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.