SBWF 2009, part 1

I'm finally vertical again after yesterdays visit at Stockholm Beer and Whisky festival. It was a great festival and I got to experience allot of interesting beers.

I meet up with Per and his brother Henning at Slussen to take the buss to Nacka Strand. Unfortunately we wheren't the only ones that was going the same way and the platform was packed with people lining up to get on the buss. After 25 minutes the buss finally showed up and it's a small one. SL should really get some critique here, it's the same way each year. They should really use some extra busses on days like this. However we managed to squeeze ourselfs in on the first buss that came. Once we got to Nacka we joined up with my father and Erika who had taken the car from Örebro/Frövi. The line was long but it was decimated very fast and before we knew it we where rushing for the first pitstop.

We started with Hantverksbryggeriet from Västerås. Last year they had a blueberry lambic that got allot of attention and they ran out of it very fast. So this year I wanted to start here to have a chance at testing it. We all choose different beers, I took Alkemisten (blueberry lambic). The others took Julnarren, Baronen and Bödeln.

Here's some short reviews:
Hantverksbryggeriet Alkemisten (bottle) 5%
It poured a hazy red liquid with a very small reddish foam. It had a strong sweet and sour smell of gruits and berries. It tasted fruity and yeasty. But I couldn't really feel the blueberries, tasted more like black currant and other red berries. It was also a bit watery and lacked some depth and roundness in the mouthfeel. Sorry to say that it didn't live up to my expectations, not one of the better lambics I've had.
Total: 2,9/5
Hantverksbryggeriet Julnarren (tap) 7%
It poured a hazy dark brown-golden liquid with a small foam. Smelled of dark bread and spices. Tasted similar but also dry and it felt like it was missing something. Decent christmas beer though.
Total: 3,2/5

Hantverksbryggeriet Baronen (tap) 11,3%
It poured a hazy dark golden liquid with a light brown foam that left some lacing. It had a strong smell with some warm alcohol. It felt round, thick and smooth in my mouth. Had a warm alcoholic finnish. Tasted of caramell, malt and fruity. Very nice.
Total: 4/5

Hantverksbryggeriet Bödeln (tap) 5,6%
It poured a hazy orange liquid with a light orange foam. Strong smell of grassy hops, pine, citrus and grape. High bitterness, grape, citrus, grassy hops. Fresh and lots of hops, I liked it.
Total: 3,8/5