Greene King - Yardbird

This is one of four different beers I received as a birthday present by various members of my family. Good or bad, beer is always appreciated, so let's crack on..

Light waft when pouring of malt, citrus, some florals and faint grass.

Yardbird pours clear golden amber with a a white head. Fruity intake with malt, citrus, hops and some caramel while the finish is grainy dry, floral and mildly bitter. A caramel sweetness and some pine are left in the aftertaste. Despite the very lively looking carbonation just after pouring, it is not too gassy in the mouth and the body is light without being too watery.

Hmmmmm, blindfolded I would not guess this was an an American inspired Pale Ale/IPA. Certainly it tastes nothing like any of the bottles I have had recently or in years gone by. My brother commented it tastes like my first home brew which I done in August, during a heatwave, which was meant to be lager like but ended up a golden ale (which developed into a very fine pint after 6 weeks conditioning btw).

I put this in the category... if you go into a discount supermarket, say lidl or aldi, they always have a range of food/drink that is 'american style' but actually tastes bugger all like it is meant to be, either in taste or in quality. It is not as if it is bad or drain pour, it just reeks of cutting corners and marketing.

Summing up , if you like McKennedy American Style Burgers/Poopeyes Quality Fried Chicken, buy this..if not, avoid.

This scored a lowly 3.5/10 on the ' Is it a bird ? Is it a plane ? No, it's a poor imitation copy bastard' Beerometer.

Alc : 4%
Where to buy CPH : Høkeren, Ravnsborggade 13, 2200 N

Skovlyst - Oktoberfest

With Oktoberfest on, time for a 'fest bier' or two. Things have really gone downhill for german beer availability recently, well since the closure of Getrænkeland, which sold mostly standard german brews but there was a good few crackers to pick up every now and again. The biggest miss is they had a good selection of oktoberfest bier, so they are sadly missed here.

So, having to settle for mostly for domestic interpretations, let's see what this is like...

Bottle blurb translated.

A German inspired festival lager beer, brewed according to the German Reinheitsgebot using only malt, hops, yeast and water. A thirst quenching and fresh beer despite the powerfully malted body and the dark amber golden color.

Uh huh...We'll see....

Light aroma of sweet malt from the pour along with caramel and dusty hops.

Oktoberfest pours clear amber gold with a frothy white head. Sweet and malty on the intake with caramel and herbs while the finish is dry and mildly hoppy bitter. There is nothing much in the short aftertaste apart from some sweet malt. Medium carbonation, the mouthfeel is light and soft.

Well, all the tastes of a oktoberfest are there, but for me it is all a bit of a light edition, more of everything please next year ! Saying that, I still would have no problem drinking a few of these in a small session..if there is none of the real mccoy about, which due to the afore mentioned demise of getrænkeland seems the case this year. I guess I can pack away the cheap pretzels from lidl and borrowed dirndl, I'm joking !...Uhhhmm summing up, quaffable oktoberfest beer light edition.

This scored 5/10 on the '5 Bratwurst und 5 bier bitte ' Beerometer.

Alc : 5%
Where to buy CPH : Superbrugsen and other large supermarkets.

Nørrebro Bryghus - X

X in this case meaning a ten year birthday for this local Copenhagen brewery which has produced some very nice brews over the years. I'll translate the bottle blurb on this so you don't have to use google....

X - To celebrate Nørrebro Bryghus's 10th anniversary we have created this celebration brew that is refreshing, but also complex 6.5% dark milk ale (eh?)with a light smoked aroma that blends in harmony with the notes of vanilla. The smell is spiced from dry hopping with a background notes from the dark malts.

Confused what that means? I was .....So it is a milk stout/porter lightly smoked, vanilla and roast malts with a prominent aroma hop ? Time to find out what this is organic brew actually is...

Light wafts of roasted malt, vanilla, dark dried fruit and baby milk powder from the pour.

X pours black with a creamy beige head. Baby milk powder(or I could just say lactose) and slightly sweet intake with roasted malt, dark chocolate and a touch of spice. Fruity and very lightly smoked finish with blackcurrant and raisins and  a dab of eucalyptus ? in the long aftertaste. Low carbonation and the mouthfeel is silky and light creamy.

To be honest and fair I am all over the place with this one as I think my tastebuds have gone haywire and the above may possibly be way off the mark. I still enjoyed it though, ain't that the main thing ? Very fruity for a stout/porter, almost to the point of saying more like a christmas brew/winter warmer. Not one I will re-visit any time soon but no problem drinking another if offered.

This scored 7/10 on the ' I've made up enough baby milk bottles in my lifetime to know that smell..do you get organic milk powder ?' Beerometer.

Alc : 6.5%
Where to buy CPH : Bought in Irma.

Amager Bryghus/Cigar City - Xiquic And The Hero Twins

This is my second of Amager's latest collaboration series, first one here. This one being an Imperial Stout, blurb below....

Who Xiquic was, is a bit hard to explain - but we all know the hero twins: Wayne Wambles and Jacob Storm - headbrewers of Cigar City Brewing in Tampa, FL and Amager Bryghus, Denmark respectively. Since his first visit at Amager back in 2011 Wayne has been quite the idol for us. We don’t believe it’s possible to find anyone with a bigger heart in brewing - combined with the utmost passion and sense for detail. Therefore it was a great honor to us that Wayne accepted our invitation to come brew at Amager Bryghus - even on his birthday! A recipe was created from what seemed like an endless stream of emails. The Cigar City signature cedar wood was ordered and a birthday cake was baked. We had a fun day - we hope you’ll have fun enjoying this double mash cedar infused black pepper Imperial Stout, yeah, no kiddin’. It’s a bit of a beast - but a gentle one. 

Nice aroma of roasted malt, mild coffee, chocolate, black pepper and wood from the pour.

This one pours pitch black with a creamy tan head. Spicy ! intake with roasted malt, hops, dark bitter chocolate and coffee while the finish is dry, sweetish and hoppy. Cocoa powder and mild chili pepper spice linger in the long aftertaste. Lowly carbonated, the mouthfeel is smooth and creamy. Alcohol is noticeable but more as a warming effect than masking the flavours.

Wow, extremely busy beer with a whole lot going on. One minute I had something down as juniper berries, the next it was gone and replaced with something else. I'm also sure there is a spice in there that is in a lot of danish xmas beers but I failed to pin it down. If I drank another bottle another day I could pick up a whole lot more different flavours...which I might just do. This is certainly a beer to make you think. I really enjoyed this one, no problem here drinking another. Summing up, a cracking complex beer that will make you think, well worth trying !

This scored 8/10 on the 'yaaaas !, no licorice' Beerometer.

Alc : 9.0 %
Where to buy CPH : Kihoskh and Ølbutikken had it in stock at time of writing.

Thisted - Malthe

Probably the most confused/confusing brewery in Denmark. What I mean with that is they never seem to be consistent with the naming of their brews across their range. Forever changing brew names, labels, having organic and normal versions of the same brew, calling one beer something in a 33cl bottle and a different name in a 50cl bottle.. and so on. For gods sake, simplify the bloody range please ! Whoever is in charge of product management needs a good kick up the arse. Enough said.

They do produce one of Denmarks best value for money beers though, Thisted Limfjords Porter, which is superb for the price. Ok, time to move on to their latest creation, an organic dark lager or dunkel if you want to be proper, which no doubt has probably changed name and label by the time your read this...

As the name might suggest, a whole lot of malt with some chocolate and dark fruit coming off this from the pour.

Malthe pours dark brown with a ruby tinge in the glass along with a light beige creamy head. A medium sweet malty intake with dates, dark sugar, prunes(eeek) and licorice, thankfully well in the background while the finish is slightly dry. There is no hop/bitterness to this at all. The mouthfeel is light and bordering on oily.

I have to admit I'm writing this on the second bottle of this I tried, the first I drank quick straight from the fridge a couple of days ago and initial thoughts were it was not bad. This time however I've taken more time and the beer has went through the temperature changes while I pondered what an original IPA actually tasted like(last blog post), thanks to someone who gave me a good couple of suggestions btw.

For anyone that reads this blog regularly you will have noticed I hate two things in beer, well one is okay if it is in a stout...Prunes and licorice, the latter is the okay one. I ####ing detest prunes and the taste became more apparent as the beer warmed up. Of course, that is what I taste, your own mileage may vary.

Not impressed with this at all.. unless drunk at 4c quickly. Not one that will pass my lips again as there is far better dark lagers available in any larger supermarket. Yet another organic let down.

This scored 3.5/10 on the 'the most time I've taken writing any post...ever' Beerometer

Alc: 4.8%
Where to buy/avoid CPH : Any larger supermarket.

Everards - Regimental IPA

Looking at the beer aisle of a local discount shop I spotted this new one added to the cheap range which I mentioned in an earlier post here. The Original, though average is not a bad drink which I've bought a few times since so I might as well give this try.....

Light waft of malt, caramel and floral hops from the pour.

Regimental IPA pours clear amber gold with a fluffy white head. Quite a sweet intake with malt, caramel, floral hops and tea while the finish is fruity and mildly bitter. Tea and some florals again in the aftertaste along with some light fruit and caramel. The mouthfeel is light and watery.

This one left a strange dryness in my mouth so that gives me a reason enough to revisit this one sometime. Very mild with the hops for an IPA, well the modern hop bomb versions anyway, is this old school ? If anyone reading this can point me to what an original IPA actually tasted like, a beer that is made today to old recipes,  please leave a comment.

All in all, for the low price I have nothing to gripe about. Easy drinking, some decent taste to it and no doubt a lot better from a cask. With a good bit more flavour going on over the mentioned Original  I have no problem buying and drinking this again.

This scored a generous and respectable 5/10 on the ' is this discount beer ?' Beerometer.

Alc : 5%
Where to buy CPH : Fakta

Brewdog - Jack Hammer IPA

Another brewdog ? Hell yes, if it says IPA and Brewdog on the bottle then there is a good chance it will be pretty decent so I might as well play it safe kicking off the weekend ?...

The devastatingly bitter finish will drill straight through your taste buds. If you like hops and bitterness then go ahead. But be warned: this beer has more bitterness than a human palate (or nipple) can detect. For freaks, craft beer junkies and stamp collectors only. The second placed beer in our 2012 Prototype Challenge is a BrewDog staff favourite, and made a brief guest appearance in our bars last summer.

Ok then, if you say so....

Aroma of malt from the pour with tangerines, pine, grapefruit and citrusy hops.

Jack Hammer pours clear amber gold with a creamy white head. Sweet intake with malt, citrus, peach, caramel and pine ending with a dry and very bitter hoppy finish. Grapefruit, citrus and light malt linger in the long aftertaste. Light and slighly watery mouthfeel. No alcohol shining through.

Well here is a beer to wake you up from an afternoon slumber. I did not mention carbonation above because to be honest with all the rough bitterness attacking the roof of my mouth I could not tell. I don't think I could drink two of these in a row as I'd end up with heartburn/indigestion. No problem drinking this again though ! My only personal gripe with this...I think they went a bit too mad with the bittering hops and forgot about the taste. Summing up, if you want to wake your tastebuds up then go and try this one.

This score 7.5/10 on the 'wonders what the IBU was' Beerometer.

Alc : 7.4%
Where to buy CPH : Kihoskh and Ølbutikken both have it in stock at time of writing.

Brewdog - #Mashtag

Three weeks passed and no new Brewdog blog ? I'm slipping. I have to admit I am not a huge fan of brown ale but in the interest of science I will make sacrifices :) Blurb first...

Inspired by the passion, knowledge and enthusiasm of craft beer drinkers, we set out to create a truly democratic craft beer. We entrusted all the important decisions to our fans, customers and anyone who wanted to learn more about the craft brewing process and cast their vote. We gave up complete control of every single decision which shaped the final beer that the #MashTag project produced. #MashTag is a 7.5% American Brown Ale loaded with New Zealand hops and aged on Hazelnuts and Oak chips.

What, no swearing ? No preaching to anyone that drinks an industrial lager ? No 'hey we're punks' ? It seems I'm not the only one slipping.

Waft of roasted malt, chocolate, nuts and caramel from the pour.

#Mashtag pours clear dark brown with a ruby tinge and a beige creamy head. Sweetish and very malty intake with caramel, coffee, nuts and chocolate while the finish is slightly dry and bitter. Coffee and licorice linger in the peppery/spicy aftertaste. Nice and creamy mouthfeel to this.

Lots of malt in this one, which I like. I could down a couple of these without much complaint...well there is always one gripe from me, right ? Licorice ! That's what I taste, you of course can taste something different. It just seemed to be more and more present the more I got nearer the bottom of the glass. Now I don't mind it if it is just a little flavour in the background, preferably in a stout, but too much in this spoilt the overall beer for me. Summing up..EU, take that licorice pipe ban and shove it right up your...

This scored a generous 7/10 on the 'It's been pissing down all day, I might be in a grumpy mood' Beerometer.

Alc : 7.4%
Where to buy CPH : Kihoskh and Ølbutikken

Caledonian - Newcastle Werewolf

I noticed this on the supermarket beer shelf last week on offer, all the good reason to pick one up and give it a try, right ? It has 'escaped from britain' on the bottle so I'm wondering if they should have built a bigger fence to save the continent from it. Just a side note, this has been exported to the US and then imported to Denmark, I was wondering why it was in a 355ml bottle, that extra journey makes no sense to me whatsoever.....

Light waft of malt, caramel and berries from the pour.

Werewolf pours clear amber red with a quick diminishing off-white head. Very grainy on the sweet intake with malt, caramel, nuts and berries which ends with a smokey and bitter finish. Roasted malt and caramel linger in the mildly bitter aftertaste. Over-carbonated(imo), the mouthfeel is rough and watery.

I quite like the smokey finish to this one but it left me undecided if I like it or not, though it tastes a lot better than I thought it would. I'd have no problem drinking another if offered but certainly not one I'd rush out to buy again. My biggest gripe, far too much carbonation for my liking. Summing up, should have built that fence bigger.

This scored 5/10 on the 'neither here nor there' Beerometer

Alc : 4.5%
Where to buy CPH : Føtex.

Wiibroe - Porter

So what is all this about you brewing I hear you not ask ? Well, it is a simple project of mine to learn about brewing and go from absolute novice to being able to produce a good standard everyday beer that I would be happy with...a pretty low goal to set myself but of course there is the hobby factor which I am enjoying, well apart from all the cleaning and sterilizing...and bottling. So far I have brewed using beer kits, extract recipes, partial mash, steeping speciality grains, adding extra hops and dry hopping.

No doubt I will take the plunge and go all grain sometime in the coming months but so far I am happy/comfortable with what I've done so far. The first brew, a golden ale, is just passable to drink. The second, a stout, is very promising although it needs a good amount of conditioning still. The third, a mongrel amber concoction/vienna/steam beer is not long bottled, the sample pint I drank from the fermenting vessel while bottling was very tasty so I have great hopes for it, using san francisco lager yeast seems to have paid off. The fourth, an extract belgian ale is fermenting away like mad and the whole place stinks of malt, not so good wife acceptance factor with this one as the fermentor is in the bedroom with the windows closed to keep the temperature up :/ I have an IPA then a red ale to do after then I will take stock and probably buy a lot more equipment than the 2 fermenting bins and soup pot I am using just now.

Ok, enough about this, lets get back to the ready made beer from Wiibroe, owned and brewed by Carlsberg....

Mild aroma of malt, chocolate, coffee and cigar !? from the pour.

Porter pours black with a quick falling brown creamy head. Mildly sweet roasted malt in the intake with  hints of smoke, heavily roasted coffee beans and touch of licorice which leads into a dark chocolate bitter finish. This has a very nice long chocolaty aftertaste. Lowly carbonated, the mouthfeel is smooth and creamy. No alcohol shines through.

Absolutely solid and simple imperial stout....for the price. This has such a well rounded taste, for me it is perfect for sipping while contemplating why I bother paying five times more for a local craft beer or an import. Definitely in my top five of Danish great value for money beers. No doubt, a regular again in my house in the coming autumn and winter months. Summing up, superb Danish value for money macro stout which puts a lot of the micro breweries to shame.

This scored 9/10 on the 'this came from an industrial, really ?' Beerometer.

Alc : 8.2%
Where to buy CPH : Most larger supermarkets.

Anchor - Porter

I've not been very prolific with posts recently, mainly due to the time taken up with work, family life and brewing which I'll write more about in my next post. I've also just been drinking a lot of standard splosh for the bottles and past blogged about/pre-blog noted beer instead of picking up unknowns(to me). Sometimes, it is nice for a period just to pick up some really good beer that you already know just to kick back and enjoy...ok, I'm just a lazy git !:) On to the beer....

Light aroma of roasted malt with dark fruit and some caramel from the pour.

Porter pours black with a thick and creamy tan head. Mild roasted malt on the sweetish intake along with coffee, chocolate and a dab of licorice. The finish is slightly sour and has a nice bitterness while there is a dark fruitiness in the aftertaste with licorice and caramel lingering. Very lowly carbonated, the mouthfeel is silky smooth and creamy.

Excellent and easy to drink porter which went down a treat, no problem with buying and drinking again. If I was to have a personal gripe it would be the lack of roast/smoke for a porter, especially when needed to balance out all the dark fruit going on towards the end. Summing up, very decent porter worth picking up.

This scored 7.5/10 on the 'ooooohhh creamy' Beerometer.

Alc : 5.6%
Where to buy CPH : Ørsteds Kiosken, H.C. Ørsteds Vej 48, Frederiksberg C.

8 Wired - The Big Smoke

Having tried a sample glass of the excellent iStout, which I will blog about when I come across it again, this is not my first encounter with this brewery. You can read the Danish nomadic brewer Søren Eriksen and the brewery here. Might as well get on with this smoked porter, blurb first, small rant after....

Now what is this? A smoked beer?? It really isn’t as crazy as it sounds. 250 years ago virtually all beers were smoked (it’s true, Google it!), but with the dawning of the industrial revolution most of the smoke lifted. However, in the German town of Bamberg the flame has quite literally been kept alive and to this day the town’s brewers produce world renowned beers brewed with their own special rauchmalz (beechwood smoked malt). We’ve taken our best porter recipe and added a good measure of that same Bamberg Rauchmalz. The smoke mingles beautifully with the rich, dark roasted chocolate flavours of the porter without being overpowering. Although it pairs extremely well with smoked seafood, barbeques, strong cheeses and hearty stews, its food friendliness isn’t limited to savouries; chocolate and caramel based deserts are great companions too! Trust us; it really isn’t as crazy as it sounds.

I really dislike all this food pairing blurb on beer bottles nowadays, especially when one states at the end '..or can be enjoyed on its own' What is that all about ? What if you are sitting in some crummy bar with the only food option of beer nuts or crisps..'no wait, they say it can be enjoyed on its own, thank gawd for that'. Stop this nonsense, please.

Light wafts of roast malt, smoke/charred wood and chocolate.

Big Smoke pours black with a thick creamy beige head. Mildly sweet intake with roasted malt, chocolate, a touch of licorice and light smoke while the malty finish is sharp and dry. Licorice, malt and coffee linger in the aftertaste. Lowly carbonated, this has a creamy mouthfeel.

This reminded me a lot of the coisbo - brooklyn fall which i posted not so long ago as in the lightness of the smoke profile. Rightly or wrongly when I see 'smoked' my mind always wanders to Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Urbock which for me is the ultimate smoked beer. In other words I like my smoked beer intense. Otherwise, this is a decent enough porter which I had no problem with. I would drink it again if the opportunity came up but I would not rush out to buy another. Summing up, like the mentioned coisbo, this is another decent gateway for someone wanting to try a lightly smoked beer.

This scored 7/10 on the 'Please Sir, can I have more smoke' Beerometer.

Alc : 6.2%
Where to buy CPH : Kihoskh, Sønder Boulevard 53, Kbh V

Sierra Nevada - Narwhal

I seen this one on another blog a few months ago which inspired me to buy this. The price, which is double what you give for the normal sierra nevada range available in supermarkets here ie. pale ale, ipa, torpedo ipa(a steal at the price) and kellerweizen..so will this one live up to the high price tag ?.....

Aroma of roasted malt from the pour with coffee, licorice and dark chocolate covered raisins.

Narwhal pours pitch black with a tight creamy brown head. Heavily roasted malt on the intake with dark chocolate, licorice and a touch of coffee while the finish is hoppy, bitter and warming alcohol. The long aftertaste is more of the same but with a tannin/leathery tinge to it ? Yeah, there is a question mark there for a reason. Full bodied and low carbonation, the mouthfeel is creamy to being a tad oily. While you can certainly feel and taste the alcohol in this it does not detract from the flavours.

Maybe I have drunk too from the fermenting vessel this morning while checking gravity but this left me slightly disappointed. I'm left questioning while writing this post if the alcohol is overriding the flavours and the sweetish licorice through this is too much and spoils it totally for me. Saying all that, I still enjoyed it. However, I would not buy it again apart from to store it for another year as I think storing will really benefit it. No doubt some bottle shop with be selling 2012 which this is in a year or two for two times the price.

Summing up, bold malty imperial stout that if I had never tried it I would buy two. One to try now and one to forget about for another year.

This scored a generous 7.5/10 in the 'what's this about keeping beer for another year about ? It's not wine for gawds sake' Beerometer.

Alc : 10.2%
Where to buy CPH : Superbrugsen

Jacobsen - Høstbryg

Høstbryg = Harvest brew.

A new one from the house brewery at Carlsberg, this one being styled a vienna lager. I hope there is a bit more to it than the carly semper ardens weiner which was also just released. Being friday, less chit chat and get onto the beer in question eh ?....

Malt aroma from the pour with caramel and light citrusy hops.

Høstbryg pours a clear amber to copper with a white creamy head. Medium sweet very malty intake along with caramel and again light hoppy citrus while the finish is dry and mildly bitter. Can you guess the short aftertaste ?....yep, more malt which with the caramel is almost chewy butterscotch in taste. Light bodied, the mouthfeel is a tad watery.

Now I've had a pop at raters/fair isle jersey wearers using the saying 'one dimensional' , this one is a definite candidate for that saying to be used as it is a good chunk of sameness all the way through. However, it is a Vienna which is quite a simple brew so what do people expect ? Considering the brewer, to me this tastes like a luxury version of tuborg classic(bad comparison), with a different hop profile, which I've said before is decent when poured from a great height to knock all the co2 out ;).  Not one I would bother to buy again although I've no problem drinking another if offered. Summing up, an average simple and malty vienna.

This scored a generous 6/10 on the '+1 for all the malt/remembering me to get some oktoberfest beers in' Beerometer.

Alc : 5.9%
Where to buy CPH : Føtex

Flensburger x 2 - Pilsener & Gold

I've got a huge thing going on again gathering flip-top bottles, well any bottles for yet another homebrew which I have put over the past weekend and another two which I have planned for midway and end of the month. I have thought about buying new empty bottles but come on, when I buy beer bottles I want them to be full first !...I bottled the last batch just over a week ago, it is my christmas stout. Kegging would be a lot less time consuming....

I have tried these two once before along with quite a few from Flensburger though I did not make any pre-blog notes on them. I do like their Dunkel which I have drunk recently so let's see how they are...

Pilsener

Light waft of malt, hay, herbs and hops from the pour.

Pilsner pours a clear pale gold with a frothy white head. Herby/spice and grassy intake with malt while the finish is dry, bitter and hoppy. Nothing much going on in the light aftertaste apart from some malt, hops and grass. Quite softly carbonated for a pilsener, the mouthfeel is light and not too watery.

Clean and crisp, it is a pretty good example of a standard northern german pilsener. Pretty refreshing, I'd have no problem drinking this to quench the thirst on a hot summers day. I must be in a good mood as I can't think of any gripes apart from why do they use hop extract ? Summing up, decent standard and a good bit tastier than your usual macro eurosplosh.

This scored 5.5/10 on the '+1 for the swingtop' Beerometer.

Alc : 4.8%
Where to buy CPH : Føtex and Bilka.

Gold

Light aroma of malt, yeast and hops from the pour.

Gold pours clear golden (once the chill haze had cleared, oops) with a creamy white head. Sweet malty intake with some grass and dulled hops while the finish is dry and very very mildly bitter. This has a short aftertaste of malt and dull hops. The mouthfeel is thin and watery.

While more malty than the pilsener I wonder if they forgot to put anything else in or the hop extract injector was blocked as there is not a whole lot going on with this. I won't say duffer as I like the malty taste but there is practically no other flavours reaching the palate....yes I did allow it to warm up a bit after being over-chilled. Summing up, I should have bought 2 pilseners, avoid.

This scored a lowly 2.5 on the '+1 for the swingtop...you can subtract it yourself' Beerometer.

Alc : 4.8%

Where to buy/avoid CPH : Føtex and Bilka.

Carlsberg - Semper Ardens Porter

On offer in Netto of all places this week marks the return of the Semper Ardens range from Carlsberg. Why it went away, Christmas Ale excluded, I don't know but perhaps they were concentrating on the Jacobsen brand. So I picked this one up along with the weiner and kellerpils. As a lover of stouts I was a big fan of Criollo Stout which I thought was bloody excellent. For me, it was one of them beers that if blindfolded you would never have guessed it came from a huge industrial brewer. So, how will this replacement ? porter live up to that ........

Light aroma of malt, chocolate and licorice coming from the pour.

This Porter pours black with a dark ruby tinge and has a creamy beige head. Quite sweet on the intake with dark roasted/almost burnt tasting malt, dark chocolate and a dab of licorice while the finish is bittersweet. This has a pleasant long-ish aftertaste of malt, licorice and milky coffee. Smooth mouthfeel though a bit oily with no alcohol shining through.

Summing up first...decent one bottle only porter that is worth a try. The reason I say one bottle only is mainly personal as I drank two bottles of this while writing this post (I did have other things going on) but during the second I thought it was beginning to be a bit dull, your own mileage may vary of course. While pretty good value for money, bought for 10 dkk, it is not a patch on the afore mentioned Criollo Stout. I don't know if it is a capacity thing but I've always wondered why the Semper Ardens/Jacobsen line do not, to my limited knowledge, get exported ? Answers on a postcard please. I have no problem buying and drinking this again.

This scored 7.5/10 on the 'oh, a macro brew, I must mark down' Beerometer.

Alc : 6.8%
Where to buy CPH : Netto

Mikkeller - Beer Geek Brunch Weasel

With all the Mikkeller posts someone asked me about this one and if I would blog it. Well here we go, much hyped and rated in various places in the top 25 beers in the world. Not that I have much time for ratings sites as I am very skeptical of beer tickers, the numbers game and comments of 'one dimensional' and 'boring' 600 times but hey, if that is how some people get their kicks out of beer then fair play to them.

Onto the beer in question. I can't say I am going in blind as I have had this before pre-blog. Blurb first...

This imperial Oatmeal stout is brewed with one of the world’s most expensive coffees, made from droppings of weasel-like civetcats. The fussy Southeast Asian animals only eat the best and ripest coffee berries.Enzymes in their digestive system help to break down the bean. Workers collect the bean-containing droppings for Civet or Weasel Coffee. The exceedingly rare Civet Coffee has a strong taste and an even stronger aroma.

Big aroma of coffee, heavy roasted malt, chocolate and light hops from the pour.

Brunch Weasel pours pitch black with a creamy light brown head. Heavy dark roasted malt on the sweet intake with strong coffee, bitter dark chocolate and a touch of pine while the finish is quite hoppy and bitter. This has a long lasting aftertaste of malt, coffee and dark chocolate. Softly carbonated, the mouthfeel is smooth and creamy. While you can certainly feel the warming presence of the alcohol it does not shine through to impair the flavour.

For quite a miserable monday..what a start to the week ! Now I am not the greatest fan of coffee in stouts as some can be overpowering and in some cases I'm left wondering if they chucked it in for the sake of it however with this I can only come to the conclusion that the world needs more coffee bean eating weasels ! I really really, no really enjoyed this one and it was a total pleasure to drink. Definitely one you could drink as a treat for yourself. Summing up, if I had only 25 beers to drink before my lights go out this would be one of them. Hunt it down and give it a try.

This scores a perfect 10/10 on the 'did you expect anything lower on this, the 'raters' got it right this time ?' Beerometer.

Alc : 10.9%
Where to buy CPH : Kihoskh, Ølbutikken, Fish & Beer & Høkeren all stock it.