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?
Rating
2.5 of 5
