Reykjavík Grapevine - 28.08.2015, Page 60

Sunday - Wednesday: 11.30 - 18.00 / Thursday- Saturday: 11.30 - 23.30
Grandagarður 2 - 101 Reykjavík - tel: +354 571 8877 - www.maturogdrykkur.is
We take the goo
d old tradition
al
recipes and the
best icelandic

ingredients to
create fun and
tasty food.
Let tradition s
urprise you!
Moooh..!
Baaah..!
...!
FOOD
FOR THE SOUL
Good for: bar hoppin’.
Einstök White Ale
Although Einstök is strictly speaking an
American brewery, it happens to brew
in Iceland, using Icelandic water as the
main ingredient, so we’ll let it slide.
Their white ale is widely available on
tap around Iceland, and, sadly, it will of-
ten be the only thing on tap besides your
regular, lowest-denominator brand.
Which, more often than not, makes this
my go-to beer. This is a Belgian witbier,
infused with orange peel and coriander.
It pours a nice yellow with white haze.
Tastes refreshing, with citrus tang that
cuts through the ale taste.
Good for: Sunny days.
Skaði Farmhouse Ale
Brewed in the tradition of Belgian saison
beers, this is a nicely balanced, fruity
beer. It is slightly herbal, and not very
sour. An all-around pleasant beer. Pours
a big ol’ head of foam, orange, cloudy,
and very carbonated.
Good for: A school night.
Gæðingur Stout
This is a great little stout. It is only
about 6% ABV, but feels larger. It is
nicely balanced, dark chocolate, roast-
ed malt, and tastes of all the things
you’d want from a stout. Sweet, bready
and somewhat Irish in character.
Good for: Enjoying choc-
olate and blue cheese.
Garún Imperial Stout
This is a personal favourite, although
the thick dark imperial stout may feel a
little heavy to the uninitiated. This is a
big beer. Pours almost pitch black, with
a slight yellow head. It exceeds 10%
ABV, but you will not taste it. Instead,
expect a rich malted taste, infused with
coffee, liquorice and tones of chocolate.
This goes great with food—if you find it
in a restaurant, order it out for dessert
and let do its magic.
Good for: Historic
occasions.
Kaldi Lager
I will include this for historical reasons,
mostly. This was the first beer to break
the monopoly of the two big breweries
here in Iceland, and is widely beloved
for that very reason. It is a well-done
Czech pilsner. It tastes a little grainy, but
is great coming fresh from the tap. It is
not a challenging beer in any sense, but
it stands for something in the minds of
Icelandic beer lovers.
Good for: Getting your
Viking on.
Viking Stout
This is a rather tame stout, about 6%
ABV, hardly surprising, but very de-
pendable. Much like a good pair of
socks. Dark brown, small head. Tastes
of roasted malts, with a slight hint of
smoke. Leaves a little bitter aftertaste on
the tongue. Viking Stout is sometimes
You have probably read somewhere that Icelandic authorities banned beer for very,
very many years, until 1989. But true freedom of beer did not really begin until 2005,
when Iceland’s first craft brewery was established on a remote farm in North Iceland.
Up until then, the Icelandic beer sortiment totalled a few different variations of the
two house lagers by the country’s two biggest (and at the time, only) breweries. To
everyone’s pleasure (not the least mine), this is quickly changing.
Photos Art Bicnick
Words Sveinn Birkir Björnsson
The Beer Connoisseur’s Guide
To Icelandic Beer
One man’s quest to educate you on what to drink,
and what to pour down the sink
20
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 13 — 2015