Back to Schouskjelleren

Schouskjelleren Mikrobryggeri is one of Oslo's newest brewpubs. It is placed where the former Schous brewery once was based in the Grünerløkka neighbourhood.


The pub feels more like a beer hall. At this visit four beers from the in-house brewery were available. In addition to these, there were nine draught beers from other breweries and a large selection of bottled beers.

I chose one of Schoukjelleren's own beers, and I ended up with Schoukjelleren Sommer-Kölsch. This was a yellowish beer with a small head and nearly no carbonation. In the nose I felt nearly nothing except for a touch of tutti frutti bubble gum. In the mouth I felt fruit, sweetness and some yeast. Tastewise this was a lovely beer.

My second visit to Schouskjelleren Mikrobryggeri was short, but I could take home a souvenir. Schouskjelleren Mikrobryggeri's original beer glasses were available at the cheap price of 15 NOK (nearly 2 EUR). That is a great idea, as I believe this is a way to counter beer glass theft from pubs. In addition to this the pub visit will live on for a tourist. You will remember both the pub and the time spent there afterwards.

Oslo's newest brewpub

Back in Oslo, I needed to check out Amundsen Bryggeri & Spiseri. This is a combined restaurant and brewpub in the city centre. It opened earlier this year, and right now it is the newest brewpub in the Norwegian capital.

In addition to the beers brewed by Amundsen, the beer selection is large both in bottles and from tap. That was really a problem for me, as Amundsen Bryggeri & Spiseri offered more than 20 draught beers from various breweries. I had a time limit and thought it over. There were many interesting brews, but I decided to check out one brewed by Amundsen.

That day Amundsen had three of their own brews for sale: A pilsner, a pale ale and påskebokk (Easter Bock). I chose the pale ale.

In the glass Amundsen pale ale was a cloudy beer with an amber colour. It had a medium sized head and nearly no carbonation. In the nose I felt some grapefruit, while the grapefruit was present in the mouth with a touch of apples before a partly bitter finish. This was a great beer, and I enjoyed it very much.

It was a shame that I had to move on from Amundsen after a short visit. It was a large, inviting beer hall with many guests and a tempting beer selection. Oslo now has many interesting places for beer tourists, and Amundsen is one of them. I must be back on my next visit to Oslo and spend some more time at this brewpub.

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Arlanda beer hunt

My plane from Arlanda was late, and there would be at least an extra hour for me at Stockholm's airport. I had checked some of the beer possibilities in Terminal 2, and I had tried two half litres of pale lager at the terminal's bars. Sure, I could have some other beer I had not tasted earlier from bottle, but I wanted to check out some other part of the airport to see if I could find some exciting draught beers.

First I went into the tax free shop at Terminal 2. The beer selection there was boring. I could have Carlsberg or Tuborg. No Swedish beer brands were available, and this being Sweden's largest airport it could have been a fantastic place to sell the best Swedish beers to take home for a tourist.

No such luck. I left Terminal 2 to see what to find elsewhere. Walking towards the other terminals, I saw a sign showing the way to SkyCity. SkyCity is Arlanda's mall with shops, bars and restaurants. That would be the right place to look.

SkyCity had a facinating architecture. It was a building where space age fancy decour took the lead. It was not a welcoming place, and I did not feel at home. Free wifi was available, though, and that was a plus.

There were several bars and restaurants upstairs at Sky City. I chose one of the first I saw, New Orleans Bistro & Bar.

New Orleans Bistro & Bar had a nice selection of bottled beers, but from draught Brooklyn Lager was the most interesting beer compared to Kronenbourg 1664 and Carlsberg Export. I had to have a taste of the American beer, and I went for the largest glass: 0.75 litres.

In the glass Brooklyn Lager was a nearly browninsh beer with some carbonation and a small head. The beer had a nice aroma with caramel leading on with a tiny touch of grass. In the mouth caramel and citrus tastes danced along before a semi bitter finish with some toffee. This was a lovely beer, and i enjoyed it very much. It gave the Stockholm stopover and flight delay a nice finish.

Stopover in Stockholm

On my way home, I had to have a stopover at Stockholm's airport Arlanda. Arlanda is a big airport, and it is among the largest ones in Scandinavia. The airport has four terminals, and a lot of passengers travel through the airport every day.

I started out at Terminal 2. There I chose to sit down at the East And West bar and restaurant. The bar offered Småland lager as a draught beer, and that was very tempting. I liked the beer a lot when I tasted it from can last year. Unfortunately, the beer was only available in bottles, but I went for it.

The beer had some carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose I felt toffee, grass and a touch of grapes. In the mouth some caramel, malts and biscuit were present. It was a nice beer, but unfortunately there was a metallic touch in the aftertaste. Still I liked it a lot!

I also tried a bar upstairs at terminal 2. Etage bar and restaurant had a large seating area, but I chose to sit at the bar.

There were several beers to choose from. The popular beer among the other guests at my visit was the Swedish lager Eriksberg from bottles.

As usual I prefer drinking draught beer at bars, and I could choose from three beers: Carlsberg Hof, Carlsberg Export and Staropramen. I am not a fan of the Czech brewery's pale lagers, so I went for Carlsberg Hof.

Carlsberg Hof is the traditional pale lager from the Danish brewery giant. In the glass there was some carbonation and nearly no head. In the nose there was grass and malts. The beer had not much taste, but I felt some malts and a touch of yeast in the finish. Carlsberg Hof is a nice thirst quencher, but I prefer other pale lagers.

Back to Pegas

The best brewpub in Brno is Pegas. That is what the guide books I have been reading say, and I can not tell anything else. Pegas is the only brewpub I have visited in the Moravian city.

Pegas is both a hotel, a brewery and a beer hall. As a beer hall it is perfect with a great interior. As a brewery I am really impressed. The beers brewed at Pegas have a great reputation, and the ones I have tasted have been very good.

I visited Pegas two years ago and I had a wonderful time. This revisit to Pegas was just as fun. First I tried the pale lager, Světlý Ležák. It was still great. This is a cloudy beer with nearly no carbonation and a large head. In the nose yeast take the lead. In the mouth this is a wonderful beer with traces of yeast, lemon and hops before a fruity finish. This is an extraordinary beer that is to be recommended!

But there are more beers available at Pegas. On the table the beer menu said that I could also have a dark lager, a wheat beer and Pegas Gold. The latter is a stronger pale lager. I chose none of them.On a poster I found Pegas also offered another beer called Pegas Březňák. I tried that beer instead.

Pegas Březňák was another cloudy pale lager. In the glass it had nearly no carbonation and a medium sized head. The beer was fruity before a semi bitter finish. It was lovely, but I preferred the ordinary Světlý Ležák at Pegas.

If you go to Brno, Pegas is a must. This is a wonderful brewpub with excellent beers and a nice atmosphere. It is to be recommended!

A large one

One of the more known Czech beer brands is the Heineken owned Březňák. These days the Březňák brewery is among the Czech breweries selling beers in large PET bottles. I found a Březňák 2 litre PET bottle, and of course it was checked out.

Velky Březňák is two litres of Březňák's světlé výčepní in a large plastic bottle. The beer has 4.1% alcohol and is a pale lager. In the glass there is nearly no carbonation nor head. In the nose I feel some grains, while in the mouth there is malts, bread and some butter. The finish is watery with some hops and a touch of toffee.

This effort from Březňák is a fine lager beer that is very suitable as a session beer. In all this is a decent beer.

Two pubs in Brno

It is evening, and it is time to take a walk through the city centre of Brno checking out some of the pubs there. Brno has loads of pubs, so it is difficult to choose where to go. Czech lagers are among the better ones in the world, and it is tempting to sit down where they sell Pilsner Urquell or Budweiser Budvar. But no. I want to have something else.

In the Beethovenova street I see a sign promoting the club and restaurant Freeland. It says that Freeland sells beer from the Dalešice brewery. I tried a kvasnicove from Dalešice two years ago and liked it a lot, so I decide to stop there.

Freeland is supposed to be a trendy place, and inside there is a group of teenagers dancing and having fun. I trek towards the bar to see which beers are available.

There are four taps at Freeland. In addition to a Dalešice pale lager, you can buy draught beers from the Starobrno and Svijany breweries. There is also draugted Kofola, a Czech cola. I choose the Dalešice beer.

Dalešice's 11° pale lager is served with a large head and hardly any carbonation. There are nearly no aromas from the beer, but in the mouth I feel strawberries and some malt. The beer feels a little bit watery as well. I like the beer, but the Dalešice kvasnicove was a better beer.

From Freeland I once again enter the streets of Brno. In Vachova street I find another interesting place. Strakonický Dudák offers beers from the Strakonice brewery. That is interesting, so I walk inside.

At the bar there are several taps, and in addition to the Strakonice beers Strakonický Dudák also sells beers from Chotěboř and Měšťanský pivovar v Poličce. I choose the Polička beer and enjoy the 12° pale lager Záviš. I have tried it from bottle earlier, and it is an enjoyable beer.

After my half litre of Záviš I leave Strakonický Dudák thinking that it is a great place. There are better pubs in Brno, but a visitor could do worse than visiting Strakonický Dudák.