Beer # 45 Norrebros Juebryg Nørrebro Bryghus

 Second of five of our ultra-premium beers and Second of four by this unique brewhouse in the Nørrebro district of Coppenhagen. Now what exactly do I mean by ultra-premium? Well in Ontario it has to do with price, standard beers are in the range of $1.50 to $2.50 a bottle, premiums and imports range upwards from this point to about $6.00 to $7.00 a bottle. Ultra premiums start here and can go sky high. One such beer just sold for around $177 dollars. As I am not that flush, we will concentrate on the lower end of that scale. The next five beers are all over $7.50 a bottle and have an average price of $12.50. The most expensive being over $21.00 (and yes... so far that is the most I have ever paid for a bottle of beer, and yes it hurt a little...)

So back again with Nørrebro Bryghus beer # 2. "Julebryg" means "Christmas Beer" in Danish so we are looking at a nice dark brown, spiced winter ale.

Chestnut brown in colour translucent but not cloudy with a thick tan head made up of tiny bubles. Packaged in a specially designed award winning bottle and label, containing "60 cl" or for us non-Europeans 600 ml. It is a very respectable 7.0% ABV beer made up of wheat, barley, and rye malts, and then spiced with cloves and ginger. Cloves on the nose, some malt and rye bread. First sip gives us all of the cloves, some smoky malt, and a taste of thick stone baked rye crust. The ginger is saved for the finish warming the palate. The minerals in the water make a delicate appearance re-inforcing the beer but not distracting from it. Aeration heats up the ginger and brings the malt to the forefront. The subtle rye is evident through the whole tasting experience, reminding us that beer is liquid bread.

Overall results: (Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional)

Taste: Pass
Cost: So-so (In Ontario it is $7.55 a beer)
Colour: Pass
Beer Style: Pass
Re-order: So-so
Experience: Pass

Final Thoughts: Despite the heavy sounding ingredients, and the 7.0% ABV, the beer was surprisingly light. The alcohol kicked in a little later, but I did finish the whole bottle myself... (hic!) So far Nørrebro beers lean to the subtle side. I'm looking for a good "Flavour Stomper"... Got one in you Anders?

Cheers

CJT