Heafstaag

Hello,
I'm going to Norway for a few weeks in August and was wondering if anyone could recommend some Norwegian beer?
Many Thanks

Keith-

bratsandbeer

No, but they all drink aquavit in Norway.

traveller1959

If you like Budweiser or Heineken or other watery beers you will go with Ringnes.

If you prefer a beer with a taste try the Mack beers, especially Haakon.

Probably the best beer which is available in Norway is Lapin Kulta which is brewed in Lapland.

socialworker

I am not a beer drinker, however my husband always enjoys trying any of the local brews that are on tap wherever we go either in the US or abroad. What that would mean is that you just go in to the pubs and have the fun of seeing what there is.

elina

>>>Probably the best beer which is available in Norway is Lapin Kulta which is brewed in Lapland.<<< Sorry, but Lapin Kulta is Finnish beer, brewed in Lahti, southern Finland, and Tornio, more north but not Lapland.

GeoffHamer

The Mack brewery in Tromsø advertises itself as the most northerly brewery in the world. They're having a beer festival on 13-16 August.
www.mack.no

PalenQ

At about $10 a bottle in a cafe i lost any taste for Norwegian beer

i think in stores they may only sell 3.2% or low alcohol beer.

oddnordmann

Actually you can buy beer(øl)up to 4.7% proof in ordinary shops - expect to pay kr20 for 500ml.If you like light beer I`d go for Ringenes or Hansa. There is also a dark beer called bayerøl. Strong beers are only available in the vinmonopol (government owned wine shops) which you will find in all major towns.

PalenQ

Why are beers more than 4.7% only sold in government shops that i believe also have bankers hours - are they even open on weekends?

seems very very provincial to me - is there a serious alcohol problem in Norway that the government must tax it so much and then restrict booze sale to isolated shops with short hours?

nona1

I once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me...
She showed me her room, isn't it queer, norwegian beer?

GeoffHamer

Restrictions on the sale of alcohol are not peculiar to Norway. In Sweden, the Systembolaget, and in Finland, shops called Alko, are similar to the Vinmonopolet in Norway.
A tendency to drink too much does seem to go with cold northern climates, and disturbs the puritanical protestant ethos of the Scandinavian churches.

Pete_R

I believe certain states in PalQ's own country have similar or more restrictive laws (Utah, Mississippi, Vermont etc.) One could assume they have similar motivations to the Nordic restrictions?

elina

>>> disturbs the puritanical protestant ethos of the Scandinavian churches.<<<

No, not churches. It disturbs the health authorities.

I live in the Alko-land, and I kind of like Alko. Most stores have great wine selections. And the stores are open long enough: from 9 in the morning till 8 in the evening mo-fri, and from 9 till 6 on Saturdays. Sundays closed.

And the stores are not "isolated", often they are in connection of supermarkets.

PalenQ

Utah is certainly religious based with the tea-totalling Mormon church basically running the state

but you can bring your own alcohol into at least some restaurants with you

Ontario i believe still has provincial alcohol stores with also limited hours

I asked a Scandinavian once why the restrictions and he pointed to a peasant history where they worked like Hell all day and drank like Hell all night - and yes the climate probably dictated more being inside, etc. So it may be a long tradition of getting smashed

But i seriously doubt that any restrictions except taxing it to death would work. And tax it enough folks can and will make their own or bootleg it in from Denmark or Russia, etc.

travelgourmet

The restrictions on booze were originally intended to combat rampant alcoholism in all of the Scandinavian countries. They not only control the sale in Norway and Sweden, but the prices are astronomical.

Denmark has graciously decided to remain a drunkard's paradise. I'm sure that the the prominence of Carlsberg has nothing to do with that decision...

PalenQ

Which prompts a joke told by a Danish tour guide at the old Tubourg Brewery in suburban Copenhagen

he, a portly guy, told of "a Swedish lady who was on the tour and had heard him bragging about how much beer he drank everyday

and the lady asked him "Do you think you have a problem with alcohol?"

to which he said he replied "No madame i do not i can buy it anytime i want"

this was after he said the Russian groups always ate the beer coasters, thinking they were rather good biscuits compared to home

gard

Hi

It depends where you are heading in Norway. The various districts have their own breweries so Hansa is big in Bergen, Mack in the north, Lervig in Stavanger etc. But I would of course recommend that you try out various beers. There are some micro breweries as well...Nøgne Ø is one of them.

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

rjsol

A small correction. Hansa is not Hansa, but Hansa-Borg.
Hansa is Bergen-based, Borg from my hometown Sarpsborg. Therefore I avoid Ringnes if I can, I always ask for Hansa-Borg.

bratsandbeer

The high price of alcohol in the Scandinavian countries including Finland is the reason why they party on the ferry boats. It is cheaper.

Robespierre

<i>expect to pay kr20 for 500ml</i>

20 NOK is only $3.84 - that doesn't seem exorbitant.