While flipping through the pages on Scanorama, the glossy in-flight magazine of Scandinavian Airlines on my way back from the UK yesterday I came across one of the most positive pieces of coverage for Swedish craft beer I’ve ever seen.

Remarkable really as the beer itself is only named once, in passing, in the final line of the picture caption.

So why am I sitting here then bubbling with excitement as though I’ve just got 13 right on the horses? Well it’s thankfully not what they say about the beer but how they present it to the reader that is so significant. The article itself is a glowing review of Stockholm’s ultra-trendy Sturehof restaurant and particularly their renowned 5 sorters sill dish (5 types of marinated herring) which is hugely popular with tourists and the beautiful, champagne-drinking, slicked-back hair ‘Sture-brigade’.

But rather than the waiter pouring up the expected bottle of chilled Alsace what is that he’s delicately decanting (Ed note: if I’m being picky with perhaps just a touch too much head) into the glass? Why it’s none other than a bottle of Landsort Lager from Nynäshamns!

This is exactly the kind of image I want people to see, where great beer is finally seen back in its rightful place at the dinner table of top restaurants. Well done Scanorama for showing your readers another side of this country’s favourite drink and take note the rest of you working in the Swedish media!

Is coverage of craft beer finally taking off in Sweden?

The Swedish craft brewing industry continues to surf a wave of grapefruit and citrus with the news that Nynäshamns Ångbryggeri is launching a new summer ale that sounds more west coast USA than the beach in the stunning Swedish nature reserve of Ören in Torö from which Stenstrand SommarAle takes its name.

Described as ”light and fresh with summer tones” Stenstrand SommarAle is brewed using floor malts from UK master malsters Thomas Fawcett & Sons and three different types of US hops (can anyone shed some light on which ones?). The beer is finally filtered through a hop ‘cannon’ filled with whole hop cones for ”an extra taste of summer”.

As with all Nynäshamns’ beers it is unpasteurised and this summer ale weighs in at a pretty radical 6.8%ABV in a 500ml bottle which will go on sale through the Systembolaget’s beställningssortimentet from July 1. If you haven’t already done so you should check out the Systembolaget’s new online ordering function here.

With breweries producing ever more intense , alcoholic beers these days it’s a welcome relief to see that Nynäshamns Ångbyggeri at least agrees with me that good things can come in little packages.

The brewery has fairly recently upgraded its bottling line so that it can handle smaller bottle sizes and Sotholmen Extra Stout is the first beer out in their new rather cute 25cl bottle format.

So little bottle, big beer right? Well, not quite.

Sotholmen is an impressive beer to gaze at. It pours very dark, almost black and has an appetising fluffy dark tan head. The aroma promises much, with a hit of filter coffee and port wine.

However in the mouth I struggled to find the something ‘Extra’ the beer claims to have. If Nynäshamns means extra alcohol then that’s in there, but it fails to give the beer the body and complexity I’m looking for in a strong stout.

This is even more surprising because this beer, like all beers from Nynäshmans is unpasteurised, and I’ve come to take for granted the smooth, full mouth-feel of the ‘live’ beers from this brewery.

Cold coffee with a dash of milk – there’s lots of that and a little bitter chocolate but that’s about all I could find. It feels a little grainy and thin considering the 7% ABV, finishing with a dry, slightly boozy finish.

Don’t get me wrong, drinking a small bottle of Sotholmen is a pleasant way to pass the time. But then so is watching curling at the Winter Olympics. Hardly exciting though, is it?

(footnote: Watch out for another 25cl bottle from Nynäshmans being launched at Systembolaget on March 1st . This time it’s their 9.1% ABV Bötet Barley Wine).

Sotholmen Extra Stout

A Foreign Stout (strong stout) from Nynäshams Ångbryggeri

7% ABV

Systembolaget Article Number: 11723

The Systembolaget is making this particular Monday a little easier to get through with the release of 12 new beers going on sale from this morning.

The Swedish micros are particularly well represented this time round, with beers from Nynäshamn, Oppigårds. Sigtuna and Dugges hitting the shelves. Big brother brewery Spendrups is also there with it’s eye-catching and quirkily named Pistonhead Hot Roddin’ Lager.

Expect a review of all these beers over the coming days!

From the US comes Double Bastard Ale from Stone Brewing and Sierra Nevada’s Celebration Ale – both big, bold and critically acclaimed beers. The US invasion continues with a beer that “bites like a rattlesnake looking for a fight” – Hop Ottin’ IPA and an altogether tamer wheat ale from Good Islands Beer Company that feels a little out of season with the thermometer currently dipping below -20 degrees here in Umeå.

A pair of English style beers from Stensbogaard Bryghus in Denmark almost complete the new line-up; a dry IPA (India Pale Ale) and a coffee-tasting stout.

I said almost because Estrella Damm launches its non-alcoholic lager today. Now in fairness I haven’t tasted this one, only the ‘normal’ strength version. However if it’s a paler copy of that I warmly recommend you drink something (read ANYTHING) else instead.

If you want to spice up your beer this Christmas then I recommend trying Mysingen Midvinterbrygd from Nynäshamns Ångbryggeri.

Mysingen could possibly lay claim to being the spiciest winter/Christmas beer launched this year, with fresh orange peel, cloves, cumin and nutmeg all added to the brew to create a deliciously dark and pungent ale.

It’s fairly easy to pick out these flavours in the beer itself, as well as some porter-like tastes of chocolate, burnt malt and dark syrup. The mouth feel is perhaps a little on the thin side but the spice is kept nicely in check by an earthy hop bitterness.

Like all their beers, Mysingen is named after a local landmark or location close to the brewery in Nynäshhamn– in this case from a stretch of water between the mainland and a nearby island.

And like all the brewery’s beers it is also unpasteurised, which means it is a ‘living’ beer that has not undergone the sometimes harsh process of removing the yeast to make it more stable and give it a longer shelf life.

There’s always debate as to the effects of pasteurisation in beers. Purists argue that only by leaving the yeast in – so-called bottle conditioning – can the original flavours, textures and smells the brewer was trying to achieve stay intact in the beer.

Others claim that pasteurisation creates almost imperceptible changes and point to the huge number of popular world-class beers that are pasteurised.

Whatever your preference Mysingen is an interesting beer to pour up at Christmas time and one that is sure to become a talking point among your guests. Try it with lussekatter (saffron buns) or pepparkakor (gingerbread cookies) and think of it like Julmust for adults!

Mysingen Midvinterbrygd

A spiced ale from Nynäshamns Ångbryggeri

6% ABV

Systembolaget Article Number: 11381