Nynäshamns Bedarö Bitter

European Beer Bloggers Conference 2011, Top Tastings 2011

ABV: 4.5%
Origin: Nynäshamn, Södermanland, Sweden
Website: www.nyab.se

Nynäshamns Bedarö Bitter

One of the highlights of the Beer Bloggers Conference was a Night of Many Beers hosted by Camden Town brewery, most of which I spent hovering by the table of Swedish and Italian craft beers which were nearly all new to me. The Swedish selection proved particularly alluring, especially since two of the brewers represented were there in person. But my pick of those I tried was this very memorable and remarkable beer, one of those brought along by Swedish-based blogger and industry figure Darren Packman of Beer Sweden, who described it as a modern Swedish classic.

It’s certainly done well in its home territory. It was the first brew to emerge from this microbrewery at Nynäshamn, on the coast near Stockholm, when it opened in 1997 — Bedarö is the name of a nearby island — and went on to win numerous awards including Best Swedish Beer at the Stockholm Beer Festival in 2006. It’s proved so popular in the country’s Systembolaget shops — the state controlled monopoly on alcohol sales — that since 2009 it’s been stocked in all of them. An unpasteurised beer made from British pale, crystal and wheat malts from Fawcetts, and Chinook and Cascade hops, it’s intended as an interpretation of an Extra Special Bitter but is very distinctive in its own right.

This deep gold beer has a light yellow foamy head and a spicy aroma with plenty of citrus and an oily note that for some reason made me think of pilchards. That fishy, though not at all unpleasant, quality — maybe it’s the Scandinavian associations at work in my brain here — persists into a sweet, spicy and also slightly oily palate that rapidly develops lovely fruit flavours too. I noted redcurrants and blackcurrants, peaches and spicy retronasals in unusual combination. After the sparkling complexity of the palate, the finish is satisfyingly soothing, with a nice bite of pippy, peppery hops turning slightly powdery and pursing on the tongue. Highly distinctive and well deserving of its success.

Read more about this beer at ratebeer.com: http://www.ratebeer.com/brewers/nynashamns-angbryggeri/1067/