Posted on 03 september 2011. Tags: Beer review, Mohawk Rye Lager
A Rye Lager
From Mohawk Brewing Company (Stefan Gustavsson). Brewed at Gamla Slottskällans Bryggeri
5.3% ABV. Systembolaget Article Number 95370. 26.90SEK (500ml bottle)
Pours a bright clear orangey copper colour. In fact it's so intensely copper it almost looks unreal, like the tan on a Venice Beach bodybuilder. Egg-shell white head that fizzles away quickly and never returns.
This is a lager, so you can pretty much bet on white bread, corn, some straw and maybe, if you're lucky, no metal, right? Wrong - Mohawk Rye Lager signals its intention to stick out from the get-go. Intriguing aroma of hawthorn/sea-buckthorn and passionfruit, with the rye contributing mint leaves and spicy Knäckerbröd. One of the most interesting lager noses I've experienced in ages!
Again it's the rye that sets this lager apart from the rest. Medium sweet up front, with some delicate fruity esters of peach and passionfruit and a nice vein of caramel. Then the rye kicks in, disrupting the sweetness with the edgy dryness of mint and white pepper. Very soft carbonation, bordering on being a little flat. Nice drying finish.
I can see this beer pairing with a whole range of different foods. Lagers are often paired with more simple dishes (such as chicken or white fish) or used to take the sting out of spicy foods such as Mexican or Indian. However the grainy gruffness of this rye lager gives it the edge to take on more intense flavours and I can imagine mixing it with crayfish, pork and a homemade pizza topped with parma ham and green olives.
Nerd note
Almost 20% of the grain bill of this beer is rye - and it really shows. Rye is not a grain that brewers tend to look forward to working with due to its tendency to create a sticky mash prone to setting. In the case of this beer however it was well worth the risk as in my opinion it ranks as one of the most interesting Mohawks to date!
Posted in Beer Reviews
Posted on 26 augusti 2011. Tags: Beer review, St Eriks, ST Eriks Rauköl
A smoked beer
From Three Towns Independent Brewers (recipe by Jessica Heidrich)
5.9% ABV. Systembolaget Article Number 11705-03. 23.90SEK (330ml bottle)
Pours an iridescent amber with a tight pinpoint white head.
Ahhh smoked beer. It's all about the smell isn't it? Obviously there's smoke here but it's a gentle, sweet smoky smell rather than an outback bushfire that's got out of control. Also freshly split birch trees, a splash of TCP and more than a hint of Laphroig action. Not much bacon (in my book a good thing). Perhaps half a rasher.
I was instantly struck by the richness of the beer. If you took away the signature smoke element you’d still be left with a fine tasting malty, fruity beer. Whispy smoke through the mid palate and a smouldering medium bitter finish . The smoke in no way overpowers but drifts provocatively through the palate. In my opinion a perfect introduction to the smoked beer style!
Where to start? Smoked fish (I’d kill for a kipper with this), smoked meats, a powerful chilli and any smoked versions of cheeses like Gruyère, Gouda or cheddar are going to be amazing. Why not dig out and flame up the BBQ again one last time and prepare some hickory smoked chicken?
Nerd note
S:t Rauköl is the first Swedish Rauchbier ever launched at the Systembolaget (Rauchbiers come from Germany and the most famous examples from the city of Bamberg in Bavaria). It gets its distinctive smoky aromas and flavours from the use of birch-smoked malts from Gotland, where it is made in small batches of only a few hundred kilos. The malting and drying process takes four days and is only done a few times in the spring and autumn when the nights are cool. Smoked beer is a style that tends to divide opinion but I'd strongly recommend 'first-timers' to try a bottle together with smoked food - a pairing that can be as spectacular as it is obvious.
Posted in Beer Reviews
Posted on 25 augusti 2011. Tags: Beer review, Sigtuna Höstporter
A Porter
From Sigtuna Brygghus, Sigtuna, Sweden.
5.5% ABV. Systembolaget Article Number 11806. 24.90SEK (500ml bottle)
Pours a muddy brown with a thick, spongy chestnut brown head. Looks 'old world' - the sort of beer you'd have expected to see in the tankards of hard-working men in 18th century London.
It's clear from the get-go this porter isn't going to be sweet. Nutty, earthy, dark chocolate nougat, charred wood and cigar ash combine to present a dry, stoutish aroma. Nice!
On the bottle label it describes this porter as stout-like and I couldn't agree more. Lots of dark, heavily roasted flavours pushing through, wiping out any suggestion of residual sweetness in a heartbeat. Unfortunately you're then left with a rather drying acrid bitterness, like sucking on cigar ash. The lack of sugar is also noticeable in the 'body' of the beer, which feels a little thin, exacerbating the bitterness even more.
Thank goodness Autumn is nearly here because this beer needs rich heavy stews and slabs of sweet dark meat to meld with. Pair with sickliest sweet chocolate desserts you can find and I'm certain the burnt 'n' bitter tones of the beer will tame the sugar without any problem. Or just pour into a cognac glass and suck on a big fat Cohiba.
Nerd note
The name porter was first used in 1721 (although there is plenty of heated beery debate about this) to describe a dark beer popular with street and river porters of London. What made it special was the liberal use of roasted malts. Stronger versions of porter become known as stout porters (with stout denoting the beefy alcohol content) and later the word porter was dropped and a new beer style was born. Porters in my experience (and this is by no means a consistent rule) tend to be slightly more chocolate and fruit sweet than stouts, which lean towards more black, expresso bitter roasted flavours.
Posted in Beer Reviews
Posted on 17 augusti 2011. Tags: Beer review, Lasko Club Export
A Pilsner-style beer
From Pivovarna Laško, Laško, Slovenia
4.9% ABV. Systembolaget Art No. 89807 (Beställningssortiment) 12.30 SEK 330ml bottle
Textbook pale lager look, with a crystal clear spectral golden body and bleached white head that sparkles out to a thin ring. That's if you pour it into the glass of course. In my opinion this is exactly the sort of beer I'd probably neck straight from the cool looking bottle.
Mild smells of caramel, young grain, water biscuits, grass and faint citrus hops. Nothing's out of place but nothing stands out either.
Positives first. There's a faint but pleasing citrus vibe to this beer that sets it apart from many of the more anonymous 'Euro lagers' out there. There's also a refreshing and not over-assertive level of CO2 so drinkability is high. In the mid-palate I got a pleasant hit of light caramel. And so to the negatives - there is practically no bitter finish which would have added more personality to the beer. However my biggest minus - the lack of any real backbone - could well be another's person's plus. This is a well made representative of its genre - a Euro Pale Lager with a hint of character.
Light flavours should be matched with light foods. Chicken, white fish and simple pasta dishes would work, and Laško's faint citrus flavour could make it an usual choice to pair with this year's crayfish. Personally I think this beer is best enjoyed chilled and straight from the bottle.
Nerd note
Pivovarna Laško is Slovenia's largest brewery and has 'traditionally been brewing with love since 1825' with the exception of a couple of halts in production, including a two year stop due to a bomb during World War II intended for a nearby bridge which accidentally destroyed the brewery.
Posted in Beer Reviews
Posted on 03 augusti 2011. Tags: Avery Brewing Salvation, Beer review, Review
A Belgium Strong Ale
From Avery Brewing Company, Colorado USA
9% ABV. Systembolaget Article Number 11171. 79.90SEK (650ml bottle)
Let’s take the bottle first which has a spectacularly detailed label entitled ‘The Holy Trinity of Ales’ which looks like it could have been taken from some ancient Christian icon (nice touch with the figure at the centre of the table holding a glass of beer!). In the glass the beer is a surprisingly light golden colour with a thin, fizzy white head that collapses quickly.
Alcoholic marmalade, melted sweets, bananas, toffee and nutmeg. And more alcohol.
This beer shows its yeasty Belgium colours very quickly, with complex flavours of bananas, coriander, hard toffee, nutmeg and cinnamon. Quite sweet with a boozy ‘mint mouthwash’ finish. Runs a little too hot for me.
Avery recommends pairing with dishes featuring mushrooms, such as Mushroom Melange on Crepe that they claim will bring out the herbal and spicy characteristics of the Styrian Goldings hops used in Salvation.
Nerd note
Salvation is the third instalment in a ‘holy trinity’ of ales from Avery. The first was Hog Heaven, followed more recently by The Reverend and the circle is now complete with Salvation. All big sinful beers.
Posted in Beer Reviews
Posted on 11 juli 2011. Tags: Beer review, Norway, Nøgne Ø Dark Horizon Third Edition
An Imperial Stout
From Nøgne Ø, Grimstad, Norway
15.5% ABV. 250ml Bottle in Metal Presentation Tube. No longer available at Systembolaget. Gift.
Looks like a pool of melted liquorice with an alcazeltzer dropped into it. Slighty hazy with a tan head that violently fizzles into thin air (which is not so surprising given the high alcohol content).
Slightly burnt cocoa beans, rich dark chocolate cake, ground coffee and figs. Intense rummy alcohol vibe. It's the beer's way of telling you it's going to be sweet and sugary....
which it is! An almost ridiculous amount of sugar is left in this beer, dominating the cold coffee and figgy pudding flavours and unfortunately reducing the complexity of the experience of drinking it. There's little suggestion of the heavyweight ABV (the sweetness smothers it). It's a solid Imperial Stout but one-dimensionally sugary for me.
This is a beer that benefits from pairing with food as on its own (and even it its slimmed-down 25cl bottle) it's too rich for me to finish by myself. I tried it with a buttery rhubarb pie smothered with vanilla sauce and the dark roasted coffee flavours played off superbly against the slightly tart rhubarb while the vanilla sauce brought the rich muscavado sugar flavours under control.
Nerd note
This is the third edition of Dark Horizon, which is turning into something of a beery happening every time it is launched. Nøgne's co-founder and brewer Kjetil Jikiun says the idea behind every edition is made by people working at the brewery in Grimstad and can take weeks or months to evolve. What's for sure is that it will be different from the last Dark Horizon as Nøgne has promised never to reproduce a DH. Big thanks to Christer from Norway for giving this bottle to me :)
Posted in Beer Reviews
Posted on 12 maj 2011. Tags: Beer review, De Ranke, Guldenberg
A Belgium Strong Ale
From Brouwerij De Ranke, Belgium
8.5% ABV. Systembolaget Article Number 11520. 26.90SEK (330ml bottle)
The kind of 'homebrew hazy' that you expect from a beer that is unfiltered and unpasteurised. Topped with a large, lacy brilliant white head.
Flowery, fruity yeast smells of pear, cumin, pepper and a faint hint of caramel sweetness. Undeniably Belgium.
When you use the noble German Hallertau hops for bittering, then aroma and finally dry-hopping a beer you can expect your tastebuds to get a real workout. And in Guldenberg they do, although the spicy phenols and an almost marshmallow-like sweetness manage to distract your senses from the earthy bitter finish. The beer left an odd after-taste in my mouth that I can only describe as 'chewing wooden pencils in class'. All these complex elements (there's more than a suggestion of Saison to this beer) nevertheless combine to build a surprisingly light and thirst quenching beer, despite the high ABV. It's challenging stuff this!
Herb encrusted pork would pair wonderfully and the candy sugar and fruit elements make Guldenberg something of a cloudy dessert wine. Why not try to poach some pears in it and serve with home-made vanilla ice-cream lightly topped with caramel sauce?
Nerd note
De Ranke is one of my favourite Belgium artisan breweries producing a small but quality selection of beers (headlined by the stunning XX Bitter). Guldenberg is a take on the Tripel abbey ale style although not as sweet and refined but a little more rough around the edges, which I actually like. The name came from the former Guldenberg Abbey in Wevelgem, the village where Nino, one of the brewers, was born.
Posted in Beer Reviews
Posted on 03 maj 2011. Tags: Beer review, Mikkeller, Mikkeller Koppi Odoo Shakiso Coffee IPA
A coffee IPA
From Mikkeller. Brewed at De Proefbrouwerij, Belgium
6.9% ABV. Systembolaget Article No. 11501. 330ml bottle. 39.00SEK
Pours a partially opaque, dirty orange colour with a sudsy, sticky tan head.
If you've tried lots of different beer styles you'll know that coffee is an aroma commonly found in many beers, particularly the darker, more brooding varieties like porters and stouts. However this is only the second time you'll find such a prominent coffee buzz in an IPA, as this is only the second coffee IPA ever released (and guess what, Mikkeller brewed the first one to). Smells of lightly roasted granulated coffee mixed with oranges, lime juice and vanished wood. It's no way as inviting as the first coffee IPA from Mikkeller but it is utterly fascinating to sniff.
Like one of those dainty innocent looking cups of Italian expresso it only takes a second for this beer to go on a full frontal attack, except the bitter war it wages takes place in the back third of your mouth, where the citrus acidity of the Tomahawk dukes it out with the roasted coffee beans in a fight this beer really never recovers from. The combination of piny hop and roasted coffee does however leave a sharp, almost metallic bitter sensation in my mouth (as though I'd licked the bottom of a cast iron pot) that lingers....and lingers....and lingers.....
Hmmm - tough call this one, as I don't see it working where 'traditional' IPAs normally fit such as with Thai and Indian cuisine. It's suitably bitter in my opinion to need some meaty sweetness to play off against, so how about borrowing from the African theme of the coffee and pairing it with Mrouzia Moroccan sweet lamb with almonds and apricots (http://www.grouprecipes.com/54828/mrouzia-moroccan-sweet-lamb-with-almonds-and-apricots.html)?
Nerd note
I suppose it finally had to happen didn't it. A Mikkeller beer that I didn't absolutely fall in love with. Strange too that I found Mikkeller's first coffee IPA (http://www.beersweden.se/archives/6155) so drinkable yet this second generation version so difficult to like. Maybe it's the fact that I'm an English tea-drinker at heart but I found the combination of hops and coffee threw this particular beer way off balance, leaving a weird and frankly unpleasant aftertaste. Perhaps my coffee-drinking Swedish friends will have more empathy for it, but I will probably stick to drinking my beer and my coffee in separate glasses from now on.
Posted in Beer Reviews
Posted on 28 april 2011. Tags: Beer review, Schneider Weisse Tap 4 Mein Grunes, Tap 4
A German Hefeweizen
From Weissbierbrauerei G. Schneider & Sohn
6.2% ABV. Systembolaget Article No. 1507. 500ml bottle. 21.90SEK
Everything you would hope a wheat beer should look like, Cloudy caramel coloured body with a billowing fluffy white head.
Wow this is complex! A compelling mixture of Juicy Fruit chewing gum (http://www.wrigley.com/global/brands/juicy-fruit.aspx) and the contents of half of the spice rack in your kitchen. There's pinches of cloves, nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon and coriander in here and I'm also picking up cherry pips and apple too. Fascinating! The customary yeasty banana phenols show up of course but its the spices that dominate the nose on this beer.
The spice rack character continues into the flavour, layered over a pleasantly sweet bready malt base. Vein of acidity adds refreshment although clashes in places with the spice. Alcohol is deceptively non-existent in a beer this refreshing.
Hefeweizens are great warm weather beers, so drink them with summer salads, grilled halloumi, steamed mussels or with this much spice why not munch on a slice of pizza!
Nerd note
Weissbierbrauerei G. Schneider & Sohn is Bavaria's oldest wheat beer brewery and Tap 4 is brewed using only organic ingredients in open fermentation vessels. Its important to drink it chilled straight from the fridge so it retains its crispness and when it's right a hefeweizen can be one of the best summer beer styles out there.
Posted in Beer Reviews
