As part of National Geographic Live’s spring tasting series, brewmaster Garrett Oliver will take attendees on a tour of Nordic beers with the “New Beers of Scandinavia.”
If you go
National Geographic Live presents “New Beers of Scandinavia,” with Brooklyn Brewing’s Garrett Oliver.
Where: National Geographic, 1600 M St. NW
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday
Info: $75 for NG Live members, $80 for general public; 202-857-7700; www.nglive.org (Note: As of press time, the event was sold out.)
“Scandinavia has been one of the areas of the world where the good beer revolution has taken hold,” Oliver said during a recent phone interview. When it comes to talking beer, Oliver should know. He’s been the brewmaster at the esteemed Brooklyn Brewery since 1994, and has published a pair of books: “The Good Beer Book,” and “The Brewmaster’s Table.” This is the fourth year he’s done a beer tasting event for National Geographic Live.
Brewers in the countries of Scandinavia — Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden — aren’t as well know in the United States for their creations as are their German, Belgian and American counterparts.
“What we’ve seen is a lot of interesting activity,” Oliver, who recently returned to the states from the region, said. “There’s a fascinating thing happening. A lot of what they’re doing was inspired by the U.S. craft beer movement.”
However, beer has always been a big deal in Scandinavia. Grapes don’t grow well in the region, so beer and distilled spirits have long been the go-to alcoholic beverages.
“What’s exciting, now a lot of brewers are turning back to what is Scandinavian,” Oliver said. “It’s what they’ve always been drinking.” Oliver cites Scandinavian selections as varied, and with some styles influenced by the ridiculously long days in the summer and seemingly never-ending nights in the winter.
Though Oliver has brewed some in Scandinavia, he has yet to apply those styles in his work at Brooklyn.
“Not yet,” he said. “Probably pretty soon. We haven’t done anything in the old Norse style.”
Oliver said he is particularly intrigued by the region’s pairing of beer and food. His book “The Brewmaster’s Table” deals with food and beer pairings. Oliver says that the Scandinavian food doesn’t pair well with wine, but does well with beer.
“The Scandinavian palate really doesn’t work that well with wine,” he said. “They’ve rediscovered their food tradition that went along with the beer.”
Beers to be sampled Tuesday include Mikkeller Beer Geek Breakfast, Norrebro Julebryg and Brockhouse Esrum Kloster of Denmark; Haandbryggeriet Norwegian Wood and Nogne O Sunturnbrew from Norway; Huvila X Porter and Lammin Kataja from Finland; and Sweden’s Nils Oscar Barleywine.
“It’s a pretty wide range,” Oliver said. “There’s some fascinating beer. Unfortunately, you can’t get everything. What we’ll be able to do is give people an overview of what is going on in Scandinavia.”
