Tag: øl

December 1st – A Word On Beers X-mas Calendar

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December 1st and this is what was in my two X-mas calendars:

🎄The Great Mikkeller X-mas Calendar🎄
It’s Blowing Half A Pelican / Det blæser en halv pelikan by Mikkeller
Nice straight forward NEIPA – smooth and fruity with a bit of a spicy feeling probably from the added rye malt – nice calendar beginning

🎄My wife’s homemade X-mas calendar🎄
Surround Sound DDH DIPA w/Simcoe & Amarillo by Collective Arts – Huge hop aroma hits the nose right away – this beer is loaded with two of my favorite hops. Mouthfeel is smooth with a satisfying bitterness. Loads of Amarillo orange flavors and Simcoe pine flavors makes this a tasty hazy juicy experience

If I have to choose one of the two beers it must be Surround Sound DDH DIPA w/Simcoe & Amarillo by Collective Arts – it’s more juicy and fruity than It’s Blowing Half A Pelican / Det blæser en halv pelikan by Mikkeller. I liked both beers a lot and December is looking very tasty so far.

All through december I’m opening my two X-mas beer calendars. The two calendars are The Great Mikkeller X-mas Calendar and my wife’s homemade X-mas calendar.

See you tomorrow!

Barley wine is life!

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As you may have noticed on my Instagram I have been part of a happening using the hashtag #BarleyWember – in essence drinking barley wine in November.

What is it about those sweet, malted and often barrel aged beers with an ABV through the roof. Some people (craft beer people mostly) say “Barley wine is life!” If you haven’t truely explored these mastodonts you may not have found the pleasure of drinking a beer that can last a full evening.

Where should I begin? When it comes to barley wine there is no easy way in. Personally I find that bourbon barrel aged versions often are easier to drink. This might be because the alcohol from the time in the barrel helps lighten the heavy malt sweetness in these beers. One thing you have to remember is that you have a fair excuse to buy and drink more than one of these beer-giants since you have to try new things at least seven times to be sure if you like it or not.

If you fall in the pot and love barley wine almost as much as life itself you have to explore the style and find out the difference between English and American versions. To help a little the English barley wines are often more malted and sometimes almost cloyingly sweet than the American ones. The American barley wines can sometimes be dry hopped and destined for consumption fresh. Most barley wines are well suited for ageing and when you buy one be sure to buy an extra to store for a year or three to experience they full potential of this nectar of gods. In time you’ll come to understanding of the wise words: Barley wine is life!

See you!

Beer and friends

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How and with who do you like to enjoy your beers? When does a beer taste the best?

A Danish brewery once had a slogan that said something like: “When does our beer taste the best? Every time!” I do not agree with that simply because it’s not the case. I like to enjoy many different beers and sometimes a beer is just not tasty. I try to spend my beer money on tasty beers, but before you have a sip or two it’s impossible to know if a beer is great. Some breweries are more hit than miss when it comes to the qualities of their beers. If I have too many less than decent beers from a specific brewery I tend to focus elsewhere the next time I throw some of my money at beer.

What about drinking beer with friends, does it make the experience of a beer different than drinking the beer on your own? If you ask me beer is a social thing and they are always better when drinking them with friends. Great company makes everything better and drinking beer is no exception. Being in the best company can sometimes make you forget about the beer you drink.

Is it then better to drink craft beer on your own? Again, beer is a social thing should always be enjoyed in the company of people you like to spend time with.

For me the best beer related experiences have been in company of good friends. Does great company make bad beers better then? No, but sometimes you don’t think that much about the beer if you are enjoying good times. What about great beers then? Great beers are maybe experienced as being even better when enjoyed in great company. This may be a side effect of hyping great beers in the company of fellow craft beer lovers.

No matter the quality of the beer, always drink with someone you like to spend time with. Beer is meant for enjoyment, not for forgetting the rest of the world.

Now I’ll go plan my next tasting session with some craft beer drinking friends. I’m sure it will be great.

See you!

Proper glassware – money well spent?

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Does beer need a special glass? Can’t I just drink it out of the bottle or the can? Why be a nerd about your beer glasses?

If you spend a fair amount of money on a beer you want to give yourself the best possible experince when drinking it. To do that you need to pay attention to your glassware. Not all beers are treated fair by pouring them in a tumbler. A lager needs a tall slim glass. The belgian ales requires a chalice and the lambics have their own glass too. In fact most beer styles have their own glass today. IPAs have a glass that ensures that aromas are catapulted into your nose. Porters and stout have a glas that makes it easy to pour them without creating a large head and when drinking them the glass ensures that the heat from your hand is transferred to the beer to warm it and release some of the aromas of roasted malt, coffee and chocolate.

If you like strong ales, barrel aged imperial stouts and barley wines you need a snifter to use when you sit back and enjoy these beers over a period of time.

If you only want to invest in one glass to use for all your beers I would recommend the Teku glass. The Teku glass has a long stem and is much like a wine glass. The benefits of the Teku glass is that it carries aroma extemely well, as it has a shape that in many ways resembles a whisky tasting glass, just bigger.

If you don’t want to invest in proper glassware for your beers, my advice is to use a red wine glass. The wine glass is designed to carry the aroma into your nose and in many ways it’s like the Teku glass.

If you want to invest in a few glasses for your beer (they deserve it!) my best advice is to go for a Teku glass, an IPA glass, a tumbler and a snifter of some kind.

When you have invested in new glassware be sure to rinse them properly. Use clean water, dish soap and a soft cloth.

Most importantly: Enjoy your beer!

See you!

Can bottles win?

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Being a craft beer drinker has surely made you drink a beer or two from both cans and bottles. Does it matter to you if it’s one or the other or is it just a container to bring beer to your glass? If forced which one of the two would you chose?

Many a bar and restaurent should consider to carry beer in cans instead of some stale beer in long over due kegs. A fridge with cold canned beer is way better than the keg solution if beers are not moved out quickly. The can has many advantages compared to a bottle. The canned beer is not affected by sunlight and no oxygen can get to the beer. The bottled beer on the other hand is exposed to sunlight given that the bottle is clear in some way. Oxygen can also be a problem given that the seal under the cap is slightly air-permeable meaning that oxygen can affect the beer and eventually make it bad. If it’s and IPA there is no doubt whatsoever that the can is by far the better choice.

In Denmark for some reason bottles are considered to be a better container than cans by most people. They seem to think that cans are only for cheap macro lagers sold by the crate for next to nothing preferably with a discount. Modern beer is best suited for cans compared to bottles for long term storage and it would be a nice change if restaurent would open their eyes and notice the benefits of canned beer instead of way too old kegged beer or skunked bottles.

I have my fingers crossed an hope for better beer when I’m out for dinner in the future.

See you!

The power of the sour

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Sour beers are always a way to make people talk. If you don’t like them you’ll probably let everyone near you hear it. If you like them you probabaly like them so much that you’ll tell everyone. Either way they make you talk a lot.

Sour beers are often said to be an acquired taste, but how many and which do you have to taste to learn to love the power of the sour?

Maybe sour beers like the Mikkeller Baghaven beers in the picture are not the place to start. A fruited sour beer of some kind – a sugary fruited kriek or a fruit loaded berliner weisse could be the answer.

Do you like pickled foods like what we eat in Denmark you might have a head start in to the field of sour beers. Some people just don’t like the vinegar flavors and by that it can be hard to fall in love with the Belgian style sour beers since some of them are loaded with these flavors.

Sour beers may sound like a beer style you have to like. That’s not the case at all. It’s just that I (and many other beer lovers) like them a lot and values their complexity and multiple flavor character traits. Sour beers adds a new layer of joy to beer. In some ways they are venturing into wine country with their acidity and often with a lot of barrel notes to the flavor.

If you have some wine loving friends they might be in to sour beers. At least it’s worth to let them try it once or twice. A place to start could be the always tasty Alexander by Rodenbach. It’s a fruited Flemish red that’s not over the top sour and the fruit might help someone to like it.

If you try to teach someone the power of the sour beers, just remember that it’s completely okay not to like them and it’s equally okay to say it out loud.

See you!

Beer festivals – why go?

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Last weekend I attended yet another beer festival. This was a new Danish festival called Beers Behind Bars in what used to be a prison. This wasn’t my first festival this year and I’m not going every time something is possible. The reason for that is that – at least in Denmark – half of all the festivals are not very interesting. Many of the festivals are what I have chosen to call beginners beer festivals. By that I mean that the beers are mostly what many a beer geek would call dull or just extremely middle of the road regarded to taste.

By far the best beer festival I have attended is Mikkeller Beer Celebration Copenhagen (MBCC). MBCC is known as one of the worlds best beer festivals and that’s fully deserved. MBCC is like a super car among mopeds in my opinion. All the best breweries and many of the best beers in the world are present at the MBCC. If you have the opportunity to go in May 2020 be sure to do so, but beware because once you’ve been there you’ll want to come back again and again. One thing is sure: I’ll be there again in May 2020.

MBCC is not the only beer festival worth visiting in Denmark. Just about a week after MBCC the Danish beer enthusiasts (Danske Ølentusiaster, DØE) are hosting their festival in Copenhagen. The level of beer is not as impressive as MBCC, but what is…? Many tasty – mostly Danish – beers are served and in my opninion it’s worth a visit.

A new Danish beer festival is emerging this November. Rowdy Hops in Aarhus is gathering 25 great breweries for two sessions of three hours. You pay a small fee to enter and then you pay for every taster. Based on what they have published so far I think this is going to be a super great beer festival – and it’s quite close to my home.

Do you find a beer festival with decent beers near where you live be sure to go and support it. Beer festivals can only get better if more people show up and drink the best beers of the show. If the beers are dull or downright tasteless don’t hesitate to tell. The brewers might want to hear and do their best to come back with something better in the future.

See you!

Aarhus – Worth a visit?

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Back home from my Baltic Sea adventure I had to go somewhere else to enjoy a great beer at a bar. Where I live is kind of a dry spot in craft beer bars. Only a short train ride away is Aarhus, Denmark where multiple craft beer bars are available.

First place to visit in this case was Mikkeller Bar Aarhus in Jægergårdsgade. Jægergårdsgade is a street buzzing with life from cafes, restaurents and bars. Mikkeller Bar Aarhus is the usual relaxed and welcomming Mikkeller Bar atmosphere and you immediately feel like this is a great place to lean back and enjoy a beer or three.

If you do not like the beers served in Mikkellers Bar Aarhus you can go next door to the bottle shop and find loads of great beers to bring home.

I have been to Mikkeller Bar Aarhus more than a few times (some of it here) and super tasty beers are always available. Is it worth a visit? Without a doubt this is a great bar and I have never been disappointed by the beers. The staff is always nice and knows a thing or two about the beers they are serving. This is a bar that I will like to return to again and again.

Are there any other great craft beer bars in Aarhus? Yes…more than one great craft beer bar is within walking distance from Mikkeller Bar Aarhus. Mig & Ølsnedkeren is always worth going to. 20 taps of great beers from all around the world and always a few taps with their own tasty beers. I enjoy going to Mig & Ølsnedkeren and have a beer or two with friends or going to one of their many tap takeovers.

Other great places to go for craft beer in Aarhus are Highlanders Bar, where I come for a beer every now and then. Erlings Jazz- og Ølbar – a cozy little bar with jazz music and concerts every Wednesday. I have been there a few times and I have never been disappointed eventhough the taplist is a bit shorter than at the other craft beers in Aarhus.

I know there are more craft beer bars in Aarhus and within a few weeks the Danish brewery Åben will open a bar in Aarhus. That a places I’m really looking forward to visit.

See you soon!

Stockholm – beer heaven?

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Last stop on our journey partly around The Baltic Sea and back is Stockholm. Staying on Södermalm we had every opportunity to drink great beers. Our hotel was just around the corner – or two, maybe three blocks – from Mikkeller Stockholm. That left us we no choice but going there more than once during this stay in this very welcoming city.

Mikkeller Stockholm is very clearly a Mikkeller bar… The interior decoration is simpel but still inviting and makes you feel at home. This time we arrived around dinner time and decided to have some ‘Danish Smørrebrød’. To accompany this tasty dinner we had some IPA, berliner weisse and saison – all great beers with a lot to offer in a super hot Swedish summer evening.

Not far from Mikkeller Stockholm we found Omnipollos Flora where we decided to round of the evening with a beer or three. Omnipollos Flora is a summer Pop-up venue/beer garden in the Humlegården park in Stockholm serving food, icecream and Omnipollo beers. I was lucky enough to put my hand on a soft serve version of one of the beers. For those not knowing it, Omnipollo is known for their soft serve beers. Soft serve is a way of serving the beers with kind of a slush-ice on top. It is a super smooth way to enjoy the beers. I haven’t had a single bad soft serve beer from Omnipollo…and I have had more than a few. To know more about the beers we had and to have a look at this cozy place and the beers I enjoyed, this is the place to look.

The next day we went out to see some more sights in Stockholm and planned to hit Omnipollos Hatt around noon to have beer and lunch. Omnipollos Hatt makes some crazy great pizzas and the beers are tasty too. We found a seat in the sun outside the bar on an even hotter Swedish summer day. We went for a soft serve Moa Lemon Curd Sour and a juicy hazy pale ale – both great choices in the heat. Both of the beers went well with the super tasty pizzas. If you decide to pay Omnipollos Hatt a visit, be sure to do it when you are hungry for some pizza.

After some post-lunch sightseeing we ended up returning to Mikkeller Stockholm for dinner and some more beers. I’m sure I could visit this bar hundreds of times without growing tired of it . This time we tried the variations of ‘smørrebrød’ that we didn’t try the day before – again very tasty food that can easily compete with the Danish originals. To wash down the food we had a fruity juicy berliner weisse, a lambic brewed for the bar and a hoppy sour ale. All great beers to finish this Baltic beercation.

Stockholm is in my opinion worth a visit to drink great beers. I have been here more than once now and I’m not finished at all. Stockholm is definitely a place I want to go back to. There are still a lot of great beer places I haven’t visited and the ones I visited are all worth a revisit.

This is all from this fantastic summer of beer and traveling. Soon I’ll return with other beer matters of great importance. See you!

Turku – mediocre beers?

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On our way back to Denmark we had a short stop in Turku, Finland. It was as super hot Finnish summer day, when we arrived in Turku. We dropped off our bags at the AirBnB place and went out to explore Turku. On our way we stumbled across Panimoravintola Koulu where we had lunch and a beer. Panimoravintola Koulu had a very nice beer garden in which we enjoyed beers and burgers. I could imagine this being a busy place in the evening and the beer I had was nice. If the pilsner I had was the image of the rest of the Panimoravintola Koulu beers, then this brewery/brewpub is worth another visit.

Being in Turku only one day we moved on to see some of the local sights. Before returning to our airBnB we went to another bar – The Old Bank. The Old Bank is an old school pub with an extensive selection of bottled beers. The beertender tried to guide us in choosing the right local beers. We ended up with a raspberry sour from the Turku based Kakola Brewing Company and a dark lager from the small Finnish brewery Takatalo & Tompuri. None of the two beers were impressive, but that could either be because of us choosing badly or simply mediocre beers. I can’t tell… If forced to choose I would go for the raspberry sour.

The Turku beer scene may very well be bigger than this, but this was what we managed to try before we had to move on and go to Stockholm, Sweden. See you!