Don’t worry – this isn’t an April Fools joke (we’ll leave that to Spendrups). Today a whopping 30 beers go on sale at the Systembolaget!
Some of them are familiar faces in new formats, others old friends making their annual return as part of a group of 13 Easter beers hitting the shelves at 10am today.
So let’s start with the Easter beers first. I normally look forward to these holiday releases of beer with about as much enthusiasm as a doorstep visit from the Jehovah witnesses because you often get bludgeoned with the same type of beer over and over again.
However today’s Easter beer release contains a pretty reasonable range of styles and flavours, including what I believe is the first Swedish brewed black IPA in the form of Mohawk Black IPA Easter Edition, the first beer that’s going in my shopping basket this morning. Black IPA is a trendy new beer style born in the USA (where it is also known as Cascadian Ale) which combines the hop intensity of an IPA with the dark, roasted malt complexity often associated with porters and stouts.
Second on my list will be Mikkeller Green Easter IPA, a seasonal name tweak of his superb Mikkeller Green Gold. Not much to add really, other than if it says Mikkeller on the bottle, you know what to do. Buy one.
Then come old favourites Oppigårds Easter Ale, which rarely disappoints, followed by the citrus and spice Pumpviken Påsköl from Nynäshamns Ångbryggeri and newcomer Mohawk Red Easter, an American Amber Ale that promises plenty of caramel malt flavour topped with layers of hoppy peach and apricot.
Also worth looking out for are Nils Oscar Kalaspåsköl and St Eriks Påsk Ale.
These beers are all temporary listings brewed in relatively small batches so once they’re gone they’re gone, unlike the rest of the beers being launched today, which are guaranteed by the Systembolaget to hang around for at least the next year.
Here there’s a couple of familiar beers that have been given a new look – Spitfire Premium Kentish Ale has slimmed down from a 500ml bottle to 330ml along with its price tag, which at 13.90SEK represents great value for money for a quality English ale in my book.
BrewDog’s iconic Punk IPA has switched from 330ml bottle to a 330ml can. But that’s not all – the beer has dropped from 6% to 5.6% and undergone a radical recipe change that I was one of the first people on the planet to experience. Will you prefer old or new Punk? Only one way to find out!
Nils Oscar Hop Yard Ale is a must. It’s been around a little while on keg but now we all get the chance to take it home with us. Saison Dupont is more classically Belgium than TinTin and absolutely one of the best saisons in the world (in fact the beer that turned me on to this amazing style). At the ridiculously cheap price of 23.90SEK for a 330ml bottle I’m booking a big chunk of fridge space for this one
Rodenbach is back with their Grand Cru – a sour ale that is a blend of 1/3 young beer and 2/3 beer aged for two years in large oak vats. The result is a beer that takes on many of the characteristics of a fine wine. A little hard to get used to for those unfamiliar with the style, but if sours are your thing, you shouldn’t miss this one.
Top Swedish brewer Jessica Heidrich has proven time and again that she can work wonders with hops, delivering a solid series of St Eriks beers with plenty of flavourful punch for the price. I’ve bought every one of her beers so far and don’t see why I should break the habit today.
It’s great to see Flying Dog finally making it into the Systembolaget with a long-term listing for its Gonzo Imperial Porter after having been shunned for so many years because of its objection to the Maryland-based brewery’s use of its ubiquitous catchphrase ‘Good People Drink Good Beer’, which the SB considered broke its rules about promoting the consumption of alcohol. Looking at the unbelievably cool label on my review bottle of Gonzo I note they’ve removed the ‘offensive’ line. Shame, because……..
The last beer I’m singling out is Cheap Thrills from Spendrups Brutal Brewing. I’ve already said everything I needed to say about this beer here. However I can’t resist asking the question why we have been deprived so long of beers from Flying Dog, a multi-award winning US craft brewer, because of its use of the harmless Hunter S Thompson quote ‘Good People Drink Good Beer’ when Spendrups Brutal Brewing can step right in with a major listing for a canned beer on which is printed the line ‘Good Beer for Good People’?
Sound familiar? Sound fair? Add to that the brand itself is called Cheap Thrills (now THERE’S a clear violation of the rule about promoting the irresponsible consumption of alcohol, right?) and I’m calling this the biggest April Fools joke since this one
