Tomorrow (June 1^st) sees the launch of six new beers at the Systembolaget.

This month’s batch is made up of three very interesting Swedish micro beers, an extremely European US bock countered nicely by an extremely US European strong ale and finally an oaky IPA from the UK.

Let’s start as we always try to here at BeerSweden with the Swedish beers first. I’ve already written about Nils Oscar Sorachi Blond so all that’s left to say is go out and buy it. In my opinion this has all the makings of a summer blockbuster but with only 4,200 bottles going on sale you’d better be quick!

The chances of Oppigårds from Dalarna putting out a bad beer these days is about as slim as Zlatan’s chances of playing in the Premier League next season.  This time they’ve made things really interesting by inviting the winner of the 2009 Swedish Home Brewing Championships Peter Högström to replicate his gold medal Belgium witbier (white beer).

The resulting Oppigårds InWit seems very promising, with talk of a sparkling citrus and spice beer that sounds just perfect for the start of summer.

Nynäshamns Ångbryggeri continues its series of speciality beers in those pretty 250ml bottles with Nynäshamns Dragets Kanal Dubbel IPA. This 7.7% ABV US-themed Double IPA is packed with five different hops and word is that it delivers a sweet fruity hop slap.

Staying in Europe we moved to Belgium and the artisanal brewery of de Rulles for their spicy ale with flavours of grass and grapefruit from the heavyweight US Amarillo and Warrior hops they use to brew it.

Crossing the Atlantic we travel to the city of Chico, home of the Sierra Nevada brewery, a perennial favourite of mine. This time it’s their Glissade Golden Bock being released and it’s a beer I’m really looking forward to trying. This light (if 6.4% ABV can be considered light) take on a heller bock promises restrained sweetness and a distinctly European feel from herbal and floral German and Slovenian hops.

The last port of call this time round is the UK, or the Belhaven Brewery in Scotland to be precise for their Innis & Gunn India Pale Ale. I will be trying this one with a bit of trepidation having been more than a little unimpressed with the previous I&G releases.

This time the beer has sat in oak barrels for 30 days before a further 47 days of maturation. The result is a beer that apparently displays a distinctive vanilla and wood character with orange and lemon aromas and a smooth finish.

I’ll be aiming to review all these six beers over the next few days on BSTV so check back soon for more details!

It’s that time again. Tomorrow sees the release of 15 new beers at the Systembolaget stores, including several brands jostling for position to become your favourite fridge beer this summer.

Eleven of these beers are being released on a nationwide scale and will be available to pluck from the shelves at 10am in the morning. Four of them are a little more ‘exclusive’ (and consequently more expensive) and are only being stocked in around 30 stores so you might just need to order them in.

Here’s a list of the more widely available brands hitting the shelves:

And here’s those ‘harder to get hold off’ beers:

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I feel like dusting down my crocs and digging out my shorts when I read some of these names. Sigtuna Sommar Wit is summer in a bottle, Mohawk Summer IPA is a solid (if not spectacular) beer that will be in my hand when I’m BBQ-ing and Oppigård’s Summer Twist is destined, in my opinion, to become almost as folkkär as the brewery’s stupendous Amarillo Spring.

It will be fascinating to see if Jessica Heidrich’s summer sequel to St Erik’s Pilsner (you know, the beer in that bottle) is as hoppy and aromatic as the first and I’m curious to discover if Sleeping Bulldog has the bite a respectable IPA should have, or whether we should just let sleeping bulldogs lie.

Of course don’t forget Oppigårds’ ‘other’ beer, the grassy lager Slåtteröl or the big Mai-Ur-bock from Einbecker.

Probably the beer set to become the biggest seller of them all is Pistonhead Summer Brew. At just 10.90SEK and delivered in an eye-catching flaming skull can it certainly ticks the two largest boxes for commercial success. I’m really hoping it will be a bit more beer and a little less brand than the first Pistonhead. Fingers crossed.

Of the ‘harder to find beers’ the stand-outs are both American and both huge hop-bombs. Dugan A from Avery Brewing Co and Alesmith IPA from the Alesmith Brewing Company are certainly not beers for those looking for ‘light refreshment’ while mowing the lawn but they could be something to treat yourself to a little later on while watching the summer sun bounce down and back up again on the horizon.

If you’re feeling a little depressed that it’s Monday and the winter Olympics are over then perhaps you can seek cold comfort in the news that seven new beers are being launched at the Systembolaget today.

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Three Swedish micorbreweries are among the newcomers, including a welcome national appearance by Gothenburg-based Ocean Bryggeriet with its ecological Eko Pale Ale, which will be available in circa 35 Sysmbolaget stores throughout the country. I haven’t tried this beer yet so expect a review shortly!

I recently wrote about Nynäshamns Extra Stout and today they launch the second of their new 25cl bottle offerings, this time Bötet Barley Wine. This beer is definitely worth putting in your basket and don’t forget it benefits from ageing a couple of years too.

In my opinion the most exciting of the Swedish beers this time around is Mohawk Rye IPA, the first in a Mohawk trilogy of beers being launched over the next few months.

Mohawk Rye IPA is a very Swedish collaboration between beer importer/distributor Wicked Wine and brewer Stefan Gustavsson and has been brewed at Slottskällans in Uppsala.

Mohawk Rye IPA is the beer I'm most looking forward to trying

The use of rye in beer is very uncommon here in Sweden and according to Wicked Wine helps balance out some of the aggression of the hops for a fresher drinking experience.

Sounds very interesting indeed and I can’t wait to review Mohawk a little later today. Check back tomorrow for the low down on what I hope is going to be a fantastic beer.

Moving overseas there are three very different new beers to choose from: a shockingly sour ale from Belgium with vinegar, berry and woody flavours, a stunning chocolate stout from Brooklyn Brewery that is ‘no-brainer must-buy’ considering the price and the weird but wonderful Schneider Aventinus Weizen-Eisbock, an intensely concentrated 12% ‘ice beer’ that is so rich and sweet one bottle will probably last you all winter.

Last, but certainly not least, is BASHAH – which stands for Black as S”#t Hoppy as Hell – a self-styled Black Belgium Double IPA from brewing mavericks BrewDog and Stone Brewing in the US that tastes just as confusing as it sounds. Expect a review in the next few days.

The Systembolaget doors have just opened, so what are you still doing reading this? Go get ‘em people!

It only seems like yesterday that a whole heap of seasonal and Christmas beers were released at the Systembolaget, yet today it’s time to pay another visit to your local store and get your hands on some fresh beers.

A total of 13 new beers become available as of today and some of them are just too good to miss.

You can read all about the beers here (you’ll need Adobe PDF Reader and then skip straight to pages 13-14 for all the beer releases). If I had to pick just three I’d go for Péché Mortel Imperial Coffee Stout, Stone Vertical Epic 09 09 09 and Midtfyns Bryghus Imperial Stout. Any one of these should help keep out the cold and will make your ears glow!

However there are a few more gems in the latest list of releases and some more detailed reviews are on the way. Just got to squeeze them in among all the Christmas beers I’m sampling right now……..(violins not necessary but appreciated).

Some years back I made a list of 7 things I loved about  living in Umeå. You can read it here.

I think it’s about time I added another reason – there are never any queues at the Systembolaget for new beer releases.

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Cancel the paper and start packing your things…………………