First Christmas beer and three more

Christmas Day is less than two months away. As usual shops and supermarkets have started selling Christmas goods, and here and there you will even find Christmas decorations. This week I also found the first Norwegian juleøl (Christmas beers), and next week the stronger juleøl beers are to be found at the state owned Vinmonopolet outlets.

This year's first Norwegian Christmas beer for me was from Grans. Grans uses the Lade Gaards Brygghus label to promote beers that are supposed to be craft brewed. The Lade Gaards Brygghus bottles are among the prettier ones in Norway, and I really like the retro look. I have not been quite satisfied with the beers from Lade Gaards Brygghus, so I was not expecting much from the Juleøl.

In the glass the Lade Gaards Brygghus Juleøl had a dark, coppery colour. There was some carbonation and a large head. In the nose I felt some toffee, while the beer had a taste of caramel and some malts before a watery finish. This Juleøl was a decent, average beer that I probably will try again before Christmas.

Chang lager is a new beer in Norwegian supermarkets this Autumn. This pale lager from Thailand is a fizzy beer. In the glass it built a medium sized head, and I felt a malty aroma. The beer had a sweet, malty taste and felt a bit watery. In all Chang is a boring lager that needs a hoppy bite to become somewhat interesting. The way this beer is right now, it has no appeal to me at all.

Ravnsborg Rød is an amber ale from the Denmark based brewery Nørrebro Bryghus. This is a copper coloured beer with some carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose I felt chewing gum and banana and got a suspicious feeling that it was a wheat beer I was having. In the nose I felt a tutti frutti taste combined with bread and banana that gave me more wheat beer connotations. The finish was watery and not exciting at all. Ravnsborg Rød is just another average beer, and I would rather buy a Paulaner weizen than this to have a wheat beer kick.

The Goose Island brewery from the United States makes a fine India Pale Ale. Honker's Ale is another beer from the brewery, and the label calls it an English style bitter. This is a copper coloured beer with some carbonation and a medium sized head. In the nose there is some grapefruit. The beer is a disappointment compared to the aroma. There is not much taste in Honker's Ale. I feel some grapefruit before a partly bitter finish with a touch of grapes. The beer is another average beer, but I had much more expectations for this beer that what it could deliver.

New from Vinmonopolet

There are many interesting beers to be found at Vinmonopolet these days. As of January, the state owned liquor and wine stores in Norway has had a special focus on beers. There are many new beers available, and many styles are represented.

If you are looking for beers at Vinmonopolet, they will be among the stronger ones, as only beers with less than 4.7% alcohol can be sold in ordinary shops in Norway.

Myself I am happy to find Budweiser Budvar available at Vinmonopolet. They sell this Czech golden lager in 0.33 litre bottles. This is the Budvar svetly lezak, and it has 5.0% alcohol. It is actually cheaper than it's vycepni version in ordinary shops. The 4.5% alcohol Budvar is sold at 27.90 NOK in supermarkets, while Vinmonopolet sells it at 26 NOK. This is around 3 GBP or 3 EUR.

Among the new beers at Vinmonopolet is Goose Island India Pale Ale. This is an American beer from Chicago with a very beautiful label. It is my first American IPA, and it has a alcohol content of 5.9 %.

In the glass Goose Island IPA has a Pale and cloudy colour. It has a small, white head and there is very little carbonation. There is nearly no aroma, but some hints of apples can be found. In the mouth there is apples and hops. I feel it is nice balanced with nearly no bitterness. This is a very good and enjoyable beer and one of the best IPAs I have tried so far.