Not a pork scratching to be seen

From the Evening Standard about the changing face of London pubs, which is not as bleak as some portray it: Bewilderingly, food is now considered as important as drink – pork scratchings do not count. The market is now increasingly about “food, family and females”. A wail of lamentation can be heard from those diehards [...]

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Lillehammer Bryggeri

Photos for this post kindly provided by Lars Marius, as  I left my camera at home! The Lillehammer brewery was among the small Norwegian brewers that was bought up by Ringnes to be closed down in 1983. (This means that I have tasted their beers, but I am afraid they did not leave any lasting [...]

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They’ll never know what hit them

From an article in Beverage Daily on the strong growth of craft beer in the US:  Keith Levy, vice president of brand management for Budweiser maker Anheuser Busch, said that while the brewer was looking to capitalise on recent growth in craft beers, the segment was not a new market for the company. “Anheuser Busch’s brew [...]

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The Bavarian way

I used Google to try to find out more about Obazdem the other day, and, unsurprisingly, the sites that came up had a rather Bavarian slant. One page caught my interest – a page offering promotional material for those who want to set up a biergarten in Bavaria. We are talking about an official page [...]

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Chelsea Pub, Parma, Italy

Back to Parma last week, and, as I wrote recently, I had used Google and Babelfish to do some research beforehand. Nothing much new and exciting at the places I have blogged about before, Mentana 104 and Birreria Underground, although I managed to find a salumeria delicatessen that had a few beers from the new Birrificio [...]

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Traceable beer

Traceability is a buzz word for everything connected with food in Europe and, I believe, globally.  There are many reasons for this:  Public and animal health, Consumer confidence in food, Varying degrees of honesty in the market place Marketing opportunities (slow food, local food, spinning stories about the farmer or the brewer) Governments and EU [...]

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A Munich stopover

I prefer Munich airport to Frankfurt when I have to fly via Germany, probably because the new light and airy terminal buildings make me feel more comfortable. In Frankfurt I feel more like a rat in a maze, and sometimes I feel like I am going through a dozen security checks when pressed for time. [...]

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Back from Italy

Regular blogging to be resumed shortly. A few new discoveries, a few negative surprises, but overall a very pleasant trip. Meanwhile, some Italian bottles I bet you haven’t seen before:

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In the most unlikely places

It is winter holidays in schools over here this week, meaning that we have to do something to keep them occupied – we don’t want them to sit inside killing monsters on various consoles, do we? So I took my kids to ØstfoldbadetWater Park in Askim, an hour by train to the southeast of Oslo. [...]

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Bock beer festival in Oslo

Rather more local than I usually am: Saturday 8 March, BTIZ in Keysersgate. 4 Norwegian bocks, so seemingly no festival specials. Quite a few German bocks, among them Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock.

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