Solid from the Norwegian Southwest

Boxes of beer from breweries are always welcome, and when they are domestic, it means I don’t have to fork out any money for duties and VAT. The package I got the other day was from Lervig Aktiebryggeri in Stavanger. When Ringnes/Carlsberg closed down their brewery in Stavanger in 2003, this led to lots of local protests – [...]

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Light a candle

No way we will let one madman destroy the qualities we have in the Norwegian society. But this week is a time for mourning and contemplation. In a small socity most of us know someone closely affected. I actually work in one of the ministries hit by the bomb, butby a stroke of luck i [...]

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Pub signs

If you’re dreaming of owning an original English pub sign, you’ve got the chance. Fuller’s are now selling signs from some of their pubs. They don’t come cheap, £ 350 each, but they aren’t mass produced, either.

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Corfu – a beer (two, actually) in the Old Fortress

Our only excursion during our week in Corfu was a day trip to Corfu town. It is a pleasant place to stroll around, and we ended up at the Old Fortress, with magnificent views of the town and surroundings. This is a UNESCO World Heritage site, with a lot of history if you want to [...]

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Corfu beers

It turned out that the beach bar had two beers from the Corfu brewery, luckily the two most interesting ones. They brew two pale lagers as well, but they do not really stand out among the others on offer – and I don’t think they are meant to, either. The two dark beers are both [...]

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Sign of the times

A week with my family on a sunny Greek island does not include any great expectations for beer hunting. Sure, I know there are micro breweries in Greece, a few of them with very respectable beers. I had even sent off an e-mail to Corfu’s own micro, asking if they could deliver a few sample [...]

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A week in the sun

Luckily, there were more interesting beers than Mythos to be found. Stay tuned!

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Oslo: Olympen terrace

It’s been rather wet around these parts this summer, meaning that the opportunities for outdoor drinking have been somewhat limited. A pity, as there are a few places that really stand out among the hundreds of pubs offering bland lagers and uninteresting food. Olympen has an outstanding beer selection throughout the year, with Norwegian micros and interesting Danish [...]

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London pubs: The Euston Tap

There used to be one good pub at Euston station, the Head of Steam, featuring beer from a range of breweries. This was later taken over by Fuller’s, renamed the Doric Arches and the ale range has gradually shrunk. It is probably still the place to go if you want to have a proper meal [...]

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London pubs: The Southampton Arms

Time I summed up my London impressions from last month, right? In Kentish Town, easily accessible by Tube, though you have to walk for ten minutes if you don’t want to figure out the bus routes, lies a small but charming pub, the Southampton Arms. Their aim is to sell only beer and ciders from [...]

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