A Carlsberg disappointment

The monitor told me that there had been a slight delay on my ongoing flight from Copenhagen airport. I decided to use the time to check out the beer selection at O'Learys. O'Learys is a chain of sport themes pubs that often can be found on airports and railway stations around Scandinavia.

From tap there were several choices from Carlsberg. I was not ready for a pale lager, so I would have to choose between Jacobsen Brown Ale and Carl's Special. I had never tried Carl's Special as a draught beer, so it was easy to order a taste of it.

The friendly bartender brought me a half litre of Carl's Special. In the nose there was malts and a touch of coffee. The beer had not that much taste. I felt some malts and burtness before a watery finish. This was a boring version of a beer that I felt was richer in taste when I tried it from bottle in 2010.

Copenhagen Airport is beerwise not that interesting. There used to be a bar selling Danish craft beers, but from what I hear it has been closed for some time. That is a pity, as there is more to Danish beers than what is produced by Carlsberg.

Back at Oslo airport

After a few days in Oslo, it is time to move on. I take the train from Oslo Central Station to Oslo Airport Gardermoen. If you are in a hurry, you take Flytoget (Airport Express Train) and spend about 20 minutes on the train. For nearly half the price, it is possible to take the local train to Eidsvoll and get off at the airport. It takes slightly more than 40 minutes, but paying 110 NOK instead of 190 NOK is worth it.

There are many bars and restaurants at the airport, but I prefer the sports bar O'Learys. This is a Swedish chain with many sister bars on train stations and airport in Sweden.

The drinks menu at O'Learys at Oslo Airport.

O'Learys at Gardermoen are not to be recommended for their beers. There are way too few beers to choose from. From tap there are Ringnes and Tuborg pale lager together with Guinness stout and Kilkenny. In bottles you can find Carlsberg, Tuborg Lime Cut, Budweiser and two beers from the Brooklyn brewery.

I like Brooklyn lager, but Brooklyn Brown Ale is a new beer for me. There is no doubt, so I order the ale. In the glass, Brooklyn Brown Ale is a nearly black beer with nearly no carbonation and a large head. There are aromas of hops and dark chocolate. In the mouth I feel chocolate and some cold coffee, before a finish where very dark chocolate take the lead. This is a very good beer, and I will try it again.

As I leave the bar to get to my flight, my thoughts are again with Norwegian breweries. Why can they not have a presence in the bars on Norway's largest airport? This should be a showcase for beers from Nøgne Ø, Haandbryggeriet, Ægir and/or Kinn to name a few.

More airport beers

If you travel to Norway on a plane, most visitors enter the country through Oslo's airport Gardermoen. Gardermoen is the largest airport in Norway, and the second largest in Scandinavia.

Gardermoen's terminal building is built nearly as a long in-door street with gates on both sides along the way. There are several shops in the building as well. The airport is divided into an international and a domestic section.

All passengers have access to the domestic section, but you need to go through the duty free shop to get to the international section. This shop is by the way the largest tax free shop in Europe.

There are twenty restaurants or eateries on the airport. Among others you can find sausage stands, a seafood restaurant, an Italian restaurant and a Pizza Hut.

In the domestic section you can find O'Learys. O'Learys calls itself a "real American sportsbar", and is part of a Swedish chain with franchises in Scandinavia and Singapore. It is a typical bar with various beverages available with various American snacks and courses. I can recommend their large hamburgers and fries.

O'Learys have five different beers on tap. Like in most Norwegian airports Ringnes and Carlsberg are available. Here these pale lager beers are supplemented by draughted Kilkenny and Guinness. There is also Stella Artois on tap, and they also sell various bottled beers.

Guinness is still one of my favourite stouts. It was the first stout I ever tasted, and it is widely available in cans all over Norway. I am very fond of its creamy textures and coffee notes, and I really enjoy drinking it as a draught beer. Sure, there are better stouts out there, but Guinness is still a very good stout in my opinion. I do not remember the price at O'Learys, but I believe a pint costs around 80 NOK. That is nearly 9 GBP or 10 EUR.

I have also had my share of Kilkenny the last ten years. Suddenly in the nineties Kilkenny was easy to find in Norwegian shops and bars, and I have taken the odd pint now and then. Kilkenny is a good ale, but I feel it is a bit watery. The texture is nearly as creamy as in Guinness, but I feel Kilkenny is not as tempting as Guinness if both beers are available in the same bar. The price for Kilkenny is about the same as for Guinness at O'Learys.

When I visited Gardermoen lately I was in the mood for a lager beer. Ringnes and Carlsberg was not tempting, so I had my first draughted Stella Artois since my visit to Avignon. The Belgian pale lager was served in a 0.6 glass and was priced at 89 NOK, which is around 10 GBP or nearly 11 EUR. The glass looked worn with stripes on it. It was not branded, but looked like a often used (but clean!) Carlsberg glass.

There was a lot of carbonation, but nearly no head. The nose had some malts, but otherwise nothing. In the mouth there is more malts, some sweetness, a hint of hops and a watery aftertaste. Stella Artois is completely drinkable. It is far from my favourite lager, but I feel it is OK to have a glass of this beer from tap when the competition is Carlsberg or Ringnes.