Beer with me: Fanø Rav
In which our hero continues his quest and nothing out of the usual occurs...
Hiro and Mari are both off to Nordby, and I have left off the first part of my working day (so. many. children's. stories.) to have a rest, a bite and a beer.
And so, having begun my explorations in Danish beer with a rather middling review of a merely satifactory brew, I have decided to leap a little further this time and purchase a beer from the local brewery, which happens to be one of my favourite breweries at the moment. I freely admit my bias towards Everything Fanø, but promise to continue as if I had admitted no such thing. Suffice to say that I expect to like this, and indeed have liked it in the past.
Fanø Rav, Fanø Bryghus
Alc.: 4,6%
("Rav" is Danish for amber, which is frequently found in small chunks, washed up on the west coast of the island)
Fanø Bryghus was opened some 10 years ago, but had to close down again some 2-3 years ago (excuse my sketchy timeline). They reopened in December 2009, with the aid of Nørrebro Bryghus, another apparently good mini-brewery, way across the country in Copenhagen (mother of harlots, old blighty, Egypt of the North). Nørrebro Bryghus helped launch the current line of 3 beers + a Christmas special, and I do think they have done a damn fine job. I expect to get through all of them in this space, sooner or later. Brewing capacity is limited to 1000 litres at any given time, so it is by no means a large-scale operation.
Now, about what I have in my hand; this is a wonderfully refreshing beer. It is more purist than the Thy Eksklusive, in that it contains no additives or preservatives of any kind (volcanic or otherwise), and if drunk quickly or carelessly would also seem less unusual, but it does stray from the norm in pilsner-land in that it contains both barley and wheat malt. The latter I believe is responsible for the lovely, dry and fruity "sparkle." The beer is light and aromatic and unfiltered, but by no means cloudy.
In order to show my cards and clarify the state of my tastebuds, I should mention that I had this beer with a pair of rye sandwiches and an anti-depressant (not that there is anything exciting about that, I just like the sound of that sentence - the latter feels about as necessary and effective as a vitamin pill, when viewed in isolation).
Again, I usually do like my beer with a bit more body than this, but as a summery lunch beer, I would have no qualms recommending the Fanø Rav. Even next to tasty meats (sheep sausage) or cheeses (medium strong Danbo), it holds up quite well. If I could afford to, I would be keeping this one in the house at all times. It is probably a good thing that I can't.
What I think, boiled down: 8/10
Hiro and Mari are both off to Nordby, and I have left off the first part of my working day (so. many. children's. stories.) to have a rest, a bite and a beer.
And so, having begun my explorations in Danish beer with a rather middling review of a merely satifactory brew, I have decided to leap a little further this time and purchase a beer from the local brewery, which happens to be one of my favourite breweries at the moment. I freely admit my bias towards Everything Fanø, but promise to continue as if I had admitted no such thing. Suffice to say that I expect to like this, and indeed have liked it in the past.
Fanø Rav, Fanø Bryghus
Alc.: 4,6%
("Rav" is Danish for amber, which is frequently found in small chunks, washed up on the west coast of the island)
Fanø Bryghus was opened some 10 years ago, but had to close down again some 2-3 years ago (excuse my sketchy timeline). They reopened in December 2009, with the aid of Nørrebro Bryghus, another apparently good mini-brewery, way across the country in Copenhagen (mother of harlots, old blighty, Egypt of the North). Nørrebro Bryghus helped launch the current line of 3 beers + a Christmas special, and I do think they have done a damn fine job. I expect to get through all of them in this space, sooner or later. Brewing capacity is limited to 1000 litres at any given time, so it is by no means a large-scale operation.
Now, about what I have in my hand; this is a wonderfully refreshing beer. It is more purist than the Thy Eksklusive, in that it contains no additives or preservatives of any kind (volcanic or otherwise), and if drunk quickly or carelessly would also seem less unusual, but it does stray from the norm in pilsner-land in that it contains both barley and wheat malt. The latter I believe is responsible for the lovely, dry and fruity "sparkle." The beer is light and aromatic and unfiltered, but by no means cloudy.
In order to show my cards and clarify the state of my tastebuds, I should mention that I had this beer with a pair of rye sandwiches and an anti-depressant (not that there is anything exciting about that, I just like the sound of that sentence - the latter feels about as necessary and effective as a vitamin pill, when viewed in isolation).
Again, I usually do like my beer with a bit more body than this, but as a summery lunch beer, I would have no qualms recommending the Fanø Rav. Even next to tasty meats (sheep sausage) or cheeses (medium strong Danbo), it holds up quite well. If I could afford to, I would be keeping this one in the house at all times. It is probably a good thing that I can't.
What I think, boiled down: 8/10