One and a half fish

Lervig has retained its series of retro-branded beers even as it succumbed to the weird names and abstract art that nordic brewing has now gifted to the world. Lucky Jack is the one I'd regard as the flagship. I don't know if today's first pair are newer but I hadn't seen them in these parts until this year.

We begin with a Berliner weisse called Sour Suzy. It's the pure clear golden colour of a Riesling, and a smidge strong for a straightforward one of these at 4% ABV. Suzy isn't very sour. There's a briney bite, followed by a green-apple acidity. That's really as tart as it gets. Behind this there's crisp wheaty grain and a wisp of lemon-candy hops. It's all very simple, refreshing and tasty, though the lack of carbonation lets it down: towards the end I began to find it a little syrupy and I think that could be offset with a bit more fizz. I enjoyed its unfussy and ungimmicky stylings nonetheless.

Accompanying Suzy out of my fridge is Hoppy Joe, a 4.7% ABV American-style red ale. I'm assuming it's what normal beer nerds would describe as an American amber: it's certainly amber coloured, with a little bit of a haze through it. The aroma should be a strong point but I got very little of that. Has Joe skimped on the hoppiness? Kind of. There's not much hop flavour but the bitterness is pleasantly assertive, placing a grassy bite next to the toffee and marzipan malt. The relatively low strength means that the malt fades quickly, leaving that tangy bitterness on the palate a little longer. This fine but quite basic, even for a red ale.

Fine but basic describes both of these, actually. They're worthy additions to the off licence's 4-for-€10, adding variety to all the pale ales on offer. If current beer fashion isn't your thing, here are some decent alternatives.

Of course it was only a matter of time before the design approaches leaked into each other, and the result is Lucky Jack Extra Hard, an amber-coloured IPA of 6% ABV. I found the original 4.7% ABV Jack a little vapid when I first tried it in 2015. This isn't that. It's thick, and dank and bitter in a very '90s west-coast sort of way, complete with a buzz of pine on the end. Unfortunately it lacks the high notes to back all of this up: none of the zesty freshness that tends to work well in parallel. The texture is probably its best feature, which is not a good look for an IPA. It's OK, but I really expected more, and I can't find any parallels with the other Jack.

We move on to a session IPA of 4% ABV called House Party. The aroma certainly brings the party vibe: a loud explosion of mango, mandarin and pineapple, with even a little warmth -- unexpected given the strength. The body is nicely full, though entirely believable; the only other sign of the low ABV is a quick finish of the flavour. What's there is good while it lasts, however: freshly fruity, unsurprisingly, with thirst-quenching orange juice, some spiced and floral bergamot and a waft of resinous dankness. All solid IPA complexities with very little sign of compromise. There is a slight dry and chalky effect near the end which I didn't care for, reminding me of the aspirin note that often comes with modern alcohol-free beers. Overall, though, it's very decent: interesting while also refreshing and sessionable.

From there the ABV jumps to 7.5% ABV for Bad Haircut, another early refugee from the Boxtravaganza collection. It's a DDH hazy job with a powerful aroma of ripe apricot and eye-watering satsuma zest. Though the ABV is low for a double IPA it has the body of something several points up the scale. I note as an aside that oats do not feature among the ingredients. It feels thick and custardy, with a mild vanilla buzz  adding to that effect; otherwise the double act of stonefruit and citrus rules supreme. This beer gives an initial impression of being quite extreme but quickly settles down into something that passes for balance in a hazy hop-saturated DIPA. While not exciting, it's not off-kilter either, and frankly I'm glad of that. Trust Lervig to bring some nordic precision to the chaotic style.

Somehow I don't have a review of the Lervig staple imperial stout Konrad's here yet. I'm certain I've drank it in UnderDog where it's a regular but for some reason have never stopped to make notes on it. When I realised this I picked up a can to give it the proper once-over. 10.2% is the ABV and it's the dark brown of a black coffee. It tastes quite coffeeish too, thick and bitter, like the tarry sludge at the bottom of the machine. There's a little bit of fruit for balance -- I get cherry in particular -- and a sizeable chunk of high-cocoa dark chocolate. Mint humbugs and liquorice also feature, to an extent. This is very much a no-nonsense sort of imperial stout, going big on roast and bitterness while avoiding all gimmicks.

Gimmicks you say? We finish on another imperial stout, the whopper 14% ABV Cheap Lunch, brewed with peanut butter and the assistance of Manchester's Track Brewing. Cheap it ain't, at €7.75 per can. The aroma is pure pastry; not peanut butter specifically, but chocolate cake with masses of cream and a cup of strong coffee steaming on the side. There's a crunch of peanut in the flavour, though sweet enough to be mistakable for pecan. The coffee remains, bringing a bitter balancing roast, while the heat quotient is much lower than might be expected. It is hella sticky, though, and I'm glad I split the can, for reasons other than the cost. Still, it's fun and not overdone, as pastry stout should be.

It took me a smidge over four months to put that lot together. Whatever impression of Lervig it leaves you with, the brewery can't be faulted for adding variety to the beer drinkers' diet. If their last beer wasn't to your taste, wait five minutes for the next one.

Northern delights

Among the beers I was most looking forward to sampling at Borefts 2015 were those of Swedish gypsy brewer Omnipollo. I've enjoyed several of the collaborations they've done with others and they have a very good reputation among the crafterati. I don't know if it's how they normally do things, but there was a strong confectionary theme among the offerings they brought to Bodegraven: waffles, maple syrup and peanut butter all featured in the descriptions, as well as an Ice Cream Pale Ale, produced in collaboration with English brewery Buxton. This is 5.6% ABV, murky yellow and throws out an odd mix of malt extract and peppery hops in the aroma. It tastes sweet at first, and has a convincing gummy texture that reminds me a lot of plain white ice cream blocks. The hop bite comes in  late and is a little harsh and acrid against the nursery foretaste. It's a fun beer, and rather silly: all special effects with little real substance. I enjoyed my small sample but didn't want any more.

Omnipollo also released a number of variants of their Magic #420 wheat beer and the one I got, early on on day one, was badged Magic #4.21, advertised as a vanilla and raspberry smoothie pale ale. It was certainly pink, with lots of fine foam on top. The aroma is an odd mix of green weed and tart raspberry, though the hops dominate the flavour, buzzing resinously long after the fruit fades out. Though 6% ABV, it slips down very easily thanks to its super smooth texture. The combination of fruit and hops is odd but really quite charming, I thought.

I had never heard of Helsingborg brewery Brewski but they're one to watch if the beers I tried at the festival are anything to go by. Mangofeber is a double IPA with mangoes and the underlying beer recipe seems to have been very well designed to complement the added fruit. There's a strongly bitter and grassy quality to it which remains assertive but is just slightly softened by the sweet juice. Best of all it's not too hot, hiding its 8% ABV very well. But it was still upstaged by Keyline, a 4% ABV Berliner weisse which is barely sour but serves as a great base for the added flavourings. Lime is one, and I reckon the tartness there covers up the acidity of the beer; a certain sweetness is added in by elderflower; but the headline contribution comes from basil: incredibly fresh, moist, chewy and oily herb. It's not subtle by any means, but is beautifully done.

Down the coast in Malmö there's the Malmö Brewing Company, who had a fairly Belgian tinge to their offerings. Petite Framboise was a mixed fermentation 5%-er, heavy on the fruit with a kind of sweet raspberry leaf herbiness. All rather one-dimensional though inoffensive. Their special edition festival saison, Viola Lee, was also pretty straightforward, clear yellow, with lots of bathbomb-like lavender. I had it towards the end and found it nicely cleansing.

To finish Sweden, a token look at the Närke bar where they had lots pouring but not much new, I think. As part of my project to drink something from every bar I opted for Svarte Kungen, billed as a porter but resembling an export stout to me, mixing thick liquorice and parma violets in the flavour, finishing hot and tarry. It has a classical, old fashioned, elegance, but got a little dull and difficult after the first few sips. The diametric opposite, then, of Oppigårds's Cloudberry Saison: just 4.3% ABV with an enticing juicy, tangy aroma and then a lovely crisp saison bite in the foretaste. Sweet honeydew flesh is layered on top and then a mildly tart finish. Perfectly quenching if you don't want to analyse it, but with lots going on if you do.

I was drawn several times to the Labietis bar where the Latvians had some really interesting herbal concoctions on the go. Take Pļava for instance: a 6.3% ABV golden ale brewed with yarrow and meadowsweet. There's a heavy Duvel-like texture and a yeast spiciness to match. After this a saison-like grainy quality and apothecary flavours like lavender and bergamot. Certainly complex, though the sweetness and herbal goings-on make it a little tough to take in. There was also Purvs, a "heather and rosemary braggot saison", which offered a very strange blend of perfumed honey sweetness and dry tartness. The rosemary is understated, contributing little more than an oily green buzz, and while it's certainly unusual it does end up pulling in too many directions at once. Labietis really got it right with Pelašku Velns, an imperial yarrow stout with more of that herbal meadowy effect found in the others but this time with an extra punch from Citra hops and a heavy but smooth texture rendering it very drinkable indeed.

There was no Danish presence among the exhibitors so we'll finish on the Norwegians. Lervig is one brewery that seems to have been busy getting its name and beers out there in the last couple of years. They made a black saison called Årstid for the event, and very good it was too. Stronger than I usually like at 7% ABV but with a dryness that gets enhanced by the dark grains for a kind of porter effect with a dusting of burnt toast. Next to this there's a big and juicy hop fruit flavour with grapefruit to the fore. The two elements sit together perfectly, holding each other in check. Lucky Jack pale ale was a much simpler offering, only 4.7% ABV, pale gold and perfectly clear. The aroma promises big and fresh peach and grapefruit which the flavour can't quite deliver, the end result being lager-thin and a little gassy. Maybe not ideal for this festival but I bet it works brilliantly by the pint.

That just leaves Austmann of Trondheim, another stranger to me. My one beer from them was La Shaman, a Latin American themed imperial stout incorporating  chipotle, habanero and cacao in a moderately strong 7.8% ABV package. The peppers and chocolate really dominate, I guess because the base beer is a little weak. The aroma is especially rich and piquant though the flavour less so, with a kind of powdery cocoa coming through, followed by a spark of chilli and then a burnt finish. Drinkable, but I expected more excitement.

Perhaps the American beers would be able to offer that. We'll get to them tomorrow.