Fancy a beer? Then remember this name, Nøgne Ø, next time you go down to your local Vinmonopolet! The brewery (the name means ‘barren isle’, and comes from a poem by Henrik Ibsen!) snapped the first four places in the Norwegian Beer Club Association’s (Norøl’s) listing of Norway’s best beers in 2009. The winner in the ‘Norwegian beer of the year’ category was Nøgne Ø Special Holiday Ale. Nøgne Ø had new fewer than 8 beers in the top 10 in this category. The ‘Norwegian brewery of the year’ award went to (no points for guessing!) Nøgne Ø, followed by Haandbryggeriet, Aass and Berentsen Brygghus.
Best imported beers, by the way, were the Danish Mikkeller Beer Geek Brunch Weasel which came first, followed by American Flying Dog Snake Dog and Stone Brewing Special Holiday Ale.
I haven’t tried any of these yet, so I can’t tell you more, but I thought that was an impressive pedigree. I promise to investigate on your behalf! Cheers! (or rather Skål!)
More info on Nøgne Ø, in English, at www.nogne-o.com
More on beer in Norway at the Beer Academy in Oslo www.ol-akademiet.no (Norwegian only)