Lager versions from Sweden

Swedish alcohol legislation prohibits the sale of beer with more than 3.5% alcohol in shops and supermarkets. Instead these beers are sold at the state owned alcohol monopoly, Systembolaget. This means that there is a market in Sweden for beers with 3.5% alcohol and slightly lesss. Most breweries selling beers in Sweden want to have a market share in this segment. From what I hear from Swedes, most of these beers are stronger beers that have been watered down to the right alcohol strength. Here I will take a look at some pale lagers available at 3.5% alcohol or less.

Risingsbo is a Swedish brewery. The Risingsbo 1856 Premium 3.5 is a fizzy pale lager with nearly no head. In the nose there is malt and sweetness. The beer tastes sweet with some apples and grass. The finish is watery. This is an average lower alcohol beer that does its job when you are thirst in the sun, on the beach, or after a work-out. In all it is an average lager beer.

Perlenbacher is one of the Lidl supermarket chain's beer brands. It was called Bergadler earlier. The Perlenbacher Premium 3.5 is another pale lager. It has some carbonation and a small head. There are hardly any aromas from the beer, but in the mouth I feel a touch of grass and apples. The beer is watery, and it has some hops and yeast in the finish. A boring beer.

Tuborg Pure Gold 3.5 is also a pale lager. In the glass there is some carbonation and barely a head. In the nose I feel sweetness and a tiny touch of citrus. The taste in this watery beer is of malts and some grass, but there is also a metallic touch. Hopefully it is from the can, which has a cool design.

BrewDog is the (in)famous Scottish brewery. On their website they call themselves a brewery that "makes innovative, progressive and exciting full flavour beers". The special Swedish 3.4% alcohol version of '77 Lager is not neccessarily such a beer. In the glass this is a pale beer with a lot of carbonation and a small head. In the nose there is some fruit cocktail and yeast. I feel biscuit, grass and some grapefruit in the mouth together with a watery feeling. The finish is bitter with some yeast. It is the best of all these beers, but it is a shadow compared to the ordinary '77 Lager.

Six import beers

Once upon a time more or less only Norwegian beers were available in shops and supermarkets in Norway. Nowadays it is very different. A lot of brands and beers are sold both at Vinmonopolet and supermarkets, and it is easy finding new beers if you just visit several outlets.

Anchor Steam Beer is sold at Vinmonopolet. It is a beer that has been praised by beer bloggers, but I was very disappointed when I tried the beer for the first time. It looked delicious in the glass with its brownish colour, nice head and some carbonation. In the nose I felt more or less nothing, and the beer was nearly tasteless until a semi bitter hoppy finish. I will try it again in Summer and see if it feels better then. What I had here, was a boring beer.

Coors Light is another boring American beer. Budweiser and Miller have been available in Norway for years, so this year it is Coors' turn in some supermarkets. Coors Light is a fizzy pale lager with a malty nose. It the mouth it feels watery, but it has an interesting touch of pines. It is not bad, but I can think of many pale lagers available in Norway that are more satisfying than Coors Light. I will not buy it again.

Brakspear Oxford Gold is one of the British ales sold in some Norwegian supermarkets. It is an organic beer, and in the glass it looks lovely with a golden colour, some carbonation and a medium sized and lasting head. In the nose there is sweetness and some malt. This beer also feels watery, but it also has a touch of toffee before a finish with hops and grapes. This is a nice beer, but again there are better alternatives available.

From Germany comes the Weihenstephaner brewery. I like its ordinary wheat beer, but Vinmonopolet also offers Weihenstephaner Vitus at some outlets. Vitus is a weizenbock with 7.7% alcohol. It seems unclear in the glass. In the nose there are bananas, and bananas are also leading the beer taste before a finish with a touch of vodka. It is an average beer, but I prefer Weihenstephaner's normal weizen to it.

BrewDog's Trashy Blonde is sold in better stocked Norwegian supermarkets. It is a beer with a tiny head and some carbonation. There are some aromas of grapefruit in the nose. In the mouth a bitter, hoppy touch is dominating together with a touch of grapefruit. Trashy Blonde is not a favourite for me. It is another beer I will not seek out, but I will drink it if somebody offers me a glass.

The Samuel Smith brewery is known for having several interesting beers. Samuel Smith Nut Brown Ale is sold at Vinmonopolet in Norway, and it is a copper coloured beer with nearly no carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose there is yeast and caramel. Toffee dominates in the mouth before a yeasty finish with a touch of caramel. This is a very nice brown ale, and it is one that I will buy now and then. This is a great beer for a cold Spring day in front of the fireplace.

Another Brew Dog

Among the newer beers at Vinmonopolet, you can find Brew Dog's Punk IPA. If we are to believe the label this is another of the Scottish brewery's no holds barred beer marketing products, and it is called "an aggressive beer" that the brewery does not care "if you don't like".

In the glass this is a somewhat unclear golden beer. There is nearly no carbonation, a small head and my first thought is that it looks like a Belgian wit. The aroma is sweet with some flowers and hints of yeast. In the mouth there is first sweetness before bitterness takes over. There is a lot of hops in the beer leading into a hoppy aftertaste nearly tickling the tongue before some grapefruit leads off.

I felt this was a nice and enjoyable beer. Myself, I was not scared by it, and compared to my other IPA experiences this was a moderate beer. I remember my first outing with Nøgne Ø's IPA, which has much more bite than Brew Dog's Punk IPA.

First Brew Dog

I have seen people telling both good and bad things about the Scottish Brew Dog brewery and its beers. Until January I had never tried a Brew Dog beer. I have seen them on shelves in beer shops and bars abroad, but I had never seen a bottle here in Norway.

This changed as of 1 Januar when the Norwegian state owned wine and liquor outlets, Vinmonopolet, started selling some Brew Dog beers. I decided to try one out, and Rip Tide was my first Brew Dog beer.

According to the label this is a "twisted merciless stout". The alcohol content is 8%. The label also tells that this beer won the prize for "world's best stout-imperial" at the World Beer Awards. The beer is very dark. In the glass there is some carbonation and a small, tanned head.

In the nose there is coffee and some burnt notes. In the mouth the feeling of cold coffee takes the lead with much bitterness, but there are also hints of prune there. The beer is balanced, as the alcohol content does not show.

Rip Tide is a nice beer, but I feel the straight forward coffee taste makes it unneccessarily bitter. I would like to try it again, but I feel there are other dark beers out there that suit my palate better than this beer from Brew Dog.

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.