Oslo Mikrobryggeri

Visited on a busy Friday night when tables were scarce. Fits the stereotype of traditional English pub. Pretty standard beer options, fortunately not just sours and pale ales. Below average quality, not worth seeking out. No food.

Norway’s first brewpub in modern times (est. 1989). Decent range of styles - pilsener, steam ale, bitter (not on when I was there), porter, stout, IPA. Seasonals: Summer: Wheat beer (Weiss), summer lager. Winter: Yule ale, Yule brew. Reasonable beer quality, but most of them are unfortunately served far too cold.

 

 

Being from a U.S. city with a high beer IQ and much variety, my ratings are a bit low but it should be known that this place is well worth visiting and perhaps the best beer venue in Oslo. It should also be known that they server no food whatsoever.

The interior looks much like a British pub. Hunger green bar posts, half wooden, half black walls, with old beer ads on them. Lots of elevated tables with bar stools and a U-shaped bar with about 15 seats around it. Low volume music. And a decent conversant crowd at 7pm on a Thursday in early March. Brewing equipment in a diagonally glassed-off section of the bar room.

7 homebrews on tap this night: Amber, Steamer, Porter, Stout, Pils, Bitter, and Heffeweizen. My first pour was the Porter. Light body, almost translucent with a redish hue.

2nd pour was the Amber, a style I don't usually enjoy but, wanting hops and not finding an IPA or pale ale, I was told this was the hoppiest. It made me quite hoppy. Amber in color with a coffee nose - yum! Thin but lingering, lacy head.

The amber was so good that I had another and then headed to a restaurant for dinner as they serve no food here.

I thought this place a little hard to find only having the address to guide me, but it was worth making the effort for. It is not on the main street that it's address would lead you to beleive (Bogstadveien), but down a street on the south west side, (Holtegata, if I remember correctly). There is a 7-11 store on the corner that acts as a landmark.

The easiest way there is to get from the main railway station is to get the number 19 tram towards Majorstuen and alight at Rosenborg. You will have passed the brewpub just before turning the corner before this stop. The journey costs 30NOK each way if you buy your ticket on the tram, slightly cheaper if bought in advance.

As you enter the doorway there are stairs leading both up and down. Downstairs holds only the toilets, so if you are thirsty, you'd best head upstairs where a bar stands in the centre of the pub displaying an array of (sadly fake) handpumps. To the right you can see the copper that is used for brewing their beer.

The main room has lots of dark wood and the walls are adourned by various brewery memorabelia. The furniture is functional but comfortable.

A variety of the brewery's own beers are available including, an English Porter, Steamer, IPA, Pils, and a Stout.

I tried the English Porter, which was a plausible immitation even though it was served with far too much pressure. It had good chocolatey flavours ending in a very bitter aftertaste.

My second pint was of their Steamer, which was rather more like an Amber ale, softer in flavour and quite drinkable. I would have liked to have stayed for more but sadly, not only did I have a plane to catch, but I couldn't really bring myself to pay the 62 NOK (a smidge over 5GBP or about 10USD) per pint. (or half litre, rather).

If that seems expensive to you, you are not alone, and probably a tourist. The most I paid in Norway for a pint in a pub was 87NOK, (didn't go back to that one!) and the least 50NOK. Norway is just a very pricey place to go drinking in comparison to other countries.

Last visited February 2007.