The Beer Tourist

Brewpub København is a new brewpub centrally located in one of the streets running parallell to the main shopping streets, Strøget, not far from the city's main square, Rådhuspladsen. It has got its own restaurant featuring beer cuisine and a pleasant beer garden in the courtyard.

Brewing has just started and at the time of my visit they only offered one beer from the brewery: Vester Weisse, named after the street where it is located (Vestergade no. 29). The beer is more like a mix of a Belgian wit (spiced with coriander, I believe) and a Bavarian weisse, featuring the characteristic banana flavour associated with the weisse yeast. Food is served both in the expensive-looking restaurant and in the pub. I opted to have my Beef Pot braised in Young's Double Chocolate Stout served in the latter. I felt the chocolate stout was a bit too heavy for the beef and was happy to still have a glass of refreshing Vester Weisse nearby.

You can read more about the brewpub on www.brewpub.dk (they also have information in English). The restaurant is open from noon to 10 pm Monday to Saturday, whereas the pub is open 4 pm to midnight on Mondays, noon to midnight on Tuesdays and Wednesday and noon to 2 am on Thursdays to Saturdays.

In short, this place looks promising, and the location is right in the city centre (so why are they closed on Sundays?). A good choice of imported beer is available either on tap or in bottle (including some surprisingly good Norwegian beers from the microbrewery Den Nøgne Ø - the name is taken from an Ibsen poem and means The Naked Island). I would be happy to see even more Danish craft brews available, and the place needs a bit of warming up to reach the cosiness of Plan B.

The old working class area of Nørreport (translating into Northern Gate) is a good base for the beer tourist to Copenhagen. Many of the city's best beer bars are situated in this area and in the adjoining Nørrebro at the other side of Søerne (the Lakes). The connections to and from the airport are also excellent with trains leaving every 10 minutes from Nørreport station. All the local trains (S-trains) as well as the metro stop at this station making it the second hub of the Copenhagen public transport system. In addition, it is a short walk from the main pedestrian streets, called Strøget.

In Nørrebro you will find the excellent brewpub Nørrebro Bryghus, the small, but well-stocked beer café Ølbaren as well as the friendly specialist beer shop Høkeren. Nearer the Nørreport station you could have a look into the Arbejdermuséet and taste some quality beers in their Café & Øl-halle (café and beer hall).

But the true gem in this area is the café too modestly called Plan B. This should be no spare solution when the other places are closed or full (which, by the way, is often the case with Ølbaren and Nørrebro Bryghus). The cosy café consists of two departments, with living room-feel where you will be served sandwiches and other small dishes. The main draw of the place is the drinks selection. Here even choosy coffee and tea drinkers will feel at home- there is a good selection for wine-snobs and last, but not least it is one of the greatest places to drink Danish craft brews in the capital. Oh, and they also have a respectable range of imported quality beers.

On my visit I enjoyed a Wintercoat ESB, served at perfect temperature, releasing its earthy character. The beers from this newly-established, but already highly-praised Århus microbrewery are difficult to come across other places in the capital (it is, for now, only sold on tap). I also got to taste the café's "own" brew, brewed for them by another Jutland microbrewery, Grauballe. It is appropriately called Nørrebryg and is a delightful Danish version of the classic Bigfoot Ale. The recipe comes from the big man behind Plan B, Mr Niels Steenstrum Zeeberg, which really makes his jovial and knowledgable presence felt.

And now the details. Open all days from 10 am to 10 pm (the critics are praising them for closing so early as many a following workday might otherwise have been ruined!) Located on one of the main roads, at Fredriksborggade no 48. They even have their own web site, www.cafeplanb.dk. All I can say is, this is one beer bar not to miss in Copenhagen!

Just returned home from the 5th annual Copenhagen Beer Festival (Københavnske Øldage). It takes place in May every year and is one of the beer festivals in Europe (if not the one) with the most different beers available, this time some 900. This year it was held the sports hall Valby Hallen just outside the city centre. The festival with its 75 stands and almost 10,000 visitors held over three days (20- 22 May this year) is about to outgrow the venue- and the food facilities (more like sausage stalls) seem to suffer the most from that, partially located outside the building, exposed to the rainy Danish spring weather. Any lover of quality beer should not let this discourage him or her from adding this event to the calendar. With so many new high quality Danish microbrewers this festival is a perfect opportunity to sample some brews that are hard to find anywhere else, even in Denmark. Danish importers make sure that high quality beers from other countries, especially from Belgium and the UK, are available as well. You can read more about the festival on the web site for the Danish Beer Enthusiasts (Danske Ølentusiaster), member of the European Beer Consumers Union, (in Danish only) on www.ale.dk