Beer review: BrewDog Abstrakt AB:06 (2011)

Posted on May 18, 2013 by Christer Edvartsen

Another May 16th, another review Abstrakt AB:06 from BrewDog! This beer has been reviewed twice on this blog before.

BrewDog Abstrakt AB:06Looks

Dark brown color with very little carbonation left. It seems that the Abstrakt beers don’t keep the carbonation that well as this is not the only one that is almost completely flat. Perhaps it has something to do with the quality of the plastic corks used?

Aroma

The aroma has a huge hit of sweet malts, and some hints from the hops. There is not much left of the original hoppy aroma.

I’m picking up liquorice, caramel and some fruity hints. I’m not picking up any alcohol at all.

Flavor

I’m getting some dark fruits and a good amount of malty sweetness. There are some hints left from the hops as well, but as in the aroma there is not much left. There are some small hints of tropical fruit as well.

Finish

Long and bitter finish with nice hoppy flavors up front and some sweet malts and liquorice that lasts all the way.

Rating

This beer could need some more carbonation to make it less demanding, but it’s still a good beer, but far away from what it was like when it was fresh. Score: 3.7/5.

BrewDog Abstrakt AB:06

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Beer review: Nøgne Ø Python Pilsner

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Christer Edvartsen

Today I’m trying a pilsner from Nøgne Ø. Not an average Norwegian pilsner (phew), but an Imperial Pilsner brewed with a Champagne yeast strain, with an ABV of 9%.

Nøgne Ø Python PilsnerLooks

Clear dark yellow color with a white fizzy head. There is a good amount of yeast left in the bottle, so pour carefully if you want the beer to stay clear.

The yeast has a good amount of flavor in itself, and personally I like to include at least some of it.

Aroma

I’m getting some fruity hints up front with some sweet honey-like aromas in the back. There are hints of green apples and citrus fruits present, and some yeasty notes.

Flavor

The flavor has much of the same as the aroma. I’m getting citrus, yeast and wheat as well.

The mouth feel is smooth and the carbonation is lively, but not too sharp. The carbonation fits the beer perfectly.

Finish

Long and somewhat warming finish. There are hints of alcohol, apples and citrus fruits.

Rating

I really enjoyed this beer. It felt really refreshing and balanced. Not really a pilsner, but a really good and refreshing beer nonetheless. On a warm summer day this beer can get quite scary as the ABV of 9% does not really show too much. Score: 4.2/5.

Nøgne Ø Python Pilsner

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Beer review: St Peter’s ales

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Christer Edvartsen

Tonight’s review session consists of six different beers from St Peter’s Brewery located in Suffolk, England.

St Peter’s Organic Best Bitter

This beer is brewed with organic malted barley and organically grown Golding hops. The ABV is 4.1%.

St Peter's Organic Best BitterLooks

Dark amber color with off-white head that quickly disappears. The color of this beer is stunning!

Aroma

The beer has a malty backbone with some hints of caramel and toffee. There are hints of toast and biscuits as well. Some faint hints of hops.

Flavor

As with the aroma there is a well balanced malty body. I’m getting some clear hints of caramel and some grassy hoppy hints.

The body is full and the carbonation is smooth and pleasant.

Finish

Medium long finish with some bitter notes blending nicely with the sweet malty flavors.

Rating

All in all an OK beer. Well balanced malt-heavy profile, but perhaps a bit too bland. One of the better organic ales I have had. Score: 2.9/5.

St Peter's Organic Best Bitter

St Peter’s Best Bitter

This is a classic Bitter with an ABV of 3.7%.

St Peter's Best BitterLooks

Clear dark golden color with a white fizzy head that disappears quickly.

Aroma

I’m getting mostly malts with some faint roasted notes. As the beer gets warmer some bitter notes appear. I’m reminded of toast.

Flavor

There are hints of toast in the flavor as well. There are also a good amount of bitterness present.

Well balanced, with an impressive body with regards to the low ABV. The carbonation is soft and fits the beer well.

Finish

Medium long finish with hints of caramel and grass.

Rating

Another solid and well balanced beer from St Peter’s. Score: 3.1/5.

St Peter's Best Bitter

St Peter’s Dark G-Free

The first gluten free beer reviewed on BeerNorway. This beer has an ABV of 3.9% and uses locally grown hops for aroma and bittering.

St Peter's Dark G-FreeLooks

Crystal clear dark amber color with a fizzy head. Again a beer which looks incredibly good.

Aroma

By smelling the beer it seems that the looks is all there is to talk about. There is very little going on in the aroma of this beer. I’m picking up some earthy notes and something that reminds me of cat piss, which I don’t really appreciate. Sadly I don’t have anything good to say about the aroma.

Flavor

And it seems I won’t have anything positive to say about the flavor either. I’m getting hints of caramel and some fruity notes. The mouth feel is watery and the carbonation is sharp.

Finish

The finish is quite short and has hints of caramel and green apples.

Rating

I have not had many gluten free beers so I can’t really compare it to others, but on its own this is a really sad story. Score: 1.1/5.

St Peter's Dark G-Free

St Peter’s Suffolk Gold

This beer uses First Gold hops and malt from Suffolk, and sports an ABV of 4.9%.

St Peter's Suffolk GoldLooks

Clear dark yellow / light orange color with an off-white head. The head leaves some nice lacing on the glass.

Aroma

I’m picking up some fruity hints and some grassy hops. There is also a malty sweetness lurking in the back.

Flavor

Grassy bitterness and a nice malty sweetness. A well balanced beer.

Finish

Long and slightly bitter finish. I’m also picking up some slight acidic notes that I did not get in the flavor of the beer.

Rating

A well balanced and tasty beer. As with the others this beer is also slightly anonymous. Score: 3.2/5.

St Peter's Suffolk Gold

St Peter’s Fruit Beer (grapefruit)

This is a beer based on the St Peter’s Wheat Beer. The beer has an ABV of 4.7%.

St Peter's Fruit beer (grapefruit)Looks

Clear orange color with a white fizzy head. The head has good retention and leaves some nice lacing on the glass.

Aroma

Distinct grapefruit aroma. I’m also picking up wheat and some yeasty notes.

Flavor

I’m picking up some clear hints of grapefruit in the flavor as well, but not as much as in the aroma. There are also some other nice hints of citrus fruits and some caramel sweetness.

The body is rich for a beer with this low ABV, and the carbonation is soft.

Finish

Long and bitter finish with grapefruit up front and some nice sweet malty notes after some seconds.

Rating

I’m not sure how to rate this beer. The hints of grapefruit is very forthcoming and makes this an interesting and “different” beer. Sadly not really my thing, but it’s worth a try if you want something different. Score: 2.6/5.

St Peter's Fruit beer (grapefruit)

St Peter’s Winter Ale

Last up is a “Winter Warmer” with an ABV of 6.5%.

St Peter's Winter AleLooks

Very dark color with a beige head. The head has good retention.

Aroma

I’m getting roasted malts, dark bitter chocolate and dark fruits. By far the most complex aroma of the beers I have tried tonight.

Flavor

The flavor of the beer is quite complex. I’m picking up roasted malts, dark fruits, some spicy notes, chocolate and caramel. I would have guessed this to be a porter if I hadn’t known the style.

Finish

Medium long finish with hints of chocolate and caramel. Really enjoyable.

Rating

The last beer in this session happened to be the best beer of the lot, by far. This beer feels well balanced, and the hints of roasted malts really play well with the rest of the flavors. Score: 4/5.

St Peter's Winter Ale

All in all this has been a very varied session. Of the beers I have tried, the last one, the Winter Ale, was by far the most tasty and enjoyable. Cheers!

Disclaimer: The beers in this review was given to me by Interbev.

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New micro brewery in Fredrikstad, Norway

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Christer Edvartsen

LogoA new micro brewery called Fredrikstad Mikrobryggeri (with Nøisom Craft Beer as the brand name) has been started in my hometown of Fredrikstad. The brew master Stig Lundh is a friend of mine so I had a chat with him about the newly started brewery and their plans:

When did the plans for starting a micro brewery in Fredrikstad start, and how long did it take to realize them?

The idea had been floating around in the back of my head for about a year before we established the company, on December 12th, 2012 (we actually had the meeting at 12 Noon!).

We all agreed that the quality of the beer brewed by the local home brewers was quite high, so why not give everyone else the chance to buy them at their local pubs? Norwegian alcohol policy is one of the strictest in the Western world, so if this was to be a reality, these forces would have to gather in a commercial brewery, with all consents and paperwork in place. Our goals was not to start a brewpub, but a brewery that will focus on brewing the best beer possible.

When the company was established and some of the most qualified and dedicated home brewers in the local beer scene joined in on the project, everything went pretty fast. It only took about three months from when we started until we had signed a lease and ordered the pilot brewery. From the beginning of April we had started re-building the premises for the brewery, and some time in June we hope to be able to start brewing there.

Since we don’t want to start our own pub, we have teamed up with a new local pub in Fredrikstad called Havnelageret Gastropub. It’s much easier for a place that is already allowed to serve beer, to get the consent to brew beer as well. Because of this we have brewed some of our beer on the premises of this pub to begin with. The pub opened May 7th 2013, and it had Nøisom beer on tap. For us it was important to launch our beer commercially, before being ready to ship our beer from the new brewery.

We will develop our products ourselves, and since there are so many talented people working with us we will be able to brew and launch some really interesting beer!

What sort of equipment are you brewing with?

The pilot brewery consists of a 500L Speidel Braumeister, 4 yeast tanks, and 8 conditioning tanks. This was by far the best choice with regards to the current location and financing.

What sort of beer will you be brewing? Will you brew both low and high alcohol beer?¹

We will brew high alcohol beer (ABV >4.7%) in the beginning until we feel we have the new equipment under control. As a small brewery that aims to sell our beer in pubs in our part of the country, we will be providing beer for beer aficionados and people new to craft beer. At first we will only deliver kegs to the pubs, as being able to bottle beer involves a big cost, and requires much more work.

We will also brew lower alcohol beer (ABV <4.7%) but probably not within the first year.

Will FMB/Nøisom have a flagship beer from the get go?

Too early to say. We want an entire fleet of ships with equally large flags! I’m guessing that we will make some seasonal beer, and that the brewers will brew whatever they want to brew from time to time.

If everything goes according to plan, where do you see FMB/Nøisom in a couple of years?

In 2 to 3 years we hope to extend our capacity and market share significantly. The brewery we have now is a pilot brewery and has its limitations. This makes the start of this adventure less risky, easier to finance, and easier with regards to consents and permissions. We hope that by 2015 we have a new brewery with new equipment that will open some time in 2016, that enables us to brew batches up to 5.000 liters, with a yearly production of around 500.000 liters of high quality craft beer.

Where will the public be able to try FMB/Nøisom beer?

In the beginning people will be able to buy our beer at local pubs and restaurants. The first pub that will serve our beer is Havnelageret Gastropub in Fredrikstad. This will be our arena for introducing new beer to the public. We hope to be able to sell our beer at other locations in our part of the country as well, but we haven’t started this process yet. We would also like to try and brew beer tailor made for some of our potential customers.

And that’s that. Expect more news and information about this brewery on this blog in the future!

  1. In Norway grocery stores are allowed to sell beer under 4.7% ABV (low), and Vinmonopolet can sell beer above this limit (high).
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Beer review: Nøgne Ø Citrus Hystrix IPA

Posted on April 30, 2013 by Christer Edvartsen

Time for a beer from Nøgne Ø that has been sitting in my fridge for a couple of weeks, their Citrus Hystrix IPA, an IPA brewed with rye, oats, tangerine juice and kaffir lime (Citrus Hystrix). I’m expecting an onslaught of citrus in this beer. Let’s pop it open and see what happens!

Nøgne Ø Citrus Hystrix IPALooks

Dark orange / amber color with a huge beige head. The head has pretty good retention and leaves some lovely lacing on the glass.

Aroma

Hoppy and fruity aroma with hints of grass and citrus fruits. I’m picking up orange zest, caramel and some spicy notes.

I’m surprised by how dark this beer is.

Flavor

Strong hints of orange zest and lime. There are also some hints of rye and some caramel-like sweetness.

The body is medium and the carbonation is a bit sharp.

Finish

The finish feels somewhat artificial to me. The tangerine flavors dominate the finish together with some other bitter notes. The bitter notes sits around for a good while.

Rating

This is a very drinkable and interesting IPA, but I’m slightly put off by the overpowering tangerine flavors. Otherwise a good beer, but not really my thing. Score: 3.9/5.

I picked up this bottle from Vinmonopolet Vika some weeks back.

Nøgne Ø Citrus Hystrix IPA

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Beer review: BrewDog 5 A.M. Saint, Punk IPA and Hardcore IPA (batch 000)

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Christer Edvartsen

Time to review some classic beers from BrewDog, brewed at their new brewery. These three beers are supposedly the first three beers brewed there, so they might not the same as they used to be. Of these beers I have only reviewed Punk IPA and Hardcore IPA before, so I don’t have any notes to compare the 5 A.M. Saint with. The notes from this review are from when I first tried these beers some months back, when the beers were still quite fresh.

Enough talk, let’s start!

BrewDog 5 A.M. Saint

First up is BrewDog 5 A.M. Saint, an Amber Ale with an ABV of 5%.

BrewDog 5 A.M. SaintLooks

Slightly hazy with an amber color and a beige head. The glass is covered in lacing as the beer disappears.

Aroma

The aroma is somewhat sweet and has hints of citrus fruits and has some pretty hoppy notes. I’m also reminded of honey.

Flavor

The flavor is pretty spot in. There is a good amount of sweet malts, and a hoppy punch. I’m getting grass, pine, grapefruit and some malty sweetness.

The body is a bit on the light side, and the carbonation is sharp.

Finish

Long dry and bitter finish. I’m getting some citrus pine.

Rating

IMO this beer needs either less hops or more malts. It’s an OK beer which is really refreshing though, but a bit unbalanced. Score: 3.5/5.

BrewDog 5 A.M. Saint

Punk IPA

Next up is the classic Punk IPA, BrewDog’s flagship beer, an IPA with an ABV of 5.6%.

BrewDog Punk IPALooks

Pale hazy yellow with little head. As with 5 A.M. Saint the head leaves a lot of lacing on the glass. I can’t remember having a Punk IPA this light in color.

Aroma

Very bitter and pungent aroma. I’m reminded of orange marmalade. This is quite different from what I remember Punk IPA to be like, which usually has a lovely hoppy and fruity aroma!

Flavor

The flavor is also pretty bitter, and does not feel balanced at all. The bitterness is not backed up by anything, so the flavor is pretty one dimensional and boring. I’m getting hints of pine and caramel.

Not at all how I like my Punk IPA!

Finish

Pretty long finish with hints of oranges up front and some malty hints towards the end.

Rating

I was really disappointed by this beer. I usually love Punk IPA, and I really hope it will get better than this. Score: 2.9/5.

BrewDog Punk IPA

Hardcore IPA

Last up is one of my favorite BrewDog beers, the Hardcore IPA. This is a Double IPA with an ABV of 9.2%.

BrewDog Hardcore IPALooks

Lovely dark amber color with some haze. The head is beige and disappears quickly. As with the other beers in this review the head leaves a lot of lacing on the glass.

Aroma

Malty aroma with some hints of hops (yes, only some hints of hops, and not the usual hop bomb aroma). I’m getting caramel, pine and tropical fruits.

Flavor

As with the aroma I’m picking up tropical fruits, pine and some malty sweetness. The bitterness is very subdued.

Finish

Long and slightly bitter finish with hints of pine and grass.

Rating

Hardcore IPA is one of my favorite double IPA’s, but this bottle was nowhere close to how it usually is. A huge letdown, and I really hope they will improve this beer in batches to come. Score: 3.2/5.

BrewDog Hardcore IPA

Conclusion

To be honest I’m really disappointed by all these beers. Of the three I enjoyed 5 A.M. Saint the most.

The notes are from the first time I tried these beers (some months back) and not much have changed since then (I opened the other bottles I had of these beers while writing this review). Oh well, it’s the first batch from the new brewery, and things will hopefully get better.

Cheers!

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Beer trade #2 – Nøgne Ø Uncovered

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Christer Edvartsen

Nøgne Ø Uncovered logoSome weeks back I sent a box containing some Norwegian beers over to Norman Geaney, who runs the Nøgne Ø Uncovered Blog, and today I got a reply in the form of a box with some hidden treasure inside. Let’s see what the box contains!

Beer trade #2 - Nøgne Ø Uncovered blog

After some serious styrofoam digging I managed to find some mysterious packages, all wrapped in a thick layer of bubblewrap.

Beer trade #2 - Nøgne Ø Uncovered blog

An hour or so later, after having popped all the bubbles, the following bottles were shouting at me, “Christer, drink me, DRINK ME!!”.

Beer trade #2 - Nøgne Ø Uncovered blog

The beers are (from left to right):

  • Piano Lane 60 minute IPA (homebrew)
  • Evil Twin Brewing Even More Jesus
  • Evil Twin Brewing Even More Jesus
  • Slottskällans Barrel Aged Imperial Stout
  • Bötet Barley Wine 2009
  • Monks Café Blend no.1 Uniqum
  • Monks Café Blend no.5 Almighty

I will review some of these beers in the days to come.

So, anyone out there who happen to have a bottle of Monks Cafè Blend no.2 around, and want to do a trade? :)

Cheers!

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Beer review: BrewDog Abstrakt AB:09 (2012)

Posted on April 2, 2013 by Christer Edvartsen

Finally I’m able to pull off an Abstrakt review on the correct date! Today is the 1st anniversary of BrewDog Abstrakt AB:09, a “Cranachan” Imperial Stout with a whopping ABV of 17.1%. I had this beer for the first time in May last year, and today it has spent a year in the bottle. To quote myself:

Abstrakt AB:09 is an Imperial Stout brewed with heather honey, raspberries and oats, and have been aged in whisky barrels for about 6 months.

Let’s see how it has developed!

BrewDog Abstrakt AB:09Looks

Clear dark brown color with a tan head that quickly disappears.

After pouring it looks pretty much like last year, with the same amount of head.

Aroma

I’m getting molasses, alcohol, dark bitter chocolate and some liquorice.

There is quite a lot going on in the aroma, and it gets more and more intense as the beer warms up. There is also a slight hint of dark berries after a while.

Flavor

As in the flavor I’m getting some hints dark bitter chocolate and some liquorice, and also some coffee, caramel and honey.

The beer has a full body and a smooth carbonation, and because of the massive ABV it feels very warming.

As the beer warms up I’m getting some hints of peated malt as well.

Finish

The finish seems to last forever and has some nice sweet tones. I’m getting vanilla and some cocoa.

Rating

A very complex and enjoyable beer. I find it to be a lot more enjoyable this year! Score: 4.1/5.

Come back next year for another review of this lovely beer!

BrewDog Abstrakt AB:09

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Some small big news from Nøgne Ø

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Christer Edvartsen

Some weeks back I picked up some new beers from Nøgne Ø at Vinmonopolet Vika in Oslo, all of them in lovely small 25cl bottles. The bottles might be small, but the beers are certainly not. I have tried all four of them, and here are the reviews.

Small big news from Nøgne Ø

Bridge Road Brewers / Nøgne Ø Aurora Australis

This is a collaboration beer brewed at Bridge Road Brewers in Australia, then shipped to Norway in red wine barrels, and then blended and bottled at Nøgne Ø in Grimstad, Norway. The beer is a Belgian Quadruple with an ABV of 11%.

Nøgne Ø have brewed together with Bridge Road Brewers before, and I have reviewed one of them, India Saison.

Bridge Road Brewers / Nøgne Ø Aurora AustralisLooks

Dark brown color with a beige head. The head has a really good retention and leaves some really sticky lacing on the glass.

Aroma

Really fruity aroma up front. I’m getting sour cherries, sweet malts, hints of red wine and some sting from the alcohol.

Flavor

I’m getting sweet malts, dark fruits and red berries, brown sugar and red wine. The hints of red wine is not too overwhelming, as some beers aged in red wine barrels tend to be.

In my opinion the sourness does not really fit the beer. It’s good, but it’s a bit off.

As the beer warms up some of the sourness disappears and some more lovely warming malty hints appears.

Finish

The finish lasts very long and has some hints of cherries up front and some lovely hints of sweet malt and chocolate. The sourness lasts for quite a while.

Rating

I’d really love it if this beer was less sour. For me it ruined it a bit, and personally I don’t think it’s anywhere near a good quad. Score: 3.5/5.

Bridge Road Brewers / Nøgne Ø Aurora Australis

Nøgne Ø Sour Brown

This is a brown ale that has been aged for 9 months in Oak barrels. The ABV is 5%, slightly higher than the regular Nøgne Ø Brown Ale.

Nøgne Ø Sour BrownLooks

Murky brown color with a beige head that quickly disappeared.

Aroma

Lovely slightly sour and fruity aroma. There are hints of roasted malts, chocolate and some woody notes. I really enjoy the aroma on this beer.

Flavor

Nicely balanced sour flavors, perhaps a bit on the mellow side. There are some nice fruity hints lurking in the back with some sweet roasted malts. The beer is indeed quite balanced, but I keep waiting for something more to appear in the flavor profile. It’s a bit too bland.

The mouth feel is medium and the carbonation is smooth.

Finish

The finish has hints of coffee, cocoa, roasted malts, and some sourness.

Rating

A smooth and pretty decent sour ale. My favorite part was the finish, where the roasted malts shines. Nøgne Ø brew world class beers, but when it comes to sour ales they have more to learn. Score: 3.7/5.

Nøgne Ø Sour Brown

Nøgne Ø Barrel Aged Imperial Stout

The base of this beer is in my opinion Nøgne Ø’s best beer, and one of the best Imperial Stouts in the world. A little while back I tried the Cognac Barrel Aged Imperial Stout, which was quite impressive. I don’t know too much about the barrels used, so if anyone reading this knows any more, please leave a comment! The beer has an ABV of 9%, which is the same as the regular Imperial Stout from Nøgne Ø (which I have not yet reviewed).

Nøgne Ø Barrel Aged Imperial StoutLooks

Pitch black pour which generated a lovely dense head. The head almost looks like a light brown chocolate mousse! The head has really good retention and leaves lovely lacing in the glass.

Aroma

Up front I’m getting some sting from the alcohol and some clear hints of the barrel aging. There are also hints of roasted malts, molasses, coffee and some vanilla. It reminds me of the regular Imperial Stout, with some extra fruitiness.

Flavor

As with the aroma this beer reminds me quite a bit of the regular Imperial Stout, but the barrel aging makes it less enjoyable on many different levels. The beer feels a lot less balanced. I’m getting more sting from the alcohol and there is a fruity hint which reminds me of ripe pear which I don’t really care for at all.

The mouth feel is full and the carbonation is a tad bit too sharp.

Finish

Up front I’m getting alcohol, which is quickly overpowered by chocolate, coffee and roasted malts.

Rating

I had high hopes for this beer, but the aromas/flavors from the barrel aging is a bit too prominent. The regular Imperial Stout from Nøgne Ø is miles ahead (or, using my method of scoring, a bit more than a point ahead). Score: 3.9/5.

I have some extra bottles stowed away so I’ll try it again in a while to see how it ages.

Nøgne Ø Barrel Aged Imperial Stout

Nøgne Ø “Almost undrinkable” 100% Peated

The last of the lot is a beer brewed with 100% Scottish peated malt with a ABV of 8.5%. The commercial description reads:

… This malt generates an intense smokey flavor and aroma. In fact its intensity makes this beer almost undrinkable, unless you blend it with other ingredients.

I tend to like peated/smokey single malt whiskeys as well, so let’s see what I think about this one.

Nøgne Ø "Almost Undrinkable" 100% PeatedLooks

The color is amber / yellow with very little head. The head disappears quickly.

Aroma

A good amount of peat/smoke is present on the nose. I’m also getting a good amount of sweet malts.

Flavor

The peat/smoke is also the dominating flavor, but I’m also getting caramel sweetness. There is also a fruity and spicy hint present.

The body is medium and the carbonation is slightly sharp.

Finish

The finish is quite long, and hints of smoke lasts all the way till the end. There is also some nice sweet malty flavors in the finish.

Rating

I don’t find this “almost undrinkable” at all. For me this is highly drinkable, although I can understand that this can be a somewhat challenging beer for some. If you enjoy peated whisky this might be a bit easier to swallow. Later on I will try to blend this beer with others to see what a hint of smoke might do.

I’m not really sure how to rate this beer though. Score: 3.7/5.

Nøgne Ø Almost Undrinkable 100% Peated

And that’s that folks! Four interesting beers which you should pick up if you get the chance!

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Beer review: Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast, old and new

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Christer Edvartsen

Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast

Nøgne Ø in Grimstad have been brewing beer for Mikkeller for quite some time: Beer Geek Breakfast, Beer Geek Brunch Weasel and George (amongst others). A while ago Nøgne Ø stopped brewing these beers as they barely have enough time and room to brew their own beers. Mikkeller wanted Lervig to start brewing said beers, supposedly because of their main brewer, Mike Murphy.

Today I’m going to review Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast, both the Nøgne Ø version and the Lervig version, side by side. Beer Geek Breakfast is an oatmeal stout brewed with coffee and a bunch of different malts (pilsner, oat, smoked, caramunich, brown, pale chocolate, chocolate, roasted barley, and flaked oats) and sports an ABV of 7.5%. According to the two labels there is not much difference in the ingredients. I’m suspecting a difference in the coffee used, but it does not say anything about that on the label. Perhaps some of my readers know some more about this?

It’s not really a fair comparison though, as beers with coffee tend to loose some of the coffee aroma/flavor (just like hops), and the bottle from Nøgne Ø was brewed in February last year, while the one from Lervig is reasonably fresh. Enough chatter, let’s open the beers!

Nøgne Ø’s version

Brewed at Nøgne Ø in February 2012, and bottled in a .5l bottle. At the time of this writing some Vinmonopolet stores still have a few bottles left.

Mikkeller Beer Geek BreakfastLooks

Dark brown color with a big beige head with a remarkable retention. The head does not seem diminish at all.

Aroma

Intense aroma which contains round mellow coffee notes, dark bitter chocolate, roasted malts, vanilla and also some hoppy notes lurking in the back.

Flavor

I’m picking up some hoppy hints right away, which is quickly overrun with a load of dark malts. I’m getting coffee, chocolate and some molasses.

The mouth feel is incredibly smooth, and the carbonation is soft and fits the beer perfectly.

Finish

Long finish which has coffee and chocolate up front, and after some seconds a hoppy bitter flavor appears. The finish is really nice and makes me want more.

Rating

A really enjoyable stout which has an intense aroma and flavor profile. The beer is incredibly balanced and smooth. Score: 4.8/5.

Lervig’s version

Brewed at Lervig in December 2012 (as far as I know), and bottled in a .33l bottle with a new label. This beer just recently appeared at Vinmonopolet.

Mikkeller Beer Geek BreakfastLooks

Dark brown color with a beige head. The two beers look identical with the exception of the size of the head (and the retention).

Aroma

Powerful aroma with a much more intense punch from the coffee. I’m not getting as much roasted aroma on this beer, but it might be that the coffee is overpowering some of the other less intense aromas.

Flavor

As with the aroma the coffee is very intense and numbs the other flavors. I’m picking up hints of chocolate, roasted malts and vanilla. There is also a noticeable grassy hoppy flavor present. Even if the coffee flavor is quite intense it does not ruin the beer at all. It works really well!

The carbonation level is higher which makes the mouth feel of the beer less smooth. Personally I would prefer lesser carbonation.

Finish

Very long finish and a lot more bitter than the one brewed at Nøgne Ø. There is a slight hint of alcohol present as well.

Rating

I really enjoyed this beer as well, but found the bottle I had from Nøgne Ø more balanced and smooth. This one has a much more intense and enjoyable coffee profile though.

It’s not really a fair comparison though as the two beers are not equally fresh. Anyways, the score I’m feeling for Lervig’s version right now is: 4.3/5.

Conclusion

I really enjoyed both beers, but Nøgne Ø’s version won tonight because it was more balanced and smooth (which is not really a surprise since it has spent a year in the bottle).

I have had Nøgne Ø’s version when it was more fresh than the bottle I had today, and as far as I can remember the beers are quite similar when fresh. Lervig’s version had a more hoppy punch than the one from Nøgne Ø’s if I remember correctly. I’m guessing the same hops were used by both breweries as well (Centennial and Cascade).

Anyways, fair comparison or not, I got to enjoy two great beers. Cheers!

Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast

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