Back at Arlanda

Having another stopover at Stockholm's airport Arlanda, I this time visited Terminal 5. This is a newer and better looking building than Terminal 2, that I visited last year.

For some beer, I sat down at Andersson Food & Aquavit. From draught, Andersson could offer Staropramen Dark Lager and three pale lagers: Carlsberg Hof, Staropramen and Pripps Blå Expert. I have had my share of boring Swedish lagers, so the local Pripps was a no-go. Instead I went for the the dark beer from the Czech Republic.

The beer was as black as a Coca Cola. There was no carbonation, and there was barely a head- In the nose I felt coffee and and sweet malts. The beer was mainly sweet with some caramel, malts and a bit of coffee before a sweet finish. I felt the beer was average, and I know I have been drinking much better dark lagers than this one.

My flight was late, but I did not see it until I was nearly at the gate. I decided it was time for another beer, and I had it at the place called Bar in Terminal 5. The draught beers on offer were Carlsberg Hof, Kronenbourg 1664 and Brooklyn Lager. It was not difficult to choose. I had the American lager, and as usual it was a satisfying experience with aromas of grapefruit and a fine taste combining grapefruit and caramel. It was really enjoyable.

It was time to leave, and next time I am at Terminal 5 I will go straightly to Bar. The best draught beer I have found at Arlanda, is still Brooklyn lager.

A winning combination

Once it was a one of Norway's better record store with a terrific vinyl selection. Now Apollon is also a pub. With several draught beers on tap, it is an interesting addition to the beer scene of Bergen.

Most beers available are pale lagers, but Apollon also offers other beers including selections from Haandbryggeriet. At my recent visit Norwegian Wood was available, and I chose to check out this copper coloured smoked beer.

Norwegian Wood had a medium sized head and no carbonation. In the nose I felt burnt bacon and malts. The beer tasted of smoke, wood and some smoked mackerel with a touch of sweetness. It was nice, but I felt that one glass was enough.

Apollon is a fine attraction. It is an great place for music lovers and a good place for beer lovers. If you like beer and music, Apollon should be close to heaven.

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.

In-flight beers

When I am a airplane passenger, I usually prefer some wine with the in-flight meals as the beer selection normally consists of one kind of pale lager.

Lufthansa offers complimentary drinks, and beerwise the offer is from the German Warsteiner brewery. Warsteiner Premium Verum is a pale lager with 4.6% alcohol. In the glass it has some carbonation and a medium sized head. The beer has aromas of malts and sweetness, and it tastes of malts and a touch of hops before a partly bitter finish. This is an average pale lager that functions as a nice thirst quencher.

At Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) you need to pay for your drinks unless you are seated in Business Class. The beer on offer is Carlsberg pale lager with an alcohol content of 5%. In the nose I felt some malts, and tastewise there was nothing much to report about. I felt some apples and some yeast in the finish. This Carlsberg beer was another average lager, but the Warsteiner beer was to be preferred by me.

I have read reports saying that foods and drinks have less taste when consumed onboard an airplane. Perhaps airline companies should use that information to offer beers with more taste. I guess a hoppy pale lager like Pilsner Urquell or '77 Lager from BrewDog would be better alternatives to these two pale lagers.

A taste of ram

One of the lagers you often find in Czech pubs and bars is Velkopopovický Kozel Světlý Výčepní. This pale beer is a 10° lager with an alcohol content of 4%.

I have tried this beer as a draught beer many times in the Czech Republic. This time I had it from can, and in the glass the pale Kozel beer had a medium sized head and some carbonation. In the nose I felt grass and flowers, while the beer tasted of malts, some caramel, butter and some hops before a watery finish. This was another good Czech pale lager, but I prefer other beers to it.

Another pale lager

Frydenlund used to be one of Norway's leading beer brands. These days the brewery name is owned by Ringnes, and the brewery group sells several Frydenlund beers in the Norwegian market. One of my favourites is Frydenlund Bayer, which is a fine beer in the Bavarian style.

Frydenlund Fatøl is one of the many pale lagers from the Ringnes group. In the glass it has a medium sized head and some carbonation. I feel grass and flowers in the nose, while the beer tastes of malt and some sweetness before a finish with cardboard. The lager beer is nice, although I will call it average. It is not worth searching for, but it is quite all right as a thirst quencher.

Double Mack

Mack is the most Northern brewery in the world, if the propaganda is to be believed. The Tromsø based brewery has several beers on the market, and in Summer the seasonal special is called Mack Sommerøl.

Mack Sommerøl is another of those Norwegian pale lagers sold in the warmer season. In the glass it has some carbonation and a medium sized head. I feel aromas of grains and sweetness. In the mouth this is a beer with some sweetness but otherwise not much taste before a touch of bitterness in the finish. It is a boring beer.

Mack 1877 is a more interesting beer. This is supposed to be brewed from Czech lager traditions. In the glass it has some carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose I feel flowers, grains and some hops. The beer is a bit sweet and tastes grass and some hops. The finish has grains, butter and a touch of bitterness. This was a nice lager beer, and it is one to be recommended.