Amager Bryghus - Julebryg 2013

With the Danish named Hurricane Bodil approaching a winter warmer is in order so….Back to the festive beer again. Amager, once again changes style as the 2012 version I had last year was a very decent brown ale. This year they have brewed an abbey dubbel without any seasonal spices added.

Light nutty aroma with roasted malt, dried fruit and caramel from the pour.

This one pours hazy dark amber brown with a creamy off-white head. Semi sweet slightly roasted malty intake with figs, nuts, chocolate and caramel while the sweet finish is quite dry with a fruity and yeasty sourness. Mild chocolate short aftertaste with figs, raisins and roast, bordering on smoked malt again. Very softy carbonated, full bodied and the mouthfeel is smooth and creamy. No alcohol shines through.

Well, this one certainly went up in status as it warmed up, 30 mins out of the fridge and it was so so when pouring while finishing up at room temperature it was extremely enjoyable, maybe because it's all toasty in here while the wind batters the windows, talk about a time and place for a beer. Yet another danish christmas beer without all the spices. It seems to be a trend from the opposite of last year when everything was heavily spiced with orange peel, coriander and star of anise. As you might gather, I enjoyed this one and have no problem buying/drinking another. Summing up, decent craft abbey brew.

This scored 7.5/10 on the 'monks…do it better' Beerometer.

Alc : 7%
Where to buy CPH : Kihoskh, Sønder Boulevard 53, Kbh V. Also seen in other bottle shops.

Greene King - Hardys & Hansons Rocking Rudolph

Back again after another pause from the beer. Not a lot going on apart from I have two days of work left then I'm off for 5 weeks so hopefully a mental posting flurry ensues as I have a crate load of untested brews to get through. Continuing on with the festive beers theme this one was picked up by the wife……

Light aroma of caramel, butter, malted biscuits, spices and nuts from the pour.

Rocking Rudolph pours deep copper with a thin off-white head that quickly vanishes. Fruity intake with roasted malt, toffee and hay while this has a sour hoppy bitter finish. Quite a dry cold tea /metallic aftertaste with some sharp fruit/berries in the background. Watery mouthfeel.

I absolutely hated this, but not because of the taste, which was a bit weird in the end. This beer was that much over carbonated that I struggled to get anything from it and it was extremely harsh in the mouth. I ended up swirling it around the glass and letting it go half flat before it finally tasted, well, half decent. Not one which I would bother with again as there is far better seasonals out there and it was also overpriced. My opinion, avoid.

This scored a very generous 4/10 on the 'if rudolph is in charge of the bottling line, shoot it' Beerometer.

Alc : 4.2%
Where to buy/avoid CPH : Superbrugsen.

Klosterbryggeriet - Scullery Brew Christmas Extra Stout

Continuing once again with the festive theme….This one came recommended for me by a very picky, when it comes to beer anyway, friend to try out so I have my hopes up for this one…..

Light waft of roasted malt, chocolate, milky coffee and caramel from the pour.

Extra Stout pours pitch black with a brown tan head. Sweetish dark malty intake with chocolate, caramel, coffee, dark cane sugar and cinnamon while the finish is bitter orange with light spicy hops. Coffee and chocolate linger in the aftertaste. Softly carbonated, the mouthfeel is quite smooth and oily. Despite the strength, no alcohol shines through.

Well well well, what a huge improvement on yesterdays brew. Everything seems to blend in well here and nothing is totally dominant in the flavour department. One thing that popped in my head while drinking this was it's like terry's chocolate orange ( uk confectionary, popular at xmas) in liquid form but using bitter orange. All said and done a really nice christmas stout. I have one small gripe, either I did not drink this quick enough but it was totally lifeless in the glass halfway down. I would have no problem buying/drinking this again. Summing up, definitely worth a try.

This scored a very respectable 7.5/10 on the 'picky friends are not just for christmas' Beerometer.

Alc : 7.5%
Where to buy CPH : Kihoskh, Sønder Boulevard 53, Kbh V
Web : Scullery Brew (danish only)

Nørrebro Bryghus - Dronning Louises Hvid Jul

ENG : Queen Louises White Christmas.

Not one I have had the pleasure ? to try before but the bottle caught my eye while in the local supermarket. I have one wish, I wish they would put some of these brews in normal sized bottles, well depending on the beer of course. Seeing it is friday and the weekend I think it's safe to crack this open. Blurb roughly translated below….

Queen Louises White Christmas is a refreshing light relation (wtf ?) to the dark christmas season. A christmas blond brewed for the people that wish an alternative to the dark traditional heavy christmas beer, but pursue a wish to serve a rich beer that has body and character enough to complement the Danish christmas dinner. (serving suggestions followed but sod that, i detest that shit written on beer labels)

Righty ho ho ho, on we go….

Very pungent waft of malt, spice and a little minuscule hint of hops when popping the cork and pouring.

Hvid jul pours clear golden with a frothy white head. Sweet intake with malt, wheat, caramel, a hint of black pepper and herbs while it finishes dry, malty and mildly bitter. In the aftertaste I'm reminded of my youth sucking on a barley sugar, though not as sweet combined with more malt. A light mouthfeel to this without being watery.

Ok, this beer confuses me. Take the bottles label away and I would not guess this was a seasonal brew as it is one that I would have no problem drinking in the height of summer. Very simplistic compared to the usual seasonal brews and not a huge amount going on with it, maybe that is the point ? I do have a gripe, why label this one with a christmas brew label when you have a couple of other christmas brews out already at the same time (julebryg and stjernestund). Stop that shit please, it's milking it too far..unless your name is Thisted Bryghus.

Summing up, I did enjoy this one and as said would have no problem drinking this again if labelled properly. It is worth a try, like the brewdog in the last post if you want a change of pace from the heavily spiced seasonals that are out just now.

This scored a generous 5.5/10 on the ' the north bridge is falling down, falling down' Beerometer.

Abv : 6.8%
Where to buy CPH : Føtex.

Brewdog - Hoppy Christmas

Now, I tried this beer last year and it was sold here at 4.2% abv. This year it is now pumped up to 7.2%  in the shops so in my book it is a totally different brew. Very cheap to buy in some Danish supermarkets there is nothing lost by taking a look. As is customary with Brewdog posts I will quote the blurb then get right into it…

This Christmas, wish for a green Christmas. Where flurries of hop flakes blanket the world like you’ve never seen it before. And crunching through crisp, sparkling drifts releases billows of pineapple, citrus and papaya with every step. The reign of the snow angel is over. Long live the hop angel where parks and playgrounds become adorned with the outlines of celestial beings that fell to Earth from angry looking emerald clouds. Tune in to breakfast TV to find life’s on hold for 24 hours as this ’hop day’ demands you rocket down a hill on the back of a baking tray. Or simply raise a glass of this festive IPA as we wish you a very hoppy Christmas.

Ohhhhkaaayy then…

Big waft of the 'man from delmonte' tropical tinned fruit, pine and citrus from the pour.

Hoppy Christmas pours pale amber orange with an off-white head. Toasty malt on the intake along with grapefruit, clementine orange, apricot, pine and lemon zest while the finish is like sucking on an unsweetened bitter grapefruit with floral hops in the background. Pine, grapefruit and floral hops linger again in the aftertaste. Quite a light mouthfeel to this without being watery and no alcohol shines through.

Being very picky this year with what 'seasonal' beer I pick up I can say I am well happy with this one. Lots of flavour, not extremely bitter and very easy to drink, perhaps too easy considering the abv. While not spiced with traditional festive spice which is the case with a huge amount of Danish christmas beer, I would have no problem picking this one up again just for the fact that it is a refreshing change to them brews. If I had one personal gripe with this it is that it lacks a bit of body. Summing up, very nice IPA that is well worth a try if you have not already.

This scored a respectable 7.5/10 on the 'so where is the editing features on this phone ?' Beerometer.

Alc : 7.2%
Where to buy CPH : Fakta.

Krenkerup - Juleøl

Still a bit slow with new blog posts around here but I'm crammed with work. The second seasonal beer here I am expecting a more seasonal Danish brew than the Konrad fraud. I tasted this last year, made no notes at the time but thought it was very nice. Time to see if my memory is playing tricks with me or not ….

Wafts of christmas spice, caramel and fruit from the pour.

Juleøl pours dark hazy amber with a quick vanishing off-white head. Sweetish malty intake with cinnamon, star of anis, caramel, coriander and cloves leading into a dry,light bitter finish. Orange peel, cloves and cinnamon linger in the long, quite fruity aftertaste. Mildly carbonated and the mouthfeel is quite smooth.

Arrrrgghh, this was not the one I tried last year which was a Vienna Lager, my mistake and a totally different beer as there was two different brews released by them last year. I knew something was up when pouring this into a pint glass, doh. So how does this one do ? Well, all the flavours of a traditional danish christmas brew are there. None of the flavours are too dominant and it all blends in pretty nicely. Not one I could drink a lot of nor one I would bother with again as there is far better one's out there. It is worth a try if you have not tasted it before, don't expect any wow factor though.

This scored a respectable 6/10 on the ' I'm really off to a bad start here' Beerometer

Alc : 6.3%
Where to buy CPH : Superbrugsen etc.

Pivovary Vratislavice - Konrad Christmas Beer

Alias of Konrad Svetly Lezak 14.

First Christmas beer of the season…..ok, I lied, I've had a tuborg which is absolute rank and not worth bothering about. So here we have a Czech offering but it is a bit of cheeky name change to suit the local market as it is really the alias above, naughty naughty ! In reality, this is just a strong Czech pils and I don't expect much festive season from it…..

Not much in the aroma department from the pour apart from some malt and caramel.

This pours clear amber gold with a fluffy white head. Sweet burnt caramel prominent on the intake with malt, grass and honey in the background leading to a metallic bitter finish. Caramel and honey linger in the aftertaste. Softly carbonated with a light mouthfeel, not watery.

Excuse my french but I thought this was piss poor for a Christmas beer, but it is an okay or should I say average strong czech pils. A bit too much honey and metallic notes for my liking but you can of course bypass the flavours by chilling the crap out of it and drinking near ice cold. Not the greatest start to my own christmas beer season but I'm sure there is some new for me duffers to try and gems to be found. Summing up, avoid if looking for a christmas beer.

This scored 3/10 on the 'There's a few mugs up north, let's change the label' Beerometer.

Alc : 6%
Where to buy CPH : Føtex