Reputation is not all

Kristiansand is one of Norway's more popular tourist cities. There is also a local group of beer enthusiasts, and they have their meetings at Patricks in Markens Gate street. Patricks has a great selection of beers both from draught and bottles, and a beer interested person visitin Kristiansand could do much worse than visiting the combined pub and restaurant. This is also a popular place in Kristiansand with an excellent position on the main street.

I visited Patricks last Summer and was not impressed. A combination of loud music and noisy guests made it more or less impossible to enjoy the place. The beer was great, but there were no possibilities to have an ordinary conversation. I was back this Spring and was disappointed once again. Patricks is unfortunately not to be recommended. I hope the owners will do somthing about it. They can for instance take an example from Schouskjelleren in Oslo and Henrik in Bergen: Cut out the music!

The rest of my evening was spent at Bakgården in Tollbodgaten street. This is a smaller place than Patricks, but at least it offers two Nøgne Ø beer taps. I liked the environment much better, and the ambience was calmer and much more interesting than at Patricks.

Nøgne Ø Citra IPA was a beer with a lot of lemon in the nose. It had a medium sized head and nearly no carbonation. In the mouth I felt spicy grapefruit with a finish where lemon and grapefruit had a great balance of sweet and sour. This was a lovely beer!

If you go to Kristiansand, check out Patricks. But you might find out that Bakgården is the better place to be for a few beers.

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.

A taste of CB

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.