Reykjavík Grapevine - 02.12.2011, Qupperneq 52

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Icelandi
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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!”