Christmas beer tasting 2011

This year's selection.

This year's Christmas beer testing has been completed. I will have to come back with a summation of the results, but thought I would share with  some photos from the event. Present this year were: yours truly, Jamil, Lasse, Terese, Johan and Christian (who came late, straight from a Christmas dinner and dripping wet from the pouring rain outside).

Deep concentration.

New this year was the updated beer testing score card, designed by Hanna, which worked well but  will be revised further after comments collected during this test round.

About half-time. Still rather serious....

Oh well, over to the photos, mostly taken by Hanna, who as usual attended the session by smelling the beers and associating with the weirdest things.

The colour of amber was, not surprisingly, the evening's most frequent review.

Deep concentration on the visuals.

Most take the task seriously ...

A small addendum: Christian Our local newspaper, Sydsvenska Dagbladet, have had their Christmas beer tasting session, and their list was rather similar to ours. Go have a look!

Live: Beer, comics and chocolate

The very first after work this autumn for the Malmö comics community is under way. This time the pub chosen was the new Malmö Brewery, where we are treated to their delicious wheat beer and especially their chocolate porter. As this brewery is situated in the same building as the Comic Art Centre, which in turn is an old chocolate factory, everything feels just right.

Skåne Micro Brewery Tour - Day 2

Day two of our (short) micro tour of micro breweries of Skåne is soon over.


It has been a good day, following the brewer of Stockeboda Gårdsbryggeri when he produced a batch of their Single Malt beer.


The fact that he produced a regular batch, not simply talked about how to do it, or let us experiment away with our own ideas meant that I really learned a lot today about regular beer production on a semi-small scale. The fact that we followed him a whole day, from the grinding of the malt to the cleaning of the vats and tools after the batch was finished also gave a good feeling for the whole process.


Afterwards we took part of the buffé that Stockeboda serves every Wednesday and tried most of the brewery's beers, filling out our test protocolls and figuring out what we really felt about them.


I'll see if I can manage to get the results up here separatelly, but overall the beers ended up in the range of 6-7 on a scale of 10 which is OK for such a new brewer, but they had far too much carbonate which made them hard to serve and a general citric tone of unpasteurized beer that got a bit tiring after a while.

Stockeboda Gårdsbryggeri

Today we are at Stockeboda Gårdsbryggeri to experience a day of producing beer at a smaller brewery.


Beer master Lars Schmidt has planned to brew their Single Malt beer today and we are his assistants, helping out with the more menial tasks and generally pestering him with a constant barrage of questions.


An interesting experience, not the least as we get a lot of insights into how this newly started (2009) brewery tries to make ends meet.


The process is reassuringly physical, a far cry from my day to day life/work in front of a computer. Above, I help out meassuring the different malt types to grind.


Here Jamil Mani is filling the grinder with the malt.


And here the mash is being removed after having been filtered away.

Skåne Micro Brewery Tour 2011 - Day one

Day one of our third official beer tour is under way. This year we have decided to examine our own backyard and will visit some micro breweries in Skåne, i.e. the very south of Sweden where we all happen to live... A far cry from the first trip to the more "exotic" Belgium or even the second trip to our neighbour Denmark. Still, with so many new Swedish micro breweries popping up these days, this is just as exciting and would not even have been possible a few years ago.


Today we visited Ystad Bryggeri, of which a full report can be read above, and them drove to our rented cabin at Stockeboda gård, where we will take a crash course in brewing tomorrow. More reports on how that works out tomorrow.

Ystad Bryggeri

Ystad Bryggeri is one of the older micro breweries in southern Sweden, being established "already" in 1996. The brewery is situated in a beautiful old building which also serves as a restaurant and a pub, with an atmospheric inner court yard where you can eat and drink during the warmer parts of the year.


We ordered a table in advance, which looked like a good idea as there were a lot of customers, both drinking and eating. The food was OK, but the service slow (even though the girl serving us was nice and friendly).


The brewery could be visited inside and consisted of the obligatory two tanks made of shining copper, but since there was noone around who was actually involved in the brewing process, looking them over had to suffice for this visit.


Out of the brewery's three beers, we tried two (see reviews in earlier posts) but were not overly enamoured with them. The third, a new IPA, first turned out to only be available on bottles, but when we (reluctantly) ordered that, we were told that we should reconsider as other customers had complained that it was sour... Extra points for telling us, but frustrating not to get to try it.

Overall, the visit was a bit of a let-down and I will probably not seek out this micro brewery again very soon.

Ystad Mörk

Name: Ystad Mörk
Manufacturer: Ystad Bryggeri
Country: Sweden
Media: Tap
Type: Dark Lager

Appearance: frothy head, mildly diminishing and a very nice amber color

Aroma: Much aroma, mostly of caramel and a hint of nougate

Flavor: a lager trying to be an ale, with a sweet but still rather unfinished feel to it

Palate: a bit watery but with a lively carbonation

Overall: a nice enough dark lager, fitting to drink with food but not interesting enough to drink for its own sake. Smells and looks better than it tastes...

Grade: 6

Place/date: Ystad Bryggeri, 19 July 2010

Ystad Färsköl

Name: Ystad Färsköl
Manufacturer: Ystad Bryggeri
Country: Sweden
Media: Tap
Type: Lager

Appearance: small head, mostly diminishing, yellow color, opaque

Aroma: strong aroma with citric tones and a not altogether pleasant metallic overtone

Flavor: sweet with a fresh feel, short and rather tinny after-flavor

Palate: high on carbonate, a bit watery

Overall: A surprisingly weak beer from which I had expected much more.

Grade: 5

Place/date: Ystad Bryggeri, 19 July 2011

Blanche de Namur

Name: Blanche de Namur
Manufacturer: Brasserie du Bocq
Country: Belgium
Media: bottle
Type: wheat beer

Appearance: High, frothy head, mostly diminishing, yellow color (a bit darker and less opaque Hoegaarden)

Aroma: Very much citric, lemon

Flavor: more of a Belgian beer than Hoegaarden, more flavor and more

Palate: watery, lively carbonation which dies off quite fast

Overall: Better than Hoegaarden. A good, fresh wheat beer for summer evenings

Grade: 6

Place/date: the restaurant Tröls in Malmö - 27 of July 2010

Location:Listergatan,,Sverige

Budweiser

Name: Budweiser
Manufacturer: Budweiser
Country: Great Britain (...)
Media: bottle
Type: pilsner

Appearance: High, frothy head, fully diminishing, yellow color (looks like apple juice)

Aroma: OK, let's be frank, it smells like a pilsner, no more, no less.

Flavor: I just can't do this. It's a bland pilsner, with a hint of lemon as its (almost) saving grace.

Palate: watery, lively carbonation which dies off quite fast

Overall: No! No! No!

Grade: 3 (OK, so there are things imaginable which might be worse)

Place/date: Björkeberga, in the south of Sweden - 10 August 2009

Grimbergen Double

Name: Grimbergen Double
Manufacturer: Grimbergen
Country: Belgium
Media: bottle
Type: cloister beer

Appearance: average, frothy head, diminishing, dark amber color

Aroma: dark and full aroma

Flavor: a bit alchoholic to start with, followed by a beautiful, full-bodied long lasting flavor

Palate: medium body, oily texture, surprisingly lively carbonation (for an abbey beer...)

Overall: As you have probabaly already gathered, I'm enamoured. A good dark cloister beer, sitting comfortably together withe several of the more aknowledged Trapist beers.

Grade: 16

Place/date: Home on the range - 04 August 2009

Fuller's India Pale Ale

Name: Fuller's India Pale Ale
Manufacturer: Fuller's
Country: Great Britain
Media: bottle
Type: IPA

Appearance: High, frothy head, mostly diminishing, amber color

Aroma: sweet and aromatic, with hints of citrus and hops

Flavor: sweet and gentel, a bit citric initial flavor, followed by a fresh hoppy moderatelly lasting flavor

Palate: medium to full body, oily texture, lively carbonation

Overall: A very nice IPA, bottle-fermented, whose Goldings hops makes it a refreshing beer together with food.

Grade: 13

Place/date: A secret island in the southern parts of Sweden - 18 july 2009

Denmark Micro-tour - day 3

Our third day consisted of visiting the museum of Carlsberg, reading up on the history of one of the world's largest breweries and trying out some of the speciality beers of their smaller brewery Jacobsen (named after the founder of Carlsberg).

After that we headed back for a second try at getting a beer at the micro-brewery Vesterbro, which turned out to be closed on Sundays... Tried finding a pub with their beers, but finally ended up at a (choke) sportsbar at the trainstation... In pure desperation, when eyeing through the beer menue and finding that the only Danish beers were general, for me uninteresting, Carlsberg lagers, I gave up my resolution for this trip and ordered something not brewed in Denmark. As it turned out, they had a Belgian cloister beer, which was way too strong for the occasion but suited my mood after having been looking for the right pub/restaurant for what seemed to my starved body like ages.

After this we gave up, realising that in Denmark, contrary to Sweden nowdays, everything is closed on Sundays, and headed home.

In conclusion: the best Danish beers we tested were from the brewery Indslev, which I will look for in the future. Oh, and of course, we only scratched the surface of Danish micro-breweries, and will have occassion to come back here many times for new discoveries.

St Bernardus Abt 12

Name: St Bernardus Abt 12
Manufaturer: St Bernardus
Country: Belgium
Media: bottle
Type: cloister beer

Appearance: average, frothy head,

Aroma: heavy malty with coffe, caramel and oak

Flavor: moderate sweet initial flavor, followed by a heavy and longlasting sweet flavor

Palate: medium to full body, creamy texture, lively carbonation, moderate alchoholic finish

Overall: An average Belgian cloister beer, which only means that it's better than most other beers in my humble opinion...

Grade: 16

Place/date: O'Leary's Sportsbar, Copenhagen - 5 june 2009

Carlsberg Besøgscenter

Name: Carlsberg Besøgscenter (visiting centre)
Place: Copenhagen, Denmark
Adress: Gamle Carlsberg Vej 11
Type: Museum

A well done, informative and interesting museum. Beautifully situated on easily reached distance from the city center with bus, with horses walking free, a big collection of the brewery's own carts and wagons from the last two centuries and of course a final visit to the smaller inhouse brewery Jacobsen, from which you get to choose two beers for the entrance fee of 40 Dkr.

Semper Ardens Blonde Bier

Name: Semper Ardens Blonde Bier
Manufaturer: Carlsberg
Country: Denmark
Media: Tap
Type: speciality brew

Appearance: small white head, mostly diminishing lacing, clear body, amber hue

Aroma: light hoppy, some grain, coriander and banana

Flavor: light sweet initial flavor, sweet and light bitter flavor, short duration

Palate: medium body, oily/watery texture, fizzy carbonation

Overall: Strange combination of top-fermented Belgian-style yeast and bottom-fermented German-style. Sounds more interesting than it is, though...

Grade: 8

Place/date: Jacobsen Husbryggeri, Copenhagen - 5 june 2009

Carlsberg Classic

Name: Carlsberg Classic
Manufacturer: Carlsberg
Country: Denmark
Media: Tap
Type: Lager

Appearance: small white head, mostly diminishing lacing, clear body, amber hue

Aroma: light hoppy, but almost no aroma

Flavor: light sweet initial flavor, swee and light bitter flavor, with short duration

Palate: medium body, oily/watery texture, fizzy carbonation

Overall: One of the best of Carlsberg's standard beers, with a beautiful colour and lively carbonation. Perfect for a hot summer's day, but a bit uninteresting in flavor when compared to many of Denmark's micro-brewery beers.

Grade: 10

Place/date: Jacobsen Husbryggeri, Copenhagen - 5 juli 2009

Denmark Micro-tour - day 2

The second day didn't work as planned either, but on a more positive note. We woke late (....) and went directly to BrewPub (se review earlier), which turned out to be such a great place that we almost stayed there all day. We managed to walk to the pub Lord Nelson for a quick beer, but that was about it. We soon headed back to our secluded back-yard and stayed there until closing-time. A good day, without yesterday's allergic reaction that made it difficult to assess the beers. Anyway, BrewPub was a gem, and we are definitely coming back here. As for the beers of today, they have all been good, some even impressive, but none have made a truly lasting impression. For the trip, the best beer is still yesterday's Indslev Wheet Bock.

BrewPub Trippel

Name: BrewPub Trippel
Manufacturer: BrewPub
Country: Denmark
Media: Tap
Type: cloister beer

Appearance: average creamy white head, mostly diminishing lacing, clear body, amber hue

Aroma: moderate hoppy, with a fruity aroma

Flavor: heavy sweet
and moderately acidic initial flavor, with average duration

Palate: medium body, oily texture, soft carbonation, alchoholic finish

Overall: Sweet hoppy aroma and aconsistent flavor. Compared to, say, Westmalle Trippel, lacking in body and roundness, but for a non-belgian trippel this is a very good effort.

Grade: 13

Place/date: BrewPub, Copenhagen - 4 june 2009

HopFix

Name: HopFix
Manufacturer: BeerHere
Country: Denmark
Media: Tap
Type: IPA

Appearance: small white head, mostly diminishing lacing, clear body, amber hue

Aroma: very hoppy, with hints of citrus

Flavor: no initial flavor (...), with a heavy hoppy/bitter flavor, average duration

Palate: medium body, oily/creamy texture, soft carbonation, astringent finish

Overall: Very much like the Swedish Bedarö bitter, but even more hoppy. Extremely ugly bottle label...

Grade: 10

Place/date: Lord Nelson, Copenhagen - 4 june 2009