Lambrate again

I check out of my Milan hotel, drag my suitcase to the nearest Metro station and emerge at Lambrate, slightly to the east of the centre. My research has shown a direct train from here to Parma. A slow train, for sure, but changing to other means of transport in big cities will always take [...]

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On cask ale

Stonch has a blog post on how to make sure cask ale is served in optimal condition. Read the comments thread as well. For us Norwegians this discussion is almost like observing a parallel universe. But things are changing, slowly, here, too. Nøgne ø and Haandbryggeriet are offering cask ale to pubs now, let’s hope [...]

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Back to Copenhagen?

There will be beer festivals in Denmark this year as well, but not on the massive scale of last year’s event at the old Carlsberg brewery. They will return to Valbyhallen, a venue that has been used often over the years. The dates are 15-17 May, which is not convenient for me, but I’m sure [...]

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The Scandinavian beer scene

If you want a look into the perspectives of the Scandinavian beer industry, check out the web pages of the Scandinavian Brewer’s Review, where a number of their articles now are available online. Thanks to beerticker.dk for making me aware of this.

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NY on a budget

Seems I have a few readers out there – in fact there was an all time high yesterday. I just got a mail from Samantha, who tells me there are other beer tastings in Manhattan, she does promotional works for the cheapest in town. Maxie’s Bar & Grill  is at 233 Park Avenue South, and [...]

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A shopping spree

The morning after my visit to the BQ bar, I get up quite early for breakfast. My suitcase is fairly empty, but I have plans to do something about that.  I take a stroll in the crisp, but sunny weather, ending up at my destination shortly after they open at 9:30. It’s a tutta Birra [...]

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Envious? Moi?

I subscribe to a number of beer-related e-mail lists. Sometimes I think I do this just to torment myself. This just in from the Blind Tiger, NYC: This Wednesday Feb. 25th at 12:00PM, the Blind Tiger is very proud to be hosting our dear friends from Stone Brewing Company.  This is one of our favorite [...]

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No crisis for the smaller breweries

Good new from the British Society of Independent Brewers (SIBA):   In marked contrast to the decline in volumes reported by national and global brewers, the local brewing sector grew by a total of 10 per cent in 2008. Of this, three per cent was contributed by new brewers not operational throughout all of 2007, [...]

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Recommended reading

One thing I am pretty pleased about is the BeerAdvocate magazine. I paid for a founding subscription a year or so before they launched it, which means I just pay postage to get it in my mailbox at regular intervals. Definitely a US bias, which means that there are lots of beers I can only [...]

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The best in Norway

The Norwegian beer drinkers organisation NORØL is not very active, though they publish a magazine and has a fine electronic newsletter. They recently published the result of their annual beer poll – percentages in parenthesis. Best new Norwegian beer: Nøgne Ø Dark Horizon 2nd Edition  (15,8) Nøgne Ø Dobbel IPA   (9,8) Haandbryggeriet Haandbakk (9,2) Aass [...]

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