Introduction

After many notes being written and many a beer consumed, this blog finally saw the light of day late 2013.
A lot has happened in the scene since I started working on this blog. With so many exiting brews & breweries, an increasement in popularity (at least in Europe that is),  and let’s not forget-  possibly the most interesting of the lot, the homebrewers. It’s simply so much to taste, so many to get accuainted to, that it should be no wonder if there is types that you won’t find here… (Yet). Still; I will try to be as productive as I can allow myself to on this front (Santa, I’d like 30 hour long days for this Xmas!) and include what beers I taste, with my opinion about it etc.

It seems that the more I learn about beer, the more I realize how much more knowledge that I lack about it… But hey, that’s part of what is about to change, part of the mission.  Hope you can find it/some of it entertaining (perhaps even interesting?) in a way or another. Oh, and PS: Feel free to leave a comment in the comment-field.

Skål/Salute/Salud/Nastrovje/cheers/Schal/Kampai/Sveiks/Kippis/Prost/Santè/Slaintè!

-I- Archaon

SCHÖNRAMER «Pils» (5%) 6/6

So… it’s time to finally check out what this is about. Having heard about this brewery through a few friends now, i’m curious to see what is so special about it and their beers? The light projects a golden/yellow spectral aura, crowned by a light creamy and quickly fading head. Nose is freshly hoppy and associations sends the mind off to fields of freshly cut grass. Perfect for the summer times!

No time to waste; let’s get into this. Very smooth, mild taste. Beautiful balance and body, I love the fact that sweetness does not take over- at the same time as it is emphasizing freshness more than the ultra smooth hoppyness. Just floating through, with the very subtle aftertaste. Absolute perfection. I’ve never pictured myself giving a top rating/character to a Pilsner, but alas: that is how wrong I could be. Such a smooth pilsner I never pictured existed. Will definetely revisit- Hopefully sooner than later.

MONKEY BREW

«Triassic Extinction» (6%) 4/6

Howdy! Been a while. The blog has got an upgrade as you might’ve noticed (Huge thx goes out to Vegard Dølerud @ Slapfish!) Time to get back into putting some words down on some of’em beers…

Nose

From Trondheim, what we’re faced with here is an IPA- of the hazy kind, that is. Unsurprisingly, it is bright yellow colourwise- quite deep with a light creamy head to top. Nose detects highly fruity notes of orange and sour citrus fruit such as lemony vibe to it, enhanced by peach- the latter being very distinct in front.

Taste

As for the actual taste, it starts off fresh helped by the carbonation. However, quickly presents the main role- being peach/apricot-dominated to a high extent. There was a flash of top frequency hop there, bit overall this is not hoppy at all. Nice & fruity though, with loooong fruity, lightbodied middle section. If you really let it linger, the hops make a small comeback at the end. Sweet! (indeed)

🇳🇴X-MAS BEERS OF 2022 (Part 3)

LERVIG «Julebock» (4.7%) 3/6

Dark brown, pouring creamy yellow’ish head. Nose of figs, hops and humid basement. Tastewise: medium-to-light mouthfeel, helped by nice degree of carbonation. Fresh at first, followed by a nutty feel before quickly fading out in a bland and a little thin aftertaste. Still, quite tasty.

E.C.DAHLS «Kong Vinter 2022» (7%) 4/6

Dark red/light brownish visually. Vineous, fruity nose. Elegant balanced malt-heavy Sweet introduction, combined with a somewhat maturity. Small bubbly action going on. All despite the fact that it’s a quite medium-bodied beer. Some bitterness along the way, culminating in a long-bittersweet, well-tasty dry finish.

NØGNE Ø «Grønn Jul 2022» (7%) 4/6

Deep yellow autumn straw-like looks, pouring massive head. Distinct aromas of green: Piney, fruity reminiscent of forest. Mouthfeel is clean and highy hoppy, enhancing the bitter resin and sap notes. Almost so it stings on the palate. Starting of flowery, evolving into bitter twist that takes hold-all the way back at the tongue, that lingers looong into the aftertaste. Quite exciting, fresh and tasty.

ÆGIR «Nissebokk» (7%) 4/6

Dark, red-brown visually, pouring lightly creamy head. It actually look quite transparent. Deep fruity nose of figs and sweet . Tastewise, it starts off with a great bubbly fresh intoduction, before the fruits comes into play. Evolving into light vineous- in combination with chocolate neuances, suiting the light-to-medium body of this greatness. Not overly complex, still very nice tasting. Probably will re-visit this one during the holidays.

OSLO BREWING«Christmas Kveik»(7.4%) 4/6

Looks like a haze should, yellow with lightly creamy head on top. Superfruity nose of lemon, citrus and pineapple. Smells good, I’m excited…

So, what we’ve got here is a highly fruity NEIPA, morphing into sweet fruitjuice, which suits the rest of the composition well. Following that stage, the sweet elements comes into play to, working well with the rest. Another good Kveik-beer, believe it or not!

AMUNDSEN «BA Upside down Christmas cake 2022» 11.5% 4/6

Looking dark’n thick. Nose of sweet chocolate, sweet fruity berries. Much carbonation and medium to thick body. Easy biscuit-like. Sweet chocolaty taste with Raspberry twist to it. Milk chocolatish ending to a candy-like dessert of a beer. Tasty though.

BÅDIN «Julestout 2022»  (9.3%) 2/6

Very dark brown, barely letting a rubyred shimmering light through. There’s some bubbly action here though. Nose of wood (oak) and nuts. Light-to-medium bodied, with much bitter, dry and stony taste. Quite sharp and too alcoholic for my taste. (Sorry!)

BÅDIN «Jul i Sjøgato» (8%) 4/6

This one was a surprising one from these guys. Dark yellow-brownish visually, pouring a creamy and quickly fading head to top. Nose is caramelly and fruity (almost a hint of tutti frutti-vibe to it. On the palate: fresh, lightly citric fruityness paired with sweet banana notes makes the hops surf superbly over the tongue, without being too dominant (as I often find banana features to be in beers). Great balance. Very good!

BÅDIN «Helgelandsbokken» (10%) 4/6

Lightly read through yellow looks with a nice head when poured. Very subtle nose of caramel and malts. I am expecting something a bit thin here… oh gosh! It has a somewhat fresh vibe to it first, then evolve into a very sweet, nice malty midsection. The body of the bear is more powerful than expected, with a powerful alcoholic strength to challenge this weakness. Surprisingly well tasty.

🇳🇴X-MAS BEERS OF 2022 (Part 2)

A night with the test panel

 

Here we go again! Albeit not on my own this time- at least not on all of them. This year I decided to gather a panel consisting of a few friends. After all, it’s about having a fun and good time- particularly socially, right?

Let’s kick things off, here is a selection of the Norwegian Christmas beers this year!

Ok, let’s face a couple of facts here:

  1. These beers won’t test themselves
  2. It’s a tough nut for one person, or even two
  3. It is more fun- the more, the merrier!

So, this night’ll be a test night with a few friends 😊

AASS «Vellagret Juleøl 2022» (9%)

Fruity, almost vineous nose. Much caramelly

Maria: 4

Andreas: 4

Andre: 4

Svein: 4

Idar: 4

 

RINGNES «Juleøl sterk 2022» (6,5%)

The nose is nutty/fruity/tobacco. Dry, thin mouthfeel.

Maria: 3

Andreas: 3

Andre: 3

Svein: 3

Idar: 3

 

RINGNES «Juleøl 2022» (4.6%)

Light smooth caramelly nose. Balanced great taste albeit a little thin, will definetely revisit.

Maria: 3

Andreas: 3

Andre: 3

Svein: 3

Idar: 4

BERENTSEN «The Holy Bock 2022» (9%)

Delicious nose of lightly smoked & vanilla notes. Taste is supersmooth toffee-like.

Maria: 4

Andreas: 4

Andre: 5

Svein: 4

Idar: 5

 

MONKEYBREW «Belgian Stout 2022» (9%)

Very subtle nose. Light smoke. Sweetness in nose, a bit thin & bitter taste.

Maria: 3

Andreas: 3

Andre: 3

Svein: 3

Idar: 3

 

MONKEY BREW «Supernova 2.0» (8%)

Fresh citrus and orange notes. Creamy mouthfeel and delish fruity action. (But Christmassy? Well- I Don’t care) 😊

Maria: 4

Andreas: 4

Andre: 4

Svein: 4

Idar: 4

 

RYGR «Hokunatt 2022» (4.7%)

Smokey nose, almost bacon-like. Thin-to-medium bodied, the aromatic notes ressonates well.

Maria: 3

Andreas: 2

Andre: 2

Svein: 2

Idar: 3

 

RYGR «Hokunatt 2022» (8%)

Maria: 3

Andreas:

Andre: 3

Svein:

Idar: 3

 

EIK&TID «Juleangst» (6.6%)

Very sour nose with the Aquavit barrels providing a sharp twist to it. Works surprisingly well, red great acidity as far as taste goes.

Maria: 2

Andreas: 4

Andre: 4

Svein: 4

Idar: 4

 

E.C. DAHLS «Lillebjørn Juleøl» (4.6%)

Spicy, herbal notes. Thin-bodied, liqorice’ish ending.

Maria: 1

Andreas: 1

Andre: 1

Svein: 1

Idar: 3

 

MACK MIKROBRYGGERI «Dubbel Dose Yule» (6.5%)

Lightly aromatic. Belgian mouthfeel, dry middle.

Maria: 3

Andreas: 2

Andre: 2

Svein: 3

Idar: 3

 

NØGNE Ø «Gul Jul 2022» (4.7%)

Grassy lemony nose. Fruity, a bout farmhouse-like taste.

Maria: 3

Andreas: 3

Andre: 3

Svein: 3

Idar: 4

 

NØGNE Ø «Svart Jul» (10%)

Anice/Liqorice. Medium to thick body. Deep, Sweet heat.

Maria: 4

Andreas: 4

Andre: 3

Svein: 4

Idar: 4

 

NØGNE Ø «Endelig jul» (4.5%)

Woah!! That’s cinnamon for ya 😅 And ginger. Let’s put in mouth. Thin-bodied, strange, funny herbal beer.

Maria: 3

Andreas: 2

Andre: 2

Svein: 2

Idar: 3

 

HAANDBRYGGERIET «NISSEMOR» (6%)

Lightly spiced. Light coffee notes, dry great mouthfeel.

Maria: 3

Andreas: 3

Andre: 3

Svein: 3

Idar: 4

 

HAANDBRYGGERIET «NISSEFAR» (7%)

More matured version. Deeper darker, lightly  spiced. Great choice.

Maria: 4

Andreas: 4

Andre: 4

Svein: 4

Idar: 4

 

HAANDBRYGGERIET «Halvors Jul» (8%)

Maria: 4

Andreas: ?

Andre: 3

Svein: 3

Idar: 4

 

JACOBSEN «Christmas Ale» (15.5%)

Maria: 2

Andreas: 3

Andre: 2

Svein: 3

Idar: 3

 

MARLOBOBO «Care Full» (11.5%)

Matured apples! Delicious 😍

Maria: 5

Andreas: 6

Andre: 5

Svein: 5

Idar 6

 

LERVIG «Naughty & nice» (8%)

Maria: 2

Andreas: 3

Andre: 3

Svein: 3

Idar: 4

 

BÅDIN «Kryziu kalnas» (6.7%)

Maria: 2

Andreas: ?

Andre: 3

Svein: 3

Idar: 3

 

Nøgne Ø «A Christmas Carol» (16.5%)

Maria: 4

Andreas: ?

Andre: 5

Svein: 5

Idar: 5

 

MARLOBOBO «Stevnsberry Noveau» (16.5%) 6/6

Typichal Marlobobo Cherry delicousness.

Maria: 4

Andreas: ?

Andre: 5

Svein: 5

Idar: 6

 

AMUNDSEN «Sticky Little Fingers» (12.5%)

Maria: 3

Andreas: ?

Andre: 4

Svein: ?

Idar: 5

 

AMUNDSEN «Barrel Aged Sticky Little Fingers» (13%)

Maria: 4

Andreas: ?

Andre: 5

Svein: ?

Idar: 5

 

SLEEPING VILLAGE «Hollow Lands” (11%)

Maria: 3

Andreas: ?

Andre: 3

Svein: ?

Idar: 3

 

KRECHER “Gynjerdread 2022” (11%)

Lots of chocolate, real OD.

Maria: 3

Andreas: ?

Andre: 3

Svein: ?

Idar: 3

 

BERENTSEN «Baby Stelliger» 15.5%)

Maria: 4

Andreas: 4

Andre: 5

Svein: 5

Idar: 5

 

BERENTSEN «Jule Avec» (9%)

Maria: 3

Andreas: Over & out

Andre: 4

Svein: Over & out

Idar: 4

 

OSLO BREWING «Chocolate Cake 2022» (9.7%)

Maria: 2

Andreas: Done

Andre: 4

Svein: Done

Idar: 4

 

OSLO BREWING «Red & Wheat 2022» (9.7%)

Maria: 4

Andreas: 2drnk2fck

Andre: 3

Svein: 2drnk2fck

Idar: 4

🇳🇴X-MAS BEERS OF 2022 (Part 1)

FRYDENLUND «Juleøl» 2022 4.6% 3/6

Dark Amber colour, pouring a large head. Distinct notes of fruit and caramel. Quite round taste,very subtle. A tad metallic,low carbonation. Particularly good to pair with food for this season.

NORLANDSBRYGGERIET «Nordlands juleøl” (4.5%) 4/5

Lighter amber in color with modest heads pouring. Lightly fruity notes in the nose, as well as a transformation when it comes to taste: This light but smooth beer morphs into further bitter notes enhanced by darker malts. Smooth balance, a great all-round Xmas beer.

E.C.DAHLS “Dahls juleøl» (4.5%) 3/5

Beautiful amber color here w/small head. Nose is delicious malty wort. Lightly carbonated and very minimalistic in its presence, making this a safe go-to for all parts of the Xmas timeline. Tasty although subtle, smooth & delicious.

RINGNES «Julebokk» 2022 (9%) 4/5

So, what we’re up for now: this grand master’s annual return. From Oslo‘s industrial Pilsner makers, and we have a beer that has been completed for the top three at least for me several times. By looks irlt is very dark shimmering red, pouring little top. The nose reminiscent of sweet dark dried fruit, and the mouthfeel is light but extravagant. Notes of licorice, draped with a bitter edge gives this super beverage extra dimensions. Superb, this year too.

RINGNES «Lite Jul» (4.3%) 3/6

Quite lines in color one, looking like a dark lager as such. Very little carbonation going on. Nose is also hard to distinguish… close to undetectable. Tastewise, it’s quite bland and thin, making it very quenchable. Refreshing at the very least- and also: Low carb/low cal😜

OSLO BREWING «Voksenjulebrus» (6%) 4/6

Looks like pink drink! Smells of red berries and lightly of grape juice. Ask for taste: these elements also ressonates well here, the- and a sour twist to top it. Very nice! Little bubbly action going on, but an interesting, great twist that will be a pleasure to drink again.


OSLO BREWING «Multekrem 2022» (4.5%) 3/6

Pure yellow colour, with big head. Nose is at first fruity, almost reminding about a NEIPA- but then- deep at the bottom of things, somet strange, molten acidity. Not repulsive, just like those associations of bacteriaculture-milk. As for the taste, it is mild, dry and grainy with wheat-Sweet coating. But it works very well with certain desserts.

BERENTSEN «Julefnugg» (6.5%) 5/6

Dark red/brownish visuals. Nose is extremely malty, pointing a lot towards bread. A lightbodied beer suitable for most moments during this holiday season. As for taste: Crumbles/bread, sweet malt and refreshing degree of carbonation. A mild, suitable hint of liqorice at the end. This is very good stuff.

BERENTSEN «Juleøl» (4.7%) 3/6

Amber red in color pouring nice head. Deep malty aroma of wet oaky cellar. Nice wort taste, thin body. A bit bland, and sharp edges.

E.C. DAHL «Dahls Juleøl» (4.6%) 4/6

Nutty and lightly fruity aroma. Good degree of carbonation and mouthfeel. Light to medium body… a little thin perhaps, giving just a tad too much room for the ABV-strenght. Taste is caramelly sweet and eventually bitter. Apart from that, all in all a good choice.

E.C. DAHL «Dahls Julebrygg» (6%) 3/6

Lightly brown colourwise with elegant creamy head poured. Aromas are of droids dark fruits, very delicate. Mouthfeel is very good, thin-bodied but with suitable carbonation-levels. Taste is fruity and a hint nutty. Quenchable seasonal drink.

MACK «Juleøl Lite» (4.5%) 3/6

Amber brownish visually.

Nose is a bit fruity and malt-orientated… I suspect this beer will be a little bit thin. Well- let’s try: distinct wort-notes of bittersweet roast. Thin as suspected, albeit quite nice and easy drinking.


MACK «Tradisjonell Julebokk» (9%) 5/6

This one is so red-brown that it’s almost hard to see through… Though it is transparency and a clean, delicate look to it. Pours beautiful head too. Nose is lightly Xmassy, of subtle caramel. However, the taste is not subtle at all, but pure delicassy! Delicious malt sweetness with hops to match this powerful body. Aftertaste is heavily sweet too… but hey, nothings wrong with that? This is an awesome choice!

BÅDIN «All I want for Christmas is a hoppy beer» (7%) 4/6

Hmm… strings for a Christmas beer to be. Deep yellow with a large head pouring. nose is fruity with hints of banana bread/grains. Supersmooth bubbles, sweet light fruity notes- with a hoppy aftertaste. Definitely a nice twist for a Christmas beer- and a well tasty one.

BÅDIN «Stille Dal» (7%) 5/6

Delicious, inviting murky yellow-brown visuals, seemingly quite a bit of bubbly action going on. Now, this is described as a wheat-IPA to accompany Christmas foods, and understandably so. However, the fruityness of orange, apples and plum makes me think it’ll go well on it’s own too… Let’s dive down tastewise: medium to fullbodied,good carbonation as suspected. Very cool bitterness for a wheat beer to be! At the same time: very delicate. Grassy intro followed by a distinct great bitter midsection, before leaving that dry, lingering grassy outro. Very good and all-around, indeed.

AASS «Juleøl Premium 2022» (9%) 5/6

Deep Amber colour with great head in glass. Delicious smells of dark-burnt Xmassy malts, figs and subtle spices. Refreshing carbonation for this medium-to fullbodied beer.

Taste is furthermore enhanced by wet wood, along with dark fruits, especcially dates. Mild enough to enjoy on its own, yet complex enough for heavy food-pairings. A very nice choice!

MACK «Juleøl 2022» (4.5%) 4/6

Dark amber color, pouring great head.  Fruity, malty subtle aroma of the season. Light body but great mouthfeel. Mack has really got the hang of this!

ÆGIR «Julepott» (4.5%) 4/6

Dark rubyred colourwise, like a jewel. Pours nice head. Highly vinous nose! Almost on the brink to red wine, Deep fruity vibes going on here. Tastewise its pretty stunning too: Light to mediumbodied, nice Sweet start before mild bitterness comes to surface. Then, a nutty, dry finish lingers at the end. Very good!

SOMERSBY «Christmas cider» (4.5%) 4/6

First off: being a Seiter, kind of derails from the rest here… when that is said: Visually it looks like apple juice, very light in color and the carbonation looking good. The nose, however, is in addition to being typical apple/flute fruit oriented, this one contains a lot of Christmasy spices, such as the cinnamon and carnation. Let’s taste it. At first, the spices comes through together with him, huge sweetness the midsection Terrace the apple, ripe fruit come out before it all fades out with the massive, sweet spice and sweetness.

BREWSKI «BA75: Barrel aged Imperial stout w vanilla» (12%) 4/6

By the first eye-glance, it looks dark and thick. Quite promising, so to speak. It would be completely wrong to say that it has a little carbonation- cause here there’s none… (to justify a tad, it is serves on tap tho)

The nose is clearly chocolate, along the lines of milk chocolate and mild hints of coffee. When it hits the palate, there’s some nice stuff going on- the milk chocolate is defined more clearly, and mild at first. It is indeed vanilla-dominated, providing yet more sweetness (for those who’s into that kinda thing) 😉

Then, there’s that nice tingly heat being introduced underneath… very smooth. As suspected- this is highly thick bodied beverage.
And it lays quite nicely long at the back of the tongue, heat from bourbon combined with a dry, bitter ending. Me likey!

Dark Night 2022

In late September, there’s been another festival happening in Norway before, namely the Zwanze festival.

However- when that stopped taking place in Oslo, Nøgne Ø grabbed the opportunity- and formed their now annual fest: Dark Night. Basically, the idea of having this yearly launch of (one of?) their most demanding beers to produce, has now presented both it’s facets; namely the brewery’s flagship beer Dark Horizon. This once-upon-a-time mythical proud take on an Imperial Stout has been brewed every second year since 2007 (? if I’m not mistaking) and still to this very day, holds high regards with many Norwegians. And not very surprising, as this beer has seen many slight changes/variants throughout the years- spanning from more bitter nuances to more super sweet.

However: as it is only brewed every second year, there’s been a gap to fill… until now, that is. Well, that’s not entirely true either, because the beer in question saw the light of day for the first time in 2021. It is of course the deliciously sweet strong ale under the name Nordic Noir. And as we’re rolling out of 2022, it is the latter to be released this year.

And boy, have they outdone themselves! Not one, not two- but three(!) types is what’s on this year. The base beer being brewed with chocolate malts, juniper and honey- and is tasting fantastic in itself. So, with last year seing a other version simply labeled «Barrel aged», it’s indeed upped some in 22: Sherry edition, as well as another one aged on Vouvray barrels. The first one being somewhat vinous for a split second and the latter emphazising sweetness, it is indeed getting more interesting for each year it’s arranged.

Not to forget the superbly cozy brewpub and awesome brewery-building of Nøgne Ø, the attendees got to taste smashing food brought to Nøgne by Kamil Krystjańczuk: the brilliant chef at Apotekergaarden & his assistant. On top of that- all kinds of years/variants of previous Nøgne beers, superbly executed art, in the form of an orchestra (!) – all in all, a splendid night.


Mikkeller Beer Celebration Copenhagen 2022

The annual trip to Beer Mecca is back on!

After pretty much recovering from Covid, as well as some other rather demanding circumstances, the report from this year’s legendary Mikkeller Beer Celebration Copenhagen is ready. Following the extensive challenge that bears the name Covid-19, the world seemed to have been put on hold for quite some time… Luckily, the agile bunch at Mikkeller knew when to strike last year and saved the day for many a beer geek-soul.

However: It was somewhat untraditional to head off to this (still) joyful event in the start of winter, rather than the classic season trade-off in spring. There’s something so lively about this happening, about the whole beautiful town, about the joyful spirits uniting in the name of high-quality craft beer, all the fun and laughs. So- for 2022 to bring MBCC back on track, with a raging storm of a line-up, there was no reason to look back on already somber times from the previous couple of years. Let’s face it: It’s all good with trying to recreate it all with some friends in the living room, but nothing really beats the authentic feel of entering Øksnehallen at this time of the year… Just- Magical!

Insaaane line-up

As usual, there was a bunch of cool activities going on, such as tattoo-stands, food, wine and much more. For variations sake, it is great that there are some other features, even though the fact that just short walks will take you to several great dining possibilities and whatnot in stunningly beautiful (& exciting) Copenhagen.

Some new stars on the foamy beer sky for me personally (and I know for sure many of my peers agrees), was amongst others: Pulpit Rock (absolute kings&queens!), LUA (which I’d never tasted anything from before- insanely great stuff!), lest not forget the highly anticipated stand from the folks at Moksa brewing- whom sure did not disappoint), as well as grand maestro-works from Forager, 3 Sons, Lervig, the mead-masters at Superstition to name a few. I also love it when I discover hitherto unknown breweries such Brazilian Spartacus (them lads & lasses all the way from down in South America doesn’t only have Sepultura making killer music- they make awesome beers too!) Mikerphone had some seriopusly tasty stouts going on and the sweet neighbor from up here in Scandinavia, namely Omnipollo knows how to stir things up with great exitement. (Gotta love a crazy queue, when there’s enough for everybody, right?) Which it absolutely was of most here this year.

As for them taste buds which are more lenient towards the sour on the palate: There was plenty for you too here. The Dutch legend Tommie Sjef was there with none other than his mum (she was really nice!), keeping levels busy with the hordes of curious beer-geeks ready to devour. And he was in no way alone here- a little further down the line of stands, you would find Bofkont, pouring at all cylinders. Really good stuff!

Over the two days that the festival spans over, it is indeed a longed for- event. Many that didn’t go for the last edition held in autumn last year had found their way this year, and something that should be just as intriguing for the arrangers especcially- was the fact that many of the breweries themselves expressed explicit joy over participating. Amongst others, I spoke to Adroit Theory’s representative here, who was astonished over how great the event is. And he was not alone as such- for instance the people at Ology, Transient and Voodoo seemed to have a great time as well, both behind the tap tower as well as out-and-about. So many styles, so many – this melting pot of beer related features really stands out as something of its own, for sure. Having just celebrated its 10th anniversary, MBCC have proved themselves to be a well-organized, oozing with professionality and agility- something which hopefully will help them maintain their position in the beer environment for years to come.

And with so many nationalities united in one culture, everything from the trivial everyday life to global challenges and struggles are put on hold for a little while. It really brings out the best for a day/weekend/week for those souls daring enough to extend the stay in magnificent Copenhagen at this time of the year.

A brilliant way to greet summertime welcome and to celebrate beer, joy & life.

NÄRKE «Stormaktsporter Kaggen! High Coast Peated 2020» (12%) 4/6

Dark and nice visuals, pouring small creamy head. Nose reminiscent of leather, Smoke, dried fruit and wet oak. Body is medium to light, enhancing the peated notes. Mouthfeel is fresh, sharp- a bit stingy, but comfortably so. Tastewise, it really embraces the whisky flavour, but also leaves behind room for other elements, such as distinct coffee-traces, figs, a hint of liquorice and almost rum-like aftertaste.

Old school with style: Närke never disappoints with their variants of this fantastic beer.

SIDE PROJECT “Blueberry Flanders” Bl . 3 (6%) 4/6

It’s always with great anticipation that I approach any beer that rides under the Side Project/Shared-banner, being aware of their extremely high quality stouts and Barleywines. However, they’re also incredibly competent when it comes to sour beers, giving the European competitors such as 3 Fonteinen and Cantillon a run-for-the-money, for sure. (I’ll always cherish the moment when tasting that “Fuzzy” of theirs… Amazing!)

Back to the beer-at-hand, namely Blueberry Flanders blend 3: It demands me to take off my sunglasses to really take in that beautiful deep blue-red/brown colour, pouring close to no bubbles at all. Nose is deep dark mature from super-ripe berries, highly acidic and lots of oak from the barrel.

As for taste, the oaky elements are enhanced for a split second, together with blueberries, that in turn becomes extremely sour- lingering for a very, very long time. It’s almost as it corrodes through the throat… Extremely sour, on the verge between delicious and pungent to the degree that I must question a second as well as a third time… I land on it being very delicate and refreshing. And highly interesting, to the extent of a mindblowing taste-trip.

It’s great to challenge people’s taste like SP does here- whoever said it was going to be such an easy quiery summery experience under the sunshine?