Norwegian beer – Let's Learn Beer!

shiny, shiny possibilities

by Ceit
November 11, 2023November 6, 2023

It’s still the month of darkness, only the beginning in fact, and already I have a super cool stout. It’s even called a Glittery Imperial Stout, which makes me wonder a little about what color it ended up after brewing, and it’s a collaboration by Amundsen and Vault City, the latter from Scotland, so a good place for something strong and dark to get brewed, and the former a success at giving me what I want in the past. I’m hoping Diamonds in the Mud is chock full of diamonds, or be made of chocolate mud.

There’s a small explosion of tasty smells with the pop of the tab, liquory, vanilla-y, woodsy, coffee…y. While not quite pure black, the brown is darker than an early winter night and the beer is not letting a drop of light get through. Glitter? Diamonds? Maybe that’s what you see when you finish that can. Not terribly heady, but what there is is stubborn and clingy, a nice little cap. The flavor is a festival of fruit and chocolate, cherry, raisin, raspberry, grape? It’s a surprise as a stout, and not an unpleasant one. While a sour stout is not exactly appetizing as an idea, this one has a good balance with the fruitiness lifting up the dark earth of the black beer. There’s a creaminess that you don’t get with sours and I find it very nice, I don’t always appreciate having my throat stabbed by a beer on the way down. Of course, there are stouts that will take a chunk out of you with bitter claws too, but in my experience they aren’t quite as dangerous in that regard.

Supplier: Hop Hop Hurrah
Price: €10.50

going darker

by Ceit
August 26, 2023September 30, 2023

Oh, I just can’t stop myself from picking up another black beer! It was a hard choice too, there are a lot of new names on the shelves. But Lervig is always trustworthy and it’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed one of their fine products, and while it’s still default vacation I feel like cake. Kransekake, that is. It’s labeled as an imperial stout with almonds (there’s a warning label about them on the back), not a pastry stout, but I have the feeling that it’s going to brush up against that variety.

Although it contains almonds, I’m getting more of an egg nog hit off the smell from the can. In the glass it’s a little nuttier. I haven’t been able to pour for head recently, but again, the beer is a rich and inviting color, and temptingly opaque. It has that syrupy pastry stout sweetness, and more than natural almonds I detect marzipan on the tongue. Good for me I love the stuff. There’s also a good whack of raisin and preserved fruit, another kind of Christmas-y note. It’s a thick and heavy beer, not what most people would choose for a summertime sip. I’m happy enough with it being sweet, that gives you a little kick when you feel run down, even in Madrid summer.

Supplier: Más Que Cervezas
Price: €6.47