Well we finally made it!

After over a year of filming in all weathers and giving every new beer we could get our hands on a whirl we’ve reached the magic 100th episode of BeerSweden TV!

We’ve come a long way Trev and I since the early days waaaaay back in March 2010 when we kicked things off with a tasting of Easter beers in the badly lit basement of my house. Along the way we’ve drunk fruity beers with a TV celebrity (who, after appearing on BSTV has gone on to far greater things), knocked over a Penguin on a ski slope, danced the embarrassingly ridiculous sort of dance you see at wedding parties and worn a skirt while carrying an axe.

And that’s just for starters!

So when it came to choosing the theme for our 100th episode we wanted to do something that we believe has never been done before – the first beer and fermented herring tasting on video. It really did seem a good idea on paper. Now I understand why nobody’s done it before.

Now this episode does go on a bit. In fact it’s almost 20 minutes long, which with today’s shrinking attention spans means most of you will start drumming your fingers and think about going to get a cup of coffee around the time I’m asking Trev if this really is TV, what we do?

Sorry about that.

However we wanted to leave all the twisted facial expressions and retching sounds in so you get an uncut look at our experience. I hope it doesn’t put too many of you off susrströmming. Apparently if really can be rather nice.*

From Trev and me to everyone that’s followed BSTV over the past year and a bit thanks for all your comments and support! We’re really just two middle-aged young guys drinking beer and having fun and we hope you’re having a laugh with us too.

So what does the future hold for BSTV? Well, more whirling, more beers, less herrings, more live episodes and more TV. Because it is TV, what we do, isn’t it?

*As, apparently, can colonic irrigation, but I’m not buying that either.

Found this very interesting article about a National Geographic-organised tasting of Scandinavian beers held in Washington DC last week by possibly the nicest gentleman in craft brewing, Garrett Oliver – Brewmaster of Brooklyn Brewery.

Now if I’m being perfectly honest the first thing that struck me was the fact that the National Geographic Society organises beer tastings. And here was I thinking NG was all about stunning photography and documentaries about rare and endangered species of tigers. I will be renewing my subscription without delay!

The fact that this tasting of Scandinavian beers took place at all and the extremely positive words of Mr Oliver about the beer scene in this part of the world are testimony to what I and other beer writers/bloggers been saying for some time now. Sweden and our Nordic neighbours really are producing some of the most interesting beers on the planet!

So now you don’t just have to take my word for it. If National Geographic says it’s true it’s true and that’s all there is to it.

(Footnote: It’s worth mentioning that Sweden only had one beer in the tasting, Nils Oscar’s highly rated barley wine. This is largely due to the fact that all the beers appear to have come from the same US beer importer who only represent Nils Oscar and Oppigårds to date – although admittedly that’s one hell of a start! The star of the show is undoubtedly Nøgne-Ø, which are rapidly earning a well deserved reputation as the most adventurous and export-friendly Scandinavian brewery there is. I’d suggest more micros in this country could learn a lot from what they are doing to win over new markets).

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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.

It’s Saturday and the shops with their Christmas sales and endless queues beckon. It may be the season of goodwill but it’s also the season of overdrafts and interest-free credit, with Swedes spending a total of 61.3 billion kronor during December (that’s roughly 13 billion more than an average month).

So on second thoughts I might just do my bit to bring inflation under control and stay at home. After all there’s still 19 shopping days left until the Systembolaget shuts for Christmas. On that recession-busting note I present day 5 of BeerSweden’s Advent Beer Calendar 2009.