Subjective ramblings about beer, pubs and associated topics

The Norwegian Breweries' Assosiation is splitting up, with Hansa-Borg leaving the organisation. According to Dagens Næringsliv, they feel that Ringnes is too dominating, and that their aims are quite different from the other members.

The managing director of Hansa-Borg says that Ringnes - owned by Carlsberg - is acting against the interests of local brewers, employees and consumers.  Of course he is right!

According to DN, other brewers are also considering to leave the organisation. If Carlsberg packed up their bags and left instead, maybe they could save it.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 10:51 | link | comments
beer, carlsberg, norway, ringnes

Friday

If I lived in Helsinki, I would have taken the red tram home. Sorry honey, I was held up in traffic!

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 06:28 | link | comments
beer, pubs, finland

Only one Ringnes brewery to survive

According to Norwegian business daily Dagens Næringsliv, there will only be one Ringnes (Carlsberg) brewery in Norway in a few years. Carlsberg is planning for a system of main breweries with "supporting" breweries in addition. In Norway, the only main brewery is the new facility at Gjelleråsen outside Oslo, while Arendals on the south coast, E. C. Dahls in Trondheim and what little is left in Bodø in the north in the supporting role. Well, I suppose they can brew their rather bland beers wherever it is most viable. What we as consumers will be missing is the stilI surprisingly good selection of Christmas beers. I hope these adjustments will make more room for micros in the long run.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 15:35 | link | comments (2)
carlsberg, norway

The beer mat strikes back

Professor Andreas Butz at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, a university where they probably know what there is to know about beer-related studies, has presented a paper with one of his PhD students,  Michael Schmitz. Their field of work is computer science, not brewing or marketing, so they have developed a novel application - an intelligent beer mat. By raising your glass, you decrease the pressure on the mat, and you can send a signal to the bartender. Voting in a karaoke contest, for excample. Or you can use the device to automatically detect when the glass is getting empty and order a refill. They go more into detail, and conclude that this creates a surprisingly rich interaction vocabulary for the relatively simple beer mat, which is particularly well suited to noisy environments. They go on to suggest that there are lots of pub games just waiting to be developed using their amazing beer mat.

I just want to add that this device would come in extra practical in a country where they have the seven-minute rule for draft beer, meaning it takes seven minutes to pour even a small glass of beer. I even have a beer mat somewhere promoting this practice, which ensures that you get a rather flat beer with a beautiful foam head. While even reliable authorities now find this practice obsolete, I am sure there are still lots of kneipen up and down the country who practice this. If they are the ones likely to utilize the new beer mat tecnology is another question alltogether.

It is a rather frightening concept that we sit there on our bar stools slowly killing off our brain cells while at the same time our surroundings get more and more intelligent!

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 06:04 | link | comments
beer, german

There and back again

The Norwegian Directorate for Health and Social Affairs (Sosial- og helsedirektoratet), which is responsible for regulating alcohol promotion (or the lack thereof) raised some fury when they announced last week that the pump clips (tappekraner) in pubs and bars could give the name of the brewery, but not of the beers on tap. They have come to their senses, and today they can tell us that there are other interprentations of the law. They have reached the conclusion that pump clips are not "serving equipment" in a legal sense. It is more similar to bottles and other containers that, for practial purposes, are visible in the bar.

If, however, alcoholic beverages are displayed in an "extraordinary " way or are visible outside the bar, it is considered illegal advertising.

The respect for the regulations in this sector is not increasing when you handle issues in this manner.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 05:57 | link | comments
beer, norway

The Brickskeller

My old friend Lasse reminded me that we not only were drinking in the wee hours of the morning in Tel Aviv, we also had a few rounds in Washington D.C. back in 1989. We went several times to the Brickskeller, which, looking at their web site, seems to be at same place and still claims to have the world's largest selection of beer. They seem to have come a long way since then, and it is nice to see that the concept has survived all these years. The front page of their menu looks very similar (the one on the right is one that I've kept, and they still have buffalo stew and buffalo burgers on the menu. No plans for visiting D.C:, unfortunately!

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 14:56 | link | comments
beer, usa, pubs

Abbey ales in NYT

One sign that quality beer is getting more important is the coverage in the big media. The Wall Street Journal has the occational beer tasting, and this week the New York Times (free, but requires registration) has an article and a multi-media presentation on Trappist and Abbey-style ales. They have picked a selection of beers, most of them Belgian, but also a few bottles of Belgian style brews from North America. They seem to have a panel that know their stuff. Good pics and audio commentary as well.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 11:09 | link | comments
beer, trappist, belgium

Beer movies

The German Bitburg brewery, famous for their premium pils, has a nice web site. Among other stuff they have collected their old commercials. The picture quality is good, though the sound is not the best. Lots of other information as well, rather more in German than in English.

Another entry in Roger Protz' 300 Beers, widely available, but not here in Norway. Best enjoyed in its draft version at a sidewalk table somewhere in Germany, but try the bottled version if that's what's available. Not a beer to die for, but certainly a good pilsener.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 06:22 | link | comments
beer, german, brewers

A splendid beer shop

If you are in London and want to seek out more exciting beers than the ones available in the supermarkets, there are speciality shops which offer an excellent selection. In Pitfield, East London there is a splendid shop called just the Beer Shop, which boasts of 500 different beers from around the world. They do mail order within the United Kingdom - they point out that the wastage rate is too high if they deliver abroad, and good beer deserves better usage than that.

They brew and bottle their own range of beers as well, and the staff is friendly and helpful. The shop is close to Old Street tube station, but it is probably more convenient to take a bus from the Holborn area.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 15:18 | link | comments
london, beer, england

Beer aid

Realbeer.com tells about the Abita Brewing Company 30 miles north of New Orleans. They have started brewing a Fleur-de-lis Restoration Ale, with one dollar from every six-pack going to the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation. They have also strted producing a line of mercendice like t-shirts, hats, pins etc, with all net proceeds going to the Foundation. You can buy all their stuff online, and they seem to be doing a roaring trade. Looking at their web site, it seems like they are not only philantropic, but they brew an interesting range of ales as well. I am impressed!

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 22:24 | link | comments (1)
beer, usa

Sunday Times on pubs

The London Sunday Times has collected a few articles from earlier this year on beer and pubs in their Food and Travel section. Not all that exciting, their proposals for pub walks are rather bewildering if you don't know the areas covered already, but a good read, as they say. It seems like they have interviewed Bill Bryson who is crying in his beer: There are few traditional pubs in city centres any more. Now there are these giant sheds which have no appeal to me whatsoever. When I lived in the Yorkshire Dales, the local was like the village living room; it performed a vital social function. Now I live in Norfolk and there’s no local, which is sad. When you look closer, this is just a quote from a foreword he has written to yet another pub history book. If he has a problem, why doesn't he just move closer to a pub then? It is a matter of putting your money where your mouth is as well!

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 08:04 | link | comments (1)
beer, england

Scandinavian Beer Festivals

There is a smallish beer festival in Oslo 1 October. I am busy elsewhere, so I'll skip it. I think I'll have to pass a Danish festival in Odense next month as well. Looks tempting, but I'll do a lot of travelling over the next weeks, so I have to spend some time at home as well.

The Norwegian Breweries' Association has published an opinion poll saying that the Norwegian consumers prefer Norwegian beer to foreign beer. Only one in five prefer imported beer if they have a choice. Well, they prefer bland cheese, cardboard-tasting frozen pizza and other delicacies as well. And maybe they think imported beer is similar to Corona or Bud? The domestic food industry should count their blessings as long as they have a market that is sheltered from real competition.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 19:28 | link | comments (1)
beer, norway, denmark

A health drink

The Times of India tells us about the herbal beer 'Nebri', made from medicinal herbs and raw Dussehri mango extracts that will hit the Indian market by 2006 summer.  This is supposed to "stimulate your body's immunisation system and also prove to be antifatigue". Some questions: will it be made with malt and hops as well? How nasty do these herbs taste? I have a suspicion this will not be a great hit, but what do I know about the Indian beer market? And antifatigue sounds like a novel side effect for a beer.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 07:06 | link | comments (3)
beer, india

Koff Porter, Finland

I disagreed with Roger Protz on the Estonian porter the other day, but I am happy to say we are back on track again - as this is another entry in his recent book. Koff Porter smalls of raisins ands smoke, which are also present in the full flavour. Prunes, toasted grain,, very complex, almost salty. A dry, slightly sour finish. Pitch black with a nice head the color of milk chocolate. 7,2% alcohol adds warmth. A great beer.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 14:18 | link | comments
beer, brewers, finland

Rave on!

A Welsh pub landlord, who pays tribute to Buddy Holly with the beers that he brews, has won a CAMRA award for his ales, according to the BBC.

Will Hopton has named a dozen real ales at the pub in south-west Wales he and his family have run for three decades after his childhood pop star hero.

His is one of the 500 micros across Britain which have put real ale ales sales at a 30-year high. It looks like it is easy to find,  the town of Ystalyfera  is quite close to Godre'r-raig, if you are in the neighbourhood. Well, not all beers should be internationally available!

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 16:32 | link | comments
beer, pubs

Birra Menabrea - Amber beer

As I will visit Italy next month, I decided to try the only Italian beer on the Norwegian market, an amber ale from the Menabrea brewery.

There is some information on their web pages, but  more about their history than their beers. This is a quite small, family run, company located in Biella, not far from Milan.  It is exported all over the globe, as far as New Zealand.

Nice foam, a slight smell of fruit. Lots of flavour, fruit - citrus and ripe apricots. Rather sweet, but with a little smoked malt and some hops in the aftertaste. I like it, though I wouldn't want more than one bottle at one sitting.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 17:14 | link | comments
italy, beer, brewers

An Estonian porter

When a colleague from Finland was coming over for a meeting, I asked her to bring a few bottles of beer from those parts, notably a few entries in Roger Protz '  300 beers to try before you die!  One of them is a porter from neighbouring Estonia, A. Le Coq Porter.

Protz is very enthusiastic about this: ..a deep bocquet of roasted grain, bitter chocolate, molasses and liquorice, underpinned by spicy hops.

It pours with a nice head, and has a slight smell of toast. A dark ruby color, and a aroma of roasted malt and nuts. Slightly smoky aftertaste. But I do not find much of these elements. I find the beer rather thin and watery, despite the alcohol content of 6,5% stated on the label. Try again, Estonia! And I will keep trying the beers recommended by Roger Protz - I generally agree with most of his recommendations, and hopefully there was something about this batch of the beer, so you should give it a try if you find it. Apparently the beer is available in Britain as well.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 10:39 | link | comments (2)
beer, brewers, porter

The Daily Mail again

One more reason for boycotting the Daily Mail (as if they had any readership over here): They are ridiculing our beer prices!

The first sign all is not well in the state of Norway comes at the elegantly-designed airport in Oslo, when all the tall, tanned, and apparently placid Norwegians on your flight from London descend on duty free like starving wolves.

Alcohol, like so many other things here, is taxed so highly - and is so vital to the native idea of a good time - that it would be simply unthinkable to cross a national border without your regulation two litres of booze.

The Norwegians drink like Vikings, in vast amounts, very noisily, before tumbling out of bars in the early hours, women as drunk as men - perhaps the last remnant of Norse heritage.

Beer at £8 a pint

Yet, unlike our own binge drinkers, the Norwegians only give in to their thirst on the weekend - they cannot afford to do it more often. Beer, at £8 a pint, let alone wine or vodka, is a luxury.

The 4.5 million here may be among the richest in Europe, thanks to the profits of North Sea oil, but the cost of living is so high that anyone not on a Norwegian salary feels like a pauper.

 There is one thing worse than people lying about you – it is them telling the truth about you!

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 13:41 | link | comments (1)
beer, england, norway, pubs

Tried and tested: Havre Stout

I have written with unconditional praise about the stronger beers from the Norwegian micro Nøgne ø. I have hesitated before trying their Havre (Oat) Stout, as this is not my favourite beer style. The beer is pitch black, and I would say it has more aftertaste than taste. Some flavour of smoke, but overall a bit lightweight. This is far removed from their permium beers. But, as I said, I am not much of a stout drinker - but if you are a Guinness fan, by all means, give it a try!

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 20:09 | link | comments (6)
beer, brewers, norway, nøgne ø

Voting for their beer

We had a general election over here the other day. (A centre-left coalition took over from a centre-right coalition, so it won't make much of a difference. We have too much money for our own good, anyway!) One issue during the election campaign was to save jobs in the brewing industry. The outgoing government had decided to scrap a tax on non-reusable bottles. This would have led to a dismantling of the present system, where we transport empty bottles for washing and refilling them with beer and soft drinks. The trade union of the brewery workers ran an ad campaign saying this would lead to the loss of hundreds of jobs, and it is now confirmed that the tax will be re-introduced.

A spokesman for Ringnes, the Carlsberg-owned giant in the industry in Norway, confirms that keeping the tax means that they will scrap plans of closing down two of their plants for soft drinks.

A more interesting way of creating jobs in this industry would be to stimulate more small scale production of quality beers, instead of re-introducing trade barriers which benefit Carlsberg. And, in the long run, is it really worthwhile to subsidize these jobs - i.e. transporting and washing beer and soft drink bottles? If we want to compete in tomorrows marketplace, I would think it more feasible to go for more skilled jobs?

I do not blame the brewery workers for fighting for their jobs, but more populist politicians who want to freeze an old fashioned system.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 16:39 | link | comments (2)
beer, brewers, carlsberg, norway

Pubs boycott Daily Mail

According to the British pub trade paper the Publician, scores of publicans have filled out an online petition and agreeing to boycott the newspaper the Daily Mail. Many licensees say they have already stopped buying the Daily Mail since the newspaper’s “Say No To 24-Hour Pubs” push began earlier this year, while others have said they are throwing it out now.

The Publican began the initiative last week, after highlighting what they feel is a number of erroneous facts and misreporting in Daily Mail stories criticising pubs and the new licensing laws.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 06:46 | link | comments
beer, england, brewers

Another Dane

Vestfyen Classic Pils. Refreshing, with lots of taste from this small brewery which is mainly producing for the discount market, as far as I know. Fruity, and similarly plenty of hops. This is very similar to a good Czeck pils. If you have discount beer like this, you have no reason to complain! (They seem to have quite a few other beers as well. I'll have to do a study tour to Denmark soon!

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 18:02 | link | comments
beer, brewers, denmark

Tried and tested: Ørbæk Brown Ale

Top fermented, brewed on organic ingredients by a small Danish brewery. 5,8%, but by no means a heavy beer. Rather sweetish and fruity. Hazelnuts and some burnt toast. Quite similar to the best Norwegian Christmas beers. I like this! According to the brewery's web site they have a number of other ales, including a blueberry ale. I'll have to try that some time! Not available outside Denmark, I think.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 09:06 | link | comments (2)
beer, denmark

In München steht ein ...

One spot that attracts beer tourists in their thousands is the Octoberfest in Munich. I am not going, but for those of you who try to squeeze into your lederhosen again, there is a web site up with all the information you could possibly need. The beer prices are going up, with a  litre stein going for around € 7.

They sell a lot of souvenirs on the web as well, but when I did a check, the system told me I had to buy goods for a minimum of 50 Euros as I live outside the European Union. I am sorry, but this is what trade deficits are made of, guys!

For those who want more daring souvenirs, a couple of Bavarian designers have made a skirt for male drinkers at the festival. At 250 Euro (an extra €25 for the biggest sizes, thank you), I seriously doubt this will catch on. My advice is to try to peddle this when the beer tents close for the night and the judgment is a bit more hazy.

Still, we will fill our glasses (I have one of those one-litre monsters somewhere) with whatever wheat beer we can find and do a toast to the brave travellers who brave the singalongs and roasted chicken to uphold a noble tradition. Easy on that schnapps, mind you.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 16:29 | link | comments (1)
beer, german, brewers

A beer with your sausage, sir?

According to Danish daily Politiken, sausage vendors and snack bars in Denmark may freely sell beer for their customers to take away. Until recently you needed a licence for this, but this is now only needed if your customers are to drink the beer on the premises.

I don't really know if this is a big step for mankind, and I have no reason to believe that they will sell high quality ales with the hot dogs, but now you know!

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 18:11 | link | comments
beer, denmark

Tried and tested: Maximator

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 18:56 | link | comments
beer, france

Another world

We keep whining and complaining about good beers being few and far between, both in Norway, in Canada and, for all I know, in Hans Island as well.

Here is a glimse on beer culture, or the lack of it, in Gaza, nicked from killer-fact.com:

Drink is far from socially accepted, and Gaza is a big Hamas stronghold. We had a lesson the other day in which the word "pub" cropped up in some context or other. What were these "pubs", they wanted to know. I did my best to explain how pubs work.

They doubted it would catch on in Gaza: "If anyone opens a "pub" here, I will kill him," said one man, shaking with rage. It wasn't clear to me what he meant by he would "kill" him, whether this meant, "give him a piece of my mind," or "butcher him like a goat." I am thinking of going one step further and opening a massage parlour, selling whisky, pork chops and copies of the Satanic Verses. I'll make a fortune if they don't chop my head off for me. They wanted to know if I had ever drunk beer myself. I admitted that yes, on a couple of occasions, I had experimented. In the world beyond Gaza it is very popular, I explained. But why, they asked. Why do people drink beer? I thought about this for a moment. "It makes you feel... optimistic," I said," although in the long run it makes you fat and stupid." I think I summed up the pros and cons rather well.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 08:02 | link | comments
beer, pubs, palestine

A matter of survival

Without alcohol, how would man ever breed, asks Victoria Coren in The Observer.

I am delighted to find that the Committee of Advertising Practice has got absolutely nothing more important to think about than whether or not there should be bald men in booze commercials. There should, it turns out. A poster for Lambrini sparkling wine has been rapped for depicting a group of women attracting a handsome young fellow, thereby suggesting that 'the drink may bring sexual/social success ... We [the CAP] would advise that the man in the picture should be unattractive overweight, middle-aged, balding etc.' But that would be nonsensical. If you wanted to seduce a fat, bald old man, you wouldn't need to get him drunk first.

The wine company immediately challenged the CAP's idea of beauty, asking: 'Are Jack Nicholson and Sean Connery unattractive to women?'

Well, yes, frankly, and I've never understood the conspiracy which claims they aren't. Jack Nicholson is a raddled, lecherous, sexually incontinent old horror; and going to bed with Sean Connery would be like shagging Father Christmas.

If I were the owners of Lambrini, I would have taken issue with the more fundamental point made by CAP, whose new code insists that: 'Links must not be made between alcohol and seduction, sexual activity or sexual success.'

Now that really is Big Brother. The link between alcohol and seduction is absolutely undeniable. I have conducted my own small survey among friends and colleagues, and discovered that a telling 100 per cent of respondents first kissed their current partner while drunk. They first went to bed with them, it transpires, while only 'quite tipsy', but first said they loved them when 'totally insensible on booze'. It makes you wonder how people in the United Arab Emirates ever manage to breed.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 14:19 | link | comments
beer, pubs

Tried and tested: Fuller's ESB

Fuller's brewery in London har no less than three bitters on tap in its pubs: Chiswick bitter, the Flagship London Pride and Extra Special Bitter - ESB. The latter is exported in bottled form, and, as previously mentioned, this beer is now available here in Norway.

The taste of a proper English biter fills the mouth. If you close your eyes, you ate teleported into a pub somwhere in a London suburb. A lovely beer, with all the undertones, rich maltiness balanced with agressive hops you could wish for. This is a beer that has adapted marvellously to bottling, although there are probably nuances to the taste if you get it straight from the barrel.

To quote Roger Protz: The finished beer has an explosion of rich malt, marmalade fruit and peppery hops on the nose, with an enormous attack of juicy malt, orange peel and bitter hops resins in the mouth.

I'll drink to that.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 05:07 | link | comments
beer, england, bitter, fullers

A decent post soon. Meanwhile, a beer joke...

A pony walks into a bar, and in a soft and raspy voice says to the bartender, "Gimme a beer." The bartender says, "Sure buddy, sounds like you got a cough." The pony replies, "I'm a little hoarse."

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 17:51 | link | comments
beer, youngs