The BeerCast

The London contingent returns once again to test the beery waters with Andy, Jess, Andrew, Marc and newcomer Kath. We chose a random selection of beers which intrigued us and tried not to veer off into unrelated and surreal topics too frequently. First up, Thwaites Very Nutty Black (3.9%) from Blackburn, then we moved down to the South West and sampled Skinners Cornish Knocker (4.5%). The third beer on the podcast is from Sweden – Nils Oscar God Ale (5.3%), before we finished on a stronger note with Ringwood Old Thumper (5.6%)…

1. Very Nutty Black (3.9%abv) 500ml glass bottle
Daniel Thwaites Brewery, Blackburn, Lancashire

Nutty Black is one of the core beers produced by Blackburn’s Thwaites Brewery – and is an award winning mild, having twice been named Champion Beer of Britain. At 3.3%, when the brewery decided to launch a bottle-conditioned version they upped the alcohol to 3.9% (jokingly referring to it as export strength) and christened it Very Nutty Black.

What They Say – “Normally brewed solely for the home market, Daniel Thwaites has broken all the rules with an export strength version of its award winning ale. The same great well rounded flavours and nuttiness lie within.” [ratebeer.com]

What We Say…
Jess – Quite light, not too bitter. Some lovely fruity berry flavours 8
Andrew - Bit fizzier than a stout. I could drink 1000 pints of it 8
Andy – A bit bitter and acidic. Not as nice as Sam Smith’s 6½
Kath – It tastes like beer 6½
Marc - Smells like Dandelion & Burdock. Tastes like it too 6

2. Cornish Knocker (4.5%abv) 500ml glass bottle
Skinners Brewery, Truro, Cornwall.

Steve Skinner cut his brewing teeth on the island of Jersey, before moving to Cornwall and going into larger scale production. That was 1998, and his beers have won plenty of plaudits since – possibly due to the local ingredients used in production – all components of their beers are sourced from within ten miles of the brewery. This local pride also extends to the names of the beers – Cornish Knocker is inspired by the elfin fairies who inhabited Cornish tin mines, said to be spirits of old miners.

What They Say – “A strong, clean tasting golden Ale, not too sweet with a fresh flowery aroma” [onlinebeerfestival.co.uk]

What We Say…
Andrew - It might not be nice but it has flavours at least 8
Marc - Makes me think of the washing up bowl 7
Jess – I’m a bit disappointed by it. It’s a bit watery 5
Andy – Similar taste to just before you’re going to be sick 4
Kath – Bit of a metal flavour at the back of the mouth 3

3. God Lager (5.3%abv) 330ml glass bottle
Nils Oscar, Nyköping, Sweden.

Nils Oscar were founded in 1996 and named after a distant relative Nils Oscar Sunderberg, who was born in 1865 and has his picture proudly displayed on each bottle. They put out a huge and varied range of different beers, such as IPA’s, dark porters, barley wines and a festive Kalasjulöl. Back in early 2008 we featured their India Ale on our Swedish special podcast, BeerCast 28. Will our panel similarly enjoy their God Ale?

What They Say – “The end product is a hoppyaromatic all-malt brew where the special malt brings a remarkably pleasant malt character. It is fresh tasting and smooth as becomes a Dortmunder Export style beer.” [ratebeer.com]

What We Say…
Marc - There’s definitely something milky going on 7½
Andrew - A touch of Whiskey-ness and citrus toilet duck 7½
Jess – It’s like someone chucked loads of fags in this. Tastes like gooseberries and mold 4
Kath – Tastes like cheese and ash and dust 4
Andy – It tastes like unpasteurised yak’s milk  3

4. Old Thumper (5.6%abv) 500ml glass bottle
Ringwood Brewery, Ringwood, Hampshire.

On the edge of the New Forest between Hampshire and Dorset sits the market town of Ringwood, home to the Ringwood Brewery. They were founded in 1978 by Peter Austin – one of the pioneers of British microbrewing (see here for an article on Peter written by the legendary Beer Hunter Michael Jackson). One of Peter’s more famous sayings is “a brewery shouldn’t sell beer farther from its door than a horse can walk in a day” – Ringwood were established with this belief, and still have a major presence in the New Forest, despite having been bought out by Marston’s plc in 2007.

What They Say – “Luscious balance of grain and hop in the mouth, bitter sweet finish with delicate fruit notes” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Jess – I really like it. It tastes like crème brulée 8½
Marc - Couldn’t drink a lot of it 8
Andy – Orangery, doesn’t have that soapiness Cornish Knocker had 7½
Andrew - Lots of body, the ‘christmassiest’ 7
Kath – Good in a different way to Nutty Black 6½

Panellists – (clockwise from top left) Andy, Jess, Marc, Kath, Andrew

BeerCast panel verdict
Ringwood Old Thumper 37½/50
Thwaites Very Nutty Black 35/50
Skinner Cornish Knocker 27/50
Nils Oscar God Ale 26/50

That’s it from our London panel for now. Edinburgh, it’s back over to you.

At heart, we’re a British beer website that tries to get through as much local real ale as we can. Of course, when we get the opportunity to stretch our collective legs we’re away like a shot. Over the recent New Year period, a small band of BeerCasters took an hour long flight over to Stockholm to see how the Scandinavians do beer. As it turns out, they do it quite well, although somewhat expensively. While there, we recorded an impromptu podcast – so after a trip to the state run Systembolaget on Klarabergsgaten we ended up with four homegrown Swedish real ales. On the testing table were Oppigårds Golden Ale (5.2%) from the brewery of the same name in Hedemora, Nils Oscar’s India Ale (5.3%), Åbro Sigill III (5.2%) from AB Åbro in Vimmerby, and Carnegie Porter 2008 (5.5%) from, erm, Carlsberg. The lucky foursome on site were Richard, Shovels, Andy and Jess.

1. Oppigårds Golden Ale (5.2%abv)
Oppigårds Bryggeri AB, Ingvallsbenning, Hedemora.
330ml glass bottle

Oppigårds brew in the small city of Hedemora in central Sweden. The Golden Ale we got hold of was the first beer they produced in the range, which includes stouts, IPA’s and winter ales. This particular one – not exactly suited for a -14°C January evening – contains Target hops for bitterness, with Goldings and Cascade hops for aroma. Or at least, that’s what I think the Swedish paragraph below says. One minor point – Oppigårds Golden Ale is the 100th beer sampled on the BeerCast…

What They Say – “Oppigårds Golden Ale är ett utmärkt puböl men har också blivit en populär matöl. Golden Ale karktäriseras av en ren maltsmak och medelstor kropp med medelstor beska och utpräglad humlearom från Goldings och Cascade. Denna öl säljs i Systembolagets ordinarie sortiment.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Richard – Different to British golden ales, although it’s light 8½
Shovels – I like the hoppiness, it doesn’t taste as strong as 5.2% 8
Jess – Smells very nice, this is definately my kind of thing 7
Andy – Looks light but tastes strong, I’m not really sure what to make of it 5

2. Nils Oscar India Ale (5.3%abv)
Nils Oscar Company AB, Nyköping, Södermanland.
330ml glass bottle

Nils Oscar were founded in 1996 and named after a distant relative Nils Oscar Sunderberg, who was born in 1865 and has his picture proudly displayed on each bottle. They put out a huge and varied range of different beers, such as IPA’s, dark porters, barley wines and a festive Kalasjulöl. Back in mid-2008 Lagerboy discovered their God Lager and was rather taken with it. Will our panel similarly enjoy their India Ale?

What They Say – “Förutom att efterfrågan varit stor och alla lovord från våra högt värderade ölkonsumenter så har Nils Oscar India Ale även erhållit en rad utmärkelser. India Ale passar utmärkt till alla typer av mat men kan givetvis även drickas enbart för njutningens skull!” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Shovels – Darker and with more body, it’s just as good 8
Andy – More body and flavour with a nice aromatic smell 7
Richard – The strength overwhelms other aspects of the beer 6½
Jess – I find it a bit heavy on my palate but I don’t hate it 6

3. Åbro Sigill III (5.2%abv)
AB Åbro Bryggeri, Vimmerby, Småland.
330ml glass bottle

Founded in 1861 by Per Luthander in Småland, Åbro Sigill produce beer, water, cider and soft drinks. They are currently managed by the fourth generation of the Dunge family – under whose leadership the brewery increased market share from 1% in 1988 to 10% today. Their website lists the sixteen different brews they currently produce, most of them light and hoppy European beers. Sigill translates as ‘Seal’ – which explains the old-style wax seal picture on the label, if not exactly why it is there.

What They Say – “Åbro Sigill is a flavourful, quality beer where we have made a thorough selection of raw materials in order to create a well balanced lager. We have taken into consideration the quality and taste experience in the beer, which is balanced in sweetness and bitterness.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Richard – Not much at first, then a bland lagerish aftertaste 5
Andy – I don’t smell or taste much apart from an odd aftertaste 4
Jess – Awful smell and it tastes strangely of cheap wine 3
Shovels – It smells of stale sick and is really awful 3

4. Carnegie Starkporter 2008 (5.5%abv)
Carlsberg Sverige AB.
500ml glass bottle

Carnegie Baltic Porter was first produced in 1836 by the Pripps brewery of Gothenberg, and was a stronger Scandinavian take on the British porters that made it over the choppy seas. Baltic Porters are ‘deep, dense, thoughtful beers’ according to this article in All About Beer magazine, as they are a hybrid of different styles of dark beer. The one located by our panel is now brewed by the Danish giants Carlsberg, as they bought out Pripps but continue to brew their beers using the trademark.

What They Say – “Carnegie Starkporter är Sveriges äldsta ännu använda varumärke. Smakrik, fruktig och med en tydligt rostad ton och stor beska. Inslag av karamelliserat socker, kaffe och choklad. Carnegie Starkporter kan lagras upp till 10 år. När den lagras mjuknar smaken och aromenens komplexitet ökar.” [Official Website]

What We Say…
Jess – I really like the almost earthy taste, it’s fantastic 9
Shovels – Sweeter than most porters, it’s a dark winter taste 8½
Andy – Smoother than UK porters as there’s no burnt caramel 8
Richard – Almost tastes like a lagered-down porter, but it’s nice 7

BeerCast panel verdict
Carnegie Starkporter 2008 (32½/40)
Oppigårds Golden Ale (28½/40)
Nils Oscar India Ale (27½/40)
Åbro Sigill III (15/40)

Panellists – (from top left) Andy, Jess, Richard, Shovels

• Listen to the episode here:BeerCast #28 – Swedish Special
• Subscribe to the podcasts in iTunes or our site feed

Please bear with us for this episode – it was recorded on an iPhone and is rather scratchy quality-wise. We’ll be back in a couple of weeks with our second BeerCast Beer of the Year Show for 2008 – as our London panel get to grips with last year’s final foursome. Stay tuned for details…and please leave us comments on the blog or iTunes, or emails. Cheers!

There’s no denying Nils Oscar’s God Lager has an interesting title, as the classically-styled cream and silver label certainly grabs the attention. It got Lagerboy’s, that’s for sure (although anything higher up than Tennants usually will). The name refers less to a religious beer experience than the translation of ‘Good Lager’ into the brewery’s native Swedish. Situated about 100km south of Stockholm in the Södermanland region, Nils Oscar were founded in 1996 and named after a distant relative Nils Oscar Sunderberg, who was born in 1865 and has his picture proudly displayed on the bottle.

As with Lagerboy’s previous posting regarding the Monteith Brewery in New Zealand, Nils Oscar are far more than an isolated one-trick pony. Perusing their website, they too knock out a wide range of styles including IPA’s, dark porters, barley wines and a Kalasjulöl – a Christmas beer that changes recipe every year (and we like those here at the BeerCast). Apart from the ales, they also find time to produce different types of vodka, and that infamous Scandinavian firewater, aquavit – serving suggestion…“Eat good and sing lots of Christmas carols among good friends.”

But back to the boring old lager – or so you would think. In fact, God Lager is anything but. Brewed as a Dortmunder-style offering with four different hops including Hersbrucker and Tettnanger, it gives off a dark earthy malt aroma. At 5.3%abv it packs a decent punch, and is highly carbonated with a strong lager aftertaste. It is the biggest seller for the brewery, and was the first to carry the Nils Oscar name – you certainly get the impression they have put everything into it. This one isn’t a refreshing summer lager for the outdoors, more an Autumnal evening one for savouring. Either way, it really is something.

Nils Oscar Brewery