Berlin XXIX- a box of beers from BierPost

Time to burn off some bonus miles before Scandinavian Airlines disappear in a puff of smoke meant an opportunity to revisit Berlin, where there have been interesting developments. A hotel right off the Alexanderplatz was reasonably priced as well. And, as has become a habit, a mail order box of beers.

This time around from BierPost, a company located in Schwerin, where they also have a bricks and mortar shop.

Some exciting new German beers defying the conventions, some traditional Bocks and Doppelbocks, and even a beer from Liechtenstein – more to feed the ticker than anything else.

Sturdy packaging, the beers were  just as ordered. Highly recommended. Decent rates for beer and postage, too.

I particularly look forward to trying the beers from Schoppe Bräu and Crew Ale. There is even an ESB from Chile in there.

Now to find the roll of bubble wrap.

Read Full Post »

The end of a monopoly

As my regular readers will know, there is a government monopoly on retail sales of all alcoholic beverages above 4.8 % ABV here in Norway. There are similar shops in Sweden, Iceland and Finland.

Additionally, there have been local monopolies for beer in a number of municipalities. As late as the early nineties, there were sixty communities with beer monopolies, either run by the local authorities or by private companies.

There has been a general trend of more liberal access to alcohol over the last decades. There used to be a number of dry municipalities with a total ban on alcohol in both shops and restaurants. There are now only two municipalities without licenced restaurants - Siljan in Telemark and Meland in Hordaland. But that is not because of local legislation. There are no unlicenced restaurants there, either. Oh well. Lots of fresh air and healthy living, I suppose.

And the access to stronger stuff is easier as well. The Vinmonopolet stores are now popping up even in smaller towns, and they to free postad delivery if you live more than a certain distance from a shop.

This liberalisation has led to an erosion of the support for the local beer monopolies as well. In Fauske, close to Bodø in Northern Norway, there was even a referendum last year, giving a slim majority for the monopoly. But this evening the district council will vote to abolish it, allowing local supermarkets to sell beer.

For the locals, this will make it more convenient to buy a few cans of beer along with the rest of their groceries. But, knowing the Norwegian supermarket chains, it does not mean any better selection of craft beer. That’s another fight for another day.

Read Full Post »

A Norwegian beer bonanza

Dozens of beer lovers were lining up in front of the state monopoly store in downtown Oslo this morning, eager to get their hands on rare beers.

Vinmonopolet has its regular range of beer, wine and spirits, with new products launched every month. Additionally, there are special releases of smaller batches of wine, and those are only available at one shop in Oslo and one in Bergen.

They have apparently decided to do the same for beer,  so this was a great opportunity to stock up on craft beers from breweries like Mikkeller, Evil Twin, Beer Here, de Molen, BrewDog, Loste Abbey, Stone ….

Some bottles sold out immediately, but with a list of around one hundred beers, there should be plenty to choose from in the days to come.

I used to be able to buy every new beer on sale in Norway. Those days are gone!

You can find the list here.

Read Full Post »

Beer science

Alejandro Lovera is an MBA student of the University of Westminster and is currently working on his dissertation project. He tries to measure how responsible drinking campaigns, organic products and other factors can influence the buying decisions of beer consumers.

He needs people to fill in a short online servey, which only takes a few minutes.

http://edu.surveygizmo.com/s3/985615/77a10541dfc0english

I’ll ask him to pass along the results when they are ready. Help him out, please.

Read Full Post »

Copenhagen Beer Celebration – my opinion

So. This event was announced last autumn, the tickers tickets went on sale – and were snapped up in November. We were promised two magnificent days of great beers and top class food, something way beyond what we have experienced before.

I won’t go into any detailed review here, but I feel like summing up my experiences:

First of all – the beers. Full score on this. There were world class brews from a number of the best breweries in the world. The hosts had actually toned down their own offerings from Mikkeler and Evil Twin to make room from all the others. Some were household names, like de Struise, Nøgne Ø, de Molen and BrewDog. Some were legendary, like Three Floyds and Cigar City. Some of them were new to me – Broadies (from London) and Farmer’s Cabinet (from Philadelphia).

There were sour ales and barrel aged ales. Barley wines and stouts. IPAs and Apas. Even examples of Gose and Berliner Weisse. Some of the line up was changed from the Friday to the Saturday. Some were festival specials, some were rarities very few of us had tried before.

So, for the beer selection and the beer quality, I can only applaud.

With all the tickets sold out many months ago, there were no long lines to get in either. We were let in, given a few tokens and a wristband showing our dining time.

The crowd was different from your average beer festival. Lots of friendly people from around the world, everyone seriously interested in beer. No stag parties, no one there to proclaim their undying love for their regional brewery.

A laid back and friendly atmosphere.

What about the venue? Early in the day, it was quite bright and airy.  A sports hall, with a large area set aside for benches and tables. But everyone were shooed away from the tables around four, as they were preparing for the first dinner seating. Only half of the tables were needed for each seating, but it meant a quite packed crowd for the second half of each day.

The setup of the brewery stands did not allow much in the way of presentation. Some of the stands along the walls had some posters and artwork, but the tables in the middle had a setup that looked more like a homebrew festival. This might have been a deliberate decision, but I would say that the best breweries in the world would have deserved a more professional presentation. The Haandbryggeriet festival a week ago had a setup where all the breweries were able so present themselves in a much better way.

The food was hyped a lot, anticipating a close-to-NOMA-experience, or, at least, what in the programme was called an uncompromizing gourmet experience, with food and beer pairings.

The Friday meal was nice enough, with a piece of tender meat, mashed potatoes, a green sauce with aromatic hops and some watercress. Honest food, but not gourmet quality.  And this could have been served all day without any time slots with us walking up to a counter and asking for a plate when we got hungry. This would have meant no need to rope off more than a small part of the hall, leaving ample seating for everyone.

And the food available at other times? Fairly average Danish sausages with a variety of mustards based on beer. Period. No salads, no cheese, no cured meat, nothing resembling gourmet at all.

One main ingredient in a beer festival is water. Sure, bottled water with the Mikkeller logo is fun.  But running water is also needed. Water for drinking, water for washing your hands and even your face. Water for rinsing your glass. Even water as in toilets. And as this was in an athletic venue, there were toilets roped off somewhere. Too expensive to clean? Come on!

And where were the hosts? They were briefly spotted, but a highlight would have been a trumpet fanfare and some words of welcome at noon on Friday. Maybe a stage with some round table talks with the beer personalities present, too? If less space was allocated to sit down dinners, there could easily have been a stage at the back of the hall. some of the showmanship we have seen from Mikkeller at previous festivals in Copenhagen would have been nice.

 There were some seminars this time around, but they were not widely publicised. The one I went too, on blogging, was poorly attended, and just when the discussion was starting, we were shooed out again.

There was, on the second day, a poster advertising free wi-fi – but the password wasn’t working.

Maybe the critical words seem to harsh, so let me get back to my main points:

• Great beer
• Great breweries
• Great people
• Fine venue, with some adjustments.

Given that, everything else can be tweaked and adjusted the next time. And it is very much a matter of very high expectations when you use big words when building up the advance buzz.  

The real test if I liked it: Will I be back?

Yes, I will.

 

Read Full Post »

A sophisticated smuggler

With the new influx of beers in Norway, there are also occasional promotional tastings. With more mundane brews, this is all right, you get a general feeling of the quality level and the flavours. At the same time this speed dating does not do justice to more sophisticated brews.

At the launch of new specialist importers and distributors Beer Enthusiasts, I was pleased to see a more general distribution from domestic Sundbytunet plus imports from breweries like Midtfyn and Hornbeer.

A small sample of St Austell’s Smugglers Gran Cru caught my interest, but this was one that deserved drinking in a more quiet environment. I hinted that if a bottle could be made available, I would try to give it a proper review. A few days later, I was invited to come over and pick up a bottle.

This beer is aged in whisky casks before refermentation in champagne bottles. I have a suspicion this is fairly expensive in both the Norwegian market and closer to its English origins, but I honestly don’t know. I think you have to head to one of the serious beer bars to find it in Norway.

OK. I pop the cork, which reveals a very vinous aroma. Lots of dark berries, with the whisky whispering in the background. The carbonation is quite lively at first, but it quiets down, some pearly bubbles keep coming through the hazy red’/brown beer.

The flavour reminds me of an oaky red wine, the barrel aging giving a dry tannin character. Old leather, rich maltiness underneath. Raisins, prunes, vanilla.

The whisky is not overpowering, there is some delicate fruit laced with caramel underneath.

No Stilton in the house, but I found a piece of Gorgonzola in the fridge to match it.

No need for a port to go with the cheese board if you have one of these.

A minor complaint – they could have gone for smaller bottles. A beer of this strength and character should be enjoyed in moderation.

Read Full Post »

Practice your German – refreshments included…

The first Beer Symposium for Beer Enjoyment and Brewery Culture (it looks more impressive in German) takes place in Bamberg in October.  This is organised by the Franconian Beer Academy, and has a varied program, including brewery visits, discussions on beer tourism, brew pubs, marketing and brewing. A praticularly interesting session will probably be the one on the revival of the Leipzig beer style Gose.

A participation fee of 249 Euros should not ruin anyone, and that includes a number of meals as well as Pausengetränke – drinks during the breaks.

I have to admit I haven’t been to Bamberg, but I doubt I can fit this into my agenda this year. I hope this can become a regular event, I welcome beer events that go beyond beer festivals or trade fairs and put beer and brewing into the proper historical and cultural context.

 

Read Full Post »

Too much to handle

After the Easter break, there are a number of beer events crammed in over a few weeks. Two beer festivals in Copenhagen during the same week in May.  The Association of Small Swedish Breweries arrange the event Big Beers, Small Breweries next weekend, surely something worth attending. Come to think of it, I have never been to any of the Swedish beer festivals, big or small.

Today there is the launch of new beer import company Beer Enthusiast her in Oslo, promising 20 beers new to the Norwegian market. Breweries like St Austell, Midtfyns Bryghus, Sundbytunet and Bryggeriet Skands will be present, with additional beers from Baladin, Kinn, Sierra Nevada and Hornbeer.

I think I’ll pass the Norwegian cask festival during the weekend. There is the Haandbryggeriet festival in two weeks time, too. And there is a box from myBreweryTap at the Post Office.

Read Full Post »

Stamps again

Might be old news to some of you, but these Belgian stamps featuring Trappist beers have just reached my attention. Lovely.

If more countries follow up, I’ll have to start collecting again.

Read Full Post »

Splendid service from ups

I got a call from an ups driver this morning, wanting to deliver a box of beer at my apartment. I explained that I was at work, and and that there are no neighbors around to sign for it. I could have had it redirected and delivered at my office, but that would mean a Monday delivery, when I am off.

No problem, said the driver. There is a company a few streets from where you live. They are open until four. Why don’t I drop it off there, and you can pick it up on you way home?

The beers come from Biershop Bayern, sent on Tuesday.

I have yet to find out what the taxman has to say about the transaction.

I even learnt some German  - I did not know that there is an Umlaut in the plural of bock.

Read Full Post »