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.

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.

Scottish Viking

Ægir is one of Norway's most interesting breweries at the moment. One of the newest beers in their line-up is a Scottish Ale called Ægir Lindisfarne.

In the glass, Ægir Lindisfarne has a dark copper colour. It has a medium sized head and some carbonation. I feel sweetness and some smoke in the nose. In the mouth there is some sweetness and smoke. The finish is sweet with a touch of smoke. The beer is OK, but it is no favourite.

Back at the draught beer desert

I have told several times on this blog what I do not like about Oslo's airport Gardermoen. Beerwise it is a draught beer desert. Most beers available on tap are pale lagers with some Guinness and Kilkenny here and there. I find that boring and bad for tourists. If you go to Norway's main airport, you should at least find some Norwegian craft beers. But you will not, neither from tap nor from bottle.

During my last visit at Gardermoen I went through both the domestic and international terminal to see if there was something that would interest me before my flight. I found some bottled beers from Brooklyn brewery, but that was about it when it comes to what I consider interesting beers.

But that was before I visited Aquavit Bar in the international terminal. For some reason Aquavit Bar sells Frydenlund Bayer. The Bavarian styled beer is one of my favourite macro brewery beers in Norway, and I was delighted to have a 0.6 litre glass of it before I had to go to the gate.

As always Frydenlund Bayer was a treat. I enjoyed the burnt notes and the caramel touch. It was a fine beer to have before leaving Norway.

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.

Back at Schouskjelleren Mikrobryggeri

Grünerløkka is the neighbourhood in Oslo where some of my favourite Norwegian beer bars can be found. At the southern end is Schouskjelleren Mikrobryggeri found close to the Nybrua tramstop. I called this brewpub the best Norwegian pub last year, and I still consider it like that. Schouskjelleren Mikrobryggeri is a charming beer hall with a great selection of draught beers both brewed at the premises and from leading craft breweries.

At this visit I concentrated on the brewpub's own beers. I started with Sonne IPA. The cloudy beer had barely any carbonation. It had a fruit aroma, and the beer tasted of bitter blood arange. The finish was fruity with a touch of toffee. I really liked this IPA.

I then went for a pale ale. Female Of The Species had a dominant grapefruit aroma. In the mouth I felt lemon and pine, and a sour touch made the beer a little bit more interesting. The finish was somewhat watery and average. I liked the beer, but perhaps I should have tried it before I drank the IPA?

Goose time

Earlier this month, Gaasa opened its doors in Oslo. The location is fine. It is in Storgata street in the city centre close to Oslo Central Station.  Gaasa will both sell beers brewed especially for the pub and selected beers from smaller and larger breweries. The premises looked like an apartment, and on the opening night that gave the place a party feeling. What seemed to be a student crowd looked to have a great evening mostly enjoying their Carlsberg from bottles or playing snooker in a separate room.

The bar was the centre of attention in the main room. Except for draught beers, it looked as if Gaasa had a fine selection in wines. Myself I wanted to try the house beer, and that was Gaasa IPA brewed by Schouskjelleren Mikrobryggeri.

Gaasa IPA was a cloudy beer with a medium sized head and no carbonation. In the nose I felt grapefruit, and the beer tasted of a balanced combination of citrus and grass. The finish was partly bitter, and I felt this was a fine IPA.

Then I decided to try out a Danish beer. Beer Here Kama Citra was a dark beer with nearly no carbonation nor head. In the mouth I felt coffee and some orange. The beeer tasted like a cocktail of coffee, citrus and grapes before a partly bitter finish with apples. This was a good and different beer.

I am not sure if I will be a frequent guest at Gaasa when I am in Oslo, but for the novelty it would be interesting to see how this place will turn out after a few months. So far I prefer other pubs to it, but if I am near the railway station I might take the time for a beer or two.

Reputation is not all

Kristiansand is one of Norway's more popular tourist cities. There is also a local group of beer enthusiasts, and they have their meetings at Patricks in Markens Gate street. Patricks has a great selection of beers both from draught and bottles, and a beer interested person visitin Kristiansand could do much worse than visiting the combined pub and restaurant. This is also a popular place in Kristiansand with an excellent position on the main street.

I visited Patricks last Summer and was not impressed. A combination of loud music and noisy guests made it more or less impossible to enjoy the place. The beer was great, but there were no possibilities to have an ordinary conversation. I was back this Spring and was disappointed once again. Patricks is unfortunately not to be recommended. I hope the owners will do somthing about it. They can for instance take an example from Schouskjelleren in Oslo and Henrik in Bergen: Cut out the music!

The rest of my evening was spent at Bakgården in Tollbodgaten street. This is a smaller place than Patricks, but at least it offers two Nøgne Ø beer taps. I liked the environment much better, and the ambience was calmer and much more interesting than at Patricks.

Nøgne Ø Citra IPA was a beer with a lot of lemon in the nose. It had a medium sized head and nearly no carbonation. In the mouth I felt spicy grapefruit with a finish where lemon and grapefruit had a great balance of sweet and sour. This was a lovely beer!

If you go to Kristiansand, check out Patricks. But you might find out that Bakgården is the better place to be for a few beers.

Alternative Aass

The Norwegian Aass brewery has several beers on the market. Among them are two beers brewed especially for communities in Norway. In Skien one could once find the Union brewery. These day the brewery is nothing but a memory, but Aass makes a version of a Union pale lager from Union's own recipe.

Union Sommerøl is one of those Norwegian pale lagers made especially for the Summer season. The beer had some carbonation and a large head. I felt malts and grass in the nose. The beer had a malty taste with some grains before a partly bitter finish. This was an average pale lager that will be fine to seafood like shrimps and crabs.

Aass Halling Pilsnerøl is a beer made by Aass for the Hallingdalen valley. It is another pale lager with a lot of carbonation and a medium sized head. I feel aromas of grains and grass. The beer is malty, but has a boring finish with some hops and cardboard. I felt this beer was boring.

Back at the office

Kontoret's name is just clever. In English it means "the office", and they have a slogan that can be translated as the office being open for overtime work. As a beer bar, Kontoret is one of the better ones in Bergen. There are six beer taps, and some of them always offer beers from Ægir and other craft breweries.

Kontoret is part of a restaurant house that has a anniversary this Spring. To commemorate the anniversary, Kontoret offers a house beer at the moment. This is a kölsch brewed by Ægir.

Kontoret Jubileumsbrygg had a cloudy, pale colour. There was no carbonation and a small head. In the nose I felt some fruit, yeast and sourness. The taste was fruity with a touch of citrus before a finish with some grass and yeast. This was a nice beer, but I prefer beers in other styles than this.

At an earlier visit to Kontoret, I also tasted Mikkeler Cream Ale. This was a cloudy beer with no carbonation and barely a head. In the nose citrus took the lead, while the beer had lemon to the fore. The finish was watery and boring. I did not enjoy this beer.

Bergen now has three pubs serving house beers. That is a nice development. Although Henrik Imperial Amber is the best of the house beers, Kontoret Jubileumsbrygg is a fine beer. At Naboen you can drink Naboen Bayer and Naboen Bitter. The tasty bitter is brewed by Kinn, while the Bavarian styled beer is rumoured to be brewed by Aass. The waiters at Naboen do not want to disclose the brewery site, and that is stupid. Therefore I give my kudos to Kontoret and Henrik for being up front offering relevant consumer information.

Henrik's house beer

With 44 beer taps, Henrik in Bergen is the leading beer bar in Norway at the moment. In addition to all these draught beers, Henrik also offers bottled beers. But there is a new treat at Henrik. The pub now offers a house beer. Henrik Imperial Amber is brewed by Lervig in Stavanger, and it is only sold at Henrik.

In the glass Henrik Imperial Amber is a copper coloured beer with a medium sized head and barely any carbonation. In the nose I feel burnt malts and some caramel. The beer tastes of toffee, some fruits I can not specify and a touch of coffee. The finish is partly bitter with a touch of raisins. This is a very good and balanced beer, and it hides its 8% alcohol very nicely. If you are in Bergen, I advice you to visit Henrik just to try this house beer.

Unspecified beer

Trondhjem Mikrobryggeri is a place I return to whenever I visit Trondheim. The brewpub in the city centre has an atmosphere that I like in the afternoons. In the evenings it gets crowded and noisy, and I do not find it very enjoyable.

I come to Trondhjem Mikrobryggeri for the beers. All of them are brewed on the premises, but not all of them are that interesting. During my recent visit I tasted myself through some of the beers on the regular beer menu, and among them the IPA and the pale ale were my favourites.

There is always a sesasonal offer on the beer menu. This time it was a beer called Global Warming. I asked the waiter which beer style Global Warming was. He did not answer my question, prefering to explain me how the beer tasted.

In the glass Global Warming was a clouded beer with some carbonation and a small head. I felt hops and citrus in the nose. In the mouth there was hops, honey, some caramel and sweetness before a finish that was more or less only toffee. This was a lovely beer that I really enjoyed. Keep up the good work, brewmaster!

Neighbourhood treat

The most interesting beer place in Trondheim is Den gode nabo, which means "the good neighbour" in English. The combined restaurant and pub has an excellent selection of draught beers, combining both the local macro lager, interesting Norwegian micro breweries and exciting import beers. In addition to these there are several offers of bottled beers.

During my short visit, I saw that Den gode nabo had a draught beer from Kinn brewery that I had not tasted before. According to the waiter, Kinn Prestesonen was a porter.

I was served the Kinn beer in a branded glass. Prestesonen (translated into English as "son of the preacher man") was a black beer without carbonation and a small head. I felt coffee in the nose, and the coffee took the lead in the mouth with some toffee. The finish was a combination of coffee, malts and a touch of vodka. This was an excellent beer, and I really enjoyed it.

I went into the Trondheim evening promising myself to be back. This is one of the better beer temples in Norway, and a short visit does not give any respect to Den gode nabo. This is a place for multiple beers!

Trondheim's lager

Sure, pale lager is Norway's favourite beer, and it is what you will get if you order "øl" at any Norwegian bar or restaurant.

While visiting Trondheim recently, I had the possibility of trying out the local pale lager fra E. C. Dahls from can. I did, and Dahls Pils was a pale beer with some carbonation and a large head. The beer had aromas of sweetness and malts. I felt it tasted of malts and yeast. This was a boring, average pale lager that is not among my favourites of it's style.

Another IPA

Drinking beer in Bergen is enjoyable these days. There are several good beer bars, and most of them can offer interesting draught beers. Henrik is now the leader of the crowd with 44 beer taps. Baran used to be the local tap race leader, but the current 18 taps are not that bad. Among them you can find beers from Norwegian craft breweries and exciting import beers.

I recently visited Baran and found that they had Crooked Tree IPA from the American Dark Horse brewery. As I am fond of IPAs and Crooked Tree was a new acquaintance, I chose that beer. In the nose I felt some grapefruit and pineapple. The beer tasted of fruit coctail with assertive pineapple and a touch of pine. The finish was partly bitter, and in all I felt this was just an average IPA. I would prefer Norwegian IPAs like Kinn Vestkyst, Ægir IPA or one of Nøgne Ø's IPAs compared to Dark Horse Crooked Tree.

Nevertheless, Baran is always worth a visit while in Bergen for a beer enthusiast. And there is more to come! It is rumoured that Baran will start brewing their own beers soon. That will be interesting, as the management show great knowledge in beers and beer styles.

Two Drammeners (and a Drammen beer festival)

The city of Drammen is home to two Norwegian breweries. Aass is the traditional, local macro brewery, while Haandbryggeriet is the newer craft brewery. The first weekend of May 2012, Drammen will be the arena for Norway's first craft beer festival. Haandbryggeriet is the arranger, and Aass will be one of the guest breweries attending. Among the other guest breweries you can find Alvinne and Rulles of Belgium, Magic Rock of the UK, De Molen and Emelisse from the Netherlands, Närke of Sweden, Loverbeer of Italy in addition to Kinn and Nøgne Ø from Norway.

But back to Aass and Haandbryggeriet. Both breweries have extensive beer line-ups. Aass is going the traditional route in Norway with various pale lagers as the main focus of their product line. In addition to these, they have a gourmet line including a stout, a pale ale and a weizen. Most bigger breweries in Norway also make a beer in the Bavarian style, and Aass is no exception.

In the glass Aass Bayer is a copper coloured beer with some carbonation and a large head. In the nose there is a combination of burnt malts and some caramel. In the mouth I feel some toffee, sweetness and some burnt tones. The finish is watery and nearly anonymous. This was an inoffensive Bavarian beer that I felt was just average. In Norway I prefer Frydenlund Bayer if I will drink a beer in the Bavarian style.

Haandbryggeriet is one of Norway's experimental breweries. I am especially fond of the brewery's beers Pale Ale and Dobbel Dose, but there are also other gems in the product line. One of them is the Fyr & Flamme IPA. I have tried this beer earlier this year as a draught beer, and I felt that the beer was enjoyable.

From bottle Fyr & Flamme has a cloudy brownish colour. The beer has barely any carbonation, but there is a medium large head. I feel aromas of fruit cocktail, wood and yeast. In the mouth there is fruit and a lot of hops. The finish is partly bitter with a touch of tutti frutti chewing gum. This was a nice beer, but I feel it was better as a draught beer.

A taste of Easter

While there are a lot of Norwegian breweries making Christmas beers, there are not that many making beers for Easter. Sure, when I read other beer blogs and read Facebook posts, I see that there are some beers available. But most of them are either sold out or they have a lousy distribution.

I had a search for Easter beers in Bergen last Saturday. After visiting the better stocked Vinmonopolet outlets, the better supermarkets and some of the city's beer bars I had to make a conclusion. This year's Easter beers might be available for a selected few beer tickers, but not for the average Norwegian beer drinker.

By mistake I found one Easter beer while not looking for one. Ægir's Påskesol was available at a Meny supermarket. The beer had a best before date in 2014, so I believe this is a batch made for this Easter. In the glass Ægir Påskesol was a cloudy beer with some carbonation and a large head. In the nose I felt sweetness and some yeast. The beer had an assertive touch of Belgian yeast, some wheat and fruit cocktail before a rather anonymous finish with some tutti frutti chewing gum.

Sure, Påskesol is just another of those average beers that you would like to try again now and then but rarely bother. With a price tag of nearly 60 NOK for 0.5 litres I would rather buy something else. I could get two bottles of Lervig's Lucky Jack pale ale at the same price, or perhaps I should fork out less than an additional tenner to buy Ægir's IPA? Both are more interesting Norwegian beers, the way I see it.

Good location

When it comes to location, Amundsen in the city centre of Oslo has everything. Placed merely a stone throw from the Norwegian Parliament (Stortinget), it is easy to find in Roald Amundsens Gate street. The beer menu is just fabulous. Amundsen offers both beers brewed on the premises and a great selection of draught beers. In addition to these, there are many rare beers in the restaurant's beer cellar.

I wanted to try one of Amundsen's own beers and decided to try out the pale ale. This was a golden beer with a cloudy look. There was barely any carbonation, and the beer had a small head. In the nose I felt pine, yeast and some grapefruit. The beer tasted grapefruit and pine before a nice finish with some bitterness. This was a lovely beer. I tasted an earlier batch of the same beer last year, but this was a better beer experience.

Amundsen is a must for a beer visitor to Oslo. My regret was that I did not have the time to stay for more than another beer.