Another part of our trip has been the onerous task of trying as many different beers as possible. While on exchange in Australia a couple of years ago, my friend Bruce set the standard of trying 103 different beers. I am currently at 66 different beers after approximatly five months. Of course being in Europe definitely guarantees a large selection of different beers.Sweden has an interesting way of classifying and retailing their beer. Beer here is classified and priced according to alcohol content. Class I is 2.0-2.2%, class II is 2.8-3.5%, and class III is 4.5-10%. Apparently anyone, regardless of age can buy Class I beer in the local grocery store mixed in a case of 20 with pop, mineral water, or whatever for about 35SEK ($6.00).
Class II beer is also available in the local grocery store but only to those who are at least 18 years of age. I often buy Class II beer as it is convienent, there is a good selection, and it is reasonably cheap (about 50 SEK ($8.00) for a six pack of tall boys).
Class III beer is similar to what we would buy in Canada both interms of price and alcohol content. Many beers can be bought in varying classes ie. high and low test. The selection of class III beer is the best but they can only be purchased at the government run liquor stores, System Bolaget.
Some of the best beer I have had in Sweden has been the Christmas Beer (Jul Öl), which
each brewery seems to produce at this time of year.I am looking forward to trying many more beers as we continue our travels.
2 comments:
What a delightful task! Our question is: who is the champion in the Elliot family? We are voting on K. Did you try the Glögg at Chrismtas? That also comes in various alcohol contects. Happy New Year and Happy beer tasting to the you from the Stocks!
Bruce and Sue really enjoyed the christmas beer from Puerto Vallarta, I am sure when Bruce takes his first sabbatical he will want to join this beer challenge.
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