A touch of black beer

If you leave the tram at Olaf Ryes plass square in Oslo, there is just a short walk to Grünerløkka Brygghus. No, it is still not a proper brewpub, but it has several interesting beers on tap.

I started with a glass of the house beer, Kjell Pop Single Hop. This nice India Pale Ale brewed by Nøgne Ø was a good way to start the visit. I then looked at the beer menu and ended up ordering Løkka Svarthumle. This was another house beer. This time we talk about a Black IPA brewed by the Norwegian Kinn brewery of Florø.

I have said it before in discussions on the internet that I hate that term. Read it, please: Black India Pale Ale. You can not have a black beer that is pale. It is impossible! So any brewer reading this: Use another term! You can not sell liquid ice cubes, can you?

But I digress. Løkka Svarthumle was a black beer with a medium sized head and barely any carbonation. In the nose there was coffee and hops. The beer tasted of coffee and some grapefruit before a finish with assertive coffee. I liked this beer, and I went on to have another glass of it.

Grünerløkka Brygghus is one of the pubs a beer interested visitor to Oslo should check out. The atmosphere is fine, and there is a good draught beer selection where the house beers are the icing on the cake.