Well, at least in one of the places that claims that title - eat your heart out Amsterdam, Copenhagen, or St-Petersburg!. Another business trip, another Scandinavian country to tick off from my list. This time I had the opportunity to spend a few days in Sweden’s capital Stockholm and to explore the best it has to offer. Stockholm is a rather posh, well-dressed and well-groomed kind of place with beautiful walking stretches along the water, lots of green and many static, impressive buildings. In big parts of the city the people look like copies of one another, like some factory has been popping out hip and trendy yuppies from a conveyor belt. Lovely people, don’t get me wrong, but I’ve been in places that have a broader variety in how people look. But let’s not judge a book by its cover and remind ourselves that the proof of the pudding still lies in the tasting. And tasting I did, at a couple of places, but for this piece, I’ll stick to the coolest one.
On the more laid-back, less conformity-minded southern island of Södermalm, in an uphill side street off the main road Götgatan, you can find the small ‘beer & pizza’ bar Omnipollos hatt. The cosy and crowded taproom is connected to one of the better-known breweries in the international craft beer scene, Omnipollo. Why the connection was with the hat, remains a mystery to me, to be honest. I got there on a Saturday just before the place opened and there was already a long line waiting outside to get a good spot. I entered and spent a nice few hours at the bar, with a lovely margarita type of pizza and a couple of tasty brews, while enjoying the hustle and bustle, the coming-and-going of people.
To accompany my pizza I picked the Apkallu Galaxy Citra Pale Ale, which was nicely drinkable, refreshing and a great fit to a very cheesy pizza. Hoppy, fruity aromas and a mild, but present bitterness were able to stand strong against the abundance of melted mozzarella.
As a lovely dessert drink I picked a collaboration brew of Omnipollo with the guys of Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project from Denver, Colorado. Bianca Blackberry Wild Wild Brett is a sour ale brewed with blackberries and sports the most beautiful amber colour. The nose is fruity, sour with a whiff of bretty barnyard. The taste was that of a well-brewed fruit sour, the type for which my Belgian taste buds have developed a craving since I left my homeland for Poland ;-). Fruity and tart flavours with hints of vanilla and wood. The medium body lets this beer go down quite easily, the finish is bone-dry and leaves a nicely mouth-puckering sourness for a while. An absolute delight of a beer!
I went back the following day after a long walk in the city and found myself having to move outside to one of the wooden picknick tables, since the place was absolutely packed with people slurping brews and devouring pizza. I ordered an oat pale ale Maz and tried to enjoy the few rays of sunshine. The beer has a nicely hazy blond colour with a snowwhite creamy head. Fruity and nicely bitter hops with some grainy notes, easily drinkable thanks to its light to medium body. A lovely, drinkable pale ale, the ideal cheeky little break during a walk around the city.
Omnipollos hatt is definitely a great stop if you happen to be in Stockholm. The place is cosily busy or busily cosy (whatever you prefer), the pizzas are delicious and the beer menu is pretty solid, judging on what I had during my two stops in the place. So show up early enough to ensure your seat and bring a lot of money, because as in Norway, alcohol is what fills the treasury in Sweden!
Skål!
Omnipollos hatt
Hökens gata 1A
116 46 Stockholm, Sweden
