Homebrew shops in Norway?

Well, unfortunately there aren't that many options. In fact, there is just one single place where you can get a decent selection of brewing ingredients like malts and hops in this country. Yes, you heard right, just a single shop that sells hops or malts(!).

There are a lot of amateur wine and beer extract shops, but none of these provide anything close to what a non-newbie beer brewer would need. You cannot do without hops, and even malts if you're an all-grain brewer.


Petit Agentur is the place to get your brewing fix. They are located in Bergen on the west coast, something like 500 km away from where I live.

I understand that it probably isn't easy to run a small scale shop like this in a country of only 4.6 million inhabitants. So, I appreciate that there is at least someone who is willing to provide a great service to homebrewers in Norway.

Since I live in Oslo this means that I have to get orders shipped to me via the Postal Service. This is inconvenient especially when ordering sacks of malt. The shipping cost is approximately the same as the cost of the malt itself. For other brewing ingredients and other smaller items this is [almost] perfect.

The alternative for most homebrewers is to do their shopping in Sweden, Denmark or even the US.

But, if you're a homebrewer stuck in Norway this is the place.

WTF, a red Guinness?

I didn't see this coming. It looks like they call it a stout, but I find that a bit strange. It is going to be interesting to see how it compares to their Kilkenny.

We've been taking our life in our hands and working hard on a really exciting new Guinness innovation. Called Guinness Red, it uses lightly roasted barley to give it the kind of rich red colour that you can already see at the bottom of a pint of Guinness Draught if you hold it up to the light. Its got a well balanced, bitter-sweet taste and still has all the hallmarks of the Guinness pint that you know and love - 2 part pour, surge and settle and a cracking creamy Guinness head.

More info on The Guinness Blog.

A beautiful beer label

This is the prettiest beer label I know. It is designed by Tara McPherson.

The beer, Dogfish Head Fort, isn't too bad either I believe. In fact it is the world's strongest fruit beer at 18% alcohol by volume, and made from a "ridiculous" amount of raspberries.

I'm fortunate to have one of these bottles in stock as I found it at a Whole Foods store in New York City. The cashier was shocked by the fact that I was willing to pay $19.95 for a bottle. I told her - why not, as that's what people would gladly cash out for a not too special bottle of wine. We'll see what I think of what is inside the bottle. I'll probably open it within the next few weeks.

...and Beer flavoured potato chips

Cheddar and beer chips have been available in the US for a while, but I recently learned about the fact that there is now also a UK variant made from Adnams Broadside, matured cheddar and potato chips.

Get it here.

Update: Here is another.

Beer flavoured lip balm

Oskar Blues has come up with a great new product idea: beer flavoured lip balm. It is called Old Chub Lib Balm after their Old Chub Scottish strong ale, which is a very nice ale by the way.

Here's their product description:

"Chub Stick" is the world's first beer lip balm. Our small-batch, custom-made balm is made with almond and macadamia nut oils, beeswax, cocoa and other essential oils... and a dash of Old Chub beer and the malts and hops used in brewing Old Chub! It smells and tastes great (like Old Chub), keeps your kisser in sip shape, and it's SPF 15, too.

So when can we expect the Double IPA lip balm?

Extreme vs. wussy brewing

 vs. 

Oh, come on! This is the dullest decision I've seen in a long time. Why underestimate your audience...?

I've been looking forward to reading this book by Sam Calagione, of Dogfish Head fame, for a long time now [and I still do]. It should be out by November 1st 2006.

If it is so that these two books are really the same, which it looks like, I must say I'm saddened. If they've changed the contents too then I'm even more worried. Anyway, I'll stay away from the UK version.

Just released: Rogue Pacman Ale Yeast

Wow! Wyeast has just released the legendary Pacman yeast from Rogue Ales as part of its Very Special Strain program. This is a seasonal strain available from September to December, so you'll have to move fast. Here's a quote from the announcement:

Rogue Pacman Ale Yeast™
Available to Homebrewers for the First Time!

John Maier, Brewmaster at Rogue Ales has generously agreed to release his proprietary Pacman Ale Yeast™ to the homebrewing public.

"Pacman is really great yeast; everything about it is good. Pacman attenuates well, is alcohol tolerant, and it produces beers with no diacetyl if the beer is well made. It's very flocculent, which makes it a great choice for bottle conditioning. I ferment almost all my beers at 60deg.F; once in a while for certain styles I'll ferment as high as 70deg.F, but never higher. Use lots of oxygen, and a high pitch rate. I never repitch past the 6th generation, and I always use Wyeast Yeast Nutrient."

- John Maier, Brewmaster, Rogue Ales

I love Rogue's beers and I'm really looking forward to trying out this strain in my own beers.