Subjective ramblings about beer, pubs and associated topics

From the extreme North

I have managed to lay my hands on a few beers from Iceland and Greenland recently, and I decided to try them at one setting.

They have been brewing in Iceland for many years, but they used to have a rather peculiar system where full strength beers was banned - except the beer being sold at the duty free on arrival in Keflavik airport. This has changed over the last few decades, with beer being more easily available. The Egils Gull (which means gold), was a disappointment. Another standard lager, it smells of malt, and it has a malty taste, too. Thin and watery, there's no need to go to Iceland for this!

More interesting is the new brewery in Greenland, which uses the exotic gimmick for all it is worth. Most of the ingredients have to be shipped in, so the special factor is the crystal clear melting water from the glacier.

Their Brown ale is a dark gold beer with a firm head. It smells sweet, and it tastes of sweet malt, too. Some fruit and nuts in the aroma, and there is grassy hoppiness in the finish, too.

The Pale Ale is amber, and has less head. It has a delicate hoppy smell, and a hoppy aroma, too. More of a well hopped English ale than an extreme American APA.

I have been to a few bars recently, the Porterhouse in both Dublin and London and the Rake in London, where they have some fine brews, but then add very boring lagers from around the globe to boost their range. The Greenland Pale Ale could have been a core of an alternative, with good beers from small beer nations. There are some logistics involved here, but I would not be surprised if Copenhagen boosted a bar focusing on good beer from exotic countries.

Posted by: KnutAlbert at 14:57 | link | comments
beer, brewers, denmark, greenland

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