Jämtlands Julöl – Seasonal Brew
As this is my first post as a correspondent with Belching Monkey, I think I should introduce myself; I am pretty much a guy liking food, drink and more or less everything that makes life interesting. This includes beer and ales, of course, however not limited to that – much into wine, coffee (drink way to much espresso during a normal working day!), sometimes a whiskey or two goes down, not to mention calvados. what I like about beer is the great variety there is, and during recent years we have seen a number of small breweries popping up all over the country (i.e. Sweden).
The beer, ale, I am about to share my impressions of is almost out of season now. Yes, I know I’m a bit late, but the brewery – Jämtlands Bryggeri – has produced this beer in time for Christmas every winter now for a number of years.
Opening the bottle and pouring it renders a nice thick foam on the top. The boquet indicates alot of hops and some lemon. The colour is dark brown, slightly reddish when the glass s held up against a light.
How does it taste? Well, a first mouthful has a big, wide or full some say, taste of fruitiness and a distinct bitterness, there is apparently large quantites of hops here. the aftertaste is long, very long, with a slight twang of the bitterness at the end. It holds a range of Christmas tastes. It definetely goes well with the traditional seasonal food and perfectly on its own as well. This beer can be served before any meal and in time for the eating to start, open another bottle!
Summary: this is a fantastic Christmas brew. One of the best, it places itself among the best seasonal brews from e.g. Belgium, and it actually beats some of the, like Corsendonk Christmas.
