The Scandinavians provide today's beers, both Christmas specials which were still haunting the fridges at Stephen Street News in January.The first is a Vienna lager from To Øl called Crispy Christmas. It's the right shade of coppery amber, although with a degree of craft haze as well. The aroma has a significant hop quotient, grassy and noble, with only a token level of crisp biscuit malt behind. That's not how the flavour goes, oddly. There's an unwelome sour tang which I wasn't expecting, and although it's predominantly dry, there's quite a pronounced strawberry and cherry tang. These strange elements aren't around for long and it finishes with a rasp of roasted grain. This meets the basic requirements of a Vienna lager, I think, but isn't an especially good one. I'm not sure what made them pitch this for Christmas, only that it's a time of year when drinkers are perhaps a little less fussy.
From Denmark to Norway, and a tall can by Lervig, filled with Hoppy Holiday Haze, a milkshake pale ale -- remember those? The haze isn't excessive, it's a pale yellow and quite translucent, with a fine white foam on top. It smells spritzy, of lemon zest and lemon curd, and the texture is light, suggesting an ABV even lower than its 4.7%. The flavour continues the zesty theme, adding an even sharper kick of lime to the lemon. There's a little bit of vanilla, but nowhere near the level of sweetness typical of this style, nor any cloying stickiness. In fact, it's delightfully sparkly, the fizz suiting the citric taste rather well. Again, I have no idea why they thought this would be Christmassy, but I would have no problem using it as a palate-cleanser on the big day. Another disappointment from To Øl here, but it was nice to find a new quality product from Lervig.
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