Saturdays beer

I’ve been a bit busy so haven’t had time to post about the beers from Saturday. But here they are:

Monks Café Svea IPA (5,8%)
It poured a hazy golden liquid with a small foam that left a nice lacing. It had a strong smell of grassy hops, citrus and grapefruit. The taste is very fresh with medium to high bitterness and had lots of grapefruit and grassy hops. I really enjoyed this beer and would love to have it on a sunny day.
Total: 3,8/5

Struisse Rosse (6%)
It poured a hazy golden liquid with a medium foam, had some yeast at the bottom. It looked very appealing. It had a smell of orange and other citrus fruit, a bit "stingy" on the nose. The taste surprised me at first; it was sour, sweet and fruity with hints of druid orange. Very interesting beer and I enjoyed it.
Total: 4/5

Stone Ruination IPA (7,7%)
It poured a hazy golden liquid with a small foam. Smelled of grassy hops and grapefruit. The first taste turned my mouth into a wrinkly little circle. This beer is so bitter that it made my ass-hairs curl up in a fetus position. Since I love really bitter beers I’ve always wondered how far you can push it before it goes over the edge. Well I think Stone has crossed that edge, this was a bit too much for me. But I was in a bit of a rush and think I need to try it again to give it a second chance.
Total: 2,9/5

Testing La Trappe

I finally got a full set of La Trappe ales this Easter. So yesterday I decided to try them out together.

La Trappe is the only trappist beer brewed outside of Belgium. The Dutch king donated the land to a group of monks migrating from northern France and the monestary Koningshoeven (the Kings Garden) was founded. The brewery was founded in 1884 and they named it Schaapskoi (fårfålla, not sure about English translation). After the Second World War the brewery was bought by Stella Artois who wanted to get a foot hold in Holland. But the their beer “Trappist Pils” was a fiasco and the monks bought it back. They now brew the trappist classics Dubbel, Tripel and Quadrupel, using varieties of münchener malt and hops from Hallertauer and British Goldings.

La Trappe – Dubbel (7%)
It poured a hazy dark red liquid with a big foam, but didn’t leave any lacing on the glass. It had a nice fizzy smell of bread, dried fruit (orange) and peppery spices. The first taste hugged my tongue and it was allot smoother than I expected. The taste was very similar to the smell with the peppery spices and dried fruit. Very round and well balanced which made it easy to drink. Out of the three this was my favorite.
Total: 4/5
La Trappe – Tripel (8%)
It poured a hazy golden liquid with a big bubbly foam which left some nice lacing. Smelled of warm alcohol and dried fruit. My first reaction when I tasted it was that it tickled my tongue, it also left an oily sensation. It was a bit sweet with hints of bread and dried fruit.
Total: 3,5/5
La Trappe - Quadrupel (10%)
It poured a hazy amber liquid with a huge foam (had to be fast to pour after opening). It had a strong smell with hints of dried fruit, bread, red wine, spices and alcohol. As with the tripel this one also tickled but this time on the top of my mouth. I wonder what the cause is of that sensation; it’s almost like eating kiwi. The taste was similar to the smell with lots of spices, dried fruit, bread and allot of alcohol. I found it to be a bit to fizzy for my taste though, even after letting it rest for a while, but still a good beer with a very round and complex taste.
Total: 3,7/5

They where all good beers, but not the best trappists I've had. They also had some similarities, a common character, but I can't say exactly what it is. Probably the use of similar ingredients and yeast.

American Good Friday

As I mentioned in a previous post we had an American beer testing on Good Friday (Lång Fredag). Well we had to drink something while brewing ;)

Flying Dog – Wild Dog Schwarz (7,8 %)
A dark black liquid with a dark foam and a smoky smell. It had a smoked taste with hints of chocolate and tobacco.
Total: 3,5/5

Fullers – Golden Pride (8,5 %)
The only non-american beer that we tried. Had a very weak smell but a nice round taste of sweet caramel and a bit sticky in the mouth. An alright beer.
Total: 2,7/5

XS Rogue – Imperial Youngers Special Bitter (7,4 %, 52 IBU)
Smelled of flowery hops. The taste is quite bitter with a bite to it. After warming the beer a bit the taste improved allot. Had a very round and nice taste.
Total: 3,6/5

XS Rogue – Imperial IPA (9,5%, 74 IBU)
It poured a hazy golden liquid with a small foam, looked very appealing and smelled fresh with lots of hops. The taste was really strong with flowery hops, I even wrote down “Hop Juice” in my notepad. I really enjoy these kinds of beer and this was a really good one. My favorite of the evening.
Total: 4,1/5

XS Rogue – Old Crustacean Barley Wine (11,5%, 110 IBU)
It had a weak caramellic taste. The taste was dry with a very high bitterness. I’m not sure why but I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the other Rogue ales of the evening.
Total: 2,8/5

Left Hand – Rye Bock (7,7 %)
Smells of malt and caramell. The taste is very malty and easy to drink. A good lager but not a great beer.
Total: 2,7/5

Left Hand – Twin Sisters Double IPA (9,7 %)
The smell is dominated by citrusy hops. The taste is similar with lots of hops and bitterness but still smooth and easy to drink, doesn’t have that bitter bite to it that sometimes ruin these kinds of beers. Very nice!
Total: 3,9/5

Left Hand – Smoke Jumper (9,9 %)
Smelled of smoke, bitter chocolate and ham. The taste has a very strong hint of smoked ham (in Sweden called Lönnberga Skinka). Also some hints of tobacco and dark chocolate.
Total: 3,6/5

Sierra Nevada – Harvest Wet Hop Ale (6,7 %)
Smelled and tasted of flowery hops. Had a medium to high bitterness and was very easy to drink.
Total: 3,5/5

Goose Island – Bourbon County Stout (11 %)
Smelled of fudge and chocolate. Tasted of banana, chocolate, fudge, sweet and salty. Very nice! Most of the people at the testing really enjoyed this one.
Total: 4,1/5

Chrilles Mystery Beer

My father got an untagged bottle of beer from his brewing friend Chrille. We didn’t know anything about the beer so it was pretty exciting opening and seeing the hazy amber liquid pour out.






It smelled a bit fruity and sweet with some hints of banana. So my first thought was dunkel weissbier. The taste was a bit weak with hints of smoked ham. Was pretty nice and I hope I was right about the beer type. Maybe Chrille can confirm?
Total: 3/5

Confusing Old Ox

I had a blind testing during Good Friday (Lång Fredag). It turned out to be Mariestad 6,9% and Mariestad Old Ox (also 6,9%). The confusing part is that Mariestad 6,9% is sold as Old Ox at some Systembolag and others sell Old Ox. They also have the same article number. So are they the same beer? My result is that they do differ on appearance, smell and taste. The only thing they have in common is the watered down taste.

Mariestad 6,9%
The liquid was clear yellow with a very small foam. It had a sweet taste with some hops, but was very watery and boring.
Total: 1,4/5

Mariestad Old Ox 6,9%
The liquid was golden with a medium foam. It had a metallic watery taste. My first reaction was that this was some American beer like Miller or Bud. Very watery and boring.
Total: 1,1/5

Anybody have any information on this?

Six in the dark

I had a busy Saturday which included both a visit to the house of pain (aka IKEA), grown up Lego (assembling furniture) and cooking for an army (for some reason I always cook to much food). It was also Earth hour yesterday, which means you turn of your electricity between 20:30 and 21:30. I guess allot of people spend this time having sex, but I had some six instead.

I tested Maredsous 6 and Rochefort 6, both of which I have written about previously in my blog but then I didn’t have these bottles. So I figured why not fill in the gaps.

Maredsous 6 (6%)

Appearance: Hazy golden colour with a huge foam that left a ton of lacing. It actually leaves big chunks of foam on the side of the glass. Looks very appealing.

Smell: Ripe fruit, sweet, yeast and nuts.

Taste: Sweet but not so fruity, some nuts, spicy with some yeast and a slight alcoholic taste. However it’s pretty smooth and easy to drink. It feels very balanced but I would have preferred some more spicy taste to it.

Total: 3,7/5

Note: Maredsous 8 got a 3,4/5

While trying this beer, Karin showed up with some freshly baked raspberry and chocolate chunky cup cakes. They worked very well with the beer actually. I would give the combo a 3,5/5.

Rocherfort 6 (7,5%)

Appearance: Hazy dark orange colour with a big foam that quickly disappeared and left no lacing. It also had some yeast in the bottle.

Smell: Dried fruits, nuts and a hint of orange and banana. There’s a distinct smell which I can’t distinguish.

Taste: Strong taste of nuts, also ripe fruit. Fizzy with a small bite to it, alcoholic aftertaste. The mysterious smell is in the taste as well, not sure what it is.

I really like this beer, I’ve actually liked all of the Rochefort beers I’ve had so far.

Total: 4,1/5

Note: Rocherfort 8 got a 4,2/5
Rocherfort 10 got a 4,4/5

Lager and pizza

The missus brought some pizza home from work and I figured this was a good opportunity to try a couple of lagers I had in the fridge. I’m actually not a big fan of lagers. Most of the time I find them boring and they usually taste the same. However I have this weird idea that they work well with pizza.

(We split the two pizzas, to the left some meat and Béarnaise, to the right a kebab pizza)

I got a tip from Bursat to try an Efes 500 ml in a dark bottle, since it is from the old brewery. Systembolaget had a bottle that fit the description, so I hope I managed to get the correct one. Unfortunately I couldn’t get my hands on a different bottle to compare against so I bought a Landsorts Lager from Nynäshamn instead.

Efes Pilsener (5%)

Apperance: Clear yellow colour. Medium foam that left a little lacing.

Smell: Weak smell with a hint of metal and something sweet.

Taste: Lean taste and easy to drink. Had a very low bitterness and hints of bread, metal and that sweet smell I couldn’t but my finger on.

This beer probably works wonders on a sunny beach, but in my livingroom with a snow storm raging outside it feels out of place.

Total: 1,7/5

Nynäshamn Landsorts Lager. (5,3%)

Apperance: Clear golden colour with some small pieces floating in the beer. Small foam that left little to no lacing. For a lager it has a quite appealing apperance.

Smell: Weak smell of bread and metal.

Taste: Medium to low bitterness and a hint of bread and metal. It has a small bite to it and a bit more taste. An ok beer but still a bit boring.

Total: 2,3/5

Nynäshamn won this one, but it was a bit unfair since it's a microbrewery versus a much larger brewery. Efes actually stands it's ground quite well against the other lagers I've tried. Thanks for the tip Bursat Im very interested in more ideas or tips :)

Spring time?

It has felt like this winter will never end and that bottle of Oppigårds Spring Ale is starting to grow dust in my fridge. Well today I had a busy day which started with a very interesting job interview. Then I punished myself in the gym, ran a couple of errands and ended with cleaning the apartment. When I was done, I looked out and realized the weather wasn't half bad and I felt I had earned a reward. So I got my beer, a book and took cower from the chilly winds.

Appearance: The beer had a very appealing appearance with a clear golden color and a big foam that left allot of lacing.

Smell: The smell was very strong of hops and a hint of citrus.

Taste: Got a very fresh and bitter taste of grassy hops. The beer has been dry hopped which you really taste as you drink it. I liked this one, the freshness of the hops really appealed to me.

Total 3,7/5

Oh and I almost forgot… I got the job :)

Testing La Goudale, Stella and Milk Stout

I have a couple of fun tests coming up but I’m either missing a bottle to make it a full set or the quantity of beer is too large for a solo test. Yesterday I was running out of beer to drink so I headed off to Systembolaget to buy me a couple of beers. I went for the beers I’ve tried before but forgotten what they tasted like. First up was la Goudale (7,2%) from Gayant.

Background: It is a Biére de Gardé which translates to “beer to preserve”. According to Micheal Jacksons book “Beer”, this type of beers works wonders with lamb. But unfortunately I rarely eat lamb so I haven’t been able to try it out.

Apperance: Clear golden colour with a medium foam, which left a nice lacing.

Smell: The smell is very faint, either I'm sick or this smelled like water.

Taste: Has an alcoholic taste, also bread, malty with a hint of pears or apples. The aftertaste had a hint of honey. The taste improved when the temperature went up.

An easy to drink beer, it’s not bad but slightly boring.
Total: 2.8/5

While drinking the above beer I made some homemade pizza and I figured a lager would be suitable. So I opened a Stella Artois (5,2%), a beer I last had 8 years ago. I think I know why now…

Background: Stella has roots all the way back to 1366 and the founding of the brewery Den Horen (the Horn); the symbol for the brewery is visible on the label. In 1717 Sebastian Artois, the current brew master bought the brewery and changed its name. 1926 the beer Stella Artois was introduced. The brewery has since then grown and later on came to merger with another brewery creating InBev.

Apperance: Clear yellow colour, big foam that disappeared fast and left a lacing.

Smell: Had a very weak smell, almost not existent.

Taste: Had a lean and slightly bitter taste which saves it, besides that it was very watery and boring. Probably the worst Belgian beer I’ve ever tasted. However it has the highest score for a lager so far. But I haven’t tested many lagers seriously so far.

Total: 2/5

After those two beers I wanted something better so I pulled out a Milk Stout (5,2%) from Left Hand Brewery. Also a beer I haven’t tried for several years.

Background: The brewery is named after Chief Niwot whose tribe wintered in the area close to the brewery. The name Left Hand is derived from the southern Arapaoe word “Niwot”, meaning Left Hand.

Apperance: Black colour and small light brown foam.

Smell: Smells of dark chocolate, tobacco, smoke and a burned smell I can't describe.

Taste: Tastes of dark bitter chocolate and left a smoked/burned aftertaste in my mouth. A lean but dry beer and I really liked it.

Total: 3,7/5

Testing Kwak

I didnt have a more organised beer testing planned for today so I just grabbed a bottle of Kwak (8,4%) from the fridge.

Background: Kwak is mostly famous for the timeglass shaped glas you can see in the picture to your right. Apparently it's supposed to look like a goblet that riders used during the 18th century. The design made it possible to secury the goblet in the sadel between swigs. The beer is named after Pauwel Kwak who was a legendary inn keeper, famous for his strong ales. This beer is supposedly similar to the one he made.

Apperance: The beer has a clear dark amber colour with a big foam that quickly dissapeared and left a nice lacing.

Smell: Yeast and a sweet smell that reminds me of dried oranges.

Taste: Bread, grass, caramell, sweet, fruity and a burned aftertaste, similar to burned toast. The taste is sweet and leaves a sticky feeling in my mouth.

The alcohol was well hidden, didnt expect to see 8,4% when I checked the bottle after half a glass. I liked this one, its not great but its above average.

Total: 3,7/5

Sleepy Bulldog Pale Ale

Me and the missus went to Stockholm to meet up with her mother and some relatives. As usual we made a pitstop at Bishops Arms on Vasagatan. I aimed for the guest taps and there I find Tommy Tommy sitting and drinking a beer. He was on his way to Thailand and had taken an early train to Stockholm to grab a couple of beers while waiting for the plane. The guy was definitely thirsty ;)

After a quick chat I ordered a Sleepy Bulldog Pale Ale from Gotlands Bryggeri (Spendrups). Was an average IPA, had medium bitterness and a pleasent smell, hopy and some citrus. But the taste was a bit to weak to get a high grade.

Bihops had allot of Sierra Nevada on the taps tonight. Only other beer that felt interesting was the Harvest Ale. Unfortunately I didnt have time to test it but at least I have a bottle at home for future testing.

Testing Leffe

As I have mentioned before, we participated in a brewing course at Monks a while back. We brewed a dark strong Belgian ale, a double in other words and named it Sugar Daddy Double (SDD). When we later tested it someone said that it reminded him of Leffe Brune. Well I of course felt I needed to test it out so I bought a bottle and figured I might as well buy a Blonde while I’m at it.



Compared to SDD Leffe Brune has a clear dark amber color close to black, while SDD had a hazy dark colour and darker foam. Leffe has a similar spicy smell and taste. What differs between them is that Leffe has a metallic taste and SDD was more malty. I’m biased on the subject but I feel that SDD was allot better. Well it was brewed in a much smaller scale so that might be it. Regarding the question of its similarity my friend wasn’t off by much.


I also tried Leffe Blonde and it was allot better than Brune. A round yeasty taste with hints of apple, spices and hops. Felt really nice and is a great way to start if you are new to Belgian beer.

Testing Orval

I tried Orval today and was hoping to do it in the warm sun. But when I finally got the beer poured and ready the sun was gone but no problem. At least I had a tasty glass of beer to comfort me with. I gotta say it was some comfort :)

The monestary that brews Orval was formed by immigrating Italian monks in 1076, but they moved out after only 40 years. The monastery was then inhabited by different kinds of monks until the trappist monks took over in 1132. The monestary has been raided twice since then and lay in ruins between 1790 and 1930 when the trappists returned and rebuilt the monestary. The brewery has since then become a separate company but the winnings still go to the monestary.

Orval is slightly different compared to the other trappists. Well for starters its not divided into doubles, triples and so on. Its just one beer and well they do it good. The beer ferments three times and is dry hoped with Hallertau and Styrian Golding hops. The beer doesn’t taste like any of the other kinds of trappist beers. It also looks different with a hazy copper colour and a huge foam. It doesn’t fit perfectly with the whole double-triple types, its close to a double. It tastes of yeast, spices, citrus fruits, wood and a hint of nuts. It had a stingy bitterness but it suited the beer quite nicely. It also improved the warmer it got, it was a bit to cold to start with. Orval is a really great beer and gives great value for your money.

O'Connors i Uppsala

Det blev ingen Leffe provning igår. Istället tog jag och sambon en oplanerad tur till Uppsala. Hon hade några böcker att hämta på Universitetsbiblioteket och jag smet därför iväg till O'Connors för att prova några öl. Det är ett ställe jag brukade smita in på när vi bodde där under studietiden. Dom brukar alltid ha en massa intressanta öl på tap och även en del på flaska. Så även denna gång. Tyvärr hade jag ingen kamera med mig denna gång.

Jag möttes i baren av en mycket trevlig bartender som tyckte det var kul att diskutera öl. Sånt uppskattar jag verkligen. Jag började med att prova Slottskällans Decenium Bocköl på fat. Den hade en härligt gyllenbrun färg och kraftigt skum. Luktade lite fruktigt sött av banan. Smakade av karamell, malt, bröd och aningen fruktigt. Den kändes dock lite klen för att vara en bock, men väldigt behaglig och lättdrucken.

Jag hade sen tänkt prova Mahou Negra på fat eftersom jag inte hört talas om den. Men tydligen hade teknikern på Carlsberg supit till det och kopplat fel så flera kranar fungerade inte. Istället provade jag en Samuel Adams White Ale på fat. Men den måste det ha blivit något fel med. Luktade och smakade konstigt av ost och mjölk.

Efter det tog jag en Deuchars IPA från Caledonian, denna fanns dock bara på flaska. Även denna hade en mörkt gyllene färg med ett medelt stort skum. Kryddig doft. Smakade blommigt av humle men inte särskilt besk. I eftersmaken kunde man känna tydliga honungstoner. Kändes inte riktigt som en IPA.

Mitt i min provning av Deuchars så dök sambon upp och vi beställde in en varsinn hamburgertallrik. Det var ingen dålig laddning man fick. Hamburgaren var gjord på plats med rejält med köttfärs som serverades i ett fiberberikat bröd tillsamans med ost och bacon. Till detta fick man en rejält tilltagen portion pommes med cole slaw, dressing och sallad. Smakade riktigt bra och kostade bara 129 kr så det var prisvärt jämfört med Stockholm där en motsvarande tallrick kan kosta 30 kronor mer och då får man halva portioner. Jag kan reomendera O'Connors om ni är på besök i Uppsala. Trevlig personal, intressant och god öl och prisvärd pubmat. Det ligger i ena hörnet på det stora torget mitt i stan. Det finns även en del andra bra pubbar i stan, tex den engelska pub som ligger bredvid universitetshuset. Men om ni är student så ska ni givetvis prova nationerna. Vissa av dom har riktigt bra öl-utbud för ovanligt låga priser.

Innan vi åkte tillbaka till Stockholm så tog jag mig en Sierra Nevada Pale Ale på fat. Smakade som den brukar, blommigt humlig doft och smak med en härlig beska.

Sugar Daddy Double

Det blev en mycket lyckad kväll igår. Vi började som sagt redan på förmiddagen med en tur till Humlegården. Blev förvånad av hur långt ut det låg. Trodde det låg närmare stan. Men det var kul att gå runt och titta på alla prylar man kunde inhandla. Farsan köpte ett kit med fat, gaspatron och en massa slangar som han ska ha till pumpen hemma. Sen bar det av in mot stan för lunch of bastu. Gubbarna hade lånat en lägenhet som låg i närheten av Handelshögskolan. Rikigt fin med både bastu och pool på innergården. Efter bastun provade vi en Maredsous 8 som bytit etikett sedan senast jag drack den.


Smakade bra även denna gång även om jag inte hade något minne av att den var så rökig. Farsan hade också fyndat en Mikkeller Fra & Till som vi avsmakade innan det blev färd mot Monks. När jag satte mig i taxin så fick jag ett sms från en vän: "Tjena, det är Anders. Sitter på Monks och provar öl, är du i närheten?". Så när vi kom dit så beställde vi fram lite extra stolar och började prova vår egna brygd: Sugar Daddy Double. Den var svagt kryddad och len i smaken. Kändes väldigt låg i alkoholhalten jämfört med liknande öl. Jag och brorsan kom fram till att den nog var rätt nära Leffe Dark. Tyvärr beställde vi aldrig in för att jämföra.

Efter ett par glas började vi prova lite annan öl och det blev en del godbitar. Bl.a. en tall (trädet) ale. Alba - Scots Pine Ale Smakade sött av tall och päron. Väldigt intressant öl.



Morfar hade fått upp ögonen för ett argentiskt mikrobryggeri som hette Antares så jag sprang och hämtade en Barley Wine åt han. Morfar sa att den var god men att han föredrog dubbeln som vi varit med och bryggt. Den hade smak av honung och humle, smakade inte riktigt som en normal Barley wine. Den var väldigt söt med och påminnde mer om en mjöd.



Nästa runda tänkte jag ta ett säkrare kort så jag tog in en Riegele Veteöl till morfar och en Struise Pannepot 2006 till mig själv. Veteölen var ok, men knappast den bästa jag provat, samtidigt som Pannepot'en var riktigt fin. Smaken verkligen exploderade i munnen och attackerade hela tungan. Den var söt och kryddig, med lång eftersmak. Smaker som jag upplevde var: mörk chocklad, rök, tobak/cigarr, bränd karamell, torkad frukt, muskot och lakrits. I mina kommentarer har jag bl.a. skrivit: "Härlig!!". Måste prova mer av Struise nästa gång.




Nu började det bli dags för hemgång och vi hade till slut lyckats betala för maten. Då tog farsan och Mårten in en varsin flaska De Molen. Först en Hel & Verdoemenis (Hell and Damnation) och sen en Steen & Been (Stone and Bone). Båda var riktiga smakbomber men inte lika välbalanserade som Pannepot'en. Den första var klart bäst i mina ögon samtidigt som den sista var lite för mycket för min smak. Kändes lite som när jag drack en Thomas Hardy Ale som inte lagrats klart. Lite grann som att dricka saftkoncentrat. Men nu är ja petig, det var ändå två riktigt bra öl. Mårten hade tagit in den sistnämnda och jag skrev ner ett citat: "Den smakar ladugård. Utsökt!". Tyvärr börjar min kamera bli gammal och tar i tid och otid oklara bilder. Men här är en bild på den första:

Då kanske man ska ta och betygsätta dom här på ratebeer också...