Railway Belgian

One of Oslo's most interesting pubs can be found at the main railway station, Oslo S. The Kristiania pub is situated in what was once a waiting room. These days it is a nice pub where you can also order food. Among the draught beers you can find beers like Hansa, Heineken and Carling pale lagers, Hansa Bayer, Murphy's Stout and both the Hefeweizen and the Dunkel from Erdinger.

During my visit I chose the monthly special. This was Chouffe Triple IPA from Belgium. This was a partly cloudy pale beer with nearly no carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose I felt a fruit cocktail. The beer tasted of peaches and various other fruits with some Belgian yeast. The finish was partly sugary. I liked the first sips of this beer, but then it became rather boring and a bit too sweet.

Kristiania is a nice, scenic pub with a fine atmosphere. If you are going to Oslo airport, it is a good place to have a beer before the trip.

Back at Schiphol

I think stopovers are nice. I like better being a traveller than a tourist, and spending some hours at an airport gives me a great time watching people, sampling local food and getting a glimpse into the area's culture.

Schiphol airport outside Amsterdam is one of the airports I have visited the most. Being a hub for KLM airlines, Schiphol sees a lot of passengers changing planes on their way to a new destination. There are always somebody to meet and talk to, and having a drink or four at one of the bars or restaurants guarantees an interesting conversation.

This time I had nearly two hours to spend at Schiphol. As usual I ended up at the Het Paleis bar, which is also a fine place for snacks and small courses. While wine drinkers have a lot to choose from, there are only three draught beers at Het Paleis at the moment. I chose to leave the Heineken pale lager alone, and I started up with an ale from the Belgian Palm brewery.

Palm Ale is a beer that I was very fond of two years ago. This time I was a little bit disappointed. In the glass this was a nearly coppercoloured beer with some carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose I felt some caramel and sweetness. The caramel was assertive in the mouth with some sweetness and a watery feeling. Unfortunately there was also a metallic taste in the beer, so I was not satisfied with this half litre of Palm.

The third draught beer available was from the Dutch Brand brewery. I visited the southern part of The Netherlands some years ago, so I have had my share of pale lagers from Brand as it was the local brewery. The Brand lagers are not exciting lagers, but they do their trick in warm weather when you are thirsty. At Het Paleis thet could offer Brand Dubbelbock, which was a new beer to me. In the glass this copper coloured beer had nearly no carbonation and a fine, large head. The beer had aromas of plums, while there was caramel and grapes in the mouth with a tiny touch of vodka. I liked this strong beer, and I hope to find it again elsewhere. Brand Dubbelbock is to be recommended!

Another taste of Cantillion

Lately I have often found a sour beer on tap at Henrik in Bergen. Earlier this month the pub offered Cantillion Gueuze. This Belgian sour beer is a blend of several lambics. In the glass there was a small head, but the beer had some carbonation. The beer was cloudy, and I felt some sour cherries in the nose. In the mouth there was cherries and not yet ripe gooseberries. I liked it, and I felt it was refreshing even though it had a sour taste.

After having tried some sour beers this year, I feel these beer styles are both different and exciting. I also like Henrik's rotating tap system, where there is always at least one surprising draught beer available from Nøgne Ø or imported by the Norwegian craft brewery. Henrik is one of Bergen's best beer bars, and beer interested visitors to Bergen should make a visit a must.

A fine sour beer

I usually end up at Henrik at some point during pub crawls in Bergen. Henrik is one of the better pubs in town, and it also has a fine selection of bottled beers and some draught beers. From tap there are always three beers with a connection to Nøgne Ø. Usually these are brewed by Nøgne Ø or imported to Norway by the Grimstad based craft brewery. What draught beers that are available on these taps, changes all the time. Therefore it is always a bit exciting visiting Henrik. I was not in the mood for a lager beer nor a Guinness, so I found out that I wanted to try one of the beers from the rotating taps. I saw that one of them offered a sour beer from the Belgian Cantillion brewery and ended up choosing it.

Cantillion Rose de Gambrinus was a nearly red beer with a small head and some carbonation. There was raspberry and a touch of cherries in the nose. In the mouth I felt not yet ripe berries, some gooseberry and cherries before a sour finish. This was a nice and refreshing beer, and it is the best sour beer I have tasted so far.

In the Danish Alps

Not far from Copenhagen's City Hall Square (and across the street from Brewpub), you can find Heidi's Bier Bar. Heidi's Bier Bar is a cellar pub with a German bierstube theme. Inside the walls have Alpine motives, and the pub's focus is on beers and schnaps. The bar looks like a place for students, but it also has a good selection of beers both from tap and in bottles.

Heidi's Bier Bar offers 17 different draught beers. From tap can drink several Erdinger and Franziskaner wheat beers, Pilsner Urquell, Grolsch, Puur, Grøn Tuborg, Tuborg Classic and Carl Special to name a few.

I wanted to try the Belgian beer Puur, but unfortunately the keg was more or less empty. Instead I ordered a half litre of Hoegaarden from tap. This is a beer I have not tried for about two years. Earlier it was easy to get hold of in Norway, but lately I have not seen the beer in any Vinmonopolet outlets. I was therefore happy to find Hoegaarden at Heidi's Bier Bar. The friendly waitress was kind enough to fill the glass nearly to the top. The original beer glass was large and heavy, so she had a challenge serving me the beer. I was also offered some complimentary beer snacks with the beer, but I turned the offer down. This is what I call great service!

The Hoegaarden beer was cloudy as usual. The beer had very little carbonation and a small head. In the nose I felt orange peels. The beer had a fruity taste. I felt some yeast, spices and a touch of bread. It was very good and a fine drink in the warm, Danish Summer weather.

I left Heidi's Bier Bar in a very good mood. This was a nice place, and I liked visiting it in the afternoon. I do not know how the pub is at midnight, but I can imagine it is more of a party place than a cozy beer bar at that hour.

A bunch of import beers

Mikkeler is one of the most popular Danish craft breweries. Mikkeler Beer Geek Breakfast is a beer brewed for Mikkeler at Nøgne Ø in Norway. It is a dark beer with some carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose there is coffee, while I feel coffee, roasted nuts and some cocoa in the mouth. The finish is bitter with a touch of cold coffee. This is a lovely beer.

Westmalle is one of the Belgian trappist breweries. The Westmalle Tripel beer has 9.5% alcohol, and it is cloudy with a medium sized head. There is nearly no carbonation. In the nose there are fruits, some flowers and malts. I feel malts, sweetness, some peach and a touch of yeast before a partly sour and bitter finish. It is a nice beer.

Amstel Pulse is a Dutch pale lager. I drank the beer from the bottle. In the nose there was some malts, while in the mouth this was a watery beer. It had some sweetness before a tiny touch of hops in the finish. This was a boring pale lager that it is easy to avoid. There are loads of better lager beers around than Amstel Pulse.

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale is a golden, but somewhat cloudy beer in the glass. It has some carbonation and a medium sized head. I feel citrus and grass in the nose. In the mouth grapefruit is dominating before a semi bitter finish. This is another lovely beer.