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Norwegian beer scene coming of age 2

Posted: March 10th, 2010, 9:27pm CET by knutalbert

The other story about beer in Norway is connected to Hurtigruten, what used to be the coastal steamer along the Western coast of Norway, now a fleet of cruise ships doing the Bergen-Kirkenes round trip in two weeks. These ships are filled with well heeled tourists during the summer season, enjoying the fjords, the coastline and [...]

Announcing the Mikkeller beer bar

Posted: March 9th, 2010, 2:07pm CET by knutalbert

Going to the beer festival in Copenhagen? So you thought the rather short opening hours of the festival meant you had some time to stroll along in the city, visit the Little Mermaid, visit the National Museum of Arts…. Nope. Mikkel Borg Bjergsø, yes, that’s the Mikkel of Mikkeller fame, will open a beer bar. In Copenhagen. [...]

Beer festival among the hops

Posted: March 8th, 2010, 4:37pm CET by knutalbert

If you want a contrast to the big festivals in the European capitals, and still want to go away for a good beer experience, I think the first Hallertauer Bierfestival in Attenkirchen, Bavaria could be a nice place to go. It takes place on 28 -30 May, and it’s organized by the village community. They promise 54 beers [...]

Norwegian beer scene coming of age

Posted: March 5th, 2010, 5:57pm CET by knutalbert

A few recent news items related to the Norwegian beer scene shows that this is no longer just an arena for a few enthusiasts. It’s like Science Fiction after Star Wars, craft beer is going mainstream. First of all the Norwegian Brewer’s association, which, without much fuss, has recruited most of the micro breweries of the [...]

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Sad news from Nørrebro Bryghus

Posted: February 24th, 2010, 11:53am CET by knutalbert

According to beerticker.dk, who also quotes various Danish media, one of the pioneers behind the Danish craft beer movement, Anders Kissmeyer, has been fired by the owners of Nørrebro Bryghus. Despite a wide range of inventive beers, collaborations with brewers around the world and a high media profile, the brewery has been losing money at an [...]

Bring on the Belgians!

Posted: February 23rd, 2010, 10:55am CET by knutalbert

The New York Times has conducted a blind tasting of 20 Belgian and Belgian style golden ales. A beer from Jolly Pumpkin got the highest ranking. And while you’re there, check out their story on beer in Vietnam, too. Sorry if the photo does not highlight real classy Belgians. I just needed something to remind me that [...]

Holidays in France?

Posted: February 22nd, 2010, 3:23pm CET by knutalbert

If you go for the beer, you should look for the regions with the highest beer consumption per capita. This was unashamedly nicked from the blog Strange Maps.

Michelin starred pubs

Posted: February 18th, 2010, 2:47am CET by knutalbert

If you want really good food with your pint, the Times has a list of the ten British pubs with Michelin stars.

No mercy from BrewDog

Posted: February 17th, 2010, 10:13pm CET by knutalbert

The mad Scots are at it again, provoking some, delighting some. Even stronger this time, 41%. And it’s called Sink the Bismarck! Go watch their new hilarious video!

How do you define a blogger?

Posted: February 17th, 2010, 4:06pm CET by knutalbert

While I blog in English, it is obviously not my mother tongue. I have a question for native English speakers reading my blog today. Some time ago I took part in a competition arranged by the Scandinavian office of the national tourist board of a country in Northern Europe . The invitation ran like this: Are you [...]

I knew the extra beers would come in handy

Posted: February 16th, 2010, 7:56pm CET by knutalbert

The municipal water supplier in Oslo has asked all households to boil their water, as, for reasons unknown to me, they have failed to disinfect the water for a day or so. Luckily I have a few bottles of alternative liquid refreshments in the basement. I mean, there are limits to how much coffee I can [...]

Animal Planet

Posted: February 12th, 2010, 4:51pm CET by knutalbert

I had to share this, but blame Barry.

More praise for Olympen

Posted: February 11th, 2010, 4:06am CET by knutalbert

Pub of the Month in the Inside Beer newsletter is Olympen in Oslo. A good choice!

Pub history seminar

Posted: February 10th, 2010, 12:48pm CET by knutalbert

The Pub History Society, in cooperation with the British National Archives, has a seminar on pub history on 20 February. Speakers include Jack Adams revealing ‘Lost London pubs’, Patrick Chaplin looking at aspects of the history of darts’, ‘Pub Signs and Names’. David Roe will give a slide presentation about the history of pub signs and [...]

Squeamish

Posted: February 10th, 2010, 3:19am CET by knutalbert

While the Scandinavian governmental TV channels do not wince at showing horror movies, and while our offspring are busy have blood spattered monitors after battling down rebel forces on their Xboxes, there are still things which are too tough for us. Swedish TV Channel SVT is currently running a series called Landet brunsås – The Land of [...]

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Around Oslo in 18 beers, part 11: HåndverkerStuene

Posted: February 9th, 2010, 4:07pm CET by knutalbert

It’s been a while since the last installment in this series, so it’s a bit time to follow up. Håndtverkeren is a traditional restaurant in central Oslo, lately being mostly used for meetings – press conferences and so on. It closed down for some weeks last year and reopened as HåndverkerStuene. It is slightly refurbished, with a [...]

Bitter Root Porter

Posted: February 7th, 2010, 6:53pm CET by knutalbert

.

News from Munich

Posted: February 5th, 2010, 4:47pm CET by knutalbert

For most of us, Autumn is not the season that comes to mind right now, busy as we are waxing our skis, shuffling snow or just trying to keep our beer from freezzing. But the brave burghers of Bavaria are looking foward, and they are announcing the winner of the contest for the 2010 poster for [...]

Beer envy

Posted: February 5th, 2010, 10:35am CET by knutalbert

One disadvantage of the Scandinavian beer revolution is that it is hard to keep ut with everything happening. Yearly visits to Copenhagen means I get to try many of the Danish top brews, and there is not much in the way of interesting beers in Norway I don’t get – by hook or by crook. But [...]

On beer and friends

Posted: February 2nd, 2010, 10:39am CET by knutalbert

Those friendly guys over at A-B InBev (Making friends is our business is their slogan. I didn’t make it up) are launching an even lighter beer for the Super Bowl. The world’s lightest beer. Less carbs, less calories, approaching zero. I think that behind closed doors, the slogan is more likely to be Making money is [...]

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A bargain at Nørrebro

Posted: February 1st, 2010, 10:34pm CET by knutalbert

I’ve blogged about Nørrebro Bryghus a number of times. I have visited their brewpub/restaurant, I have spent some time at their bar at Kastrup Airport – sadly closed down – and I have had the pleasure of trying a number of their beers at the festivals in Copenhagen. I have also noted, with more than a fair share [...]

World class

Posted: January 31st, 2010, 8:13pm CET by knutalbert

We Norwegians are extremely pleased when we get a moment in the limelight. It’s usually when our fjords and islands are declared among the most beautiful on the planet, when we manage to broker a peace agreement between enemies in foreign lands (which fall apart the next week, but we pretend not to notice) or [...]

Just what you want on a rainy afternoon

Posted: January 27th, 2010, 7:25am CET by knutalbert

A good place for a pub

Posted: January 26th, 2010, 6:22pm CET by knutalbert

I’m sure I’ve used that heading before… The new Westfield shopping centre in Sheperds Bush, West London, has everything you expect of glass and crome, designer bars, fashion shops and a few large supermarkets. I managed to find the M& S to buy some socks and shirts as well as picking up a few of their [...]

Really Old Ale

Posted: January 26th, 2010, 3:23am CET by knutalbert

A museum in the Åland islands has a new attraction. A bottle of Bass King’s Ale, sealed with wax and lead. Yes, this is what I want for my birthday! Thanks to Johan at Svenska Ölfrämjandet for pointing to this!

Big and tastless

Posted: January 25th, 2010, 6:28pm CET by knutalbert

An editorial in the New York Times today sums up the problems with the merges of food and drinks companies that are giants to start with. As huge corporations merge and get even huger, we find ourselves yearning for some old-fashioned competition, and maybe a little diversity. They point out that Heineken after the acquisition of Femsa [...]

Belgian beer blockade

Posted: January 23rd, 2010, 8:26pm CET by knutalbert

Good coverage of the situation in the international version of Der Spiegel, including photos. I hope this leads to many Belgians finding better alternatives to Stella and Jupiler. Even in Belgium most beer drinkers are creatures of habit, drinking their pale lagers even if they have a splendid selection of beer available in cafes and [...]

A beer cruise on the Rhine

Posted: January 15th, 2010, 3:00pm CET by knutalbert

Beer cruises in the Western hemisphere is nothing new, there are a number of options in various climate zones. Stephen Beaumont offers an alternative, a European beer cruise. It’s on the Rhine, from Amsterdam to Basel. The preliminary programme ranges from a visit to Amsterdam’s Brouwerij ‘t Ij to tastings at Belgian, German, French, Luxembourg and Swiss breweries, [...]

Copenhagen Beer Festival 2010

Posted: January 14th, 2010, 4:06pm CET by knutalbert

Some updated information about opening hours and tickets, shamelessly stolen from beerticker.dk: Thursday 6 May 16 to 23 Friday 7 May 16 to 23 Saturday 8 May 16 to 23 I don’t know if there are trade sessions in addition to these general opening hours. Tickets will be available from 15 February, with discounts for members of the Danish Beer Enthusiasts. I assume there will be [...]

Flying the flag?

Posted: January 13th, 2010, 8:27pm CET by knutalbert

Looking into the options for a Easter family break in the Low Countries, I find that one possibility of a discount train ticket Brussels – Bruges is to travel for patriotic reasons. Yes, it’s in the English version of the pull down menu of the booking site of the Belgian railways. I could understand this category on the Russian [...]

AB InBev cuts 800 jobs in Western Europe

Posted: January 13th, 2010, 4:40pm CET by knutalbert

The wonderfully named AB InBev has announced a 10 per cent reduction in the 8,000-strong workforce in Belgium, Germany, the UK, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, according to BeverageDaily. Unsurprisingly, this has led to protests. In Belgium, news of the job cuts prompted union representatives at the Jupiler brewery to hold 10 managers hostage. After 11 hours the [...]

Irregular blogging

Posted: January 12th, 2010, 4:50pm CET by knutalbert

A job change, at least temporarily, means my blogging will be rather irregular for the time being. But there’s nothing wrong, no one is ill or anything, just don’t expect many posts per week.

Hoping for a freebie

Posted: January 8th, 2010, 4:47pm CET by knutalbert

I told you some months ago about about the British tourism agency’s competition to write a pub guide to Newcastle. Well, I was not on the short list, but I give it another try. Right now they are looking for a Norwegian blogger to fly to Aberdeen and write for their Mind the Gap blog. The [...]

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A year in Oslo – in 120 minutes

Posted: January 7th, 2010, 4:41am CET by knutalbert

This is from the NRKbeta web site, where you will also find instructions on how to make a film like this. What makes this relevant for me is that the footage is filmed a few hundred meters from my apartment. I don’t see the park from the same angle, but it is pretty close. [...]

Icelandic beer blog

Posted: January 6th, 2010, 7:33pm CET by knutalbert

Welcome to the new kid on the block, Haukur, Icelandic beer blogger writing in English. Piece by piece, we are covering the white areas of the map.

Brighter days

Posted: January 6th, 2010, 4:48pm CET by knutalbert

While January is a tough month in many ways, the Norwegian Vinmonopolet makes the days a little brighter for beer lovers. 25 new beers are in the list of beverages on sale this Saturday. Some of them are being relaunched, some are pale lagers, but the overall quality of this is very impressive. Belgian Geuze, Italian micros, [...]

Beer geeks and other geeks

Posted: January 5th, 2010, 7:09pm CET by knutalbert

My friend Per Christian pointed out this quote from Ansible online SF fanzine, which originates from Nicholas Pashley’s book, Cheers! An Intemperate History of Beer in Canada, which Alan has reviewed earlier without mentioning this little nugget: At least beer geeks get to drink beer, which is a step up from most other forms of geekery. [...]

Jeff steps down

Posted: January 4th, 2010, 5:43pm CET by knutalbert

Hobbies come and go, at least for me. Sure, I have all my Beatles vinyl records stacked away, but I am not eagerly picking up promos of Ringo’s latest appearances any longer. Most of my Science Fiction books are stacked away, too. And there is no reason for blogging to be fundamentally different. There are phases [...]

A day in the forest

Posted: January 2nd, 2010, 4:37pm CET by knutalbert

One real advantage of living in Oslo is that it takes 20 minutes from downtown to the ski tracks and slopes. This morning it was minus twelve, the tracks were newly laid, only an elk and a hare had used them before us. Almost a meter of snow and crisp winter air. At midday a pale sun tried, [...]

Happy New Year!

Posted: January 1st, 2010, 10:20am CET by knutalbert

Sometimes you hope there is a quiet period in the beer world. So you can sit back, maybe have a week off the hop juice – and revisit old favourites the next. No way. They start tempting us with limited editions again. Nørrebro Bryghus will be continuing their series of barrel aged beers, including beers aged in Satuternes, Pinot [...]

Beer on the other side

Posted: December 31st, 2009, 11:12am CET by knutalbert

When we complain about the quality of our lagers, other have to make do with less. I stumbled across this when looking for info on some strange beverages I found in a London supermarket: Consuming rate of the non-alcoholic beer bottles has been increased since new non-alcoholic breweries have entered the market. In the recent years, [...]

English pubs do well in France

Posted: December 30th, 2009, 5:49pm CET by knutalbert

The Financial Times has an article today about the success of the Charles Wells owned John Bull Pub Company in France. It initially ran two pubs to promote the beers it sold wholesale, but has now increased to five with plans to grow to 13 pubs by 2013. While there are lots of fake British pubs [...]

Hygiene problems in brewpubs

Posted: December 30th, 2009, 4:05pm CET by knutalbert

While we all like to quote historical anecdotes about beer being safer to drink than water, there are critical factors in brewing as well. I have joked about the big lager breweries who seem obsessed about the technical side of beer, but, on the other hand, if you don’t have the necessary knowledge and focus [...]

Merry Christmas!

Posted: December 24th, 2009, 12:28pm CET by knutalbert

2o cm of fresh snow this morning. All the shopping done, now for some serious cooking. Merry Christmas to all of you, thanks for making 2009 such a great beer year. Nice to meet so many in person, hope to see even more next year.

No liquids in hand luggage until 2013

Posted: December 22nd, 2009, 4:23pm CET by knutalbert

According to the Norwegian delegation to the European Union, who refers to the subscription web site Europolitics, the ban on bottles containing more than 100 ml of liquids will be prolonged. Current legislation has a ban until 29 April next year, but, according to a draft presented by the Commission to the Council earlier this month, [...]

A perfect gift for a young drinker

Posted: December 21st, 2009, 4:26pm CET by knutalbert

Once, back in my student days, I worked the whole month of December at a bookshop in my old home town Trondheim. It was a busy period,at the time I think almost half their yearly turnover of general books was sold in December. Christmas eve is the big day for family celebrations here in Scandinavia with most people [...]

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Swedish Christmas – a better list

Posted: December 19th, 2009, 7:06am CET by knutalbert

I wrote recently about the ranking of Swedish Christmas beers done by one of the country’s major dailies, and I was a bit puzzled that the standard industrial brews were rated very highly. A good alternative, at least one that corresponds far better with my taste, is the beer test by Svenska Ölfrämjandet (sure, I’ll buy you a [...]

Beer Blogger Awards 2009

Posted: December 18th, 2009, 6:25pm CET by knutalbert

A challenge from Mark at Pencil and Spoon, which really ended up as a personal year end review of sorts. I’ve decided to focus on interesting new beers and breweries. Sure, there was amazing stuff from BrewDog, Mikkeller and Nøgne ø this year as well, but the beer scene is far more complex: Best UK Draught Beer Acorn Lubeski IPA. Never [...]

A penguin for Christmas?

Posted: December 17th, 2009, 3:39pm CET by knutalbert

If BrewDog have sold out, at the time of writing this, you can still get it at a very decent price from beermerchants. No Utopias style inflation driving prices here. Tell them I sent you. Update: It seems like they are sold out as well.

The beer bloggers hit town

Posted: December 16th, 2009, 5:21pm CET by knutalbert

I’m lagging behind a bit on the cronicles of my days in London, so I won’t go into details about my return to the Pig’s Ear festival and the liquids consumed there. English licencing laws (and probably also the practicalities of organising festivals with volunteers) made sure we all had a fairly early evening, which [...]

Pigs might fly

Posted: December 15th, 2009, 4:44pm CET by knutalbert

.. and Norway might liberalize its alcohol legislation. But, bit by bit, things are changing. Yes, there are actually some changes ahead for local brewers. There is draft legislation now out on an open hearing, proposing that those who have the permission to brew and sell beer to their customers also can be sold for consumption off [...]

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The world’s strongest beer

Posted: December 14th, 2009, 4:21pm CET by knutalbert

I had no plans to go out drinking last night. There are domestic things to do before Christmas, and there are events coming up over the next days as well. But when I saw the invite posted on one of the beer forums, I knew I had to go. Lars Marius and Geir Ove had [...]

Alcohol free

Posted: December 13th, 2009, 3:16am CET by knutalbert

If your German is up to it, BASF has a podcast on brewing alcohol free beer.

Feeding the troll

Posted: December 12th, 2009, 12:53pm CET by knutalbert

I’ve told you about the beer drinking troll in the Post Office. The one that has a box of Williams Brothers’ ales and also a bottle from Cornwall. The beers never appeared, but I am kindly invited to fill in a number of forms. Let’s hope he is too busy making other types of mischief so [...]

More beers than you can drink?

Posted: December 12th, 2009, 7:10am CET by knutalbert

beerticker.dk is doing his annual count of new Danish beers. The final list is not ready yet, but it is fascinating to see how the beer revolution in Denmark has developed. This is the number of new beers: 2009: over 560 2008: 647 2007: 556 2006: 506 2005: 234 2004: [...]

What happened in the Hock Cellar

Posted: December 11th, 2009, 4:36pm CET by knutalbert

I was early for the event at Fuller’s, so I went straight to the Brewery Shop, which was splendidly refurbished since my last visit. Lots of souvenirs and gifts. Beers in bottles and mini-kegs, a fine range of wines, and, as a highlight, most of the versions of Fuller’s Vintage Ale, going back to 2000. I [...]

Swedish Christmas beers

Posted: December 10th, 2009, 11:45pm CET by knutalbert

Stockholm daily Dagens Nyheter has picked what, in their view, are the best 18 Christmas beers of the 39 available in Systembolaget. Carlsberg’s Golden Naked Christmas get the best grade, 5 out of 6, while the beer I raved about from Sigtuna only get 3. The Norwegian beers at Systembolaget are not mentioned, I find it [...]

On British beers

Posted: December 10th, 2009, 9:39pm CET by knutalbert

Tandleman has a good blog post about the state of British brewing with a long line of intelligent comments. Have a look!

On my way to the brewery

Posted: December 10th, 2009, 5:43pm CET by knutalbert

It was a dark and rainy night in London. All the bus windows were steamed up, and the neon lights of King Street, Hammersmith were struggling to cut through the rain. Your hero, equipped with a sturdy brolly, decided to walk along the Thames to his destination. Luckily the clouds parted, as if by magic, when [...]

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London day 2 – Pig’s Ear beer festival

Posted: December 9th, 2009, 8:41pm CET by knutalbert

After having finished my business in the afternoon, it was time to get on the London Overground, a rather pretentious name for railway tracks running in an arch west-north-east where the commuters are tightly packed. I got on at one of the first stations, meaning I got a seat, but most of my fellow passengers were [...]

Beer festival not welcome

Posted: December 9th, 2009, 5:38pm CET by knutalbert

The Beer and Food festival in Oslo last summer had a broad range of beers, and while the weather gods were extremely uncooperative, the arrangers have had the ambition of making this a yearly event. The culture committee of the local council has turned down the application for using the same public park in june [...]

Pleasant company

Posted: December 8th, 2009, 6:15pm CET by knutalbert

For an oldtimer like me, the friends and acquaintances you get through the social web is still a source for wonder. It used to be that hobbies and interests like beer was something you pursued with a few like-minded friends. In bigger cities, there would be clubs and associations, in smaller town nothing. In the global village, this is [...]

Time Out on brewing in London

Posted: December 8th, 2009, 4:54pm CET by knutalbert

Yes, yes, I’ll get around to blogging about my days in London. Real soon. Meanwhile, here is a report from the London blog of Time Out, The Big Smoke, Loving London Beer from their visit to Sambrooks combined with a beer tasting. Definitely something for next year.

At last something nice to say about Stella

Posted: December 7th, 2009, 6:05pm CET by knutalbert

New beers in town

Posted: December 7th, 2009, 5:56pm CET by knutalbert

Most of my readers are not remotely near Oslo, and my readers in Oslo are most likely on their way to a screening of Beer Wars. (No, I’m at home following up on the homework of the kds after a week in London!) But anyway. Oslo Mikrobryggeri, the only brew pub in town, has their strong [...]

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London Beer week – The social media get even more social

Posted: December 6th, 2009, 10:10pm CET by knutalbert

The best thing about my week in London was being able to meet up with so many beer bloggers, some for the first time. Boakandbailey The Beer Nut Pete Brown Ron Pattison Jeff Melissa Cole Pencil and Spoon Impy Malting The real ale reviews Woolpack Dave Zak Avery Apologies to those not mentioned, it’s hard to connect blogs to nicknames to real names to faces. And I’ll [...]

The haul

Posted: December 6th, 2009, 9:34am CET by knutalbert

Back from London. A very active week, I’ll get back to the details over the next days and weeks. Bought a few beers too many as usual, but I somehow managed to fit them into my suitcase. Including the tea mug. Three main sources for these beers: The Fuller’s Brewery Shop, The Pig’s Ear Festival and my [...]

Behind the Elephants

Posted: December 2nd, 2009, 10:15am CET by knutalbert

A new part of Copenhagen is being shaped, so far mostly on the computer screens of the architects. The old Carlsberg brewery is history, and, as in any old industrial area centrally located, plans are being made for apartments, for shops and for leisure activities. While the Carlsberg of today is not too warmly embraced by beer [...]

A beer for days as dark as nights

Posted: December 1st, 2009, 7:29pm CET by knutalbert

One of my finds at the Systembolaget store in Charlottenberg was Midvinternattens Mörker. A lovely name, meaning the Darkness of Midwinter Night. This is a beer from Sigtuna Brygghus, a micro brewery in the Stockholm area. At a pinch it could be included in the list of breweries at airports, it is just a few minutes away from Arlanda airport. As the [...]

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A Danish micro brewery – in Mexico!

Posted: November 29th, 2009, 6:49pm CET by knutalbert

They would have to be Danes, wouldn’t they? According to Henrik Papsø on ratebeer, there are two friends from engineering school behind this, who now also are brothers-in-law. Right now Cervecería Calavera west of Mexico City is only a tiny setup but they have a 2500 liter brewhouse waiting in Canada ready to ship once they have the building ready. Seems [...]

The pub smoking ban again

Posted: November 27th, 2009, 7:31pm CET by knutalbert

I seldom think about the smoking ban in pubs and restaurants across Europe. It’s mostly when I’ve spent some time in a smoky pub in Prague that I look back and feel pretty pleased that I usually can drink my beer without the nicotine. Sure, I understand the arguments against, and libertarian reflexes tell me that [...]

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Everywhere it’s Christmas

Posted: November 24th, 2009, 6:16pm CET by knutalbert

… at the end of every year. This was the title of one of the few Beatles songs that never had any official re-release. (Since you asked, it’s on their Christmas album, distributed to their fan club members only.) Well, one country where they have started celebrating is Sweden, with an impressive list of Christmas beers at the [...]

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Pig’s Ear again

Posted: November 23rd, 2009, 5:16pm CET by knutalbert

My more loyal readers will know that I have a habit of turning up at a Christmas beer festival in East London in early December. In addition to the beers, there is also an assorted crowd of tickers and bloggers that I tend to hang out with, and a splendid time is guaranteed – if [...]

For new readers

Posted: November 20th, 2009, 12:02pm CET by knutalbert

Lots of new readers from the link at VGs juleøltest. I you wonder why I write in English, it is because most of my readers are outside Scandinavia. I try, however, to cover the Norwegian beers scene as well. For daglige oppdateringer om det norske ølmiljøet, se nyhetssider og diskusjonsforum hos Venner av Nøgne Ø. If you want to explore the best Norwegian beers, the Holy Trinity [...]

Judging by the cover

Posted: November 20th, 2009, 6:22am CET by knutalbert

I have no plans of going to Munich, if so I would consider if this book was worth buying or not. But the cover is almost enough to make me order a copy right away!

More than a wee dram

Posted: November 19th, 2009, 8:32pm CET by knutalbert

The BrewDog guys have been messing up the beer scene again – this time not even on their own turf. They sent a few used whisky barrels across the North Sea to their colleagues in Grimstad, Norway. And it looks like they inspired them to be a bit bold and boasting on their label, too. The beers used [...]

VGs Christmas beer test

Posted: November 19th, 2009, 3:49pm CET by knutalbert

The VG Christmas beer test, where I was on one of the judging panels, is now online. No photos of the juries, though – but a nice plug for my blog. Here is the jury judging the stronger beers:

Three kings

Posted: November 18th, 2009, 5:32pm CET by knutalbert

As I’ve mentioned before, the good people at Nøgne Ø have been busy this year, lining up seasonal goodies for their fans at home and abroad. One beer is a collaboration project between Nøgne Ø, Stone and Jolly Pumpkin, I assume they are the three camel riding kings on the label. The idea behind this beer is to use the same recipe [...]

Small world

Posted: November 17th, 2009, 8:02pm CET by knutalbert

Someone has used Google to translate my blog into Vietnamese. Wow.

A wasted opportunity

Posted: November 17th, 2009, 4:48pm CET by knutalbert

Vifilfell is an Icelandic brewery, with a range of beers boasting of viking heritage and pure Icelandic water. They have made a gift box of five of their canned beers, sensibly available in the Keflavik Duty Free shop, presumably doing a brisk trade with jet lagged customers in transit from North America. I found a similar box [...]

Romanian beer blog

Posted: November 16th, 2009, 6:10pm CET by knutalbert

While I am happy about the dozens of British beer bloggers and amazed by the Irish Craft Brewers, who seem to blog more than they brew, there is always room for more voices in the European Union of beer bloggers. Say welcome to a new member of the family, Slaven in Romania. As he points out, (thanks to [...]

Before the Wall fell down

Posted: November 14th, 2009, 3:01pm CET by knutalbert

A bit of history documented over at DDR Brauwesen, the breweries and soft drinks of the DDR all lined up. Beer mats, bottle labels and a history of the various companies. I’m sorry to say I only tried one East German brew. It was not particularly tasty, and the gloomy Kneipe somewhere in East Berlin did [...]

Mikkeller again

Posted: November 13th, 2009, 3:54pm CET by knutalbert

Just now my shelves are filled with the new offerings from Nøgne ø, so it is perhaps lucky that I don’t have access to the most interesting brews from Denmark. (But if any readers are curious about what to buy me for Christmas, please read on..) Last month saw the release of a range of bottles of [...]

Going blind II

Posted: November 12th, 2009, 5:15pm CET by knutalbert

Mystery glasses Don’t worry, it was mostly to get your attention. As I told you, I was invited to be a part of a beer tasting panel for the biggest Norwegian newspaper, VG. The results, a ranking of all the Norwegian Christmas beers, will be published later this month, and I will not reveal any of the results. I [...]

Going blind I

Posted: November 11th, 2009, 7:48am CET by knutalbert

.., or things that go chug-a-lug in the dark. AP tells us about some new legislation in Maine, an effort to keep children from having to witness adults drinking the alcoholic beverages has had the unintended consequence of making it difficult for the stores to hold the tastings. The last-minute amendment said the events “must be conducted [...]

Special order

Posted: November 10th, 2009, 3:53pm CET by knutalbert

When news got out that Nøgne ø had received some whisky casks from their Scottish friends at BrewDog, the expectations were high in the Norwegian beer community. I won’t bore you with details about the Norwegian state monopoly for alcohol once more, but there is a kind of loophole. If you know that there is a [...]

100 nay no nevers

Posted: November 6th, 2009, 3:31pm CET by knutalbert

Bruce Buschel is starting a restaurant, and he has a column in the NYT about the concept and his progress. I particularly fell for his 100 things restaurant staffers should never do. Part 1 Part 2 No time to point to my favourites or discuss which are more or less appropriate for a beer place today. Have a nice [...]

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Pivovarský dům, Prague

Posted: November 5th, 2009, 5:46pm CET by knutalbert

I had time for a lunchtime session, and I had to pick one of the brew pubs on my list. Pivovarský dům was conveniently situated, reachable on foot from my hotel – and with a tram stop with direct connection back to my hotel. The facade is very impressive, you don’t seem to pay much for window [...]

BrewDog interview

Posted: November 4th, 2009, 4:26pm CET by knutalbert

A good interview with BrewDog founder James Watt at the Full Pint.

Opens eight bottles at once

Posted: November 3rd, 2009, 3:49pm CET by knutalbert

How do we define intelligence? Problems in adjusting IQ tests to avoid bias across linguistic and cultural barriers has been a topic for decades. And in some countries there are very concrete measures establishing a certain level of intelligence. At Denmarks Aquarium (yes, Beer Nut, that’s how they spell it!), they used to have a Pacific octopus that was [...]

A star is born

Posted: November 2nd, 2009, 5:29pm CET by knutalbert

The biggest tabloid here in Norway has an annual test of Christmas beers. This used to feature a number of graying celebrities, but they may have run out of them. On the recommendation of my drinking buddy Rune, they have invited me to be in the jury this year. I promise a report from the proceedings. Even [...]

Changing times

Posted: October 30th, 2009, 2:46pm CET by knutalbert

Some of the interesting Norwegian stuff this autumn. And that is excluding the whisky cask beers from Nøgne ø. And now the Christmas beers are coming…

Beer guide to Berlin

Posted: October 29th, 2009, 10:00pm CET by knutalbert

Sure, there is the CAMRA Good Beer Guide to Germany, but it’s a few year’s old, and it’s not too handy when you’re visiting just one city. The Berlin information at ratebeer is helpful as well. But for anyone reading Scandinavian, the new book just out by Danish beer writer Carsten Berthelsen is well worth the investment. A [...]

Great expectations

Posted: October 29th, 2009, 4:52pm CET by knutalbert

According to the newsletter from Oppigårds Bryggeri, next year is worth looking forwards to. Systembolaget will launch more beers from Swedish micros during spring and summer 2010 than they have ever done. They predict that 2010 will be the most interesting year for Swedish beers at Systembolaget ever. And that’s good news for those of us [...]

A remarkable lineup

Posted: October 28th, 2009, 4:20pm CET by knutalbert

Well, not the participants, being the usual graying suspects, most of us. But the beers.. Some of us beer geeks were invited back to Haandbryggeriet in Drammen recently, as thye had a few new beers as well as some adjustements to old ones they wanted feedback on. We were probably a bit too polite the last [...]

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Zlý Časy once more

Posted: October 27th, 2009, 2:43pm CET by knutalbert

Shortly before five, a text message told me Max had arrived at my hotel. I handed over the beers from the Norwegian micros, and we set off for Zlý Časy. Half an hour and two tram rides later, we arrived. The first time I visited, last year, this pub has some sort of festival going on, [...]

Back to Prague

Posted: October 26th, 2009, 5:00pm CET by knutalbert

To Prague for a meeting this week, and I, obviously, used the opportunity to do some beery things as well. I had an appointment with Max, the Beer Philosopher, and I even brought along quite a few beers to him from Nøgne ø and Haandbryggeriet. He is considering importing some of their beers. While they obviously [...]

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Pig’s Ear 2009

Posted: October 22nd, 2009, 4:00am CEST by knutalbert

If you want a broad range of English cask ales, festival specials, hand picked imports, friendly natives and participatory observation among the tickers, this is the one for you. Pork scratchings, too. 1-5 December. Hackney, East London. Expect to see me there!

Coal to Newcastle

Posted: October 21st, 2009, 6:46am CEST by knutalbert

Well, almost. Craft beer to Prague. If anyone had told me this ten years ago…

Express de Lyon

Posted: October 20th, 2009, 5:45pm CEST by knutalbert

Another recommendation from Simon at Cave á Bulles. This was actually five minutes from my hotel, and I had actually walked past it without giving it a second glass glance. As location is everything in a city like Paris, the street right in front of the Gare de Lyon is filled with brasseries serving food and [...]