Buying expensive cans of beer in Norway, plus an idyllic place for a refreshing pint.

The following post concerns Norwegian beer, a subject on which I knew very little, prior to our visit to the country last month.  I was aware of the fact that in common with the other Scandinavian countries, although perhaps with the honourable exception of Denmark, Norway shares a long history of disapproval, as far as alcohol is concerned. This non-acceptance of alcohol translated itself into high prices, and restrictions regarding it sale, although once revealed and understood, were nowhere near as onerous as I first imagined.

Leaving aside the issue of pricing for a moment the restrictions, whilst still a nuisance, can be lived with, once you know what they are. For example, if you want to buy beer from a supermarket, you must do so before 8 PM on weekdays or 6 PM on Saturdays, and on Sundays, no sale of alcohol is permitted, unless you are in a bar or a restaurant. In addition, Norwegian supermarkets are only allowed to sell alcohol below 4.7% abv, so if you are looking for anything stronger than this, you will need to visit a

“Vinmonopol .” These are a chain of government-owned of liquor stores, and you will find outlets in virtually all Norwegian towns. The name of these stores literally means the "Wine Monopoly."

I found this out for myself, on the morning we docked at Stavanger, an attractive port town in the south-west of Norway. Queen Mary 2 couldn’t have been much closer to the town, if her captain had tried, so with this in our

favour, and thoughts of Norwegian beer abounding – in my head at least, we set off to explore Stavanger. The latter turned out to be my favourite of the three Norwegian towns we called at on the cruise, and really was an attractive little town set amongst some spectacular, coastal scenery.

Having eyed-up a couple of potential pubs to try, and then discovering they didn’t open until midday, I led us on something of a wild goose-chase, trying to find the town’s Vinmonopol. Mrs PBT’s wasn’t best pleased when we failed to find this liquor store, especially as Stavanger is quite hilly in places so it was then I reminded her that had we called in at the Tourist Information Centre – as I suggested, we’d have had a map to follow.

Instead, we had to make do with my phone, and Google Maps. After the Cambridge debacle I should have been more insistent, but I really don’t know why my family are intent on giving TIC’s such a wide berth. We walked back to the quayside, and after finding a convenient bench, in a sunny location overlooking the harbour, I set off alone, leaving Eileen to admire and contemplate the waterfront scenery, whilst musing on the advantages of paper maps compared with Google.

I soon found the Vinmonopol, located in a small and centrally located shopping centre. It was brightly lit and well laid out inside, and after asking a couple of questions, and making known my interest in beer, a member of staff, who I assumed was the manager, offered to show me the store’s selection. He was very knowledgeable and seemed proud to introduce me to some of the stronger craft stouts and porters, the majority of which were locally brewed. I selected four of these beers, and as you can see from my receipt the total came to NOK 288.40 (Norwegian Krone). This equates to £23.79, at today’s exchange rate, so expensive yes, but something to enjoy on a cold, dark winter’s evening!

Before leaving, the store manager, pointed me in the direction of a supermarket, where he said I’d be able to buy some weaker beers, including pilsners and pale ales. At the Helgø Meny store I picked up a further five cans of mainly local beer - Lervig & Jåttå Gårdsbryggeri, both of which are brewed in Stavanger.  I’m not sure of their price, as I bought a load of other provisions – mainly sweets and snacks for us to scoff in the cabin.  

Mrs PBT’s was still sitting patiently on the bench, although I had messaged her to say I’d found what I was looking for and was on my way back. She was feeling rather cold, so we agreed to return to the ship, for something to eat, rather than waiting for the pubs to open.

A few days later, I enjoyed a Norwegian beer on draught, at a small hotel and restaurant overlooking Olden fjord, in one of the most spectacular setting imaginable. I ticked it on Untappd as Ringes Pilsner, from Rignes Bryggeri of Oslo. Carlsberg-Ringnes and Hansa-Borg are the two remaining large players in the Norwegian beer market, the industry having undergone significant consolidation over the last fifty year, but on a hot June day, with the snow-topped mountains reflecting in the fjord, I can’t think of a much better location to enjoy a nice cool beer.

Having dealt with availability and choice, it’s worth a quick look at beer prices in Norway. The taxes that the Norwegian government imposes on alcohol are the highest in Europe. Any beer over 0.7% abv is subject to tax, with the rates on a sliding scale depending on the strength. As with restrictions on sale, the high taxes on alcohol are meant to discourage excessive consumption.

There are also strict measures regarding cost-based promotions on alcohol, meaning that you won’t see happy hour type promotions at your favourite, local bar. While these restrictions and high prices might sound extreme to the average European, most Norwegians appear willing to accept them.  

 

Gold, Red & Black at Queen Mary 2's Golden Lion

I mentioned briefly, in an earlier post, and also referred to the fact in a several subsequent comments, that there was a pub on board Queen Mary 2. Admittedly not the most traditional of public houses, but an area on the starboard side of Deck 2, was set aside, and kitted out as a typical English urban pub. 

There was a bar at one end, which customers could sit, and drink at if they wished, and leading off towards the bow, were a number of alcoves, furnished with comfortable, leather-type, bench seating, and each with its own table. 

Named the Golden Lion, and complete with its own hanging sign, the pub was a popular part of the ship, providing not just a place where passengers could sit and relax, whilst enjoying a drink, but also somewhere they could be entertained at. This included, live music, from a variety of different acts, and representing several genres, the Golden Lion also hosted quizzes, and bingo sessions. Televised sports were shown, from time to time, with football obviously proving popular, with the large number of both Brits and Germans, on board.

One afternoon, on a rather overcast “sea day,” Mrs PBT’s and I inadvertently got caught up in a game of the latter, but not wishing to disturb the seriousness of the session, ended up staying as observers. We didn’t go thirsty, as we made sure that we caught the waiter’s eye, in order for him to recharge our glasses.

We’d originally called in at the Golden Lion for lunch, in order to sample the typical pub fayre menu, which included classics such as cod & chips, beef burgers, ploughman’s, plus a "pie special" that changed daily. The food is included in the fare, although drinks, both soft and alcoholic incur an additional charge. Alongside a number of international beer brands, three signature beers, specially brewed for Cunard by Salisbury-based, Dark Revolution Brewery, are available.

Sold as Cunard Gold, Red, and Black they are respectively, as their names suggest a Pilsner-style lager, a Red IPA, plus a superb dark beer, billed as a “Breakfast, biscotti-stout.” The later contains oatmeal, coffee, and vanilla, and at 5.7% abv, isn’t really the sort of beer you’d want to consume at the breakfast table, although when you are on holiday, who knows?

The Cunard beers are sold in canned form at some of Queen Mary 2’s other bars, but in the Golden Lion are available on draught. Regardless of their packaging and presentation, the beers are unfiltered and unpasteurised, so in effect are cask-conditioned, and as if to add to this uniquely British touch, the Red and the Black varieties are dispensed by genuine hand-pumps.

I know these pumps are genuine, as I popped down one afternoon – purely for research purposes, and sat at the bar, so I could witness my pint being pulled – and yes, muscle power was definitely involved! The beers were reasonably priced too, particularly in view of the surroundings. My pint of Breakfast Stout, cost me $7.10, equivalent to £5.90 at today’s exchange rate, and before you question the currency, everything aboard all of Cunard’s cruise ships, is priced in US dollars probably because of the large volume of transatlantic passengers they cater for.

To sum up, the Golden Lion was a nice place for a relaxing drink, and given its situation on Deck 2 being that much closer to the water than the accommodation and dining decks, you could sit there watching the waves, as the ship effortlessly glided it was through the seas. Service was largely by waiter, although as mentioned above, you could sit, or even stand at the bar and order, if you so desired.

Finally, the Golden Lion pub, is obviously popular with passengers as the name, plus the concept, extends across all three of Cunard’s current cruise ships, and may even feature on their latest vessel, the Queen Anne, which makes her maiden voyage in 18 months’ time.

Home at the cottage, with Young's

“The Young’s is drinking well,” are words you don’t often hear said, as a beer drinker, certainly not since the former, and well-respected London brewer closed its historic Ram Brewery, in Wandsworth, back in 2006. The closure stunned the beer world, and for a keen CAMRA members, as I was at the time, the move felt like a stake through the heart. 

The reasons for the closure, whilst unclear, must have related to the property value that such a large and prestigious site in the centre of Wandsworth would command. Young’s management, at the time, spun the story that the closure of the Ram Brewery had been precipitated by Wandsworth Council, as they felt an industrial site, in the heart of the borough, didn’t really fit in with their plans.

With hindsight, this story appears to be something of a smokescreen, but whatever the real reason, the Young’s site was the oldest operating brewery in the capital, and the proud producer of cask ales of real character, that were highly regarded, not just in London, but up and down the country. Young’s were also the company that stood alone, against the keg-tide that engulfed the capital at the start of the 1970’s.

That’s enough about the past, apart from saying we’ve got form as a country of turning our backs on some of our greatest assets, and even destroying them, not so much in the name of progress, but more so in the pursuit of a quick buck.

I’d more or less forgotten about Young’s over the course of the past 16 years, especially as we rarely see their beers in this part of the country. This is in sharp contrast to the situation I found, when I first moved back to Kent, in 1978. I’d only been away for five years, but much had changed during that time, and whilst the part of the country I moved back to was west Kent rather than the east of the county, where I grew up in, there was much to excite a beer lover, during those heady days.

Real Ale, or cask as I prefer to call it, had really taken off, especially in the county’s free houses, so it wasn’t unusual to see Young’s beers, either Ordinary or Special and sometimes both, on sale at the bar and being enjoyed by local drinkers. This situation continued for a number of years, but slowly, and ever so slowly at first, Young’s beers became less prevalent.

I didn’t pay much attention to this, as there were so many other, decent cask beers to enjoy, that the gradual disappearance of Young’s, made very little difference. Besides, any cravings for the Wandsworth brewer’s beers were easily satisfied by a visit to the in-laws. To explain, the previous Mrs Bailey hailed from the Wandsworth area – from Earlsfield, to be precise, and her parents’ house was just 10 minutes’ walk away from the Leather Bottle, a large and well-known Young’s pub in Garratt Lane.

No Sunday lunchtime visit to the in-laws was complete without a stroll down to the Leather Bottle, a few pints of Young’s (two ordinary, plus one Special), before returning to the house and sitting down for a large roast dinner. If we stayed over, Wandsworth itself wasn’t that far away, and during the course of the relationship, we must have visited every Young’s pub within a couple of miles radius of the brewery.

Fast forward 40 years, I found myself once more in a Young’s pub, not in south-west London, or indeed in the centre of the capital, but last Sunday afternoon I was passing through Redhill station, in Surrey, awaiting a 42-minute connection for a train that would take me home to Tonbridge.

I had been for a lengthy (for me) ramble, completing the penultimate section of the North Down’s Way. My walk had taken me from Gomshall station to the west of Dorking, all the way to Guildford, and after catching the 15.55 train back along the North Downs Line, had arrived at Redhill with almost three-quarters of an hour to spare. I had already decided to call in at the nearby Home Cottage, an imposing Young’s tied house, less than five minutes’ walk from the station.  I asked the staff member at the ticket barrier, if I could break my journey, as I fancied a pint.

“Of course,” came the reply, along with the recommendation of the aforementioned Home Cottage. “Much better than the Sun,” said the ticket collector, “and nearer, too!” I nodded in appreciation, as not only had I already decided on the Young’s pub, but I also really didn’t fancy the local Wetherspoons, or any Spoons for that matter.  Five minutes later I was walking up the steps and through the doors of the Home Cottage, for what must have been the first time since the Ram Brewery closed, 16 years ago.

When I first moved to Tonbridge and helped the local CAMRA branch get back on its feet, the Home Cottage was a favourite pub for a night out on the Young's, in a different location. Situated just 30 minutes away, by rail, with a last train home sufficiently late to allow for a good session, a visit to the Home Cottage was also a good place to meet up with members from the local Reigate & Redhill Branch of CAMRA. It was therefore with a sense of anticipation, tinged with a slight trepidation, that I entered the pub.

I knew from What Pub, that extensive renovations and alterations had taken place, but despite the disappearance of the former, individual bars, the Home Cottage certainly hadn’t lost its essential character. There is a large, and quite extensive, central serving area, but the thing that caught my eye first, was the set of three hand-pulls on the bar, offering Young’s Original and Young’s Special.

The former is the company’s Ordinary Bitter, re-badged, but with only sufficient time for the one pint, it was the Special I was hankering after. I had been dreaming about it, whilst on the train back from Guildford, and by the time I reached the pub, I was really gagging for a pint. I ordered the Special and was not disappointed, despite the £5.05 price tag, but the first thing I noticed, even before I’d raised the glass to my lips, was the colour of the beer.

It was far darker in colour that I remember Young’s Special being, but leaving this minor, and almost irrelevant consideration aside, the beer tasted divine. The nine mile walk along the North Downs, might well have enhanced my appreciation of the beer, but if anything, it only increased my enjoyment of it. Full-bodied and malty, but balanced with just the right amount of bitterness, that pint of Special Bitter was well worth the 4.5 score I awarded it on Untappd.

The pub itself was relatively empty, with just one moderately sized group of drinkers, plus several couples enjoying a late Sunday afternoon drink, but it was the perfect ending to what had been a perfect day’s walking through the beech-woods and open downlands of Surrey. The walk itself is worthy of its own post, but I first wanted to share with you, my "welcome back to the fold moment," with Young’s Special Bitter.

 

Welcome to Norway - Ålesund,

The first Friday of our recent cruise saw our ship, the Queen Mary 2 slipping into harbour, and docking at the port of Ǻlesund. This was my first visit to Norway, a country I had wanted to visit for a long time, but for some reason had never quite got round to it. This might have been due to Norway being right on the western edge of Europe, but that shouldn’t really have stopped me, given the availability of cheap flights.  

Instead I put the reasons down to the geography of a country which is long, thin and extends right up to beyond the Arctic Circle. A country that at its widest, is only 237 miles across, and at it narrowest is just 24 miles in breadth. The aforementioned geography plays a major role in the country’s makeup, with the western edge that looks out over the North Sea to the south, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and at its furthermost northern extremity, shares a border with Russia.

The bulk of Norway is mountainous, and the margin where these mountains meet the sea is characterised by a deeply indented coastline, with inlets, known the world over as fjords, that extend inland for a considerable number of miles. It was some of these spectacular fjords that our cruise ship was taking us to, alongside the opportunity of visiting a few of the ports and coastal communities along this western seaboard.

So early that morning we watched from the cabin balcony as our ship manoeuvred, with the aid of a tug boat, into Ǻlesund harbour. Then, after a quick breakfast in our room, we joined the queue of passengers eager to disembark the ship. The process was quick, easy, and unlike our previous port of call – Hamburg, there was no passport control to bother with. The only checks that were necessary was the requirement to tap out with our ship’s smart card ID system.

Basically, details of all onboard passengers form part of the ship’s manifest, and whilst I don’t know if this information was shared with the local Norwegian authorities, it would almost certainly have been available, should it be required. So, with a relatively seamless stepping ashore and there we both were, stepping onto Norwegian soil for the first time.

Ålesund is built on a row of islands extending out into the ocean, at the entrance to the Geirangerfjord but it is most famous for its art nouveau architecture. The latter is the result of a devastating fire that broke out on the night of 23^rd January 1904. Fanned by a strong wind, the fire spread rapidly through the mainly wooden buildings of the town, making most of the 10,000 inhabitants homeless.

Assistance came from an unusual source, namely Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany. The Kaiser knew the town well, as a result of his annual cruises around the area, and after the fire, sent four warships with materials to build temporary shelters and a barracks.. After a period of planning, the town was rebuilt in stone, brick, and mortar in Jugendstil (Art Nouveau), the architectural style of the time. To honour Wilhelm, one of Ålesund‘s most frequented streets was named after him, proving that even the Kaiser wasn’t all bad.

The quay where our ship berthed was right in the heart of the town, which meant the centre was easily accessible on foot. We had no set plan, apart from just wandering about and enjoying the ambience of this bustling port town. The weather wasn’t brilliant, in fact it was overcast and quite chilly, but at least the rain held off. The town itself was easy to navigate around, its footprint being determined by the shape of the indented and rather rocky coastline.

We did a spot of shopping, before
wandering back towards the quayside, disappointed that the craft beer bar overlooking the sound, didn’t open until 3pm, which was two hours after our departure! Talk about a missed opportunity, remaining closed when a couple of thousand cruise passengers turn up on your doorstep!

It’s worth mentioning here that at every shore destination a range of different tour excursions and activities are available. Mrs PBT’s and I have always been independent-minded travellers who prefer to do our own thing, and it should also be noted that these excursions need to be pre-booked and don’t come cheap.

That said, I did book an excursion for the final shore day of the cruise, which was the return stop-over in Hamburg. This was is a walking tour of the medieval city of Lȕneburg, which lies to the south of Hamburg. There will be about this excursion, in a later post

Ålesund, was our most northerly destination, a fact demonstrated by the sun not setting until 11.30pm. This seemed really strange, as it never became properly dark that evening. Prior to departing, we were given a New York-style send-off, with a fire boat moored nearby, spraying plumes of water, high into the air, as we left the town.

We steamed steadily southwards, through the night, towards our next port of call, which was an unscheduled stop, and a hastily arranged one that arose due to a change in circumstances that prevented from us from berthing at our original destination of the small settlement of Flam. I'm still not entirely sure what the reasons were, although I believe that the environmental impact of a cruise liner docking in a small, narrow fjord, had something to do with the decision.