Yesterday on BeerSweden’s Facebook page I asked people to decide which beer should be the next reviewed here – the critcially acclaimed 1/2 idjit! imperial porter from Swedish micro Dugges in Gothenburg or a relatively unknown (and rather more difficult to get) amber ale produced by a Norwegian brewpub from Flåm that looks like it comes straight from the set of The Fellowship of the Ring.

The people voted (well about 5 of you actually) and asked for the Rallar – which meant I got to try my first ever beer from the Ægir Brewery, which has the distinction of being named Norway’s Brewpub of the Year in 2008.

The story behind this brewery’s name is wonderful. I’ll let their website explain:

”In Norse mythology, Ægir is described as a giant, the brother of Kári (Wind) and Logi (Fire) and the master of the ocean. Ægir’s hall is lit not by fire but instead by bright gold. Every year he invites the Norse gods to a great feast in his hall, Brime, where the beer and the food are magically transported to the guests and the drinking-horns fill themselves (editor’s note – got to get me one of those). According to Odin, Ægir brews the best ale. He has the world’s biggest brewing kettle, a mile deep, which Tor stole from the giant Hyme and gave to him. In Ægir’s hall the gods were never allowed to fight, and anyone making trouble was banished for all eternity (editor’s note – gulp…better be careful what I say then).”

All of Ægir’s beers are unpasteurised and unfiltered, which became pretty obviously the moment this beer hit my glass, pouring a murky chestnut brown with a noticeable yeast ‘throw’ as I reached the bottom of the bottle.

I wasn’t expecting a lot of hop character from this beer as amber ales tend to display a distinctively malty nature. Ægir uses no less than six different kinds of malts in Rallar. However I also wasn’t expecting the strong smells of yeasty bread dough it threw up. It was as though most of the freshness had already left this beer. It reminded me of the smell in the darkest parts of the woods in autumn, when mushrooms push through the wet fallen leaves and cover the roots of moss-covered trees.

To taste Rallar delivered a little more. The malts of course were there, giving the beer a nourishing, quite heavy feel with some brown syrup sweetness and faint chocolate. The hops were almost non-existent which made Rallar anything but refreshing.

Without wanting to incur the wrath of any gods I wasn’t that sold on Rallar Amber Ale. I understand that Norwegians are the butt of jokes here in Sweden very much like the Irish are to the English and the Canadians are to the Americans but Rallar Amber Ale could never be called a joke of a beer.

It’s completely missing a punchline.

(Editor’s note: 1/2 idjit next up!)

One of the most controversial and sought after names in world brewing right now is James Watt, who along with best friend Martin Dickie is the man behind maverick Scottish micro BrewDog.

BrewDog Head Brewer Martin Dickie (left) and Managing Director James watt are self-confessed rule-breakers.

In between creating radical new brews, inviting people to own a piece of BrewDog, planning the construction of the world’s first carbon-neutral eco-brewery and generally drawing up plans for world domination BeerSweden managed to track James down for an exclusive interview.

So here, in the first in a series of ‘5 Questions‘ interviews with the leading Swedish and international brewing industry figures behind the beers you’re drinking today is James Watt, BrewDog’s self-titled Head of Stuff.

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BeerSweden: BrewDog has been a huge hit since launching Punk IPA at the Systembolaget. Why do you think your beers have been so popular with Swedish beer drinkers and how important is the Swedish market for your company?

James: Sweden is a great place to be for great beer. There are plenty of awesome beers available in Sweden. For me the whole craft beer movement is so much stronger in Sweden than the UK and I think that is why our beers do well there. The Swedish market was our first ever export market and has been a key market for us ever since, our Swedish importer is our 2^nd biggest customer.  I was really excited the first time I was in Stockholm to see the enthusiasm, appreciation and understanding of great beer amongst the Swedish people – I wish we could have some more of that back in the UK!

I think Swedish people also relate really well to our branding with Punk IPA really standing out as an alternative type of beer and approach to beer marketing.

BeerSweden: What’s the philosophy behind BrewDog and its beers?

James: Martin and I were bored of the industrially brewed lagers and stuffy ales that dominate the UK market. We decided the best way to fix this undesirable predicament was to brew our own beers. Consequently in April 2007 BrewDog was born. Both only 24 at the time, we leased a building, got some scary bank loans, spent all our money on stainless steel and started making some hardcore beers. We wanted to redefine people’s perceptions about beer in the UK and elevate it’s status. We are committed to making the highest quality beers with the finest fresh natural ingredients. Our beers are in no way commercial or mainstream. We are unique and individual. We take classic beer styles and give them a contemporary spin and the customary BrewDog bite.

BeerSweden: You and BrewDog co-founder Martin Dickie are rarely out of the media spotlight these days, having been labelled the bad boys of brewing. Are you deliberately trying to upset ‘the establishment’ and if so why?

James: I think people have to realise how backward, traditional, stuffy and old-fashioned the beer culture is in the UK. To make matters worse all the regulators (such as our friends at The Portman Group) seem to be hell bent on protecting the interests of the corporate brewers. In addition, just to make things a little bit more difficult for a good (and cool) beer culture to develop, we have CAMRA – who I feel are responsible for holding back innovation in British brewing as well as giving craft beer a very un-cool image in the UK. When we are up against all this corruption and mediocracy the only way to make a statement and a stand is by breaking some rules, upsetting some trends, unsettling some stuffy institutions and breaking down tradition and convention. Craft beer has a long way to go in the UK, we are determined to spearhead the revolution.

Our biggest goal is to make other people as passionate about craft beer as we are. We want to raise awareness of craft beer and make it cool, contemporary and relevant in the UK.  I guess we just can’t do this without courting some controversy. And for a brand as punk as BrewDog, that is not always a bad thing.

BeerSweden: You’re currently inviting people to buy shares in BrewDog to raise money for a purpose-built eco-brewery in Scotland. Can you tell us more about your plans?

James: Sure, via www.equityforpunks.com anyone can buy a share in our company and own part of our brewery, our beers and our brand. It is a great opportunity for people to buy into the BrewDog vision, philosophy and ideal. We have had an amazing experience since we started BrewDog just over 2 years ago, this is peoples opportunity to share in our future journey and growth potential. By investing you will also have an involvement in how the company is run as you can vote on key decisions on the website and discuss plans in our forum.

BeerSweden: Lastly is there anything special going on in the dog house right now that you can tell BeerSweden regulars about?

James: As always at BrewDog we have a few very special things going on. Our product range is going to undergo some changes as we move into 2010, some beers will disappear but we have some amazing things lined up to replace them with. Abstrakt will be a series of limited edition directional, high-end beers packaged in half champagne bottles – a 18% IPA, Vanilla bean quad and a Raspberry oak aged imperial stout are all planned for the Abstrakt series. In addition we will be launching 5am Saint, an uber-hoppy 5% dark red ale, into our core range. Oh and we are currently working on a top, top  secret project to make a beer, the like of which has never been seen before-  but I can’t give too much away yet other than that it will launch at the end of November 2009….. The best place to keep up to date is the BrewDog blog: www.brewdog.com/blog.php or by following me on Twitter: @BrewDogJames

See a list of the Brewdog beers available at the Systembolaget here.

As a veteran of dozens of beer festivals and with the Örebro fest only a few weeks away I thought it might be useful to give you a quick 10-step guide on how to survive your next beer-athon.

1)      The secret to a successful festival is planning. As Benjie Franklin once said, “by failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail”. To be fair he was probably talking about national politics and not beer – but he still had a good point. What to do want to get out of your festival? Do you want to scoop some new beers, spend some one-on-one time with your favourite brewers or simply drink as much as you can before they shut the hall? Plan accordingly – visit the festival’s website to get a list of the exhibitors and beers available. Make a list of the ones you really want to try and stick to it!

2)      Before you get to the festival eat something. Drinking beer all day after a spinning session and a light salad isn’t going to cut it people. You’re more likely to go down faster than Zlatan in the penalty box. If you’re going to a beer festival you’re probably not that bothered about carbs – so line your stomach with stodgy foods like pasta, burgers or palt. But not all of them at once, otherwise you won’t have any room for the beer.

3)      Don’t – I repeat don’t – start drinking before you get to the festival. There’s often literally hundreds of beers to try inside so don’t be tempted to kick things off early. Festival organisers place a lot of emphasis (and money) on health and safety and if you turn up drunk there will probably be a guy looking like a condom full of walnuts (often called Johan) who will spin you around and send you on your way.

4)      Never drive to or from a festival. Check out public transport links or get a group of friends together and share a cab. Remember that things get pretty crazy at closing time so it’s always best to get in early and leave an hour before lock-down.

5)      If you have specific questions about a particular beer and want to have quality conversations with the good people working behind the stands get to the show early. After a couple of hours it will get more crowded than a Systembolaget store on a Friday afternoon and you won’t be able to hear a word.

6)      Don’t come to the show wearing a t-shirt that looks like this, or anything else remotely like it. If I’m there and working behind a stand I won’t serve you. I promise.

7)      Protect your official festival glass as though your liver depended on it. It’s the only thing exhibitors are supposed to pour beer into. Without it you’re about as useful as a one-legged ice hockey player.

8)      Drink water – and don’t give me any crap about beer being 96% water. It doesn’t wash with me. Alcohol is dehydrating, so when you’re rinsing your glass out between beers take a quick swig of water.

9)      Don’t get fooled by the small sample measures you’re trying – they all add up! At most fests you can try a 20cl sample or pay a bit more for a large measure (around 40cl). If you try 20 samples that’s 4 litres of (often) high octane beer with ABVs that could stop a grown elk in its tracks. Pace yourself!

10)  Most importantly enjoy yourself! Beer festivals are great place to experience new beers and meet fun people. Don’t be afraid to ask questions to the girls and guys working the stands – that’s the reason they’re there and they really like nothing better in life than to talk beer with you.