With that the first phase of lockdown lifted, we can now look forward to the second phase to come into place on the 17th May. With pubs, restaurants and theatres able to officially open their doors to the public, Summer 2021 looks to be ‘that-one summer’ that everyone will remember for the good reasons!
For this week’s Midweek Drink, I have been given the opportunity of reviewing a new Swedish beer - fruited beer, to be precise - produced by De Proefbrouwerij.
De Proefbrouweij was founded in 1996 by Dick Naudts and his wife Saskia Waerniers in the village of Lochristi, Ghent, Belgium. They are known to produce beer for third parties such as Mikkeller, To Øl and Bell’s.
So what Swedish beer am I talking about? I am talking about Omnipollo’s Nyponsoppa (translated to rose hip soup).
Nyponsoppa is produced in a 330ml can with some funky-looking artwork, consisting of flowers and toadstools that gives off a 60’s psychedelic vibe. This fruited beer is a non-alcoholic beverage (0.3%) and has the following ingredients: water, barley malt, wheat malt, oats, rye, malt, hops, yeast, rose hips.
Now when I opened this beer, I excepted the appearance to either resemble a typical nectar colour of a lager or the hazy, pale yellow tone of a pale ale - I was wrong! Instead, I was treated to a very cloudy caramel colour; topped with an off-white, frothy head and bits of sediment sinking to the bottom of the glass.
When it came to trying to work out what the aroma was, I was dumbstruck. All I could really pick out was a tanginess which I assume comes from the key ingredient in this beverage: rose hip. I have no knowledge on this specific ingredient, but after extended reading I found out that rose hip does give off such an aroma.
With this unique aroma, you just know that the taste will be quite unique, too. With a thick body that could easily be mistaken for a milkshake until you took your first sip, I was first treated to a mild, sweet fruity taste that was quickly overpowered by the tangy rose hips, to then finishing off with a tart aftertaste.