“Go on a business trip,” they said. “It will be fun,” they said. And fun it was for sure! Working for a company with Scandinavian roots has its perks every once in a while. In the middle of November I had the opportunity to go to the Norwegian capital to work and have a few meetings in our company offices, but also to take some time to discover the city and obviously go for a few beers. I had asked the Oslo colleagues for some recommendations and when googling the first bar they recommended, I knew exactly where to go.
In the very heart of Oslo, just a few blocks away from the Royal Park you will find RØØR, a very spacious, dimly lit bar with cosy booths, vinyl records playing and a yuppie and hip feel to it all. Together with a colleague, I took place at the side of the bar, gazing along the seemingly never-ending line of taps which were facing a massive chalk board, describing the 60 brews those taps were pouring. Next to the bar, a giant glass wall exposed many different bottled beers from all over Europe and possibly the world (I didn’t check all of them). So to say the least, these guys are not messing around, they clearly take beer very seriously, and this is reflected in the plethora of styles and ‘nationalities’ their offer consists of.
My colleague and I had a short chat with the bartender, who was a lass from Scotland. Overwhelmed by this impressive choice, we asked her for some advice. I gave her a few styles I was aiming for at that moment and in no time she had put three glasses in front of me which were all very nice and solid beers. Knowledgeable staff, check! The first one was Runnin’ for Mayor, from Garage Beer Co. from Barcelona: a raspberry Berliner Weisse which was nicely fruity, refreshingly tart with a lingering sourness. Number two, Colette Farmhouse Ale from Colorado-based Great Divide Brewing Company, was a classic in its style. Floral and estery aroma, flavour medium malty, nicely balanced with yeasty and peppery notes. Bone-dry and rather bitter finish. Lovely stuff! The final taster was Juncus, an American Pale Ale from the English Vibrant Forest Brewery. The nose was very citrusy and fruity thanks to the use of Citra, Amarillo and Ekuanot hops. Fruitiness was also to be found in the flavour due to the hops, but the intense bitterness of the hops quickly took over and continued to tickle my taste buds long after finishing the sip.
As great as the start was, I obviously hadn’t come to Oslo to not drink any Norwegian beer. So I asked the friendly bartender for some Nordic stuff and what she came up with was an interesting surprise. Møykjeddingi is a KNEIPA: Not a German bar, but a ‘Kveik’ New England IPA from the small and brand new (°2017) brewery Bygland Bryggeri in the Setesdal valley in Southern Norway. They brewed a NEIPA using the indigenous wild yeast strain ‘kveik’, which has been used by Norwegian farmers to make beer for many centuries, and has been passed on from father to son. If you want to know more about kveik, I recommend reading this article, giving a nice introduction to this mysterious and lesser-known yeast. The result was a refreshing and silky blond beer with a solid malt backbone and a subtle but present hoppy bitterness. The yeast did create some very particular flavours, which could be described as phenolic and even plasticky. The end had a lactic soft sourness to it. Unique flavours, not the most accessible, but a very interesting discovery!
To finish I tried the two sour oak-aged ales Brom and Eldr from Oslo brewery Eik & Tid (Oak & Time). The former was a raspberry sour with a rather fresh and funky hay-like aroma. Its flavour intensely tart, nearly acetic, with the raspberries adding really well to the flavour. The finish is rather sharp sour and very dry. Nice, but intense. Eldr on the other hand was without a doubt my favourite beer of the evening due to a really nice balance of a broad array of flavours. Gentle tartness, slightly citrusy and funky, and hints of almond. In the clean, dry finish I could perceive a hint of the wood the beer had been aging on. Just excellent.
So as you can see, it was a very tasty and interesting visit: Lots of great beer, interesting new insights and a nice atmosphere. We finished the night on the first floor, where we tested our curling skills (or however you want to put it) on one of the many “shuffleboards”. Hard to say if the beers were beneficial to our accuracy or not. I guess we’ll never know.
One more thing: Alcohol in Norway is ridiculously expensive, so don’t be surprised when you get the bill at the end of the evening. Unfortunately it will probably not be a mistake. But if you do decide to invest in spending one evening tasting beers in Oslo, RØØR will be a certain hit! I vouch for that.
Skål!
RØØR
Rosenkrantz' gate 4
0159 Oslo, Norway
