I had been told a few things about the city before I left - it was clean, chilled out, but expensive. All these things I can confirm are true, and I took the opinion you get what you pay for. There was a distinct lack of litter, graffiti, and undesirables. Although we did manage to wander into one altercation that seemed to be outside a shelter of some sort, but it was a short interruption to our relaxed meander through the streets.
The food was astounding on all levels and one thing I would recommend was the walking food tour. You get food, drink, exercise and a bit of history about the city. A great way to see about and there is a brewery visit. The brewery in question was Nørrebro Bryghus, which we had sampled the previous night in the hotel. I specifically had the IPA which did the job after a long day travelling. In the brewery we got to try their Lemon Ale, Wheat Street - American Pale Wheat Ale and From Latvia with Love - Baltic Porter. The Baltic Porter being my favourite by far.
So now onto the beer bars, and what beer bars they are!
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| Spontanframboos |
Mikkeller and Friends
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| All I see are taps! |
My first visit was to Mikkeller and Friends out in the suburbs, quite the dander from our hotel so a journey I took alone. Since I was also looking to pick up some bottles from their bottle shop this suited me fine. The bar itself is one of those 'blink and you miss it' places. It is down stairs with no glaring signs to alert you to its presence, I am always thankful for Google maps. Inside the bar is understated, with a very quirky and unusual decor/layout. With 40 beers on tap it is probably worth having a look online so you have at least your first beer selected. I plumped for Mikkeller's Spontanframboos, an awesome sour beer that is really refreshing after a long trek. This was followed by the awesome Speed Way Stout (War Pigs edition), a big creamy imperial stout and then I finished my visit with Gotlandsdricka from Jester King, a smoked lager. The Gotlandsdricka was one of those beers that took me half a glass to make up my mind whether or not I liked it, safe to say I did.
Now to their bottle shop, beware! Bring your wallet because it is full of awesome beers and some fairly pricey ones at that. I always go away with a list of beers I want to bring back, helps when you are presented with such an array and a baggage weight limit. I came away with some FiftyFifty - Eclipse Imp Stout aged in High West Bourbon barrels, De Molen - Rasputin and Siren/Mikkeller collab BA Broken Daydream. I was also on the lookout for some Alesmyth Speedway Stout and Westbrook Mexican Chocolate Cake but they had none. They were helpful enough to point me in the direction of Kihoskh, but I will talk about that later.
War Pigs
The next day saw a brief visit to War Pigs to sample some of their brewed on-site output. My beer of choice here was the Blakk Out Gose, a collaboration brew with Surly. The bar itself is completely opposite in style to Mikkeller and Friends. A massive space inside is lined by canteen type tables, with an open kitchen at one end serving awesome smelling BBQ (which I, unfortunately, didn't avail of due to the massive brunch I had already eaten). Outside is quite industrial looking as it is situated in the old meatpacking district, where on Saturday there is also a great food market which added to the vibe. All a bit rough and ready, with old school rock and metal on the jukebox. Had I been in different company, I probably would have stayed here until sundown but alas we headed on.... luckily it was to the main Mikkeller pub.
Mikkeller
Smaller than Mikkeller and Friends, but with the same quirky decor and only 20 beers on tap (1st world problems). We thankfully got a table outside, so we could enjoy the good weather. We sampled too many beers to list but standouts for me were Mikkeller's Sort Kaffe Black IPA and Prairie's BOMB! Imp Stout. Great pub, with a nice relaxed atmosphere, but inside I can see it getting fairly cramped if busy.
What no photo?
Too busy enjoying the beer!
Fermentoren
I had been advised to head here and it wasn't looking like I was going to make it but I am glad I did. Has a bit more of a student bar feel about it inside, 20 taps of great beer, and an awesome beer garden. Thankfully the sun was shining and they had some De Molen on tap. Definitely worth going to as it has a great selection and is completely different to the Mikkeller bars.
Bottle Shops worth checking out.
Mikkeller and Friends - great range of Mikkeller as you can imagine but in the back some crackers and a cabinet that if you fear for your wallet just don't look in it.
Kihoskh- strange one this, it looks like a 7/11 from the outside and even on entering doesn't seem to have much of a range. But once I let them know what I was looking for I was shown the basement. A real treasure trove of beer from all over the world. I would say it was better than the Mikkeller bottle shop.
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| Bottle shop heaven! |
All in all, we had a blast and intend on a return trip. I would advise you give it a go as well.
My name is Bruce!
