Monthly Archives: March 2013

Bryggeriet Skands – Humlefryd

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This beer comes from a private owned micro brewery located at Brøndby in the Denmark. The micro brewery is from 2003 and is run by Birthe and Morten Skands that also own it. They try to target a small market with their special beers and especially their focus on making good beers by the hand from their small 1500 Litre equipment. Birthe comes from a long career at the Carlsberg breweries.

I bought this beer at Hjerting Badehotel in Denmark at 8 Euro in their restaurant for a 500 ml bottle with a strength of 5,5%.

A bright yellow beer fills the glass and have a good regular look.

The head structure is light bubbles that soon disappears into a thin layer.

A very well balanced pilsner with a delicate aroma. Taste and aroma goes so well hand in hand when drinking it that one can only want to drink more. A expensive beer that is certainly worth to try and enjoy, only problem is that you will want more and that will cost you.

Overall rating is 92 / 100

A. Le Coq – Alexander

The A. Le Coq brewery is the oldest continuously operating brewery in Estonia. It was formed from the two breweries B. J. Hesse of 1800 and J. R. Schramm of 1826, in a joint venture called Tivoli Ltd. In 1913 the owners renamed the brewery A. Le Coq.

The biggest market was for many years the Russian market and over the latest 200 years it have changed hands to new owners many times. During the Soviet era the name changed to Tartu Õlletehas (Tartu Brewery) but was renamed back to A. Le Coq in 1997, as the brewery was privatised by the Finish company Olvi.

I bought this beer at a local supermarket in Tartu, Estonia. 500 ml bottle with a strength of 5,2% for 0.75 Euro.

A yellow beer fills the glass and have a bright regular pilsner look.

The head structure is light, big and fine bubbles that soon disappears into a thin layer, it seems to have a heavy CO2 going off.

The aroma can seem a little bitter in the start, but as it gasses off and the head disappears it regains a light pilsner aroma. Taste is a bit too much on the light side, it quickly taste like water. It is remarkably less sparkling than I would expect from the pouring. Overall a good regular beer.

Overall rating is 78 / 100

Saku – Das Echte Hefeweizen

Saku brewery was established in 1820 by the owner of Saku manor, German Earl Karl Friedrich Rehbinder. The first production was in October 1820. The brewery is located in Estonia.

Caused by 1st World War, Saku brewery did not brew from 1914 to 1921. Saku soon after settled as the largest brewery in the northern Estonia as they introduced beer on 0,5L bottles instead of the normal half toop bottles. (1 toop is 1,23 litres).

In 1940 the brewery became nationalized due to Estonia being occupied by the Soviet Union. During the Soviet times the brewery was in 1976 changed to a experimental brewery and was close to closing in 1985, where investments into the brewery was stopped.

A new era begins for Saku in 1991 where a joint venture Baltic Beverages Holding was founded by Pripps brewery from Sweden and Hartwall from Finland. They acquired 75% of the shares in Saku brewery. The brewery was reconstructed and the old equipment was replaced with new machines that produced the new Saku Originaal in 1993. In 2008 Saku brewery was bought 100% by the Carlsberg group A/S.

During my stay in Tartu, Estonia, I found this 500 ml bottle in a supermarket near the hotel at 0,75 Euro.

Light fruit aroma, yellow colour like it should be, head starts out big, leaves a thin layer.

Light fruit taste which goes into weak and watery taste with light speed, a flat CO2 feeling leaves it with no play on the tongue and overall it does not have much taste.

Lots of sediment in bottle to swirl out.

Calling it the real weissbier takes some nerve and will also be its downfall.

Overall rating is 60 / 100