Swedish Beer Tasting Schedule Update

From Polly Watts at the Avenue Pub:

Our Swedish event is almost here!

There are a LOT of beers and we have multiple kegs for many of them. After looking hard at the list and realizing how great every beer on it is I decided to tap some of the multiples earlier in the week. that means you can spread out your drinking and taste everything without getting dangerously drunk the day of the BIG tasting. Don’t fret if you are coming in from out of town just for the Saturday event, EVERYTHING WILL BE ON TAP SATURDAY THE 21ST. We are only tapping the beers we have back ups of earlier in the week.

How is the Saturday event going to work?
Much like Zwanze day we will take people on a first come first serve basis. As people arrive and settle in we will take your name. You will be able to order everything on the list when you arrive EXCEPT the Stormskaporter & the Nynashamns Botet barley wine. At 3pm we will tap those two and serve people in the order in which they arrived at the bar. As with Zwanze we have our ways of keeping track of people but buying your first round of beer and letting us know you are here for the event is always a good thing.

How much is it going to cost?
Beers will be priced between $2.75 and $6 for a 6 ounce pour. the Stormskaporter and the Botet Barley wine will be avilable by the tasting ticket only and not for sale separately. The Saturday Tasting ticket will be $25 plus tax and will include your choice of 4 beers. The prices is designed to accommodate the Stormskaporter and the Botet which are the most expensive beers. Akkurat tells me they sell the Stormskaporter for the equivelent of $20 per 6 ounce pour in Sweden…so its a bit cheaper here:)

When can I buy my ticket?
Saturday when you arrive.

Can I buy my ticket at the crack of Dawn Saturday then leave and come back?
Sure, but you probably won’t get the beers you want. People will be taken in the order they arrive at the pub and stay until the tapping. You must be present to buy your ticket, no place holders. Just like Zwanze I’m not going to release the detials of of how we manage this…too many people want to work the system.

Gratuity is NOT included on the tasting ticket. Please don’t forget to tip!

Does this mean I have to stand in a line?
No, a virtual line if you want to look at it that way…but in reality once we know you are in the building to stay you can relax and enjoy the beers while you wait for the main event at 3pm. We are from New Orleans, we like to relax and have a good time.

Swedish Beer Week events at the Pub

Wednesday Jan. 18th – Specialty Swedish Tasting:
Nynäshamn, TjockhultTjinnok (Stockholm chinook) 5.1%
Skebobruk , Skebo Sovereign Golden Ale 5.4%
Oppigårds Amarillo Spring IPA 5.9%
Nils Oscar, Hop Yard IPA 7.3%
Nils Oscar, Kalasöl 5.2%
Narke, Slättöl 4.7%

Friday Jan. 20th – Balcony opens at 5pm. Beers will go online throughout the day.
All of the above plus:
Narke Skvatt GALEn 5%
Nynäshamn, Bedarö Bitter 4.5%
Nynäshamn, Sotholmen extra Stout 7%
Oppigårds Single Hop ale 4.8%
Oppigårds Golden Ale 5.2%

Belgian beers sent for this event will be tapped Friday night:
Cantillon Mamouche
Tilquin Gueuze

Saturday Jan. 21st – Beers will be online by 11am.
All of the above plus:
Narke, Tanngnjost och Tanngrisner (T&T) 7.1%
Narke, The InternationALE 6%
Narke Pannknektarnas Porter 6%
Narke, Slättöl 4.7%
Nynäshamn, MysingenMidvinterbrygd Old Ale 6%
Nils Oscar, Coffee Stout 6%
Nils Oscar, Julöl 2011 7.7%

Tapped at 3pm on Saturday Jan. 21st.
Narke Konjaks!Stormaktsporter 9%
Nynäshamn Botet Barley Wine 2009 9.1%

The Kindness of Swedish Strangers

So, I’ve been waiting until the craziness of the holidays died down to announce this, because I didn’t want to risk it being lost in the shuffle.

In April of last year Polly Watts, owner of the Avenue Pub,  met the owner of a very famous beer bar in Sweden. Stene loves New Orleans and wanted to throw a Mardi Gras party at his bar in Stockholm. Working with Shelton Bros they figured out a way to ship kegs of Abita and NOLA to Sweden. The idea was that they would be filled with Swedish beer and then returned to the Pub. Those kegs are on their way back to New Orleans now.

SO MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR SATURDAY, JANUARY 21 AT 3PM!

Several of the beers being sent over have never been in the US before and there is little chance they will return- including Stormskaporter, which is surely one of the most coveted imperial stouts in the world. It’s made in tiny batches and only available in a few places in Sweden.  Stene basically sent over one of his allocated kegs. An extraordinary gift.

Here’s the list of beers along with the tasting notes that Polly sent out.  This is sure to be an AMAZING event and you definitely won’t want to miss it. Since there will be such a high concentration of beer industry insiders and hardcore beer geeks, Polly will be also be tapping some non-Swedish but equally special and rare beers as well, such as Cantillon Mamouche.

THE SWEDISH BEERS (hold on to your hats!)

Oppigårds Amarillo (5.9%)
Big hop aromatic aroma with hints of fruit, flowers, spices, pine needles and sweet toffee. Taste is fruits, malt and hops with a slightly sweet raisin / caramel tone in the background and a nice bitter finish. Very tasty!
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/oppigards-amarillo-spring/114164/

Oppigårds Golden Ale (5.2%) 
Blonde ale-Pours clear golden with a huge frothy white head. Aroma of floral and fruity hops, grainy. Taste is moderate sweet malty, good balanced with enough hops,fruity and dry. Medium bodied
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/oppigards-golden-ale/35492/

Oppigårds Single Hop Ale (4.8%)
Single hopped blonde ale- dry hopped with Styrian Goldings. Aroma is hay, citrus, herbs. Taste is very bitter, medium sweetness. Quenching and light.
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/oppigards-single-hop-ale/96820/

Nynäshamns Bedarö Bitter (4.5%)
English bitter-Light coppery golden body, small white head. Nose is caramel and dusty hops with hints of apricot and tart gooseberries in the back. Taste is mellow grass, some spicy notes, hints of licorice root and pepper. All in all a very original beer that has character without imposing too much on a delicate style invocation of the classic English ESB.
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/nynashamns-bedaro-bitter/5952/

Nynäshamns Mysingen Midvinterbrygd (6%)
Old ale-Black with large off-white head. Smells of malt and clove, quite spicy. Taste is bitter and spicy. Very creamy.

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/nynashamns-mysingen-midvinterbrygd/19201/

Nynäshamns Sotholmen Extra Stout (7%)
Foreign stout-A layer of small choco-brown bubbles, covering a jet black body. Modest aroma of slight ashy dark malts, salty licorice and a coffee-like scent. Taste is more prononced. Clean dark malts. Dry/sweet, rounded and light ashy. A balancing bitterness blend well in. Suggestions of dark dried fruits and tar. More than medium full. Nice creamy texture. Complex malty-roasted-bitter finish.
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/nynashamns-sotholmen-extra-stout/26977/

Nynäshamns Bötet Barley Wine (9.1%)
Barley Wine- Pours a nice copper/dark reddish color with a beige head. Aroma is filled with dark fruits like raisins and figs, some alcohol notes, brown sugar, caramel malts and toffee notes. The flavor has a fairly apparent alcohol flavor with the caramel and toffee, brown sugar, dark fruits like the raisins and figs and butterscotch like notes. The body is medium to full with a dry mouthfeel.
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/nynashamns-botet-barley-wine/78427/

Nynäshamns Tjockhult Tjinook (5.1%)
Lager- The beer poured golden and clear. Its head was large, long lasting and white. Aroma had fruitiness and grass. Palate was medium bodied with medium carbonation. Flavours were hops, grass, fruitiness, grain, malts and bitterness. Aftertaste was bitter and hoppy. A clean tasting beer where flavours weren’t fighting which each other. Also nice hoppiness
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/nynashamns-tjockhult-tjinook/144688/

Nils Oscar Julöl (7.7%)
Scotch Ale-Dark brown and clear. Has an off-white head, mostly lasting. Sweet aroma, mostly lasting. Notes of old port, some smoke, grain, some sweetness too. Sweet flavor, salt, bitter finish.
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/nils-oscar-julol-2009-/110574/

Nils Oscar Coffee Stout (6%)
Sweet rich aromas of coffee with a big chocolate punch. The taste is slightly weaker with a taste of cold coffee and coffee beans. Espresso. Great coffee taste with a very soft texture.
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/nils-oscar-coffee-stout/93585/

Nils Oscar Kalasöl (5.2%)
This beer has its orgin in the Bavarian beer type ’festbier’ or ’oktoberfestbier’. Like ’festbier’ and ’vienna style beer’, Nils Oscar Kalasöl is of a somewhat darker type. The Nils Oscar Kalasöl is produced with both münchenermalt, dark caramelmalt, chocolatmalt and some roasted barley. The choice of hops is a mix of four kinds where the most characteristic are brittish fuggles, american cascade and czech saaz.  Kalasöl is a rounded beer with a mildly roasted breadish character. It can be recommended together with heavy foods, like joints of roast meat, spicy stews, broiled meat and fowl.
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/nils-oscar-kalasol/6115/

Nils Oscar Hop Yard IPA (7.3%) 
Pours clear amber with a small white head. Aroma of nice fruity hops. Taste is moderate sweet malts, grassy hops with a dry end. Smooth mouthfeel. Dry and bitter end.
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/nils-oscar-hop-yard-ipa/110575/

Närke Slättöl (4.7%)
American Pale Ale- Large citrus and floral hop aroma. Fresh hop aromatic flavor with distinctive bitterness and hints of citrus, grass and fruit. Long and slightly dry hop bitterness.
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/narke-slattol/49426/

Närke Tanngnjnost & Tanngrisnir
Hazy, deep amber. Leather and smoked. Juniper berries and blueberries
Goittlsandricka inspired beer made with juniper berries.
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/narke-tanngnjost-tanngrisnir/112558/

Närke Pannknektarnas Porter (6%)
Porter-Pours pitch black with a small foamy head. Roasty aroma has notes of chocolate, ash and coffee. Taste is very roasty with heavy coffee and espresso notes, and hints of chocolate, licorice and ash. Dry and bitter finish with hints of chocolate. Nice, well balanced and roasty coffee porter.
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/narke-pannknektarnas-porter/112111/

Närke InternationAle (6%)
IPA-Pours slightly hazy reddish brown with a thick white head that slowly dissipates while clinging on to the glass. Smell is malty sweet and fresh with pine, resin and grapefruit. Taste is rather sweet and slightly watery with pine, green chili, orange zest, apricots and resin. Finish is dry and bitter.
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/narke-the-new-internationale/31682/

Närke Konjaks! Stormaktsporter 2010 — (9.6%)
Imperial stout-Limited (brewed once). Brewed exclusively for Stockholm Beer bar Akkurat’s 15th anniversary. Brewed in March 2010. 112° Plato. Matured on oak casks for 10 months, 5 of them on Cognac casks. Bottled on December 1st 2010. Pre-released from keg at Borefts Beer Festival 2010.
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/narke-konjaks-stormaktsporter/131041/

Skebo Sovereign Golden Ale (5.4%)
Amber in colour. Malty and slightly grassy aroma with a hint of dried apricot. Fruity, malty and moderately bitter taste with notes of apricot, peach and biscuity malt.
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/skebo-sovereign-golden-ale/154516/

Also, special shout out to Sheldon Brothers, who are donating their labor costs to get these beers to the Pub.  Because of their generosity, a part of the proceeds from the event on the 21st will be going to help with cancer research in Sweden, because the brewers of Narke lost their son to cancer very recently. Stay tuned to hear how the fundraising progresses.

There’s also a rumor that Boucherie may be getting a couple kegs to do a beer dinner!  That’s not confirmed, however.