A cold winter

The last two decades have given us a large number of breweries in Norway, peaking at almost two hundred. Some hobby projects have come and gone; but now the number of quality brewers is dwindling. Let’s look at some of the reasons.

Energy bills.

While the energy prices have hit all across Europe, we were probably taken more by surprise than most.  Our hydroelectric power plants have traditionally given us plenty of cheap electricity, now we face prices on the European level in most of the country. This has been a blow for many industries, but some of the breweries were hit really hard.

Falling demand

Some of the breweries did very well during year one of the pandemic, particularly the ones selling bottled and canned beers. The border to Sweden was more or less closed, so the consumers had to buy what was available on the domestic market. This surge in demand did not last, and it is hard to scale down again.

The big ones strike back

We still have some traditional lager breweries in Norway, and they dominate the market completely. They supply fridges and other equipment, they service tap lines etc. And while they were slow adapters, they have become more innovative over the years. This means that they brew a fair number of beer styles, including hazy IPAs, wheat beers and beers with fruit (or, usually, fruit aromas.) This means that they can deliver a more or less full range of beers, both for supermarkets and for the more general restaurant, bar and hotel market. Hansa Borg, one of the major lager breweries, has acquired Nøgne Ø, meaning they can offer genuine craft beer to their customers. Carlsberg has developed E C Dahls as their craft beer brewery in Norway, and they also import Brooklyn beers as well as other storing brands from the Carlsberg group.

Lack of retail outlets

We have a total of three supermarket groups in Norway, all with Norwegian owners. If you can get national distribution for your beers in one of them, you can get some sales volume, but the shelf space has dwindled. Beer has given way to other types of beverages such as cider, hard seltzer and pre-mixed drinks. Alcoholic beverages in supermarkets have a limit of 4,7% ABV, the rest is sold by the state alcohol monopoly.

The chain of beer stores called Gulating went bankrupt last year. It is up and running with new owners, but very few of the stores make a profit. And breweries are hesitant of delivering beer to them, there is a risk of not getting paid.

National legislation

Other Nordic countries have adjusted their alcohol monopolies to make it easier for small producers. In Sweden, you are allotted shelf space in the shops closest to the brewery. Finland has opened up for direct sales from the breweries and takeaway beer from bars. In the Faroe Islands, the breweries are allowed to run their own retail outlets for beer under 7%.

There are occasionally attempts to liberalize the policy in Norway, but we seem to be stuck with the present legislation for the time being. A recent proposal was voted down in the parliament just a few days ago.

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Back to the beer blog

Even grumpy old dogs can learn new tricks. With my latest book, I feel I have achieved some ambitions. I’ll try to explain over a few blog posts.

The physical result is out now – in bookshops across Norway. Between the Burgundy books and the gin books.

I’ll try to explain the title Trønderøl. Trøndelag is the central region in Norway, recently merged into one county. It has around 450 000 inhabitants, called trøndere.

So simply, this is a book about the region and its beer. It covers the current beer scene, including an in-depth part on present day breweries. With two summers in a row with travel restrictions, I have been able to visit almost every brewery in the region, some of them several times. I could have left it at that, but I wanted to dig deeper. I knew there was a rich history, that was hardly documented. And there were lost breweries – what information could I dig up?

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Going North for a beer – the Bådin Beer Festival

The group of friends behind Bådin Brewery shows that in this age, you can run a successful brewery just about anywhere.

The town of Bodø is the second largest in Northern Norway, that means a population of 50.000. A group of childhood friends had the wild plan of setting up a brewery there back in 2012. The timing was close to perfect. They now have two full time brewers, with the other pitching in when needed. And it was all hands on deck when they arranged their second beer festival in the brewery last weekend.

A merry crow of breweries were invited, most of the Norwegian, but Ugly Duck (Denmark), Hawkshead (UK). Birra del Borgo (Italy) and De Glazen Toren (Belgium) contributed very well to the occasion.

Matt from Hawkshead serving his brews

Bådin has become a pride of the town, with their beers available in most supermarkets and bars. It should come as no surprise that their beers have a high drinkablility, the local market is too small for the more sour and wild end of the spectrum.

And this was what the festival was all about, too. Drinkable beers and good conversations, the brewers themselves serving their brews to a public still finding out what this beer trend is all about. There was a good mix of guests, the large majority of them local. Young and old, men and women.

A dozen breweries or so means you can get around the most interesting beers in a session; or maybe two.

I had the pleasure of interviewing most of the brewers from a small stage, an informal chat of around ten minutes each, which I felt worked very well.

The highlight of the weekend for me was having breakfast in the hotel with the amazing Jef Van den Steen from Glazen Toren with him telling anecdotes from the beer world, including his friendship with pioneering beer writer Michael Jackson.

Bodø is above the Arctic circle, meaning the sun was away for just a few hours in the night. It’s a great starting point for exploring the area, including the Lofoten islands. You can go on boat trips or hike in the mountains. I hope they will make the effort to have a festival next May as well.

There are good air connections, and the organizers can probably help you find moderately prized accommodation. See you in Bodø?

Jef explains what Belgian beers are all about

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The line up:

Bådin

Bryggeri 13

Voss Bryggeri

Ugly Duck

Hawkshead Brewery

Salikatt Bryggeri

Wettre Bryggeri

Qvart Ølkompani

Aja Bryggeri

De Glazen Toren

Grünerløkka Brygghus

Birra del Borgo

E.C. Dahls Bryggeri

 

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2017 – a great year for this beer writer!

Wonderful view at Lindheim

 

It’s been quite a year!
I’m hardly blogging, but that does not mean I’m not busy doing beer things. 2017 has been very rewarding.
I have attended a number of festivals, done tastings and speeches, visited breweries – and written a lot.

My beer travelling has mostly been in Norway, with a few exceptions. I was once again invited by Visit Flanders to Belgium for a beer tour. We had some very busy days, meeting brewers and visiting cafes and restaurants. The highlight of the tour was a visit to Westmalle, attending mass with the monks followed by a tour behind the walls, ending up at the brewery. I have since published an article on beer tourism in Belgium, but I hope to go deeper into this material.

The walls of Westmalle

A Tripel with cheese,
in Café Trppisten

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This autumn I was travelling for work to Helsinki, and used the opportunity to catch up on the beer scene there. Helsinki is a very convenient two hour ferry ride from Tallinn, which I have to admit I had not visited before. I made a day trip to get a glimpse of the beer scene, and it is a town I definitely will get back to. A weekend in Stockholm included a splendid meal at Akkurat, which still stands out among the very best places for beer and food in the known universe.

I have not visited as many new Norwegian breweries as earlier years, but at least I can tick off Skumbag in Oslo, Gøtt in Nesbyen, Yeastside in Stavanger and Lilland Bryggerihotell in Tau on the list. But a real highlight vas getting an invitation to join beer people from around the world for a weekend at Lindheim Ølkompani this summer. I have met Ingeborg and Eivin many times over the years, but I was very happy to finally get to visit their brewery, set among the orchards of Telemark.

There are new bars opening up in Oslo, some of them take beer very seriously. Instant favorites of mine are BRUS Oslo, Occulus (Cervisiam brewery tap) and Røør, but Brygg Oslo and Håndslag also look very promising.

I have been doing beer tastings and book promos across the country this year as well, starting with an event at Gulating Trondheim. I cooperate with Håndverkerstuene on beer and food tastings, the first event for 2018 has already sold out! I did a very successful beer quiz for the annual meeting of the The Norwegian Beer and Soft Drinks Producers.

A number of Norwegian beer festivals, of which I really want to point to Ølfestivalen at Nærbø, south of Stavanger. Well organized, very laid back and friendly. They have been doing this every other year since 2009, and they keep it down to earth and local – earning money for the local sports club.

Not just one book this year, but two! A new edition of the Norwegian Beer Guide, which keeps selling well, both in book and magazine formats. Fun and interesting to do a collaboration, as I did a Beer Quiz book with Sammy Myklebust. Phone, Dropbox and one weekend of sitting down together over a few beers. A thousand beer questions, plus some about other beverages with and without alcohol. And we are still open for engagements, solo perfomances or as a duo!

The Norwegian Beer Guide is also published in magazine format in cooperation with the newspaper VG, with print run of 40.000. I also had several pieces printed in the food magazine Godt from the same publisher.

Sorry to see two good breweries give up, Grim & Gryt and To Tårn. Good beer and good people, too bad that is not enough in today’s fiercely competitive market.

Too bad To Tårn had to close

2018?

I plan to do a hardcover book presenting all Norwegian breweries again. I’d love to make more out of the quiz material, too. This could be reused in other countries, and I also hope to do more live quizzes. And the ambition is to cover the Norwegian beer scene in English a bit more again. Not much, but a bit more.

A visit to Berlin in early January. And I definitely need to visit the UK. Not to speak of Belgium. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all beer people out there.

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A beer for the hero

 

Back in 2013, beer historian Martyn Cornell told the fascinating story about The Flying Pubs. After the invasion in Normandy, the British soldiers grew tired of the local cider. The solution was to fly in beer from England.

One of the RAF pilots involved in this was a Norwegian, Rolf Arne Berg, who was killed in action in early 1945.

I briefly summarized the story in Norwegian some time ago, challenging the Norwegian breweries to make a beer to honor Berg. His 100th anniversary was last month.

I am happy to tell that this idea was picked up by Øystein Kvåle, who lives in Orkanger, Berg’s home town. Øystein is involved in several beer and aquavit projects, and he brewed this beer in cooperation with Røros Bryggeri.

The beer is an amber ale with 4.7% alcohol. It has a lovely amber color, malty sweetness and a discreet bitterness that gives a good balance.  Nutty flavor. This would not be out of place in an English pub – in England or Normandy! A fine homage for a hero – and it is his photo on the label.

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Beer imitating art

Oslo is no longer just a place to escape from, it is a destination in itself. The cheap direct flights to Central and Southern Europe are not all filled with Norwegians, we get a fair amount of weekend trippers who want to visit us, too.

The newly developed area Tjuvholmen was buzzing with Italian, Catalan and German in addition to us natives and the Swedes who live and work among us. In the low winter sun the views of the city and the fjord were spectacular. Particularly around the Astrup Fearnley Museum, which displays spectacular pieces of modern art, one of the very few private institutions of its kind in Norway.

Steel, concrete and glass meets wood and water, you don’t have to buy a ticket to enjoy the spectacular architecture.

A museum needs a café, and Vingen has a splendid view. To my surprise it even has a decent beer list.

Of course there is a long list of coffee drinks to be had, and there is a food menu very much in the New Nordic style. But you also find beers from Dronebrygg, Oslo Brewing Company, Lervig, Oosterrijsen and Eiker Ølfabrikk. There is even a local cider.

Dronebrygg is closely associated with art, they are even located in the basement of Kunsternes hus, a foundation for promotin contemporary art. Some of their beers are connected to art events, others more mainstream.

On tap at Vingen was Dronebrygg Tennissball IPA. A hazy NEIPA at 6%. Lovely flavor of freshly squeezed grapefruit, refreshing and moreish. Nothing highly sophisticated here, just simple pleasure. Long bitter finish.

With temperatures below freezing, it is easy to find outside seating. Come summer, I’d grab a chair when they open. There is even a small public beach just around the corner.

 

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Advent Calendar #9 – Nøgne Ø Julequad

 

Norwegian Christmas beers have traditionally been sweet, malty beers, a relation to German Bock beers brewed for the same time of the year.

December is a month when we tend to buy a lot of beer, meaning there is now a broad spectrum of Christmas beers, covering lots of styles.

Some of my favorite seasonal brews from Norwegian breweries are in the strong Belgian style. Kinn has brewed Tomasmesse for several years, and Austmann offers Stille Natt. This year there is also an excellent quad from St. Hallvards. A newcomer is also this gem, Nøgne Ø Julequad. I don’t know if it is available in other countries.

If you want to pair this with food, a rich and mature cheese and some walnuts should do the trick.

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Advent Calendar #8 – Instead of stockings

Stockings and socks could mean two things around Christmas – stockings to be filled with candies and toys or stockings instead of more creative gifts.

The one on the left is a Stocking Stuffer from Little Brother brewery here in Oslo. It is a spiced red ale. The spice is prominent enough to make it most suitable for puddings and cakes. Available from their beers shop and growler fill Growleriet.

The one of the right is to be put under the tree. I found it in a bookshop in Berlin. A fun gift, though I have a suspicion the Little Brother beer is far better! And if you want spend a little more, order a growler with fresh beer to be picked up just before Christmas. There are a number of growler fills around the country now, including brewery outlets at Qvart, Graff, Lindheim and Voss.

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Advent calendar #7 – Keeping it local

I did a book promotion at Gummibaren in Drammen last night. No standing ovations, but a good conversation with those in attendance.

Drammen is half an hour from Oslo by train. The town itself has a population of about 65000, but if you count the surrounding communities you could double that. A sizeable town in the Norwegian scale of things.

Gummibaren has a fine range of beers to offer – all of them local. On tap you find local lager brewer Aass, the oldest brewery in the country. They have established their own micro brewery, and three of those beers are available, including a lager brewed with fresh spruce shots.

Additionally you find beers from Eiker Ølfabrikk, Hegg Ølkompani and Haandbryggeriet.

There is a good selection of beers from Aja Bryggeri, too. I really enjoyed this brand new IPA, really fresh and brewed with a liberal dose of lingonberries. Would be splendid with Norwegian Christmas fare.

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Advent Calendar # 4 -Don’t forget your local

I found this sign in Berlin – a Kietzkneipe is a local pub in Berlin slang. Sometimes that’s what you need. With your standard beer, some local heroes to hang out with. And if you ask them politely, you might convince them to order some bottles of your favorite brews. Ask some brewery reps to deliver a few samples.

I’m afraid I don’t have any local pubs in the neighborhood. But there  is one close to work I should step by more often. With a fine range of bottled beers and sidewalk seating in the summer.

That’s a new year’s resolution for me.

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