In a blog post named Booze bans – the new frontier of joyless regulation, Henry Porter at the Guardian is alarmed that the right to drink in public is being systematically attacked across the country by local authorities using powers to stop people having a good time in a park or a picnic with their friends.
Here in Norway, it’s more central government who’s pushing for stricter regulation, while a number of local authorities are more liberal.
It’s not only a matter of laws, either, more a question of enforcement, at least in Oslo. The police look the other way, and there would be an uproar if they started confiscating beer cans from picnickers in the parks while the sale of hard drugs goes on without more than a token police effort.
If you live in the countryside, you have a garden where you can enjoy a beer or a glass of wine. In the town and cities we have communal spaces that we use for recreation. It is sensible to have a liberal attitude to people enjoying refreshments in the parks on hot days. Public disturbance is another matter.
But I think it is symptomatic that in an age where the problems are too complex for the politicians too grasp, they go for detailed regulations on more symbolic issues instead. Why don’t they go away and solve the health crisis or the global economy or something and let us get on with our lives?
I’ve been planning to make a sort of beer guide to Oslo for some time. There are new places popping up, there are old pubs, restaurants and cafes that are starting to take beer seriously – and there are historical places with a beer connection.
To start off the series, I have picked a place that is a piece of beer history.
We had our share of prohibition in Norway as well, with strong alcohol being banned 1917-1927. Wine and beer was banned 1917-1923, but this had to be modified, particularly since Norwegian fish exports were partly linked to us buying French wine.
But even when things were slightly liberalised, there were strong voices for strict regulation of alcohol in all forms.
Grefsenkollen restaurant was built by Ringnes brewery in 1926 on a hill overlooking Oslo. At the time there were strict limitations on the sale of alcohol in central Oslo, and this was probably meant as an outlet and a promotional tool for the brewery. Grefsenkollen soon became a popular place for outdoor activities, and there was dancing in the evening.
Ringnes gave the establishment to the City of Oslo in the late thirties, with the condition that the only beer to be sold on the premises was to be – Ringnes.
The popularity has waxed and waned over the decades, but it is still occupying a magnificent spot. The restaurant recently opened after a major makeover. It is now open for lunch most days, while dinner is by appointment.
If you arrive by bike or on foot, the location at 367 meters above sea level means you have deserved a beer. You can drive up there, too, and there are buses on Sundays.
The lunch menu is upmarket – mussels, duck confit salad, seafood soup. The beer is Ringnes pils only, one could have wished for their traditional Bock and Bayer as well.
I know what you think. Most other blogs have lots of videos and sound clips and stuff. Some of you are probably broadcasting in 3D for all I know, while I long for the b&w Mac Classic still occupying space in the basement.
To show you how much I am in tune with the times, I am happy to present a beer commercial for you today. From the worker’s paradise of North Korea, no less. In color. And with music.
The beer is from Taedonggang, and this whole story is blatantly stolen from Mr. Eugenides. When the temperatures return to normal, I promise to behave better.
Gail and Steve want to know our beer tips and strategies on the road. (Perhaps for getting prized bottles home.)
I do not take on the road literally. Sure, there are roads from here to Sweden, and, with a week or two to spare, we can drive to Finland or Russia. But I travel, across Europe. And I have developed an eye for finding rare brews more or less everywhere. No, not in Cyprus.
The secret is mostly planning ahead. Find beer blogs and web sites from the country or region you are going to visit. Don’t understand the language? Google translates. Not perfectly, but good enough for the purpose. Then you use Google Maps to pinpoint the places near where you are going to stay.
Next, e-mail the breweries. They are flattered to have enquiries from far away places. If you tell them when you’re coming, they will open the doors for you at all hours. You might get to sample something not for general sale, they might deliver a box of beers to you hotel – or, at the least, they can tell you where the beer is to be found in bars, pubs and shops.
As I wrote the other day, we are going to Sardinia this summer. They used to have one industrial brewery – now they have almost a dozen micros, one of them ranked among Italy’s finest. Using the resources available at the web, I have managed to reach some of them. Most have a very local distribution, so I probably won’t get to them. But at least I increase my chances of getting something else than Peroni..
As for getting the bottles home, the answer is bubble wrap. A hard shell suitcase, sure, but bubble wrap is what you need.
And, once in a while, a cork will be leaking. It would be an unwise combination if your wife’s finest outfit is in the same suitcase. There is enough tut-tuting about the beer already, isn’t it?
Finally we heard from the insurance company about our trip to Manchester. We got most of our extra expenses back. Here’s to Codan Insurance, formerly TryggHansa, buy their annual travel insurance if you need one.
Sometimes you are really close, but not quite there. We are flying to Sardinia next week. But I reallys hould have been there this weekend. They are having a beer festival. Craft Beer Festival of Sardinia. 9 craft breweries from the island, it really shows a beer scene taht is coming of age, doesn’t it?. Maybe I can ask them to move it one week?
Some of the beers are usually sold only in the town of the brewery – others don’t have any contact information online. I doubt I can find more than a few of them.
It’s still hot here. Almost 30 degrees, the beaches are packed and I’d think even Carlsberg are smiling at this. There were hundreds of people lining up for ice cream at the new beach at the end of the runway of Fornebu airport yesterday. They are developing parts of the airport, but a large chunk has been set aside for recreation and as a bird sanctuary.
Further down the coast they are receiving the summer tourists with open arms. Arendal is one of the towns that get rather busy for a month or two, and lost of the visitors come by boat. Arendal is quite close to Grimstad, home of the Nøgne ø brewery, and Nøgne ø is running the restaurant in the guest harbor this summer. This means Nøgne ø Blond on tap, their full range of bottled beers plus good food.
Erik has sent me some photos, and this seems like just the place to spend a few summer evenings. I’m afraid it’s not on my route this year.
Mark asked the other day about his planned drive from Hamburg to Århus. Any good brewpub stops along the way or places where I could pick up some good Danish microbrew?
I don’t know the scene first hand myself, so I asked the Danish crew at ratebeer, and they gave a quick response.
South of the border there are a fair number of breweries:
Hansens in Flenburg
Asgaard in Slesvig
Husums Brauhaus in Husum (detour)
Kieler Brauerei in Kiel (detour)
Ricklinger in Rickling (warmly recommended)
Possible detour to Neustadt in Holstein, Eutin and Lübeck.
So, on the Danish side:
Sønderborg (detour): Brøggeriet
Kolding: You’ll Never Walk Alone
Havnens Vin og Tobak i Vejle is a recommended bottle shop, and there are two brewpubs in Vejle Horsens: Horsens Bryghus Århus: Cockney Pub, Thorups Kælder, Universitetsbaren, Sct. Clemens and Fair Bar – and a couple of supermarkets with a good selection.
If you prefer to avoid the motorway, there are other options:
Esbjerg: Dr. Louise Ølgod: Ølgod Herning: 2 brewpubs
As Chicago has morphed from a meat-and-potatoes town to one claiming some of the country’s best chefs, consumers have started demanding better beer. Says the New York Times.
