Posted on 31 maj 2010. Tags: Jessica Heidrich, Review, St Eriks Sommarlager
A Premium Lager
A collaboration between brewer Jessica Heidrich, Galatea and Three Towns Independent Brewers
4.7% ABV. Systembolaget Article Number 11417. 17.90SEK (330ml bottle)
An extremely pale 'white gold' body under a thick brilliant white head. Just have to mention the bottle again as I think it is elegant branding with a capital E!
Light aromas of grass and floral perfume, some cereal malt and a sprinkle of dirt. Not the pine and tropical hop rush I was expecting.
Much of the action in the beer comes at the end. There's an odd bitter/sweet start that reminded me of tonic water (quinine). In the middle there's some light bready malt action and a hint of peaches and then wham....say hello to the hops! There's a surprisingly aggressive finish given this beer's faint nose. Perhaps a suggestion of metal?
This is hand and glove stuff for the Swedish midsommar table. Not only does it look stunning but this beer's light malt and hop character will pair wonderfully with the endless amounts of pickled herring, salmon and almond potatoes you'll be scoffing to celebrate this most 'Swedish' of Swedish holidays.
Nerd note
This is the second S:t Eriks from brewer Jessica Heidrich and Three Towns Independent Brewers, following on from the S:t Eriks Pilsner launched back in the end of March. It doesn't have as much going on as its predecessor and I feel it's a touch unbalanced, with a weak start but strong bitter finish. However at under 18 SEK a bottle I think this is a very solid summer beer and ideal for midsommar!
Posted in Beer Reviews
Posted on 21 maj 2010. Tags: competition, Sleepy Bulldog Summer Pale Ale, St Eriks Sommarlager
Recently I tried two Swedish summer beers, S:t Eriks Sommarlager and Sleepy Bulldog Summer Pale Ale that I thought were both very drinkable but couldn’t shake the feeling that each one was missing that little ‘something’.
I won't win any Photoshop awards with this masterpiece will I?
In the case of S:t Eriks Sommarlager I really enjoyed the sandpaper rough hoppy finish but to get there had to go through a rather tame malt and citrus beer that didn’t have the freshness and vitality of summer fruits that I was searching for.
As for Sleepy Bulldog Summer Pale Ale the complete opposite was true. A sit-up-and-take-notice burst of peach and lychee aromas followed by a juicy smack of fruit and pine flavours…..but then this bulldog whimpered with its tail between its legs towards a disappointingly mild bitter finish.
But after a while these frustrating beer moments got me thinking. What if you could take the front bit of Bulldog and graft it onto the back bit of S:t Eriks? Imagine what an amazing summer beer that would be!
After that I just couldn’t stop.
What if I could take the drinkability of a 4% English session ale and match it with the hop intensity of an American Double IPA? Or how about the roasted chocolate and coffee dryness of a great stout mixed up with a complex spontaneously fermented fruit beer?
Sounds like the perfect idea for a BeerSweden competition right?(Ed note: it’s been a while hasn’t it!)
So here’s the deal – send me an email to darren@beersweden.se telling me which two beers you would mix and match to create an awesome beer and most importantly why?
The person with the most imaginative answer will get this rather stylish set of six Three Towns lager glasses (which are beautifully etched at the bottom with landmarks from Stockholm, Malmö and Gothenburg) – courtesy of those jolly nice people at Galatea.
They’d be perfect for pouring my S:t Sleepy Sommarlager into………
The competition is only open to people living in Sweden and will run until the stroke of midnight on Tuesday, May 25th. The judge’s decision (that’s me) is final and the winner will be announced the next day.
So get mixing beers people and good luck!
Posted in Competitions
