Reykjavík Grapevine - 02.12.2011, Blaðsíða 52

Reykjavík Grapevine - 02.12.2011, Blaðsíða 52
Nordic Store • Lækjargata 2 • 101 Reykjavik • nordicstore.com Icelandi c Wool Sweate rs in the hea rt of Reykjav ik Xmas | Beer! Xmas | xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx! 4the reykjavík grapevine Xmas special spectacular 2011 Issue 18 THE GRAPEVINE CHRISTMAS BEE R-OFF Reykjavík Christmas City taste-makers: david paul peter nickel and ragnar egilsson by valgerður Þóroddsdóttir photography Alísa kalyanova photography by hvalreki jólA boCk 6.2% Víking Ölgerð/Vífilfell From the distributors of Coca-Cola. Those are the people that brought you SantaTM, you’d expect something a little more Christmassy. A traditional bock, quite bitter, pleasantly malty, not bad but lacks body and quite dull. Local reviewers have apparently been very happy with it though. Good, not excep- tional. 3.5/5 mAlt jólAbjór 5.6% Egils Basically Malt Extract (if you're North or South-American—think Malta) with an alcohol volume. A sweet stout, very thick and malty and contains liquorice. dn: Full-bodied, can enjoy with or without a meal, especially around Christmas and especially with the heavy salted, fatty food. re: Like the design of the label the beer was a bit overloaded. Too sweet and too much. But it gets points for being unique and I’m curious if it would go well in orange soda (a traditional non- alcoholic Icelandic Christmas drink is made with Malt Extract and orange soda). Might even be awesome. dn: In a world where Egill’s Gull wins a prize as the best standard lager in the world, anything is possible. 4/5 eInstök ICelAndIC dobbel- boCk 6.7% Einstök Brewery From Akureyri, brainchild of Baldur Kárason brewmaster at Víking Ölgerð. What the bock is up with all those bocks? re: Christmas beers are strong, I’m getting tipsy. dn: What the hell is up with this label! Vikings did not wear horns! Let alone antlers! re: I like the green colour on the bottle. Very soothing. dn: The beer is not very demanding. It doesn’t speak for itself. re: You’re just pissed off about the label. It’s a fantastic beer, tastes like spruce and chocolate. Full-flavoured and works on its own or with a meal. 4.0/5 for beer -1 for label leppAlúðI 7.5% Named after the lazy husband of Grýla, the child-devouring ogress of Icelandic Christmas mythology. dp: It has a woody...greenwood smell to it. First taste is like sour hey, new milk…manure. re: Tastes like shit? dp: Not quite but it is under-aged. re: They recommend it with venison or game. Maybe, I don’t have any lying around. dp: Can’t think of a meal this would go with. Would work well as a marinade for something like sausages. re: Overall this is a beer that should have been sold in a smaller bottle, they were going for barley wine but I’m get- ting an Old English vibe—boozy and cheap. 2.5/5 jólA kAldI 5.4% Bruggsmiðjan Dry ale, hint of orange zest, nuts and rye, dark reddish amber. dp: It talks a big game with three types of Czech malts. I like the normal Kaldi better. It doesn't really impress. Re- mains too long in the aftertaste and too carbonated. re: Sheesh, you’re hard to impress. I would call this the best season beer out of the bunch. I can’t really see what’s so Christmas-like about it, though, other than it being heavy on the caramel like the rest. 3.5/5 stekkjAstAur nr. 7 Borg brugghús re: Fantastic red-brown ale, sweet & spicey and everything nicey. Tastes of oats. Kills with a double-smoked lamb, can vouch for it. Also goes great with the first four Metallica albums. dp: I’m plastered. I’m calling this a night. The best beer with a meal of the ones tasted. Very solid beer. 4.5/5 We regret to say we did not get around to tasting Egils Jólagull, Gæðingur Jólabjór or Víking Jólabjór this year due to time-, budget- and liver- constraints. If there’s one cause to which the per- petual dusk of Icelandic winter is sym- pathetic, it’s that of Christmas deco- rations. Indeed, no lights are quite as lustrous as those delicate orbs of white lining the trees, the streets, the build- ings downtown. This year the city of Reykjavík is tak- ing advantage of this fact, bolstered it seems—according to a speech made by Mayor Jón Gnarr—by being named the top Christmas destination on CNN’s affiliate CNNgo last year; the city is eager to live up to its reputation as a must-see Christmas travel destination and has introduced seven ‘Christmas creatures’ around the city—animated characters from Icelandic folklore that will adorn various houses through the holiday season. Across from Sólon on the cor- ner of Bankastræti and Ingólfsstræti lurks Grýla, a troll and mother to the thirteen Santas—the Yule Lads—who around Chrismastime descend from the mountains in search of misbe- haved children...to eat. Along with her cat—the Christmas cat, rumored to be projected somewhere in the City Zoo— Grýla likes to feast on said naughty children, although her and the feline’s appetites are whetted a little differ- ently: the Christmas cat eats only those unfortunate individuals who are badly equipped for the winter weather; those who are not gifted any clothing for Christmas “go to the Christmas cat.” The “Christmas Creatures” concept was designed by Hafsteinn Júlíusson, and drawn and animated by Gunnar Karlsson. Along with animations of five of the Lads, the cat, and mama troll, the proj- ect also includes a digital snowfall pro- jected onto the side of the Cathedral, an animation that can be downloaded on the Visit Reykjavík website and pro- jected by one and all at will on walls, indoor and outdoor. The idea is delightfully simple; as designer Hafsteinn describes it: “It’s just an idea projected onto a wall. We’re not having to building anything.” As we inch closer to December 21, the shortest day of the year in Iceland, the darkness remains charming, for now. While the lights are on, we hardly no- tice the window of light steadily dwin- dling... at its worst, down to about two hours a day. Says Mayor Jón Gnarr: “This goes strictly against the promises of Besti Flokkurinn to consolidate all the Santas into one. But at Christmas, we paint our devils on the wall; our worst fears pro- jected onto the architecture: Consume more clothing! Consume more food! Think of the children!”
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