Posted on 25 augusti 2010. Tags: Beer review, Galatea, Jessica Heidrich, St Eriks Pompona Porter
A Porter. A collaboration between brewer Jessica Heidrich and Galatea. Available between 1st September – 14th November or while stocks last.
5.4% ABV. Systembolaget Article Number 11409-03. Price 19.90SEK (330ml bottle)
Look
A delicious looking dark dark brown porter with a thick, clingy cappuccino-coloured head. If you count the bottle too (which has been embellished and embossed) then this is one hell of a sexy looking beer!
Smell
Not surprisingly for a porter named after a type of vanilla the first thing to register with your olfactory system (also known as your nose) is creamy vanilla sauce, backed up by dark chocolate, juniper berries and burnt toast. After a while the vanilla subsides but the chocolate lingers on. I swear the smell of this beer was so rich I actually put on weight sniffing it. A 5 out of 5 aroma! 
Taste
The intensity of the nose somehow didn’t all transfer over to the taste of this porter. There’s a creamy vanilla sauce front and then things suddenly change and the flavours turn dry, bitter and roasted. The mouthfeel also seems to transform from medium bodied to a shade thin, making me think of an odd combination of BrewDog’s Zeitgeist watered down with Guinness. Bags of piquant roasted malt, chocolate and ink before a dry coffee-like finish.
Food
With its distinctive vanilla and chocolate character this porter screams out to be paired with a rich chocolate cake and other chocolate-based dessert.
Nerd Note
Pompona Porter is the latest edition to the revitalised S:t Eriks family of beers created by Swedish brewer Jessica Heidrich and Galatea. The fact Jessica has experimented with vanilla with this popular Swedish beer brand demonstrates just how exciting and adventurous beer making in this country is right now. At 5.4% this has a lot of the coffee and chocolate flavours you’ll find in more rugged US porters but has a far higher degree of drinkability. If you like vanilla that is!
Score
Posted in Beer Reviews
Posted on 22 augusti 2010.
A Premium Lager
From Jämtlands Bryggeri (with a little help from Oliver Twist and Akkurat in Stockholm)
5.1% ABV. Systembolaget Article Number 11460. Price 22.80SEK (500ml bottle)
Light copper colour with a typical lager-looking head that fades quite quickly.
One word. Butter. It’s a though someone has melted a packet of Bregott into my glass. I love butter (if I had to take one item of food with me to a desert island it would be butter) but I don’t want excessive amounts of it in my beer. Behind the butter there’s wood, hay and young sour pears.
The butter blast continues in the taste, with a rich, ‘fat’ sweetness of pears and butterscotch before something rather remarkable happens that saves this beer from being ignominiously poured away. Hell’s saving grace is its hops, devilishly delivering am electric shock of floral-citrus flavours that practically brand your tongue with bitterness. They go a long way to offsetting the all that overpowering butter – but not all the way.
If I could spread this beer on toast it would be delicious. I can imagine Hell being a good choice at a crayfish party with its buttery component melding with the rich meat of a crayfish tail while the flowery, earthy bitterness plays nicely with the dill.
Nerd note
I’m sorry but I must be a sinner because I really don’t get Hell (which is one of the most highly decorated Swedish beers ever). The buttery aroma and flavour I put down to diacetyl, a naturally occurring by-product of fermentation which at the right levels is welcome in many beer styles, adding a sense of richness and ‘slipperiness’ to beer. In Hell however things have gone too far, resulting in the feeling of drinking liquid croissants. In 2006 I rated it (saying “on the back label they say it’s a ’Hellava’ beer, but I’ll look to Heaven for my next drink”) and gave it 3 out of 5. Four years later I see no reason to change my mind.
Posted in Beer Reviews
Posted on 18 augusti 2010. Tags: Guinness Extra Stout, Review
A Stout
Brewed by St James Gate (Diageo)
5% ABV. Systembolaget Article Number 1561. Price 16.50. (330ml bottle)
Is there a more instantly recognisable beer pour in the world than this one? Guinness is iconic because of its colour and the 'cascade' effect when it is poured that causes it to shape-shift from creamy vanilla to caramel brown before slowly (after 119.53 seconds to be exact) settling down into its familiar inky black look. On closer inspection Guinness isn't black at all but rather dark ruby red. The chocolate coloured head is thick, stubborn and sticky.
Fruity, roasted aromas with a touch of classroom blackboard, some liquorice and mild coffee and chocolate tones. Compared to modern stouts Guinness just isn't keeping up and lacks both power and complexity.
Medium sweet front end with a taste of muscovado sugar and from then on it's all burnt malts, expresso coffee and tar. I also get some fireside flavours too. Imagine sucking on a small lump of charcoal and you're getting close. Mild bitter finish but it's the acrid burnt malt flavours that you'll remember most. Overall I had a sense of drinking a brand more than a beer.
One of the classic beer and food pairings is Guinness and oysters and who am I to argue! Don't stop there though as Guinness adds a delicious contrast to nearly all shellfish, including crab, lobster and crayfish. A hearty Irish stew is also a great companion, as is beef and game.
Nerd note
For me Guinness is like one of those nice aunts you only ever see once every few years. You never think about it until you see it, you enjoy each others company for a brief while and then you go on to completely forget about it again. Guinness is one of the most instantly recognisable brand names in history (probably....) and is synonymous with the Irish stout style. It gets much of its distinctive 'burnt' flavours from roasted unmalted barley. For me Guinness is best enjoyed either on draft or in bottle as Guinness Foreign Extra Stout, a deliciously rich 7.5% ABV version.
Posted in Beer Reviews
Posted on 17 augusti 2010. Tags: Avery Brewing, New World Porter, Review
A porter
Avery Brewery Company, Colorada, USA
6.7% ABV. Systembolaget Article Number 11738. 26.40 SEK (355ml bottle)
This is a pretty looking porter with a dense black body (actually hold it up to the light and it's deep, deep brown with a splash of red wine colour) under a compact, fluffy mud brown head.
Oh I like this! Thick smells of dark chocolate, dark roasted coffee (that reminds me of those small intense cups of café noir served in French cafés), brown sugar, salty liquorice, caramel fudge and nuts. There's also an underlying whiff of wood, earth and citrus (more like the peel of lemons rather than the juice) from the tag team of Colombus and Fuggles hops. I found myself sniffing this beer for ages before drinking it.
This beer draws you in with its oily texture, coating the mouth with sweet flavours of dark fruit, orange and chocolate. Then it suddenly turns on you, delivering a bitter slap in the face of pine needles, liquorice and sap. There's a load of roasted flavours in here that border on being burnt and induce a long drying finish. Perhaps the body is a little skinny and I get an unsettling off-flavour (I wrote plastic bin liners but that can't be right, can it?).
This porter would embrace a sweet chocolate cake (kladdkaka) as its dry and bitter roasted character would balance out the sweetness in the cake perfectly.
Nerd note
Avery's New World Porter owes its intense hop aroma and tastes to the fact it has been dry-hopped, which means that dry hops have been introduced into the beer after fermentation. Dry hops add no bitterness to the beer but the technique does often 'give back' some aromatic oils that are normally lost in the boiling process.
Posted in Beer Reviews
Posted on 14 augusti 2010. Tags: beer, Harvest Ale, Nils Oscar, Review
An Amber Ale
Nils Oscar Bryggeri, Nyköping
5.5% ABV. Systembolaget Article Number 11424. Price 26.90SEK (500ml bottle)
I was taken off-guard by the colour of this beer, incorrectly (as it turned out) thinking this would be a rich yellow colour like a field of Autumn barley. As it turns out it is amber-red and has all the hallmarks of a Scottish ale in appearance. A slightly smutty white head completes the show.
In-your-face sweet, with caramel, toast and a berry fruit I couldn't really place but settled for blackcurrant. Problem is the fruit doesn't smell fresh. It's like the difference between smelling fresh fruit and fruit preserved in syrup that comes out of a tin. It's OK but it's not 'authentic' and it didn't convince me.
The Amarillo hops are barely there buried under a heap of caramel malt flavours. It's all a little thin and sweetly one-dimensional for me. I was expecting a harvest ale to be chewy, nutty and nutritious - the cream of the crop squeezed into a bottle. What I got left me feeling somewhat undernourished.
I'm going to treat this beer like a Scottish ale. Its sweet and chewy toffee character is the perfect match to meats that have been glazed with a sweet BBQ sauce and have a crisp, crunchy skin. Imagine taking a sip after a mouthful of real vanilla ice-cream!
Nerd note
This is a 'lagom' effort by Nils Oscar. Like watching Anders Lundin hosting Allsång på Skansen it's pleasant - quite OK. Question is: is OK good enough from a brewery that I rate so highly?
Posted in Beer Reviews
Posted on 12 augusti 2010. Tags: Dugges Ale & Porterbryggeri, Dugges No 1 Lager, No1, Review
A Premium Lager
Dugges Ale & Porterbryggeri, Gothenburg
4.7% ABV. Systembolaget Article Number 1413. 24.90SEK (500ml bottle)
This lager has a rich golden amber body (far more colour than a standard macro lager) and topped with a 'bubble bath' white head that recedes quite quickly but what's left sticks to the glass stubbornly. To look at it reminds me more of an American Pale Ale than a normal lager.
Very soft nose of fresh peaches and apricots and none of the pine or grapefruit I was expecting. This combines nicely with grain, some young wood and a drop of honey. It's all rather mild and pleasant and working in harmony. Perhaps a shade too subdued for a Dugges....?
This is a VERY drinkable lager. OK, so there's nothing it does exceptionally well but then there's nothing it does badly either. The peach and apricot sweetness is the first thing you pick up, complemented by some nice light biscuit malt (like Mariekex) before a mild and crisp green tea bitter finish. It is softly carbonated and leans towards an ale in terms of mouth feel, only adding to the drinkability factor in my book.
This premium lager would pair well with Asian food, grilled halloumi (which I tried it with - delicious!), crayfish, pork, chicken and pizza. It is also the sort of beer you can enjoy on its own. A real thirst quencher!
Nerd note
This is the first ever lager from Gothenburg-based Dugges, a Swedish craft brewery that is well known for its eye-catching 'Miami Vice' style bottle labels and cheeky brand names (such as Bollox!). Hallertau Brewers Gold, Cascade and Columbus provide the hop hit and lend a soft fruitiness that lifts it well clear of standard lagers to somewhere just short of American Pale Ale territory. It's not particularly ground-breaking but then neither are ZZ Top but I like listening to their music every now and again. Great first lager release from Dugges - more please!
Posted in Beer Reviews
Posted on 11 augusti 2010. Tags: beer, Mohawk Barely Wine, Review, Sigtuna Brygghus, Stefan Gustavsson, Wicked Wine
A Barley Wine
A colloboration between Wicked Wine and Stefan Gustavsson. Brewed at Sigtuna Brygghus.
10.5% ABV - Systembolaget Article Number TBC. 36.40 SEK (330ml bottle)
Reassuring burst of CO2 upon opening. Cloudy cognac colour under a roasted corn-coloured head that quickly evaporates. There's an intriguing deep amber/red tinge to it. It looks old - like the cover of an antique leather-bound book.
Straight away the English heritage of this beer shines through. The candy-spicy-floral notes from the Goldings hops are layered over a rich, bread-dipped-in rum body. It's completely lacking any US grapefruit and pine vibes - Hallelujah! There's wood in there too. It smells like an old staircase that someone's painted with treacle. Biggest negative is that there's a hint of solvent from all the booze. It's muscling its way through the malt, saying "look at me, look at me!!!" This beer needs some time.
Before I start describing the tastes I've got to mention the mouth feel. There is hardly any carbonation here at all. The beer is incredibly smooth, with just a tickle of gentle effervescence in the finish. Treacle, treacle, treacle, melted brown sugar, nutty, toffee pecan ice-cream (without the ice-cream), molases, some dry leafy tea notes. Taste starts off as sweet then transmogrifies into a balancing dry, nutty middle and finishes with a warming boozy glow. There's reputedly 100 IBUs in here but it is perfectly checked by the treacle sweetness.
Barley wine is one of, if not the, greatest cheese beer there is and often knocks wine flat on its back. US BWs (which tend to be more hoppy and tropically sweet than English BWs) are fab with Blue/Gorgonzola, while the drier, nuttier, more raisin-like English BWs go hand and glove with mature cheddars and a stinky chunk of English Stilton.
Nerd note
Mohawk Barley Wine joins a very exclusive club of Swedish craft beers that have strayed over 10% ABV. What makes this beer particularly interesting is that it is brewed using only Goldings hops from Kent in the UK (and is dry hopped with them too for extra intensity) and this classic hop's signature candy-spice-floral notes are clearly evident in the nose and taste. Personally I think it's running a bit hot right now and would benefit from a few years of ageing in order for the residual sugars to calm down and the booze to soften out. I'm scoring it as it tastes today, but can imagine it might easily increase a half point in years to come.
Posted in Beer Reviews
Posted on 31 juli 2010. Tags: Barcelona, Estrella Damm, San Miguel Especial, Spanish Beer
If you’ve ever wandered around one of those variety ‘value’ stores (as they like to call themselves) such as ÖB or Dollar Store in Sweden you’ll probably have come out of it clutching a thin plastic bag full of what you hope will be a bargain but what you really know will be a complete waste of money.*
But seriously, you’ve only got yourself to blame if you really think that electric power drill for 129 SEK is going to do any more than tickle a brick wall or one of those six-man tents (with matching collapsible chairs) for 499 SEK made of Bangalore-Tex™ will actually succeed in keeping the rain out.
However millions of us are prepared to take the chance and buy this ‘Made in China’ crap anyway because at the end of the day we all love the idea of getting a bargain – even when it really isn’t one.
Now if these ‘value’ stores were to ever sell beer the type of beer they’d probably sell would be something like San Miguel Especial or Estrella Damm. And no doubt they’d sell lots of it too, as this is exactly the sort of pile-it-high-sell-it-cheap beer that bargain hunters are looking for.
Although Estrella Damm (Systembolaget Art No. 11514) and San Miguel Especial (Systembolaget Art No. 1585) are actually both made in Barcelona (remember most San Miguel you’ve probably drunk is about as Spanish as Manuel in Fawlty Towers) they are really only cheap homogenized copies of lager. I call them ‘Made in China’ beers.
In the glass they look practically the same but it’s San Miguel Especial’s higher ABV (5.4% as opposed to 4.6%) that makes it taste the sweeter of the pair. I also get some faint corn and grain flavours too. Imagine putting your breakfast cereal through a blender and adding a teaspoon of white sugar and you’re getting close. Estrella Damm is a little drier, more grassy and crisper. Of the two it’s the most drinkable but it’s still about as memorable as the last time I hoovered the house.
I’m giving San Miguel Especial 1.5 out of 5 and Estrella Damm 2 out of 5 (mainly because the bottle comes across as being a shade more ‘authentic’)
Better than ‘nada’ but if I were you I’d ‘intentar algo más’
*Admit it, you’ve done it haven’t you!
** The reason I’m drinking Spanish beer is because my family has been playing host to a couple of future stars from the Barcelona Football Club youth team this past week. That also explains the photograph.
*** What happened to the the San Miguel 0,0% Manzana you ask? I’ve decided to hold fire on reviewing this beer and will feature it, along with a selection of other non-alcoholic ‘beers’ in an upcoming episode of BeerSweden TV.
Posted in Beer Reviews
Posted on 29 juli 2010. Tags: Närke Kulturbryggeri, Närke Stormaktsporter 2008, Review
An Imperial Porter
Närke Kulturbryggeri, Örebro, Sweden
9.5% ABV. A 250ml bottle that is not available at Systembolaget but through selected bars only.
As dark as an afternoon in northern Sweden in the depths of winter this beer is simply spectacular to look at in the glass. With most other beers a casual glance is all that is required but this beer grabs your attention and never lets it go. The thick, impenetrably black and oily-looking body resides under the most impressive cinnamon head of any beer I have seen in years. Watching this beer while you give it a whirl is like watching Avatar for the very first time - visually overwhelming.
And so to the smell and where to begin.....chocolate powder sprinkled over liquorice, slightly over-ripe prunes (which combined with the alcohol reminded me of the heady eau-de-vie de prune I sometimes drink when I'm down in southern France), burnt fruitcake, roasted nuts, tar, a touch of pavement, tobacco leaves and a splash of caffè macchiato. And that's just for starters........
All the aromas, and I mean every single one of them, cross over into the taste of the beer so I won't repeat myself. What deserves to be pointed out is the mouth feel, with a simultaneous sensation of oiliness and creaminess that's as baffling is it is amazing. The 9.5% ABV is deftly carried with an elegance and 'lightness' that is unrivalled in other beers I have tasted.
Don't bother. This beer has more than enough flavours to keep you happy. Sip it, savour it and take your time.
Nerd note
This is the second highest rated beer in Sweden, with only its 'big brother' Kaggen Stormaktsporter ahead of it. I've lost count of the amount of times I've tasted a hyped beer and been disappointed by the reality in the glass but not with this beer. It doesn't just live up to the headlines, it surpasses them. If you ever want to experience true beer artistry get yourself to one of the few pubs in Sweden that sell it and buy a bottle. You shouldn't care how much it costs because I promise you it will be worth every single öre.
Posted in Beer Reviews
Posted on 14 juli 2010. Tags: budget beer, Halmstad Sommar Lager, Sweden
If Halmstad Sommar Lager was a film character it would be Forest Gump. A little simple but full of a naive enthusiasm you simply can’t help but like.
On the surface it’s very plain to look at. The bottle label is all shiny and cheap looking, as though it was designed as a last-minute homework assignment by a fifth form art student.
In the glass a watery gold body sits under a standard bleached white head. It looks like, well, the way most industrial lagers look.
But like a box of chocolates sometime with beer you never know what’s in it until you take the first sip.
Halmstad Sommar Lager (Systembolaget Article No. 11410. 4.7ABV. 11.90SEK for a 330ml bottle) is brewed with Dutch elderflower and its subtle lemony green flavour is the soft centre of this beer, wrapped in a layer of young malt and cereal grain.
There’s a gentle level of carbonation and the metallic fizz of many industrial lagers is thankfully absent, as is any suggestion of hoppy bitterness.
On the label it says serve ice cold and I’m seconding that. A beer this simple benefits from being chilled down and it boosts its drinkability credentials through the roof.
Halmstad Sommar Lager is my ‘surprise beer’ of the summer so far from a brewery I have not had many positive things to write about until now. I’m giving it 3 out of 5, with minus points for the label design (just because a beer is cheap it doesn’t have to look cheap) and lots of plus points for the price tag (come on….11.90 SEK? What’s not to like?).
Could I have just drunk the best budget summer beer of 2010?
Posted in Beer Reviews
