Små Vesen Kvernknurr ESB Spesial
Små Vesen Bryggeri

August 2008: 330 ml bottle, batch #4, courtesy of Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. ABV is 6.5%. BB 03.09. When opening the bottle, the beer starts pouring out by itself. Very cloudy / murky brown colour, huge beige head. The aroma is malty and "raw", notes of hops, juniper and damp forest too. The flavour is much better than previous batches: hoppy and piney flavour, notes of juniper too, not too acidic. Distinct bitterness. Reminiscent of traditional homebrew. I’m upping it several points.

Original rating: 330 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. Brew nr. 1 from this new Norwegian micro brewery. Called an "ESB spesial". BB date 1.7.08. ABV is 6.5%. Thick sediment in the bottle. Orange colour, clear first, cloudy when the sediment is poured in. Large and lasting off-white head with an orangey hue. Distinctly hoppy aroma, notes of yeast, hints of oak and barnyard. The flavour is very acidic, (nearly) closer to a lambic than an ESB. Is there a severe infection problem here? I can’t believe they intended the beer to come out like this - and cellaring it will surely not help. Still drinkable, when you get used to the acidity. There’s a certain hoppy bite in the finish.

Had a bottle of this esb ((?) what it's labeled, but otherwise no apparent connection) at Henrik's bar in Bergen, Norway. Poured with almost no head. No lace. Cloudy brown color. Aroma of dark, ripe fruit. Flavor was the same with a little hop. Shallow. Almost no carbonation. A bit tart. BBE date of 01.10, handwritten. Bit thin. Not so good; couldn't finish it. Amateurish.