Norske mikrobryggerier 15 – Norwegian micro breweries 15 – Klostergården Håndbryggeri

 

 

(English summary at the end)

Alle mikrobryggerier er ikke velsignet med en flott beliggenhet, selv om det ikke nødvendigvis har betydning for kvaliteten på ølet. Det brygges mye godt øl i anonyme industriområder der det er lite aktuelt å innrede et lokale for skjenking av brygget.

Samtidig er det en utfordring å skille seg ut. Det er mange som brygger de samme øltypene, og selv om original design på etiketten og lokal oppslutning kan bidra til salget, er det jo flott om man har en historie å fortelle og kan knytte øl til historie, tradisjoner og lokal mat.

Klostergården Håndbryggeri fyller alle kriterier for hvordan disse faktorene bidrar til å skape unike produkter.

Beliggenheten er øya Tautra, som har broforbindelse med Frosta, Trøndelags kjøkkenhage. På eiendommen er det til og med en klosterruin som viser forhistorien for dette kulturlandskapet. Ved siden av gårdsdrift konserverer man frukt, bær og grønnsaker. Det tilbys overnatting, og det er servering av mat og drikke både innendørs og utendørs.

 Brygger Jørn Andersen kan by på en rekke ølsorter i butikkstyrke som man kan kjøpe med hjem. Wit, porter, pale ale, bitter og blond. Flotte øl, som kan måle seg med det beste av øl med denne styrkegraden.

Norsk alkohollovgivning gjør det ikke mulig å kjøpe med de mest spennede ølene – så de må man smake på stedet. En imperial stout hadde en flott lakriskarakter. En Dobbel IPA var velbalansert og forførende lettdrikkelig.

Men det som var verdt turen alene var en flaske Sorn, hentet opp fra kjelleren slik at den ikke skulle være kjøleskapskald. Jeg har ventet lenge på at noen skulle gjøre øl brygget på stjørdalsmalt mer tilgjengelig, og her er det endelig et slikt eksempel. 25% av malten i dette brygget er altså røykmalt fra Stjørdal. Det er klart at det setter sitt preg på ølet, men samtidig er det balansert. Røyk, sot og sødme gir en spesiell smaksprofil – håper at tilgangen på malt gir mulighet for å brygge dette i kvanta store nok til å tilby dette både til polutsalg og serveringssteder i regionen. Sorn er brygget i samarbeid med Inderøy Gårdsbryggeri. 

Den største utfordringen i dag er å få brygget nok øl til å få dekket etterspørselen. Nytt utstyr gjør at man kommer opp i batcher på 1000 liter mot dagens 350. Og for den tålmodige kan det opplyses at man også er i gang med eget brenneri, som planlegger lansering av whisky om tre år. Og innkjøp av eikefat gjør også at vi kan glede oss til fatlagrete øl i tiden fremover.

Jeg spiste ikke middag på stedet, men den nylagde fiskballen som raust ble servert som en smakebit fra kjøkkenet gjør at det absolutt står på programmet neste gang.

 

 

At the most scenic spot you can imagine, in the middel of the Trondheim fjord, with green meadows and monastery ruins, you find Klostergården Håndbryggeri. Besides farming and brewing, there is also a café, a shop with local food, including beer, and some rooms for rent.

Brewer Jørn Andersen offers a broad range of beers. The ones below 4.7 % ABV are available in the shop, the stronger beers have to be consumed on the premises.

This region has a long tradition of farmers brewing their own beers, malting barley grown on their own farm, smoking the malt to give a unique flavour. Klostergården brews their won version of this, adding 25% of this smoked malt in the Sorn beer. The result is, of course, a compromise – you do not get an over the top smoked beer, but a balanced, quite sweet brew with lots of character with plenty of smoke and soot both in aroma and palate.

Klostergården is approximately a one hour drive from the main North-South road between Trondheim and Northern Norway. It is well worth the time, and the accommodation is reasonably priced if you want to indulge in the stronger beers. Expanded capacity will hopefully give at least a regional distribution for the beers. And if you want something truly exotic, their first batch of whisky is maturing in oak barrels, due to be released in April 2016.

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Berlin XXXV – Let’s pretend we’re in Munich

Cold and dry weather had been replaced by sleet and snow, and we didn’t really have much on the agenda before returning to the hotel to pick up our baggage. We had some time to spare, but the climatic conditions did not invite to find another cozy old inn at the end of an alley in the Nicolaivirtel.

The nearest option was a large establishment decorated in blue and white. The Berlin outpost of the famous Munich Hofbräuhaus, a stone’s throw from the Alexanderplatz at Karl-Liebknecht-Strasse.

This is a huge place, very quiet in mid-afternoon. A huge menu, not surprisingly with a pork bias. Eight beers on tap, plus a seasonal if you’re lucky.

Staff dressed up in Bavarian costumes, wooden benches and tables. Taped yodel and polkas when I was there, but there is live music every night.

This is probably crammed with stag parties and buses of tourists during hight season. Wikipedia tells me there are dozens of Hofbräu franchises around the globe, the one in Berlin one of the newest. Think McDonalds for adults.  And I suppose you are supposed to sing along, at least after midnight.

But the beer is good. Better than the standard Berlin beers. And there is outside seating when the weather allows.

Don’t miss the souvenir shop. I’m sure many have bought stuff there they have regretted when sobering up. But the rubber ducks in dirndl are awesome.

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Berlin XXXIV – Broken German in the Berlin Bier Shop

In addition to the Berlin U-bahn, which is an underground network, there is also the S-bahn, which in the central areas of the city is elevated above street level, giving splendid views . Well, there is not much time to enjoy the view from Hauptbahnhof to Bellevue, it’s the next stop. Cross the bridge and walk up a short street, and you find the Berlin Bier Shop.

Bier jenseits des Mainstreams is the motto on their web page. Sure, you can stock up on all the bocks, helles, pils etc.  you’d want. But the reason to go here is for the more sophisticated stuff.

They cater for two types of customers: Germans who want interesting imports and tourists who want interesting German beers.  The imports include the big names from Denmark and the US.  Mikkeller sells well, the customers have often visited Copenhagen and know the price level. Slightly lower alcohol taxes and VAT equals more or less the cost of distribution, meaning you pay more or less the same for a bottle of Mikkeller as you would in Denmark. Students from the brewing college are eager to get new stuff coming in, particularly on-offs like the new yeast series.

For foreign visitors you are able to get some real treats. New beers from Berlin gypsy brewer Schoppe Bräu. Craft beers from the Czech Republic. I had some serious problems making up my mind. My suitcase was already bulging, and I knew I was in for a scolding from the Lufthansa check-in staff.

But I could not resist a barrel aged dark Gose. And a Berliner Weisse brewed with smoked malt. How is that for innovation?

Friendly and polite service. Once again my apologies for my German. The vocabulary is coming along fine, thank you. But the nuances of grammar and the use of the polite Sie instead of du leaves a lot to be desired. Other visitors don’t need to worry. They even use English on their web pages.

This is a must stop on a Berlin beer tour. A serious beer shop. Like Johnny’s Off Licence in Rome or Ølbutikken in Copenhagen.

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Berlin XXXIII – An evening meal in Zur Gerichtslaube

If you set up a scale of nostalgia for the DDR, I would not be far from the origo. But approximating zero is not equal to zero. The Nikolaiviertel in Berlin Mitte is something the regime should be credited for. This quarter was, as most of the city, reduced to rubble in 1945, and it took quite some time before they got around to restoring it.  The restoration did not just set up some big slabs of concrete, this was an attempt to recreate the oldest part of the medieval city for Berlin’s 750th anniversary in 1987.

What we find today is a charming collection of restored and replicated houses with lots of outside seating at the riverside cafes in sunny weather. During the winter, you find cozy old-fashioned restaurants and Kneipen, most of them more on the rustic than on the high dining side.

On a cold and dark evening in January, Zur Gerichtslaube offers a range of local and regional dishes. This restaurant is located in was used to be an old courthouse. I have a feeling that the present building is pretty new. Their web site informs us that all in all the Gerichtslaube was reconstructed three times and relocated twice, but it is rather vague about dates after 1482 or so.  But the illusion works well, you have the feeling of entering a place with roots going back to the middle ages here.

The food leans heavily towards the Sauerkrauft school of cuisine, but there are vegetarian options, too. With just a few days in town, I wanted to try something beyond sausages, and the Grosse Abendplatte, the large evening board seemed to be the thing. Meatballs, smoked venison, cured deer sausage, cheese, pickles … there was even a herb Schnapps included. Very pleasant, but the cheese selection was not particularly inspired.

The beer list is not particularly long, but there are two beers brewed especially for them. The Schöffenbier is an unfiltered pilsener or Helles, light bodied with some flowery hops, soft and pleasant to drink. There is also A Schwartzbier, which has the same problem that most of these dark lagers have in the region, it is all about caramel,

Polite and friendly service, mixed crowd. I have a feeling this is packed with tourists in the summer, so it is probably best to book a table. 

I certainly recommend a visit. You can have a snack and a beer if you’re not up to a big meal. Expensive? More so than the place off Alexanderplatz where you get a huge pig’s knuckle and a beer for 10 Euros. But then you get quite another experience.

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Berlin XXXII – A chat with a brewer

Many European cities can boast of food markets filled with stalls of proud producers. I have not seen them all, but I tend to seek them out, in Florence and Gothenburg, in London and Barcelona.

Berlin can boast of a number of them, although some have obviously been destroyed by war, neglect or urban developement. The Eisenbahnhalle in Kreuzberg has long traditions, but it only in the recent few years that this has been revived, focusing on local produce and everything green. And one of the local producers is a brewer, Johannes Heidenpeter.

The market is only open on Fridays and Saturdays but, alas, I was only arriving on a Sunday. Well, there is always Facebook.

I asked if there was any way of trying their beers during mys visit, without being too optimistic. I got a message back from Johannes, saying that he would be brewing on Monday and would be happy to have a chat over a beer when he was finished. Would six o’ clock be convenient?

Of course.

The market hall was easy to find, and Johannes invited me down to the basement, where he was finishing his brewing for the day.

Johannes  started the brewery in September 2012. He has no formal brewing background, but has been a home brewer for quite some time. He brews 300 liter batches, which may be stretched to 450 liters by using the equipment to the maximum. Most of the beers are sold on tap from his tiny bar in a corner of the market hall, though some are hand bottled for people to take home. Business is expanding, meaning he gradually spends more time brewing and less on what he calls his pay job.

The beers fit in well with the general concept of the market – local food where the producers have direct contact with the consumers.

There is, obviously a challenge in offering inventive beers in a market where the day-to-day choice is between a Dunkel and a Helles. Johannes aims to have, as a standard, a pale ale that is not too extreme, but it is still a departure from the German norm. He is constantly adjusting the recipe, the version I got to taste had Cascade as the dominating hop. It had a fine spectrum of flowers and herbs and a splendid drinkability – just the type of session beer you should find in a place like this. I also tried a poster, soft and smooth, yet with lots more character than the bland big names.

The aim is to brew full-time, and there are plans for various events – a small beer festival is also in the making.

Heidenpeters is a brewery that stands out among the micro breweries of Berlin, daring to think outside the box. It will be interesting to follow in the years to come, I will certainly be back the next time I’m in town.

Get in touch if you plan to visit. There are a few hand bottled beers available, but they tend to sell out, so ask Johannes to set aside some for you.

If I have gotten some of this totally wrong, I apologize. Most of the conversation took place in German, and I must state my admiration for the brewer who opened his doors and carried on patiently while his guest struggled to get his message across with total disregard for grammar and polite use of the language.

Cooking up a new batch of Heidenpeters beer

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Berlin XXXI – Max und Moritz

I’m not too fond of crowded bars late at night. With a bunch of friends it can, of course, be great fun. But when I travel, it’s a quiet glass or two in the afternoon that often pleases me the most. Many pubs and bars stay closed at this time, waiting for the evening trade. That might be sensible, it does not make much sense to pay salaries to idle staff.

In Berlin, there are places open all day, some only in the evening. On a chilly February day, I found one that opened at five in the afternoon.

Max und Moritz is a classic Berliner Wirtshaus, dating back to 1902 with lots of the details intact. A bar area as you enter, dining tables at the back. When I look at their website, I see that there is a ballroom in the building, seating 100 diners and available for cultural events. Tango lessons on Sundays, if I remember correctly.

Two ladies behind the bar, one of the regulars conversing with them. Polite and friendly service.

Traditional cooking, not surprisingly heavy on the pork, but even some salads and other vegetarian options. Too early for supper, but certainly worth considering another day.

Two  beers stand out in their drinks list, one unfiltered, one clean and crisp pilsener. The Zwickl  is specially brewed for them, and is called Kreuzberger Molle, which I believe is brewed at the Südstern micro, not far away. Chewy cereals, honey, flowery hops. Pleasant drinking, but not really exciting. I prefer the Barre Brau, a German pilsener at its best. Clean and crisp. Herbs and grass, dry finish. Unpretentious and refreshing.

And, if you need one more for the road, there is a Kneipe next door that boasts of a Duckstein Dunkel on tap. Hm.

Located in Kreuzberg, just a few minutes from the Moritzplatz U-bahn stop, so it’s just ten minutes from the Alexanderplatz. And I must mention that I would never have found my way to this one if it wasn’t for the Around Berlin in 80 Beers book. Btw Max and Moritz are two characters from a series of books for children dating back to the mid-nineteenth century.

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Berlin XXX – nobody home

So, out into the cold dusk to try out a few brewpubs. Google maps showed that there was a direct line from Alexanderplatz to the U-bahn stop near the Rollberg micro. This brewery is actually located inside the old Berliner Kindl brewery. Very hard to find, the only sign of activity in the area was a go cart center. We finally spotted a sign that, due to a broken pipe, it was closed that weekend. Next time, perhaps you could update the fancy web site with some info?

Half an hours walk from Rollberg there is a brewpub I have visited some years ago, Südstern. Time to rest weary feet, have a beer and a Flammeküche. Not so. A sign on the door here, too. Today we close at 18.00.

The subway brought us back to the center of town, at least public transport is speedy and easy to use in Berlin.

The  banners of Brauhaus Lemke invited us in, and we were warmly welcomed and half a liter of their Zwickl soon appeared at the table. The Eisbein and the Schnitzel were also well worth the wait. Lemke is in the railway arches, a stone’s throw from Alexanderplatz. Their beers are not particularly inventive, but they are among the best in town. The photo below is from an earlier visit – on a warmer day.

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Norske mikrobryggerier 13 – Trondhjem Mikrobryggeri

(English version at the end)

Selv om det har skjedd mye på ølfronten i Norge de siste ti årene, har det faktisk vært alternativet til de store litt lenger, i alle fall i Oslo og i Trondheim. I begge byene er det bryggeripuber som har holdt det gående i mange år. Da de ble etablert, var dette storveies, med tilgang til, riktignok ganske snille, engelske og amerikanske øltyper fra fat.

Trondhjem Mikrobryggeri ligger sentralt i byen, et stenkast fra Stiftsgården midt i Munkegaten. Derfra går du gjennom en av de smale veitene og finner en ganske typisk innredet bryggeripub med mursten, messing og bryggeutstyr.  Stedet ble åpnet i desember 1998, og tilbyr også mat i tillegg til sine egenproduserte øl. Her får man burgere, salat og småretter, men også mer solide middager, for eksempel bacalao, som jeg tror har stått på spisekartet siden de åpnet.

Ølkartet har vært ganske stabilt i alle år. Amber, porter, bitter, steamer, IPA og pils. I tillegg en sesongøl som har variert fra en fyldigere juleøl til et svært lett sommerøl. Jeg har i grunnen ikke hatt noe å si på ølkvaliteten når jeg har vært på besøk, men det har manglet litt gnist. Sist jeg var innom mente den hyggelige bartenderen at bryggeren var kommet på bedre tanker – etter et studiebesøk på Great American Beer Festival kom han hjem og mente at alle øltypene hadde vært brygget med for lite humle. Det betyr at de faste øltypene også oppleves som friskere enn før, og at man kan få smakt mer spennede øl, sist jeg var innom hadde de en utmerket rug-IPA.

Men ingen har lovet at alt skal være enkelt. En del av den rustikke stilen har i alle år vært en stor tavle som har gitt oversikt over ølsortene, hvilken styrke de har og hva det har kostet med glass i ulike størrelser fra en tyve centiliters smaksprøve opp til en toliters mugge for deling. Men så kom Trondheim kommune på besøk.

I følge adressa.no kom kontrollører fra Eierskapsenheten i Trondheim kommune på årets første skjenkekontroll 10. januar i år. Kontrollen omfatter 17 punkter, og alt var i sin skjønneste orden – bortsett fra krittavlene som henger over baren. Nytt av året er ordningen med prikkbelastning, som blir ilagt bevillingshavere dersom de skjenker i strid med loven. Og å fremheve øl fremfor vin og brennevin er altså i strid med loven.

Eierskapsenheten (litt av et navn!) tilbyr seg på sin side å hjelpe med å sette opp tavlene slik at de er korrekte i forhold til loven.

Oppsisjonen i bystyret stiller seg uforstående til denne håndhevelsen av loven. Petter Nome i Bryggeriforeningen finner det helt meningsløst.

Tavlen har fått en solid omgang med svampen.

Og Trondhjem Mikrobryggeri? Tja. De har vel fått flere spaltemillimeter nå på nyåret enn på de første 14 årene. Og markedsføringsverdien av det er vel langt større enn av den famøse tavlen. Og det er litt lettere å drive harselas med bokstavtro byråkrater i valgkampen.

En hustavle til besvær

One of the oldest brewpubs in Norway, Trondhjem Mikrobryggeri, can celebrate its 15 anniversary later this year. If you visit Trondheim, you’ll have to look it up on the map, even of it’s just a stone’s throw away from the main streets, tucked away at the end of a narrow alley. But even if the neighbours are old wooden houses, the brewpub is your usual brass, copper and brick ensemble.

The beers have been on the boring side, with the usual list of porter, amber, IPA, pilsener etc, but a recent visit to the Great American Beer Festival has made the brewer realize that he has been too greedy when it comes to hopping. So, even if you have visited them before, it is worth checking out the new and fresher versions on tap now. If you are lucky, there might also be special brews like the rye IPA I tried earlier this year.

As mentioned, the interior is fairly typical international brewpub, including a large blackboard showing the beers on offer, including the prices from 20 cl samplers to 2 liter mugs for sharing. This blackboard has been there since the opening,  but when the local alcohol licence authorities visited in January this year, they had objections. The blackboard showed the prices of beer and alcohol free alternatives without mentioning wine and stronger stuff. This means promoting beer, which is not allowed in Norway. As far as I know, the blackboard has now been wiped clean. But at least this has meant a lot of free publicity. And I have a strong feeling this case will be used fully in the months before our next general election.

But, blackboard or not, do not miss Trondhjem Mikrobryggeri if you are in town. They serve food, too. They do burgers, but go for the bacalao instead.

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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.

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Norske mikrobryggerier 12 – Elgen Mikrobryggeri, Hemsedal

English summary at the bottom

Hemsedal er både en destinasjon i seg selv og et greit sted å stoppe mellom Østlandet og Vestlandet. Temperaturen var godt nede på minus 20-tallet da vi kom på besøk. Ikke for å stå på ski, ikke for å ta en pause på vei til Bergen, men for å besøke en attraksjon som nok er unnslippet radaren for de fleste – Elgen Mikrobryggeri.

Bryggeriet er plassert bak en glassvegg i det som før var after ski-avdelingen, men nå er a la carte-restauranten i Skogstad Hotell. Dette er et overnattingssted med solide tradisjoner, etablert i 1905.

Bryggeriet stammer ikke fra 1905 i følge Lars, som tok imot oss i resepsjonen. De har brygget øl til gjestene sine siden 2008, og det skjer i svært beskjeden skala. Hver batch er på 400-450 liter, og det brygges tre ganger i året.

Det brygges bare en øltype, GOPA, som er et friskt hveteøl. Vi ble møtt med beklagelser om at ølet nok var i ferskeste laget, men det var ingen grunn til å være flau over dette brygget. Et hint av banan, frisk sitrus. Litt behagelig smak av gjær, men det bør det jo være i en skikkelig Weissbier. Den passet også godt til fatet med utsøkte lokale tapas, der spesielt kjøttbollene med kraftig viltsmak var fremragende.

Det er litt sløseri å ha et anlegg stående og brygge bare et par ganger i året. Det hadde vært fint å supplere med en øl eller to til. En IPA og en Brown Ale, kanskje? Jeg foreslår at bryggeren tar en ukes tid og hospiterer hos Haandbryggeriet i Drammen. Det kan nok inspirere til å gå videre med prosjektet.

Det er vel å ta i litt å anbefale at man drar til Hemsedal ens ærend for å smake på ølet. Men skal man feriere i området eller kjører igjennom, er det vel verdt å stikke innom for å ta et glass.

One of the smallest breweries in Norway is located in a hotel in the ski resort of Hemsedal.

Elgen (The Moose) Mikrobryggeri has an annual output of three beacthes, each 400- 450  liters. The beer is a Weissbier, true to type with a nice citrus flavour.

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