The three dense paragraphs had talked up a good game before I raised the glass. The smell is definitely on the Dortmunder spectrum: a sweet bready aroma, like cornbread, with a flash of metallic hops behind it. No fireworks on tasting, however. Though it's within its expiry date and has been looked after since I got it, there's a distinct staleness: a harsh not-quite-right roughness to a malt flavour that should shimmy charmingly past the palate and down the throat like good Dortmunder Export does. The bready sweetness is too sugary and the hops are nowhere to be found. And while I'm throwing the book at it, I detect a nasty gastric acidic note in the finish too.
I probably wouldn't have been so harsh on this if it had just presented itself as a plain old
Nils Oscar is Swedish actually, not Danish.
ReplyDeleteHa! Post in haste, repent at leisure. Thanks!
Delete"Nils Oscar is Swedish actually, not Danish."
ReplyDeleteStill shite though either way it seems.
I've enjoyed their beers in the past, which is why this one surprised me. The Hop Yard IPA, for instance, is lovely.
DeleteProbably purchased from Waitrose, they carry it. I bought a bottle once. Just the once. It was unmemorable.
ReplyDeleteTesco stocked it too. Once bought......
ReplyDeleteCall this Alworth's Hypothesis: any beer that uses the word "premium" on the label isn't. "Ultra" and "super," when used to enhance the premiumness, are additional red flags.
ReplyDeleteYyyup.
DeleteWhat does "God" mean in Swedish? If it's the same meaning as in English, they set their standards far too high.
ReplyDelete"Good". Your observation still stands.
ReplyDeleteJeff beat me to it. If I see "Premium" branded on a bottle, it's a cue to move my eyes to the next bottle on the shelf.
ReplyDeleteI had this about 6 years ago in Stockholm and it was a great beer at the time. It was on my 30th Birthday and I blogged about it. http://www.thebeerdiary.com/2008/08/nils-oscar-god-lager.html
ReplyDelete