Reykjavík Grapevine - 15.07.2016, Blaðsíða 56

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Food
Icelandic
Summer Beers
The Definitive Guide
Words ISAAC WÜRMANN Photo ART BICNICK
It’s summertime in Reykjavík,
when temperatures consistently
break 15 degrees and the constant
sounds of construction have nearly
driven you off the deep end. But
there’s something else brewing in
the Icelandic summer air: the hop-
py smell of all the seasonal beers.
We’ve taken the liberty of tasting a
few of this summer’s offerings so
you don’t have to.

Ástríkur from Borg Brugghús
This was the first beer our panel
tasted, but the consensus was that
it should have been our last. “This
would ruin my picnic,” one panel-
list said. With an 8.5 percent ABV,
this beer will put you right to sleep.
Ástríkur has a mouthful of flavour
that matches its distinctive rain-
bow label, but it’s not light enough
for a summer beer.
Vár Bryggj from Föroya Bjór
While not an Icelandic beer, this
seasonal from our cousins in the
Faroes earns an honorary spot on
this list. Vár Bryggj has a mead-
owy taste to it, but was generally
panned by our judges. “It doesn’t
taste like an independent Iceland,”
one panellist commented, while
others agreed that it tasted pretty
Danish.
Icelandic Arctic Berry Ale from
Einstök
Upon cracking open a can of this
stuff you’ll be overwhelmed by its
sticky-sweet smell. “It smells like
sherbet,” one panellist said, but we
were underwhelmed by its lack of,
erm… taste. Ultimately, Einstök’s
summer offering is comparable to
a fruit tea, which draws you in with
the promise of flavour before leav-
ing you high and dry.
Sumar Bjór from Brugghús Steðja
At first we wondered why this clas-
sified as a summer beer. There’s
nothing special about this India
Pale Lager, except for that it’s
brewed at a family farm in West
Iceland. “It kind of tastes like it was
made in a barn,” one of the panel-
lists commented, and compared it
to Newcastle Brown Ale.
Boli Keller
Again, we were confused by what
made Boli Keller a summer beer. It
has a smoky taste, and would taste
horrible if it wasn’t cold (which,
in our expert estimation, is a nec-
essary feature of a good summer
beer). However, the panel agreed
this was the first beer they’d drink
multiple bottles of, and it would
make a great barbecue pairing.
Sólveig from Borg Brugghús
The second summer beer from
Borg nearly tore our panel apart.
“It tastes like rotten banana—it’s
terrible,” one panellist said. It came
down to a question of expectations:
Sólveig brands itself as a wheat
beer, but it’s far too hoppy. If you
weren’t told otherwise you might
guess it was an IPA, but our pan-
el’s resident IPA expert liked it, so
there’s that.
SumarGull
This is your classic no-frills blonde
ale, and was generally panned by
judges. “Fuck them for making ge-
neric beer and trying to sell it to
us,” said one panellist. “If you want
to drink a lot of something and
not deal with the fancy flavours,
this is for you.” However, Gull gets
points for trying to bridge the gap
between the mass market and craft
beer lovers.
Sumaröl from Víking
Víking’s summer edition won for,
um, actually tasting like a sum-
mer beer. Unlike the Einstök ale,
Sumaröl’s strawberry taste match-
es your flavour expectations. “If
you were going to take a fucking
cooler across Reykjadalur, this is
what you’d want to take,” said one
panellist, before we disbanded and
all trudged over to Vínbuðin to buy
a six-pack.
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Beer is food
56The Reykjavík GrapevineIssue 10 — 2016
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