Beer # 47 La Granja Stout Nørrebro Bryghus

Third of five of our ultra-premium beers and Third 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...)

Beer # 3 From the Danish brewhouse is a 7.5% ABV stout flavoured with "Canadian Maple Syrup." Packaged in a specially designed award winning bottle and label, containing "60 cl" or for us non-Europeans 600 ml. Very dark chestnut in colour to almost black. Head is a reddish tan made of small bubbles that disappear quickly. The nose is espresso and chocolate, malt notes are very light. First taste is a well balanced bitter and sweet, light tasting stout. The maple is very subtle almost non existent, the only thing you notice is the smokiness of the syrup mingling with the caramelisation of the malts. Finish is instant coffee and maple sugar. Aeration gives a little whiskey, more smoke, and some heavy caramelised malts. Excellent stout character.


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

Taste: Pass
Cost: Pass (In Ontario it is $10.20 a beer)

Colour: Pass
Beer Style: Pass
Re-order: Exceptional
Experience: Exceptional

Kortright Centre for Conservation Maple Syrup Festival 2011

Final Thoughts: A few weeks ago I went  to my childhood home and visited the Kortright Centre for Conservation's Maple syrup festival something I haven't done in years. And this beer reminds me of that time. Standing in front of the fire while the maple sap boils down. sweet and smoky crisp and clear. It is a real treat and in this beer I think I have found the same experience. So far this is definitely my favourite of the Nørrebro beers, certainly worth the price of admission, I think I will try to get another one or two of these before they disappear.

Cheers

CJT