In praise of…Akkurat

Sweden’s not all about Skol and drinking vodka in ice bars, there can be something for the real ale drinker there – but you certainly have to search for it. If you find yourself in Stockholm (and most visitors to Sweden will at some point), then Akkurat deserves to be right at the top of the must-visit list – aside from the fascinating Vasamuseet, of course. But all that nautical history can be thirsty work, so a rejuvenating pit-stop in a real ale pub is the perfect answer.

Initially quite hard to find being set back from the road under a concrete office-type building, when you edge closer the sight of dark brown wood through the windows draws you in. The first impression at the bar is bottles – the whisky section alone is astonishing, there must be over a hundred malts on offer. But of course it was the beer we were after, and the comprehensive menu made great reading. However, like museums, reading is also thirsty work and the sight of the word ‘BITTER’ on a hand pump was all the encouragement it took – Bedarö Bitter (4.5%) from the Nynäshamns Brewery was a great introduction to Swedish Öl.

Akkurat seem to specialise in three main groups – Swedish beer (understandably), strong ales from around the world, and Belgian beers. We’re all huge trappist fans on the BeerCast, but the local brews are always the way to go. Having said that, a quick glance at some of the global notables revealed such tempters as Stone’s Arrogant Bastard, Staropramen Dark lager, Anchor’s Special Ale from 2004, and De Leyerth’s wallopingly strong Urthel Samaranth barleywine (11.5%). Plus the only Scottish beer on offer, Belhaven’s Twisted Thistle IPA (see BeerCast #15).

Over a highly enjoyable couple of hours, we worked our way through some of the Swedish beers Akkurat had on their books that day – as the dark hoppy Bedarö Bitter went down very quickly. Jämtlands produce an apparently fabled trio of ales named Heaven, Hell, and Fallen Angel – and as the second of these was on cask it was an early choice. Dark and robust but only 5.1% (‘only’ in comparison with most of the menu) it was extremely good. We also sampled Nynäshamns Ångbryggeri’s Indianviken Pale Ale (6.2%) and another from Jämtlands, Pilgrim Ale (4.5%). The latter was unfortunately a bit on the dreaded caramelly side, but the Pale Ale was wonderful.

Akkurat is a great find – a real ale bar in a city where alcohol is astonishingly expensive – but this is seemingly it’s only downside. The nice bottle of Indianviken Pale Ale (500ml) set me back almost £8 – we saw menu entries for +10% Trappist ales at over £20 (for 330ml), which is simply staggering. But, in a city where even a large glass of Carlsberg will be over a fiver I would personally not object to forking out a few more Kroner for a lot more quality.

Akkurat