Last night I invited two very special guests to dinner – a loud and colourful American called Boris and a slightly odd but interesting Dane by the name of Jackie Brown.

Boris was the perfect companion to have around the dinner table. He really came into his own after the meal, entertaining us with his rich, dark roasted malts and thick tar and wood personality. He was surprisingly sweet at times too, with some creamy vanilla and brown sugar helping to tone down his more bitter edges.

The fact he had spent some time in a whisky cask was very obvious, finishing as he did on a refined smoky alcoholic note.

I’ve actually met a close relation of Boris before but he preferred to stay away from the whisky. I think I liked him just a little bit better. Still, if I was to rate this Boris – shockingly rude as it is to rate a dinner guest – I’d give him 4 out of 5. I’ll certainly be inviting him again.

Jackie Brown on the other hand was an altogether more intriguing figure at the dinner table. Jackie came with a reputation for being pretty foul-mouthed but as it turned out she was actually rather shy, particularly when it came to the chocolate and coffee flavours we were expecting given the six different types of malt she brought with her.

Coming from the brown ale family I was hoping she’d be rich but her malty nature never really shone through. She was strangely bitter in places having clearly spent a little too much time with her American hop buddies. Jackie was (again at the risk of sounding rude) a bit thin and we all thought she could do with putting on a bit more weight.

I liked Jackie but I had hoped she’d be a bit more interesting. I’d rate her 3 out of 5 and would probably invite her to dinner again, but only if she bought her friend Beer Geek Brunch Weasel along too.

It was only 9 days ago that we were bombarded with 12 Easter Beers and five rather special ‘middle of the month’ brews at the Systembolaget and the hits just keep on coming!

In just a few hours an additional 16 new beers will go on sale at the Swedish alcohol monopoly stores, among them some exciting brews from Europe, a couple of old campaigners from the UK as well as two Swedish brands that have practically been brought back from the dead (and maybe one or two that should have been left there).

Here’s a nuts and bolts linked-up list of the new beers being stacked on the shelves of the Systembolaget from 10am this morning:

Adnams The Bitter 500ml 19.90SEK Systembolaget Article Number 1686
Belhaven Wee Heavy  355ml 17.90SEK Systembolaget Article Number 1562
Bjørnebryg can 330ml 7.90SEK Systembolaget Article Number 1204
BrewDog Trashy Blond 330ml 15.90SEK Systembolaget Article Number 11581
Bryggmästarens Premium Guld  500ml 12.90SEK Systembolaget Article Number 1445
Carlsberg Hof PET bottle 500ml 15.10SEK Systembolaget Article Number 1365
Früli Strawberry Beer 250ml 14.90SEK Systembolaget Article Number 1586
Guldkällan 500ml 14.50SEK Systembolaget Article Number 1472
Jenlain Blonde 330ml (can) 12.90SEK Systembolaget Article Number 1387
Lager No 1 500ml 24.90SEK Systembolaget Article Number 1413
Mikkeller Jackie Brown 500ml 34.90SEK Systembolaget Article Number 1312
Mohawk Extra India Pale Ale 500ml 36.10SEK Systembolaget Article Number 1419
Pripps Blå  330ml 10.50SEK Systembolaget Article Number 11451
St Eriks Pilsner 330ml 15.90SEK Systembolaget Article Number 1453
Sailor PET bottle 330ml 12.90SEK Systembolaget Article Number 1431
TT Green Lager can 330ml 8.90SEK Systembolaget Article Number 1495

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Followers of this blog will already know what I think about Mohawk Extra IPA so if you like your beers hoppy get out there and buy it!. Mikkeller’s Jackie Brown from Denmark is also a given, as is BrewDog’s Trashy Blonde which I previously wrote briefly about in the very early days of this blog.

Adnams the Bitter and Belhaven Wee Heavy are two beers from the British Isles that are well made examples of their respective styles. Maybe not mould-breaking but then not every beer needs to be does it?

I’m looking forward to trying Lager No 1 from Dugges Ale & Porterbryggeri and seeing whether this innovative Swedish micro can make a beer with a bottom-fermenting yeast that is as interesting as the edgy ales and porters it is well known for.

The sight of Früli Strawberry Beer brings back horrible flashbacks of last year’s Hoegaarden Rosé but the word is that this Belgium wheat beer uses only real strawberry juice and no artificial essence. Let’s give it a chance!

Finally it’s a story of two bottles – the elegant and eye-catching St Eriks Pilsner – a resuscitated Swedish brand given the kiss of life by acclaimed Swedish brewer Jessica Heidrich and the downright tacky looking Sailor in a PET bottle, a sort of ”Carlsberg of the Caribbean” in all its mock plastic porcelain glory.

Danish brewer Mikkeller has certainly started the new year with a bang, producing the country’s strongest ever beer, a barley wine weighing in at 17.6% ABV.

Called Big Worst Barley Wine it is a development of Mikkeller’s previous beer of almost the same name (Big Worse Barley Wine – which was a mere 12% ABV) and is described as tasting like an orgy of hops, sugar and alcohol.