Dugges Lager No. 1

Dugges Lager No. 1 (50 cl bottle) %
This beer was released at Systembolaget on the 24th of March and is now part of the permanent supply. I tried it at Söderbärke Micro beer festival last year and really enjoyed it. Gave it a 3,4/5 and this comment:

"It had a smell of hops, citrus, grape and grass. Nice smell. It was smooth and tasted of malt and grassy hops. Great lager! Recommended."
Style: Premium Lager
Cost: 24,90 SEK

Bitterness------Sweetness-----Sourness-----Intensity-------Body

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Appearance: 2/5
Clear golden liquid with a medium sized white head that left chunks of lacing on the side of the glass.

Smell: 7/10
Malt, bread and grassy hops.

Taste: 7/10
Fresh. Malt, bread, grassy hops, hay and citrus.

Mouthfeel: 4/5
Smooth mouthfeel, low-medium carbonation

Comment:
I just looked back at the score and see I gave this beer exactly the same score both times. However I remember it to have allot more hops when I tried it at SMÖF.

This is a well balanced lager, it doesn't have an overwhelming hop aroma or bitterness but there are some hops in it. It's just balanced against all the other flavours. I personally love beers with lots of hops but for this style it works very well.

I think this beer should work good with most kinds of food. Ranging from a nice steak dinner to a greasy pizza. But you shouldn't expect wonders. It will most likely make a good companion but it won't enhance the flavour like with kriek and chocolate.

If you are one of those people that only drink Norrlands Guld, Carlsberg or any of the other macro lager, then I recommend you to try this out. Don't get scared by the slightly higher price, it's worth the extra SEK.

Total: 3,4/5

Nalle Puh Jul Porter

Nalle Puh Jul Porter (50 cl bottle) %
Me, Chrille and my father brewed a honey porter a while back called Nalle Puh Porter (Vinnie the Puh Porter). We plan to bring it to the Swedish Championship in Gothenburg at the end of April. When we divided the beer between us we noticed that we would get 3 small 9 litre kegs of beer. So we decided to experiment with those kegs, each person was tasked to spice their keg and we would later try the results. This bottle is from my father and he decided to add saffron and some extra honey to his keg. I have a completely different plan with my beer, but I will keep it to myself for now.

I tried the original Nalle Puh Porter a while back, see review here. I wasn't overly impressed and it had a very noticeable chemical taste to it. I later found out it came from the honey. I used some of the honey in my cooking and noticed the same flavour. So I think it comes from heating the honey. Hopefully this off-flavour will disappear over time.

Style: Porter
Cost: Material cost of around 9 SEK/litre.

Bitterness------Sweetness-----Sourness-----Intensity-------Body

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Appearance: 5/5
It poured a pitch black liquid with a big brown head. The foam slowly receded and left allot of foam on the side of the glass.

Smell: 8/10
As I started to pour the bottle I could smell the saffron and sweetness of this beer. A closer sniff also revealed some chocolate and a dash of coffee.

Taste: 8/10
Very sweet with lots of saffron and honey. Also some chocolate, coffee, nuts and toasted bread.

Mouthfeel: 5/5
Smooth, creamy and mouth coating mouthfeel with a thick body and low carbonation. Great mouthfeel.

Comment:
Wow! This sure was something special. Very sweet with lots of honey and saffron, allot more then I expected. I honestly don't think I've tried something similar before. It's also extremely easy to drink and I keep interrupting my writing with a sip. The chemical flavour is also completely gone which is very happy news, hopefully it's gone from the original as well.

If I where to give any constructive criticism it would be about the high sweetness and almost overpowering saffron taste. I personally like both, but maybe it will get old over time. It would be interesting to lower the amount of honey and saffron a bit to let the other flavours of the beer come forward a bit. Not sure if it would improve the beer, but could be worth a try.

I say have this with most deserts and you won't go wrong. But it should be fantastic with chocolate.

Total: 4,3/5

Mohawk Extra IPA

Sigtuna Brygghus Mohawk Extra IPA (50 cl bottle) 7,5%
This beer entered the permanent supply at Systembolaget on the 24th of March.

Inspiration for this beer has come form the US west coast, a high alcohol beer with lots of hops and complexity. They used allot of hops to make this beer: Amarillo, Cascade, Centennial, Chinock, Columbus, Magnum and Simcoe.

Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Cost: 36,10 SEK

Bitterness------Sweetness-----Sourness-----Intensity-------Body

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Appearance: 4/5
Very hazy orange golden liquid with a medium sized dirty white head that left chunks of foam on the side of the glass.

Smell: 6/10
Surprisingly weak smell of grassy hops and flowers.

Taste: 8/10
Lots of grassy hops, grapefruit and citrus with a high and long lasting bitterness.

Mouthfeel: 5/5
Thick body, puckering and smooth mouthfeel. Low-medium carbonation.

Comment:
This is something for the hopheads (myself included). Lots of grassy hops and a very high bitterness that stuck around long after my lips left the glass. I really liked it and will buy more bottles in the future. However it could have been better. First of all I would have loved a stronger smell. It would also have been nice to have had more hop aroma in comparison to the very high hop bitterness. Would have also loved a more complex hop palate.

This beer works great on it's own but if you want some company with your beer try some Gruyère cheese. It's a salty hard cheese that works great with hopped up beer.

Total: 3,7/5

S:t Eriks Pilsner

S:t Eriks Pilsener (33 cl bottle) 5,3%
This beer entered the permanent supply at Systembolaget on the 24th of March. Just as with Sailor this is a re-introduction of an old brand. However this brand is far older then Sailor, it has been brewed by different breweries between the 1850s and the 1960s when it was cancelled.

This new version of the beer has been brewed by Jessica Heidrich at Slottskällans in Uppsala. Jessica is well known through the Swedish homebrewing scene and I've tried several of her beers over the years. They are often well produced and thought through so I had good hopes for this beer. Even thought the very nice package gives of a wibe of "nice exterior crappy interior".

Style: Premium Lager
Cost: 15,90 SEK

Bitterness------Sweetness-----Sourness-----Intensity-------Body

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Appearance: 1/5
Clear pale watery yellow liquid with a small white foam.

Smell: 7/10
As I poured the bottle I was hit by a fistful of fruity hops. Lots of tropical fruits such as passion fruit and pineapple. Also some grass and hey. Smelled very fresh.

Taste: 7/10
Also lots of fruity hops but also some grassy hops. Tropical fruits with passion fruit being the most dominant. It had a fairly high bitterness that lasted a long time.

Mouthfeel: 3/5
Medium smooth with a medium body and low-medium carbonation.

Comment:
A very nice american style hopped up lager. Very fresh and with lots of tropical fruits. If you like your hops you will surely enjoy this beer.

The bottle looks really cool and at first I was a bit afraid that it would be another beer that was intended to sell on it's package. But it's the inside that counts and this one had a much better inside than outside. Regarding food I'm not sure.

Someone once told me that hopped up beer works well with sushi. Since I can't eat sushi anymore I can only take their word for it. But I think this beer is best suited to be enjoyed in the sun. Feels like a perfect match with its thirst quenching fresh fruity hops and freshly cut grass.

One of the best Swedish lagers I've tried. I recommend trying it out, but try not to get freaked out by the fruity flavour and the high bitterness.

Total: 3,2/5

Sailor... toy or beer?

Sailor (33 cl bottle) 5%
This beer was released at Systembolaget on the 24th of March and is now part of the permanent supply. However this isn't the first time this beer has been at Systembolaget. It was actually sold in 50 cl cans until 2005, and is now being re-introduced in a whole new package. From a distance it almost looks like a ceramic copy of an old bottle. But up close it looks more like a plastic toy. Darren from BeerSweden commented that his kid thought it looked like something out of SpongeBob Square Pants. I've never actually seen it but I think the kid is on to something.

Style: Pale Lager
Cost: 12,90 SEK

Bitterness------Sweetness-----Sourness-----Intensity-------Body

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Appearance: 1/5
Greenish pale watery yellow liquid with a small white foam.

Smell: 2/10
Weak smell of white bread, lime, banana and fruit candy.

Taste: 2/10
An odd artificial taste of white bread, chemical sweetness, lime, caramel, bananas, fruit candy, wet paper and butter.

Mouthfeel: 1/5
Light body, medium-high carbonation, a bit rough mouthfeel.

Comment:
This was bad, tasted like a mix of chemicals, water and a fistful of mixed candy. Felt very artificial and hardly even resembles a beer. It also had some off flavours such as wet paper and butter which drags the points down a bit more. However it didn't have any of the really bad flavours that often troubles macro lagers such as puke, cat pee, metal and so on, which saves it from getting the minimum score.

Despite my dislike for this beer I think it might actually sell. The unique bottle design will turn some heads and will probably find a crowd that likes to stand out. But I personally ended up pouring it out after I finished my review. Just couldn't stand to drink any more.

Total: 0,9/5

Easter Beer Summary

I'm finally done with my Easter beer tasting for this year. I think the beer this year was slightly better then last year. However I didn't really find any great beers this year and I won't be buying any more bottles this year. Best was Mikkellers GIPA but it's not really an Easter beer.

After drinking them all I feel kind of feed up with them. Feels like Easter beer (and Octoberfest beer) usually are of lower quality then normal. Christmas beers are an exception where some of them can really stand out of a crowd.

Here is a summary of the Easter beer:

Mikkeller Hoppy Easter (33 cl) 6,6% - 34,90 SEK

A very interesting beer style named GIPA, aka German IPA. It's similar to a normal IPA but brewed using German hops, which gives it a completely different character.

Total: 3,5/5

Jämtlands Påsköl (50 cl) 6% - 24,90 SEK
The best Easter beer of the year. Good balance between bitterness and sweetness. It also had a noticeable hoppy and malty character.
Total: 3,3/5

Sigtuna Easter Ale (50 cl) 5,6% - 26,90 SEK

An easy to drink lightly hopped APA with some notes of tropical fruits. Well balanced and easy to drink, but nothing for hopheads.

Total: 3,3/5

Sigtuna Röd Påsk (50 cl) 6,2% - 27,90 SEK

A lightly hopped ale that I relate to British ales. It had some spices and orange flavours.

Total: 3,1/5

Dugges Påsköl (50 cl) 6% - 29,80 SEK

Smoky ale with very little carbonation. Worked well with chocolate.

Total: 3/5

Pumpvikens Påsköl (50 cl) 5,8% - 29,10 SEK

A smooth and mild British style ale with a decent amount of smoke. It didn't work with the Easter food last year and I suspect it will be just as bad a combo this year. It might work with other kinds of food though.

Total: 3/5

Easter Bird (33 cl) 5,5% - 19,90 SEK

A moderatly hopped APA that has some resemblance of regular lagers. However ok to drink and probably works well when you finally get to sit outside and enjoy the Spring sun.
Total: 2,9/5

Slottskällans Blåkulla Påsköl (50 cl) 4,8% - 24,80 SEK

Tasted like smelling a bag of malt. Something I love, but it lacked some hops and other flavours to balance it out. Should be a good partner with the Easter food.

Total: 2,9/5

Oppigårds Easter Ale (50 cl) 5,3% - 25,60 SEK

Mild, fruity and easy to drink English style ale, however it does have a metallic taste and mouthfeel. Worked well with the Easter food last year and will probably be just as good this year.

Total: 2,8/5

Nils Oscar Kalaspåsköl (33 cl) 5,6% - 19,30 SEK

A very mild and easy to drink beer with very little flavour. Was a decent partner with the Easter food last year and I think it will work well this year as well.

Total: 2,7/5

Eriksberg Påsköl (50 cl) 5,8% - 15,50 SEK
A very mild beer with very little flavour whatsoever. This beer needs to be acompanied by food, it just can't holds it's own ground.
Total: 2,1/5

Mariestads Påskbryggd (50 cl) 5,8% - 17,50 SEK
Tasted synthetic and artificial and I didn't like it very much. It will need some food to go with it, on it's own it was just to depressing.
Total: 2/5

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)