‘We chase the big flavours’
I’m not sure if native English-speakers are fully able to pronounce Nøgne Ø. I usually go for Nog-Knee Oh, which sounds about right. Founded in Grimstad in 2002 – a place name that sounds as if trolls should live under the bridges – Nøgne Ø quickly became heralded across Europe for their beer. This is in part due to the sheer variety of styles they produce, which rapidly built them a following amongst the beer geeks*, ensuring an almost cult-status.
However, the success of the brewery is mostly down to the hard work of co-founders Kjetil Jikiun and Gunnar Wiig – not to mention their ingenuity. The difficulties faced by the fledgling company were enormous. Local drinkers at that time knew very little about non-native beer styles – and as alcohol advertising is not allowed in Norway, Nøgne Ø had a major problem. As their website puts it – “…how can you sell products nobody has ever heard of in a market where it is banned to even inform [people] about the existence of these products?”.
With no facility, no money and no marketing, what they achieved is astonishing. Anybody thinking of setting up a brewery should read the fascinating Nøgne Ø story. After having rented a rundown garage, they found a 5,000 litre milk vat on a scrapheap and persuaded someone to cut it into three smaller tanks. Using home-made equipment to brew had it’s issues – “…whenever we used the brewkettle the whole brewery would smell like burning oil, and if the doors were not open it would be hard to breathe”.
Clearly, their early success was driven by the resourcefulness of Kjetil and Gunnar – and the people they brought in to help (often for free). Their more recent success in part hinges on their export rate – over 70% of what they produce ends up as far away as Japan, Australia and the USA. Recently we’ve noticed a sudden surge in Nøgne Ø beer appearing in the UK, which is fantastic. Previously an online order and a lengthy wait would be needed to get their distinctive Ø-branded bottles – but now there are three stockists in Edinburgh alone.
As a modern, relatively small-scale producer with numerous fans in the beer community, they are free to experiment more than others – and the results are frequently big and boozy (hence this feature appearing during our strong beer month). Their most famous offering is Dark Horizon, an annual 16% imperial stout (the first iteration of which contained half a ton of Demerara sugar).
I asked brewmaster Kjetil about his philosophy on strong beers such as this. “The majority of Nøgne Ø beers are strong because we are a reaction to bland 4.5% lagers,” he said. “We chase the big flavours. In a different scene we would probably have made different beers.” He fully praises British brewers for producing flavourful, session-strength beer, and acknowledges the difficulty in doing this – I get the feeling that if the Norwegian beer scene of 2002 had had numerous big-abv brewers, Nøgne Ø might have gone down a different road.
Having said this, Kjetil doesn’t see strong beer as being a problem issue. “In my opinion most strong beers have a stronger and more intense flavour. This will in turn make the drinker sip the beer more slowly. When it is really cold, you need something strong (and warming) to give comfort. When you load in lots of hops you need body to get good balance.” One beer that does this in spades is their strongest offering – Red Horizon (17%), brewed with no.7 yeast from the Masume sake concern in Nagano.
I’ve no idea what the first six are like, but this one does wonderful and frankly bizarre things to the beer. Fermented very slowly, to let the microbes do their thing as long as possible, Red Horizon is fruity and woody – then has a quite clearly sake grain aftertaste. It’s a classic example of a “Hang on…do I like this?” beer – several attempts at it are needed. Of course, by then your brain probably doesn’t care much, as you sit drinking happily, looking at the embossed tin that the beer comes in.
Nøgne Ø do magnificent things (not all of them over 7.5% – their 4.5% Brown Ale is very good, and Inferial is an alcohol-free imperial stout). The joy, however, really rests in the big-hitters. From a brewery that has seemingly defied all the odds, they truly are one of Europe’s real success stories.
*Some of whom also live under bridges
Kjetil emailed us soon after this post came out – according to him, the correct pronunciation of his brewery is Nugneh-Uh. Next up in our protest month of beer only over 7.5% – we’re releasing a special BeerCast as our panel gets to grips with four very different British beers over this abv. Expect fireworks!
13 Comments
Colin
October 13, 2011I stopped drinking their beer when they posted a picture of a whale steak on their facebook. Whale murder is some sick shit.
Lars
October 13, 2011Then you better not eat meat at all Colin. At least whales are free as long as they live, not crammed in small compartments for most of their lives, barely ever out in the sunlight. Sure, some aren’t killed instantly, but a whole life in freedom that ends with a few minutes of suffering is surely better than a life of suffering ended by a humane killing.
I’ve never understood why whales are such a thing for some people. The only two vallid reasons should be their intelligence and sustainability, and the latter isn’t much of a problem anymore. Sure, some species were and are endangered. Norway only hunts one species of whale now, and it’s not endangered.
So that leaves the intelligence question. Is it wrong to kill animals for food if they show some resemblance of intelligence? If so, where do we draw the line? Are dumber animals less worthy of decent lives and clean deaths? Too bad none of us are likely to check this page again, would like to hear some solid points.
Richard
October 13, 2011Feel free to check back as often as you like Lars, you can hear solid points about beer every few days or so…
Ripped Van Drinkale
October 13, 2011Please don’t judge me, but I want to try the Inferial if they ever make it again. I mean, when is the next time I’ll ever come across a non-alcoholic that’s anything but an adjunct lager? I’m intrigued. I promise to proceed and chase it with a high-octane Imperial Stout if that makes you feel better.
Colin
October 13, 2011Hi Lars.
I don’t eat meat, but at least farmed animals are stunned before they are killed and feel little pain. Whales hunted in the open ocean are shot with an explosive harpoon. The average time taken for the whale to die following the harpooning is 2 minutes. Imagine that. being shot and it taking two minutes to die. Imagine how you would feel. A whale is a sentient intelligent mammal. Just because they can’t talk doesn’t mean they can’t suffer.
Do not believe the shit the whaling lobby preach about the sustainability of the Norwegian whale slaughter. The fact that one species is relatively abundant compared to other decimated species means fuck all.
Yes it is wrong to kill animals for food. We don’t need to. If we don’t eat meat, we’ll all be healthier and the environment will be better off. Eating animals is a throwback to a the past when we had to hunt to live. We have developed in so many ways. We have indoor plumbing so we don’t have to shit in the woods, we can grow enough plant based food so we don’t have to murder whales.
Whale murder is indefensible. Only the criminal tries to defend his crime.
Lars
October 14, 2011Norway has a quota of 1042 minke whales a year, we usually kill 5-600. Out of a population of an estimated 103000 individuals (IWC, the people who made the law against whaling) in the northeastern atlantic, that’s 0.6% a year. This site (http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=67812) which seems fairly neutral, claims 78% production rate, mortality rate unknown. Surely 0.6% is a sustainable amount.
You say whales are intelligent mammals, and I am sure this is correct for some species, if not most. Again, does that mean they are more worthy of life than chickens, cows and pigs? If so, where do we draw the line? And who gets to decide?
Good to hear you don’t eat meat at all, otherwise you would indeed come off as a hypocrite. I still can’t see how 2 minutes of pain is worse than a life of imprisonment, which is the case for most farmed animals. Also, unless the farmed animals are slaughtered on site, they have to be transported which stresses them out quite a lot. Yes, whales suffer when killed, but so does any free wild animal we hunt unless the shot kills them instantly.
I realize you’re one of those meat is murder people, so we will never agree on this. I just hope Nøgne Ø isn’t the only brewery you boicot, because I am sure a lot of breweries give tips about what kind of meat dish the beer goes well with, or have brewpubs that serve burgers or other meat dishes. And not all of those meats are free range, organic fed, painfree life and clean death, perfectly farmed meats.
I am in no way a big pro whaler, but upon reading your comment, I became genuinely interested why people are still so mad at Norway for whaling. I mean, even Obama told us to cut it out last time he visited. I understand how people can oppose to Japans practice with their lying and scheming about hunting for scientific reasons then selling the meat on the black market. We never said it was for anything other than commercial gain, and it’s such a small business here. I find it odd, is all.
@Richard Haha, sorry, I didn’t mean I would never check the website out ever again, I meant the comments. Seems like we both did though.
Richard
October 14, 2011Doc – sounds fascinating, eh? I’ve tried alcohol free porters – although Dark Cheers is probably just a black lager. But to get an alcohol-free Imperial Stout would be really interesting. What next? 0% DIPA?… Alcohol-free
India Black…Cascadian…Black IPA?…Westvleteren 0? The mind boggles.Lars
October 17, 2011Richard: Isn’t Nanny State more or less a 0% DIPA? It’s got the bitterness for it, that’s for sure.
Richard
October 18, 2011It certainly does Lars – I don’t quite know how you’d categorise Nanny State. RateBeer just have it as a low alcohol beer, which doesn’t exactly tell the full story. I had the 1.1% 2009 version, and it was horrendous. Apparently the newer 0.5% is better – BrewDog referred to it as a Pale Ale if I remember, although probably tongue in cheek…
Brian
October 19, 2011What are the three stockists in Edinburgh? I’ve enjoyed more than one on occasion in BrewDog, but somewhere closer by would be handy.
Richard
October 20, 2011Brian, I’ve seen Nøgne Ø beer onsale at Appellation Wines on Dalry Road (they have about ten different beers of theirs), also at Peckham’s in Bruntsfield. I think James Wroebel had some at Cornelius, but not 100% about that. I’ve not been over to Great Grog for a while – Appellation’s probably your best best, if you’re near Haymarket.
Brian
October 20, 2011I’m enjoying a bottle of Nøgne Ø IPA from Peckham’s right now, cheers.
Richard
October 20, 2011I feel like Cilla Black… 🙂