once again this blog is happy to join this month's edition of The Session. This time The Session is hosted by BetterBeerBlog, and the topic is "Summer beers". In my opinion this is a great topic, and I would like to quote from the announcement: "With the summer coming to a close, what was your favorite beer of the summer? It doesn’t even have to be from this summer. Is it a lager or maybe a light bodied wheat ale? Maybe you’re drinking anti-seasonally and are having a barleywine or Russian Imperial Stout. Why is this beer your favorite? Is there a particular memory associated with this beer? How about a city? Maybe there was a particular dish that made this beer memorable? Spare no detail."

Well, this summer has really been a beer summer for me. I tried some new beers, and many of them were drunk under hot temperatures in France. France is in my opinion not the typical beer country, and I had many great afternoons and evenings trying the local wines. I was not impressed by the French beers, as they were generally sweet eurolagers and are not among my favourite beers.

Lots of lagers in a French supermarket.

Instead I would like to go back in time to the last few years and my summer visits to the Czech Republic. As the readers of this blog already know, I am very fond of the Czech Republic and the beers brewed there. I have spent several weeks the last few years visiting Prague and enjoying the local beers. In lagerland lager is of course king, and in summertime I usually prefer lagers to other beers. A nice, cold lager is perfect in hot Summer temperatures, and the Czech ones are of very high quality.

Pilsner Urquell, here as served at U Sadu in Prague.

I have brought home some of my Czech likings. Pilsner Urquell is one of my favourite lager beers, and as it is widely available here in Norway it has been a regular summer beer for me also this year. Of course, Pilsner Urquell is best from tap in the tankova restaurants and hospodas in the Czech Republic, but it tastes very good from can here in Norway when you compare it to the local efforts of Norwegian macro breweries like Ringnes, Grans or Hansa.

Erdinger weissbier

The last few years wheat beers have also been a favourite for me. Here in Norway it is easy to get hold of several German weissbeers at Vinmonopolet. While I more or less only drank lager beer before, wheat beers are now a common sight in our fridge.

Primator Weizen served at Prvni Pivni Tramway in Prague.

Here in Norway Erdinger and Paulaner weizen is easy to find, and in my opinion Paulaner is a real gem and the best of the two. I tasted Primator weizen in Prague and I liked it a lot, and it might even be better than the Paulaner effort.

A Norwegian weizen from Aass brewery. It is
unfortunately inferior to the German weissbiers.

In France I also drank some Hoegaarden witbiers. That was a great wheat beer with lots of citrus notes in it. It was one of my summer favourites this year, and it was a great thirst quencher in 30+ Centigrades heat. When I came home to Bergen, I ordered it at the local Henrik bar. The waitress asked me why I liked it, as it was not one of her favourites. I told her that it was great in summertime. She said that a lot of the bar's costumers told her the same, but she would not agree.

Hoegaarden at Henrik in Bergen.

In the meantime Autumn is here, and soon there will be a new Summer!

Revisited

Bergen again. Spring is still here, and the weather has been fine the last few days. Tomorrow is the national day, and here in Bergen everybody is ready for the parades and games. The weather forecast is also excellent, so it looks like it will be a nice day.

Right now Naboen can offer seven beers from draught.

It is time to revisit some of the bars I have been to here in Bergen. First off is Naboen. Compared to January, there has been a change in draught beers. These days there is no Christmas beer, but Naboen's Bayer is joined by Aass lager, Old Speckeled Hen and two draught beers from Nøgne Ø. Right now they sell Nøgne Ø's Blond and Imperial Stout, and that means that there are now two bars in Bergen selling beers from the Arendal cult brewery.

Imperial Stout from Nøgne Ø is a strong beer at 9 % alcohol. At Naboen it is served in 0.35 litre glasses and costs 69 NOK. In the glass this is a black beer with a little, nearly tannish head. There is as good as no carbonation. The Imperial Stout tastes bitter with a lot of coffee notes. This is a nice beer, but I would prefer Naboen's Bayer at my next visit. If Nøgne Ø's Blond still is available then, I will also check out that beer.

A good selection in beers is available at Henrik.

Around the block from Naboen, Henrik is found. There was no Budweiser Budvar this time around, but Henrik has a lot of other beers on offer from both tap, bottles and cans. As always there is draughted Nøgne Ø, and right now they still sell the Easter beer God Påske.


I was ready for something new and ended up with Harviestoun's Schiehallion lager beer from Scotland. The label says that this is a crisp, dry and airy beer, and I can confirm that. Schiehallion is nearly amber in colour with some cloudyness. It is a very drinkable beer with notes of citrus. There is also a hoppyness to it, and in all this is a very enjoyable lager beer with a different twist. I will gladly seek Schiehallion out later, but then I hope that it will be cheaper than 94 NOK for a half litre bottle.

Easter Theatre

Bergen again. The second largest city of Norway is a beautiful sight with its lovely harbour and nice sights. Spring has arrived. The weather has been nice this week, and the usual Bergener rain has been nowhere to be seen.

The theatre of Bergen, Den Nationale Scene.

Near the theatre, you can find several interesting cafés and pubs. I have written about Naboen earlier, but this time it is time to visit Henrik. Henrik is just opposite the theatre. Between Henrik and the theatre is a tiny park where pidgeons and seagulls roam. If you want to feed the birds, get ready to see some fighting. The pidgeons have more or less no chance against the seagulls, so people try to feed the pidgeons exclusively. Usually the seagulls get there in no time, so the pidgeons need to flee.

Henrik is above the local 7-Eleven competitor, Deli de Luca.

Henrik is on the first floor across the street. There is only a small door, and then up the stairs you go. On your way you pass several pictures and paintings of the Norwegian author Henrik Ibsen.
Ibsen was based in Bergen for some time in the 19th century, and it is therefore natural to use the Henrik name for a pub near the theatre.

The inside of Henrik is a large room with a decent bar. Beer bottle lovers will find many beers and beer styles represented. From tap Norwegian lagers Ringnes and Frydenlund lead on together with Carlsberg lager. Stout is represented by Guinness, and Kilkenny is also to be found. But this is not why I visited Henrik this time. They also sell draughted beer from the Norwegian cult brewer Nøgne Ø, and it is rumoured that this is the only place in Bergen to do so.

As I visited this week, the Nøgne Ø Easter beer God Påske was available as a draught beer. As always, Norwegian beer prices are high, and that is also typical of Nøgne Ø. At Henrik I had to pay 76 NOK for 0.35 litre of God Påske.

God Påske is copper coloured. In the glass there is nearly no head, but there is some carbonation. Actually, there is more carbonation than I expected, and it is nice to have a glass of Nøgne Ø without sediments. The first taste is typical of several other Nøgne Ø beers. Here there be hops! But there is more to it. Together with a fruity scent and some yeast notes, this is a very enjoyable beer. I have tasted several offerings from Nøgne Ø, but this is the best one. After one glass I am very tempted to taste another, but then I see something on the shelf.

Henrik sells Budweiser Budvar lager! OK, it is only available in 0.33 litre bottles, but for a Budvar fan like me it is nice to see a beer I have not seen in Norway for years. Sorry, Nøgne Ø, but curiosity kills the cat. I need to have a bottle of Budvar. From the bottle label, I can see that this is a beer bottled for Norway and imported by the Norwegian importers Interbev. The price at Henrik is 67 NOK.

This is Budvar's lezak, as it has 4.5% alcohol. I have had both the vycepni and the lezak from tap in the Czech Republic, and they are great lager beers. The bottled Budvar is also very nice, and pours with a large head into the glass. There is more carbonation than in the Nøgne Ø God Påske, but still very little. The colour is light amber with a nice contrast to the white head. This is a tasty beer with some hops and a nice bitterness. This is a good session beer, and I hope that we can find it in shops very soon. It is rumoured to be found in the Norwegian ICA supermarkets in May. I hope that also other chains will sell it and that it will be a success. Myself, I would prefer Budvar to the leading Norwegian lager beers like Ringnes and Hansa any day.