Sweden - Beer win after all?
A Swedish reader of my blog kindly took a moment to leave a comment on my last post, pointing out just how huge a selection of beers the Systembolaget has (it really is a big one - over 400 varieties). I figured I'd be able to pick from whatever my local store had but apparently, you can make custom orders too! So, what have they?
Amongst the English ones there's 31 beers. Picking those I know and like best, there's Abbot, Adnams, Bishop's Finger, Circle Master, Hobgoblin, Newcastle Brown Ale, Old Empire and Spitfire. That's not a bad selection of English ale at all, to say I'm out of England!
What if I get nostalgic for my time in Slovakia? There's Zlatý Bazant, which is my favorite Slovak beer. Of course, much of what I drink here is actually Czech beer, and there collection includes all those I especially like, including my favorite Starobrno, which I'm drinking as I write this post, as well as Pilsner Urquell and Staropramen.
Of course, there's a huge selection of Swedish beers on offer. I'll have to admit to massive ignorance here, though in a country that seems to very much value quality, I have a feeling that discovering Swedish beer will not be a disappointment. The range seems to include ales, stouts, pale ales, porters as well as lager, so it's pretty promising.
Glancing around at what else is on offer, I notice a couple of Weissbiers from Germany that I've enjoyed a few times in the past, the wonderful La Trappe from The Netherlands and a bunch of nice ones from Belgium (Hoegarden, Duvel, etc). Sadly, from India there is only Cobra, which is a very good beer to go with a curry, but I have a slight preference for Kingfisher. There's a bunch of American ones, which I don't really know, though "Double Bastard Ale" is a name win. Sadly, no Tsing Tao (or anything else) from China, a beer that I find strangely refreshing. Small lackings amongst plenty of awesome though. :-) Also, browsing the Systembolaget site is a good way to learn the names of various countries in Swedish!
There's also a Bishop's Arms pub in Lund. I've no idea if it's related to the Bishop's Arms in Malmo, though I do know that the Malmo pub of that name was a very nice - if pricey - place to have a few pints, not to mention a tasty bite to eat. Anyway, seems I may be not so badly off for beer after all.