BrewDog coming to Bishops Arms

I've been slacking with the blog lately. Well I haven't actually slacked with the blog in general as I have been working on different projects concerning the blog. Also have some other beer related project that is stealing time.

But back to what's important and that is beer. James Watt from BrewDog will visit Bishops Arms at Folkungagatan tomorrow. The visit is connected to the release of Abstrakt -01, a vanilla bean infused quadrupel. Sounds jummy if you ask me. There will be more beers on tap and I wouldn't mind trying their Hardcore IPA on tap. I plan to visit Fräcka Halvpannan tomorrow and I hope I get some time to run over to Bishops and meet James Watt. Also heard Darren from Beer Sweden will be there, would be fun to meet him as well. But we will see what happens tomorrow.

New beer from Närke

Just got an email from Närke Kulturbryggeri. They have brewed a new beer together with Menno Olivier from De Molen. It's a Belgian double brewed with Finish smoked malt, Swedish juniper and Chinese tangerine peels, which they named Närke Double Dutch Viking (6,8%).

As far as I know this is the first Belgian styled beer that Närke makes. Also think this is the first time they do a coop brew. So I'm pretty interested in trying this beer out, considering I usually love both De Molens and Närkes beers this could be really good.

Below is a list of breweries that will get it soon or already have it:

ÖREBRO
Bishop's Arms (Drottninggatan 1)

LINKÖPING
De Klomp (S:t Larsgatan 13)

GÖTEBORG
Ölrepubliken (Kronhusgatan 2B)

STOCKHOLM
Akkurat (Hornsgatan 18)
Hörnans Kök & Belgo Bar (Bryggargatan 12, Stockholm)

New beers at Systembolaget today!

For the third time this month Systembolaget release new beers. The reason this one isn't at the start of April is because of the Easter holidays. Since these beers are released into the permanent supply at Systembolaget they aren't all that exciting. For once I won't buy all of the beers released. I'll skip all the ones that have just changed packaging. I'll give some short comments below:

Adnams The Bitter - 4,5% - 50 cl - 19,90 SEK
As far as I can see this is the same beer as they have had on can before, this time released as a bottle.

Belhaven Wee Heavy - 6,5% - 35,5 cl - 17,90 SEK
If I'm not incorrect this beer has been part of the permanent supply before but now comes back in a smaller bottle.

Bjørnebryg - 4,5% - 33cl - 7,90 SEK
Released with a lower ABV and lowered price.

BrewDog Trashy Blond - 4,1% - 33 cl - 15,90 SEK

Another BrewDog beer in the permanent supply? Have to give it to them, they are very successful in getting their beers into Systembolaget. If I'm not misstaken this beer was initially released with a very different sticker. Couldn't find a picture of it though.

Bryggmästarens Premium Guld - 5,7% - 50cl - 12,90 SEK
Just a switch from can to bottle.

Carlsberg Hof, PET-bottle - 5% - 50 cl 15,10 SEK

The same Carslberg Hof but this time in a Pet-bottle.

Früli Strawberry Beer - 4,1% - 25 cl - 14,90 SEK

A wheat beer with strawberries? I'm getting some Hoegaarden Rosé flashbacks here, but I also like different kinds of lambics. No idea if this will be something similar, but it's definitely worth a try. The ratings at Ratebeer is very spread, most of the 'big' raters gives this a 2/5.

Åbro Guldkällan - 4,8% - 50 cl - 14,50 SEK

Used to be in a can now it's released as a bottle.

Jenlain Blonde - 5,9% - 33 cl - 12,90 SEK

It sounds like an interesting Belgian blonde but it's a pale lager from France. I don't have high hopes but I will try it out.

Lager No 1 - 4,7% - 50 cl - 24,90 SEK

I tried this beer at SMÖF and really liked it. One of the better lagers I've tried, it's going to be interesting to see what I think about it this time.

Mikkeller Jackie Brown - 6% - 50 cl - 34,90 SEK

A brown ale from Mikkeller? Sure why not, I'm definitely trying it out. Nice score at Ratebeer as well putting it at the 95th percentile.

Mohawk Extra India Pale Ale - 7,5% - 50 cl - 36,10 SEK
This is probably the beer I'm most interested in trying out. I thought the regular Mohawk IPA was pretty good, interesting to see Rye in a beer. But this is a more hopped up version of that beer, which sounds very intriguing.

Pripps Blå - 5,2% - 33 cl - 10,50 SEK
Not sure what this is, probably new packaging.

S:t Eriks Pilsner - 5,3% - 33 cl - 15,90 SEK

This beer is an old brand that is re-released with Jessica Heidrich as head brewer. I haven't tried her Angels Share beer but I tried plenty of homemade beer from her and they are always of high quality. Nice bottle as well.

Sailor, PET-flaska - 5% - 33 cl - 12,90 SEK
This bottle looks like an old sailors tattoo. According to the press release it's a meeting between the Caribbean and the Swedish Archipelago.

TT Green Lager - 4,5% - 33 cl - 8,90 SEK

An ecological version of the normal TT lager. I got a can at home so will buy a normal TT and see if there is any difference.

A picture of the beers and 1 cider that Galatea released:

Summary of the February release at Systembolaget

I have now tried and rated all the beers from the release at Systembolaget in the beginning of February. Here is a short summary of my scores:

Anderson Valley Hop Ottin IPA - 35,5 cl - 24,30 sek
Nice IPA that has gotten a bit tired. Don't think we got the freshest batch. But if you like hopped up beer and they are all out of Oppigårds Amarillo Spring or Sierra Nevada Torpedo IPA, I would go for this one.
Total: 3,3/5

Dugges Spring Beer - 50 cl - 23,90 sek
A few of the bottles had gone bad. But if you get one of the good ones you should count yourself lucky. It doesn't really taste like a lager, more like a hoppy ale.
Total: 3,5/5

Dugges 1/2 Idjit - 50 cl - 39,00 sek
Fantastic porter. Fantastic with chocolate, but works great on it's own.
Total: 4,1/5


Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale - 35,5 cl - 19,90 sek
A wheat beer with very little taste of wheat, tastes more like a lager. Not a good match with food. I recommend trying other wheat beers on the market.
Total: 1,8/5

Nynäshamns Sotholmen Extra Stout - 25 cl - 23 sek
An easy to drink stout with a light body. Mostly tastes of dark chocolate with just a hint of coffee and roasted toast.
Total: 3,6/5

Oppigårds Amarillo Spring - 33 cl - 19,90 sek
Fantastic beer. A single hop american style IPA with lots of fresh hops. Run and buy now!!
Total: 4,3/5

Pistonhead Spring Edition - 33 cl - 11,50 sek
Spendrups tries to go micro and fails. Tastes like any other macro lager on the market.
Total: 1,8/5

Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 2009 - 35 cl - 26,90 sek
A hoppy christmas beer with some pine needle, caramel and spices. Despite the theme I say this would work well on a hot summers day.
Total: 3,7/5

Sigtuna Vårweizen - 50 cl - 24,90 sek
Nice to see a Swedish wheat beer, but it doesn'treach the same quality as others available at Systembolaget.
Total: 3,4/5

Stensbogaard English Dark Stout - 50 cl - 56,00 sek
A decent stout with some odd flavours. Drinkable but there are better options available.
Total: 3,4/5

Stensbogaard India Pale Ale - 50 cl - 56,00 sek
An IPA with lots of fresh hops. It looks and smells great but has a fairly light body and milder taste.
Total: 3,9/5

Stone Double Bastard Ale - 65 cl - 89,90 sek
A very nice strong ale that almost resemble a Barley Wine.
Total: 4,1/5

Middle of the month release and Easter beer

Update: I added pictures of all the beer I bought today. Unfortunately not in order but I guess you can see which beer is which. Mouthwatering isn't it?

Tomorrow is a great day for any Swedish beer nerd. First of all Systembolaget are releasing a couple beers at the three biggest stores in Sweden. Here is a list:

La Rulles Triple (75 cl) 8,4% - 69,80 SEK
BrewDog Cambridge Stone Juxtraposition Black Pilsner (33 cl) 10% - 66,00 SEK
Founders Breakfast Stout (35,5 cl) 8,3% - 54,90 SEK
Founders Centennial IPA (35,5 cl) - 7,2% 44,90 SEK
Boris the Crusher Barrel Aged (65 cl) 9,4% - 159 SEK

All of these beers are very interesting. I've heard great things about Founders but never had the chance to try them. I've also tried the normal version of Boris the Crusher and really enjoyed it, so hopefully the barrel aged version is just as good.

On the same date they are also releasing a bunch of Easter beer:


Slottskällans Blåkulla Påsköl (50 cl) 4,8% - 24,80 SEK
Dugges Påsköl (50 cl) 6% - 29,80 SEK
Easter Bird (33 cl) 5,5% - 19,90 SEK
Eriksberg Påsköl (50 cl) 5,8% - 15,50 SEK
Mikkeller Hoppy Easter (33 cl) 6,6% - 34,90 SEK
Jämtlands Påsköl (50 cl) 6% - 24,90 SEK
Mariestads Påskbryggd (50 cl) 5,8% - 17,50 SEK
Nils Oscar Kalaspåsköl (33 cl) 5,6% - 19,30 SEK
Oppigårds Easter Ale (50 cl) 5,3% - 25,60 SEK
Pumpvikens Påsköl (50 cl) 5,8% - 29,10 SEK
Sigtuna Easter Ale (50 cl) 5,6% - 26,90 SEK
Sigtuna Röd Påsk (50 cl) 6,2% - 27,90 SEK

I've tried most of these before (except those that are new for the year) and none have gotten a score above 3/5. However I plan to buy one bottle each and re-rate them. Last time I did the tasting during Easter dinner to see what beer fitted the meal best. As far as I remember Oppigårds was the winner that time. But the tasting was a bit hectic and the food might have created some odd results. So this time I plan to drink the beers without any food, hopefully I can post a summary in good time before Easter.

New beers at Systembolaget - March

I didn't miss this release but didn't want to publish the list at the same time as the swedish micro brewery statistics. These beers where released in about 30 Systembolaget stores on the first of March:

Oceanbryggeriet Eko Pale Ale (50 cl) 28,40 SEK, 4,5%
I've tried Oceanbryggeriets Eko Pale Ale before and gave it a 3,1/5. However last time was on tap and I will give it a more serious review this time.

Mohawk Rye IPA (50 cl) 35,80 SEK, 7,5%
Mohawk Rye IPA is a result of a cooperation between Stefan Gustavsson at Wicked Wine and Slottskällans Bryggeri. It's going to be interesting as Ive never tried an IPA brewed with Rye.

Ichtegems Grand Cru (75 cl) 59,50 SEK, 6,5%
I've tried Ichtegems Grand Cru before and gave it a 3,9/5 with positive remarks so I look forward to trying it again.

Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout (35,5 cl) 19,90 SEK, 10.6%
Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout makes a comeback and I don't think Im the only one that is happy with that. I've tried it several times before and gave it a 3,9/5 last time.

Brewdog Stone Bashah (33 cl) 38,40 SEK, 8,6%
This is a black Belgian Style Double India Pale Ale, brewed at BrewDog together with Stone. Sounds insane and I can't wait to try it.

Nyäshamn Bötet Barley Wine (25 cl) 33,50 SEK, 9,1%
Last time I tried this I gave it a 3,6/5. I remember it as an English style Barley Wine, compare to the more hopped up American versions. Score seems a bit low but we'll see what I think the second time around.

Schneider Aventinus Weizen-Eisbock (33 cl) 31,90 SEK, 12%
Schneider claims this is the most complex and intense weiss-bier in the world. Well lets wait and see how it is, sounds very interesting though.

I bought a bottle of each and also an extra bottle of the Chocolate Stout, Bashah and Barley Wine. Some of the beer blogers have already started rating these beers but I'll wait until the weekend to start. However first I want to rate the two beers I have left from the February release and post a summary.

Beer wars

I just watched the movie Beer Wars. It's a documentary about the American beer industry. It focuses on the problems micro breweries encounter and the fierce competition they face from the big breweries. There are interviews with corporate leaders on both sides. From the micro breweries Sam Calagione from Dogfish Head gets allot of attention. But also Stone, Samuel Adams, Brooklyn and the maker of Moonshot beer pop by.

I quite enjoyed the movie and definitely recommend a watch. You can find a trailer here and you should be able to stream it from one of the links from this site.

Schorschbräu aims for lead

Pilsner.nu just reported that Schorschbräu plans to make a 45% beer which should put them on top in the war to brew the strongest beer. BrewDogs Sink the Bismarck was the latest nr.1 at 41%. I haven't found any English sources but there is a German news article here.

Here is a full list of the current strongest beers.

This makes me wonder, how far can you theoretically go? And can we even call this beer any more? What can we learn from these experiments? Will it bring out a new type of beer?

Barrel Tales - Beer trips

I got a tip from my father about a company that organize beer related trips. Since I hadn't heard of it before I figured it might be a good idea to post it here in case people are interested.

Barrel Tales is owned and run by Oscar Hammar and Peter Kamenko. The company is located in Stockholm. They do trips to both the Czech Republic and to local breweries in Sweden. The trips are sold as a whole package including transports, lodging and entrance fees. However food and drinks are not included as they want to leave it up to the traveler to decide what to drink and eat. They also plan to organize trips to other countries in the future.

At them moment they have two trips planned in the near future. The first one is a trip to the Czech Republic over 4 days. Amongst many other things they plan to stop at Chodovar where you can take that beer bath I wrote about earlier. Traveleres will also be able to brew their own beer and then get it shipped home at cost.

A picture from a brewery in Plzen.

The second trip is to Nynäshamns Ånbryggeri on the 19th of June. People will get a chance to tour the brewery, try some beer and it all ends with a BBQ.

A picture from the last trip to Sigtuna.

They also have some events planned, I found an Easter beer tasting that they will host in Stockholm.

It's going to be interesting to see what these guys do in the future. I'm personally very intersted in visiting Nynäshamns Ångbryggeri.

BrewDog strikes back!

For a while the German beer Schorschbräu Schorschbock 31% was the strongest beer in the world and they didn't look threatened. Then along came the Scottish punks from BrewDog and made Tactical Nuclear Penguin at 32%. The Germans wheren't late with their comeback and made a 40 % icebock. The Italians at Revelation Cat Craft Brewery entered the fight with Freeze the Penguin. Which is a mix of a barley wine and an imperial stout and is sitting at 35%. They also made another version spiced with Habanero peppers.

Up until yesterday there was a seize fire in the world war to brew the worlds strongest beer. But yesterday all hell broke loose as the Scotts at BrewDog hit back. They have made a quadrupel IPA at 41% with lots of american hops and named it Sink the Bismarck! (the movie is worth a watch).

I can't help but see the fun in all of this. The race is on and I wonder who will strike next. Will the Germans retaliate with yet another Eisbock? Or will the Italians come up from behind with another blended beer?

While the war rages on I have to think of a way to get my hands on these beers. Here are the pictures of the current top 3:

New beers at Systembolaget

There was a news release at Systembolaget today. It's the middle of the month release so only Regeringsgatan in Stockholm, Nordstan in Göteborg and Hansacompagniet in Malmö got bottles. Here is a list of the beer that was released today (Picture was stolen from Gjölens beer blog):

Brew Dog Tactical Nuclear Penguin (33 cl) 32% - 540,00 sek
Brooklyn Black Ops (75 cl) 11% - 230,00 sek
Sierra Nevada Harvest (71 cl) 6,7% - 69,00 sek
Kriek De Ranke (75 cl) 7% - 79,30 sek
Cuvée De Ranke (75 cl) 7% - 79,30 sek

I went to Regeringsgatan a couple of minutes before opening. The reason for being there so early was to try and get my dirty paws on a bottle of Tactical Nuclear Penguin. They only had 24 bottles and I got bottle nr 13 or something. The reason people where queueing for this bottle was that it was the strongest beer in the world (32%) when it was announced and caused quite allot of attention. Since then the German brewer Schorsbräu has made a beer at 40% called Schorschbräu Schorschbock.

I'm also looking forward to trying Black Ops. Which is denied by Brooklyn Brewery but if it where to exist it would be an imperial stout aged on burbon barrels.

I've tried Sierra Nevada Harvest before and enjoyed it, gave it a 3,5/5 with a comment about lots of flowery hops and a high bitterness. It's an IPA brewed with freshly picked hops ("wet hops").

I've only tried one beer from De Ranke before and that is their XX Bitter that was on tap at Akkurrat last summer. The two beers that was released at Systembolaget are ranked as the breweries nr 1 and 2 beer at Ratebeer so it looks like Im in for a treat. Specially since I love kriek.

All in all it looks like another great release at Systembolaget and I will post reviews as I try them out.

New beers at Systembolaget, spring 2010

This isn't really news anymore, but I realised that I have some readers that only reads my blog and miss out on the releases at Systembolaget. Since so many others have such early and nice reports about upcoming beers I tend to neglect writing about it. Well not until I actually try them myself and then it's usually to late to buy them.

This is the list of beers that was released at Systembolaget across country in the beginning of february. They should be available for 3 months so you have plenty of time to buy them even if they are temporarily out of stock.

I "stole" and updated the list from Schnille och Schmak.

Anderson Valley Hop Ottin IPA - 35,5 cl - 24,30 sek
Dugges Spring Beer - 50 cl - 23,90 sek
Dugges 1/2 Idjit - 50 cl - 39,00 sek
Goose Island 312 Urban Wheat Ale - 35,5 cl - 19,90 sek
Nynäshamns Sotholmen Extra Stout - 25 cl - 23 sek
Oppigårds Amarillo Spring - 33 cl - 19,90 sek
Pistonhead Spring Edition - 33 cl - 11,50 sek
Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale 2009 - 35 cl - 26,90 sek
Sigtuna Vårweizen - 50 cl - 24,90 sek
Stensbogaard English Dark Stout - 50 cl - 56,00 sek
Stensbogaard India Pale Ale - 50 cl - 56,00 sek
Stone Double Bastard Ale - 65 cl - 89,90 sek

I will do my best to put up a list a few days before every release from now on. I will also post a summary once I'm done testing all of them, I've tried 8 out of 12 so far.

Bring Monks Beer Home

Monk's Café will start selling beers for customers to bring home. Release date is the 25th of february. They currently sell 3 different kinds of beer all with an ABV of 3,3%. Here is a link to the offer. Below is a description of the different beers:

Monks Mandarin Ale
Baby brother to Monk's Orange ale (personal score 3,5/5). Spiced with orange peels. Recomended with food.

Black Isak
Originating from Black Jack (3,8/5) this is a porter with a flavour off coffee and chocolate. Recomended with desserts.

Svea Pale Ale
Originating from Svea IPA (3,8/5, a personal favorite), should have notes of hops, citrus and grapefruit. Recomended with snacks but works on it's own.

You can buy one bottle for 30 sek, or 6 bottles for 150 sek. However they have put a limitation to 6 bottles per person.

I think this is a great initiativ and I'm definitely planning to buy a couple of bottles. Hopefully there are still some left when I get there. I don't expect it to taste as good as the originals but I hope they will wipe the floor with the current selection of low alcohol beer.

New beers at Systembolaget - June 2009

I swung by Systembolaget and picked up this weeks news. I managed to get all I intended to buy except for Hoegaarden - Rossé. You might also notice that Nils Oscar - Saison and Double Dead Guy Ale are missing. That is because my father was faster and managed to buy two bottles. They are waiting for a mutual testing later on.


Here is the full list:
Atlas the cat (not a beer but damn he got some bite)
Eriksberg - Sommarbrygd
Three Towns - Sommarlager
Mikkeller - Simcoe Single Hop IPA
Oppigårds - Summer Ale
Goldings - Summer Hop Ale
Sierra Nevada - ESB
La Meule
Åbro - Sommaröl

New beers at Systembolaget - April 2009

I went so Systembolaget to pick up some of the new beers that arrived yesterday. They where out of both Saint Landelin Mythique and Wells Banana Bread Beer. But I know that my dad bought some and he better save them until I come over for a visit ;)

Saku Kuld, Estonia, 500 ml, 14.90

Zlatý Bazant, Slovakia, 500 ml, 14.90

Grebbestad Lager, Sweden, 330 ml,14.90
Haystack Weat, USA, 355 ml, 19.90
Franziskaner Hefe Dunkel, Germany, 500 ml, 18.90

(hidden slightly behind it is a normal Franzizker which I will use to compare)

Oppigårds Single Hop Ale, Sweden, 330 ml, 16.70
Ekholmen Ekologisk Ale, Sweden, 500 ml, 28.90
Fuller's India Pale Ale, GB, 500 ml, 23.80
Fuller's Golden Pride, GB 330 ml, 17.90
St Peter's G-Free Ale, GB, 500 ml, 34.50

Middle of the month release

I went to Systembolaget to buy this months middle of the month news. For thoose of you who aren't from Sweden I can inform you that there are two releases of new beer every month. On the first monday of every month there is a big release across the country. In the middle of the month there is a smaller release in three stores, one in each city: Stockholm, Göteborg and Malmö.

This month there was four beers:

Oerbier, Belgien, 330 ml. 29.90

Nøgne Ø Sahti, Norge, 500 ml, 63.00

XS Old Crustacean Barley Wine, 2008, USA, 750 ml, 139.00

Belgian Style Tripel Ale Alesmith Mikkeller Stone, USA, 355 ml, 64.90

I also bought a couple of beers they are gonna stop selling on the shelfs, Karlströms Malt wrote about it in his blog. I bought these for a last test before they dissapear:

La Trappe Dubbel 6,5% 330 ml
Chimay röd 7% 330 ml
Traquair House Ale 7.2% 330 ml
Black Boss Porter 7% 500 ml