Subjective ramblings about beer, pubs and associated topics

Beer with vertigo

I was in Sicily earlier this mont, and a highligt of the week was an excursion to Mount Etna, a volcano rising more than 3000 metres above sea level. The stay in Sicily had not been very eventful beerwise, so I had not expected the visit to Etna to bring anything siginficant, either.

The bus was winding its way up to 2000 metres, and one member of the family was sligtly sick. I was happy to volunteer to stay with him at 2000 metres while the rest of the crowd continued ut even steeper slopes to 3000 metres in terrain vehicles. I am not too happy abot heights, to put it mildly.

While the others continued upwards, we took a hike around a few of the lower craters and admired the magnificent views both upwards and downwards. Afterwards, there was time for a refreshement, and I was happy to spot a sign in a bar window advertising beers from the Ceria brewery. I had a small glass of the pils, which was on tap, and bought a few bottles of their Bionda, which was bottled.

The bus that was taking us back was parked outside a hotel, and I popped in to get my wife a cup of coffee before we went down. A new pleasant surprise was a beer tap serving Etna Bräu, a very nice pilsener. My photos of the beer sign were not clear enough to give the details about the brewery. A google search was without result.I therefore e-mailed the Hotel Corsaro when I got  home, and got a speedy reply from the hotel manager that the beer in question was brewed for them by La Caverna del Mastro Birraio. (Personally, he tells me, he prefers Belgian ales. I'd be careful about drinking stong Beligans at that height, though!)

So, the lesson today is: Keep your eyes open. There are beers coops to be found in the most unlikely places!

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 16:00 | link | comments
beer

Helsinki II - Pullman Pub

Railway station pubs aren't always the most inviting places, they tend to attract their feir number of weirdoes. A very pleast excample of the species is the Pullman Pub in Helsinki, located on the first floor of the impressive Central Station building.

A dozen Czech, Belgian and English beers on tap and two cask ales. One of the cask ales is a rotating English guest ale, one is a Finnish ale. On my visit it was a Pullman Bitter brewed for them by the Stadin brewery, which is closed, but some of the beer is still available.

A relaxed place to be in the afternoon, though I imagine there are times when this is more crowded. And the ales were both in fine form, the English beer was Mole's Sunshine Celebration, a fine golden ale for the Summer season. The Pullmans Bitter was also a fine English style ale, smooth, with enough malt and hops to make a lovely long lingering aftertaste.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 14:55 | link | comments (2)
beer, brewers, finland

John White RIP

Tonight we raise our glasses to John White, beer writer and beer traveller, who happily shared his knowledge and enthusiasm with us. My sympathies to his family.

I never met him outside the exchange of e-mails, but his web page has been a real inspiration for this blog, which is humble compared to his documentation of his travels.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 20:36 | link | comments
blogs, beer

Helsinki I - Suomenlinnan Panimo

15 minutes by jetty or ferry from the busy market square in central Helsinki there is  a cluster of island which make up the old fortress of Sveaborg or Suomenlinnan. It is worth spending a day there if the weather is nice, there are a number of museums giving you the history of Finland, there are picnic spots and playgrounds or secluded corners where you can read a book or just watch the clouds and the waves.

Not for this beer traveler, of course. Consulting the map, I made my way across the main island straight for the brewpub, or rather brew restaurant, situated there.

The Suomenlinnan Panimo had three range of beers on when I visited, an ale, a porter and a pilsener. As it was lunchtime, I decided to try their buffet as well. A fine range of salads and fish dishes as well as loaves of dark and tasty rye bread seemed like good idea.

The rustic food went very well with the porter, which had a hint of forest fire, aniseed and coffee - just the thing to match pickled vegetables and marinated herring. The food was so good I had to go back for some more, also enquiring about the recipe for a lovely beetroot pate which was very decorative.

After the porter I also tried the pilsener and the Coyet Ale, but these beers were more run of the mill.

It was early in the day, so there were few guests oth inside and on the terrace. I can imagine this is filled up on balmy afternoons and evenings. The ones keeping me company now were serious daytime drinkers, who were quite chatty when they found out I was Norwegian, but they didn't make too interested company. I relaxed with my book for another half an hour before catching the ferry back, ready to face the crowds again.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 16:44 | link | comments
beer, brewers, finland

Spontanous applause for Panil

The good brewer of the Panil brewery in Torrechiara, Italy, has been experimenting again, this time with a spontanously fermented beer related to the ones we find in Belgium.

The beer is left in the open for one night with a full moon, covered with hop flowers for them to catch the yeast spores from the air. The brewing process takes only 20 days from heating the mash to bottling, so there is no aging here. I assume that there will be lots of yeast spores from winemaking floating around in this area, giving a rather potent fermentation.

So, how was the bottle I brought home?

Lots of fluffy head over a cloudy yellow beer, lively natural carbonation. The head has a texture I don't recognize from other beers.

Fresh citrus aroma. A lambic-like sourness, but not in an extreme way. Refreshing, quite easy-drinking beer with hints of lemon and sour apples. Like its Belgian realtives, it does not tell much about the malt used in the brewing. A beer for sipping in the shade on a hot day.

A little yeasty on the tongue, a little residue in the bottle.

And cheers once again to Panil for daring to go their own way!

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 16:50 | link | comments
italy, beer, brewers