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The well known English beer writer Jeff Evans has been visiting our
brewery and are making a feature on us for the excellent beer
magazine Beers of the World. Here you see Jeff and behind him the
well known Norwegian beer writer Gustav Jørgensen in an interesting
beer discussion with the brewery staff and owners.
brewery and are making a feature on us for the excellent beer
magazine Beers of the World. Here you see Jeff and behind him the
well known Norwegian beer writer Gustav Jørgensen in an interesting
beer discussion with the brewery staff and owners.
After lots of research we have finally managed to come up with a
recipe for a traditional Norwegian harvest ale. We are calling the
ale for 'Hesjeøl'. To hesje is what they do when the freshly cut
grass is piled up onto wires to be dried before taken into the barn.
It was tradition in the old days to call in lots of labour during
harvest time to help with all the work. The harvest went on from
August to well into September and October, this could be warm
and thirsty work. The farmers had to brew lots of refreshing beer
for this season (to keep the workers happy) and as this was near
the end of their grain reserves they didn't exclusively use barley
(as they preferred for brewing) but had to make do with other
grains as well. Our harvest ale is a blend of barley, oats and rye,
wheat was not an alternative as this grain was not widely grown in
those days.
Our harvest ale is a supped up version of 6,5% alc, this is
somewhat stronger than the historical versions.
recipe for a traditional Norwegian harvest ale. We are calling the
ale for 'Hesjeøl'. To hesje is what they do when the freshly cut
grass is piled up onto wires to be dried before taken into the barn.
It was tradition in the old days to call in lots of labour during
harvest time to help with all the work. The harvest went on from
August to well into September and October, this could be warm
and thirsty work. The farmers had to brew lots of refreshing beer
for this season (to keep the workers happy) and as this was near
the end of their grain reserves they didn't exclusively use barley
(as they preferred for brewing) but had to make do with other
grains as well. Our harvest ale is a blend of barley, oats and rye,
wheat was not an alternative as this grain was not widely grown in
those days.
Our harvest ale is a supped up version of 6,5% alc, this is
somewhat stronger than the historical versions.
We have made a true copy of an
historic yeast stick similar to what they
used in the old days to keep the yeast
in the farmhouse breweries. The stick
is full of large holes were the yeast can
collect. The stick was rolled in the
yeast cake after the beer was drained
off and then hung up to dry and
reused by placing it back into a fresh
wort when needed. We will try this one
day to recreate an old style beer this
way.
historic yeast stick similar to what they
used in the old days to keep the yeast
in the farmhouse breweries. The stick
is full of large holes were the yeast can
collect. The stick was rolled in the
yeast cake after the beer was drained
off and then hung up to dry and
reused by placing it back into a fresh
wort when needed. We will try this one
day to recreate an old style beer this
way.
The new edition of our Akevitt porter is
now bottled and having it cosy in our
warm zone re fermenting in the bottles.
This version is very different from the
first edition. Its become very strong
and with very little or no acetic
flavours. Its very rounded and smooth
with lots of things going on. We think
this must be the best beer we have
ever made.
now bottled and having it cosy in our
warm zone re fermenting in the bottles.
This version is very different from the
first edition. Its become very strong
and with very little or no acetic
flavours. Its very rounded and smooth
with lots of things going on. We think
this must be the best beer we have
ever made.
We have been waiting a very long time for this moment,
vintage 2008 has now been blended and bottled. We think
the flavour has changed somehow but its just as nice as
the previous vintage. Its now placed in the warm zone to
be carbonated, this normally takes a little longer with a
sour beer. As soon as its done we will ship it out. This is a
beer for your beer cellar, it will age with grace.
vintage 2008 has now been blended and bottled. We think
the flavour has changed somehow but its just as nice as
the previous vintage. Its now placed in the warm zone to
be carbonated, this normally takes a little longer with a
sour beer. As soon as its done we will ship it out. This is a
beer for your beer cellar, it will age with grace.
Burton ale is one of the yeast types
that we use for many beers and it has
now evidently accepted our brewery as
its new home because this is what it
does with every brew now (flowing over)
this is also how it should behave and
the reason for why the Burton Union
system was constructed. Sadly we are
loosing a lot of yeast this way and will
have to find a way to collect it.
The yeast has also rewarded us with
much better quality beer lately,
probably because its satisfied with the
landlord and the way we treat it.
that we use for many beers and it has
now evidently accepted our brewery as
its new home because this is what it
does with every brew now (flowing over)
this is also how it should behave and
the reason for why the Burton Union
system was constructed. Sadly we are
loosing a lot of yeast this way and will
have to find a way to collect it.
The yeast has also rewarded us with
much better quality beer lately,
probably because its satisfied with the
landlord and the way we treat it.
Its been a while since we have updated this site, but here it comes
We have been very productive the last few months with lots of new beers
up our sleeve. We did a guest brew with Menno from De Molen called
Menno & Jens, this is a true Gruit ale without hops. Then we did
Krekling, this is made with lots of Crow berry, a fairly rear small dark
berry picked at Finnmarksvidda a mountain plateau beyond the Polar
circle. Our Haandbic also got bottled after more than a year with aging
in oak barrels and is now started to ship out, this is a Lambic style beer
that will develop further in the bottle.
The last new beer is the Røyk Uten Ild (smoke without fire), this is a
heavy smoked beer, more than the Norwegian Wood, infact its as much
smoke as the Weiermann malt will produce. Its 86% smoked malt in this
beer, but dont get alarmed, its nice and easy to drink....even rather
refreshing.
up our sleeve. We did a guest brew with Menno from De Molen called
Menno & Jens, this is a true Gruit ale without hops. Then we did
Krekling, this is made with lots of Crow berry, a fairly rear small dark
berry picked at Finnmarksvidda a mountain plateau beyond the Polar
circle. Our Haandbic also got bottled after more than a year with aging
in oak barrels and is now started to ship out, this is a Lambic style beer
that will develop further in the bottle.
The last new beer is the Røyk Uten Ild (smoke without fire), this is a
heavy smoked beer, more than the Norwegian Wood, infact its as much
smoke as the Weiermann malt will produce. Its 86% smoked malt in this
beer, but dont get alarmed, its nice and easy to drink....even rather
refreshing.