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Darren talks about the importance of hops in beer, speaks very bad Danish and rates a beer that smells of cats pee.

BeerSweden advises all beer lovers to prepare themselves over the weekend. Take long walks in the fresh air, drink plenty of water and have a couple of early nights because on Monday, March 15th a knee-weakening total of 17 new beers are being released simultaneously at the Systembolaget.

The Easter Bunny is taking it easy. He knows what's coming on Monday...

Nothing says Easter quite like the sight of bottles of Easter beer hitting the shelves of the Systembolaget and this year no less than 12 beers are going on sale – 10 of them from microbreweries!  In addition there are 5 exciting beers being introduced as part of the SB’s ‘mitt i månaden’ release for March – three of which I consider some of the best examples of their styles in the world right now!

I can barely contain myself so let’s get started with the Easter beers first. Here’s a look at what’s coming your way and a link to the Systembolaget’s homepage for more detailed information.

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Fantastic to see so many Swedish microbreweries making the list this year. BeerSweden broke the news about both the Easter beers from Sigtuna and I got particularly excited about Sigtuna Easter Ale, brewed using New Zealand Riwaka hops which gives it an amazingly intense burst of tropical fruit flavours. A must-buy!

Good to see Jämtlands Bryggeri back on the shelves with the welcome return of their very solid Påsköl. Also making a comeback are Nils Oscar with their Kalaspåsköl (which this year is a completely new recipe with a stronger, more rugged character), Oppigårds Easter Ale and the herby, spicy Pumpviken Påsköl from Nynäshamns Ångbryggeri.

Don’t forget Dugges Påsköl, a rich 6% ABV beer with the coolest label of the year so far and an invigorating hoppy taste and Blåkulla Påsköl from Slottskällans Bryggeri in Uppsala, which this year has gone all ecological.

Finally there are outings for both Spendrups with their Mariestads Påskbrygd and Carlsberg Sweden with Eriksberg Påsköl.

Turning to Denmark you rarely go wrong with a Mikkeller, so grab a bottle of their Hoppy Easter, a 6.6% ABV IPA which Mikkeller promises has a distinct German Tettang hop aroma. Less well known to me is Easter Bird from Fuglsang, an American-inspired ale made using Cascade and Simcoe hops.

That’s a round-up of the Easter beers for you. I think I’ll take the other 5 March releases in a separate post as they totally deserve your undivided attention! I’ll post more details in the next few hours.

Have a great weekend everyone, take it easy and get ready for the best Monday of 2010 so far………..