{"id":3939,"date":"2017-03-22T16:55:38","date_gmt":"2017-03-22T16:55:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beer-syndicate.com\/blog\/?p=3939"},"modified":"2018-09-23T23:40:24","modified_gmt":"2018-09-23T23:40:24","slug":"craft-beer-iceland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beersyndicate.com\/blog\/craft-beer-iceland\/","title":{"rendered":"A Craft Beer from Iceland"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ah, Iceland— <\/strong>Vikings, the Aurora Borealis, Bj\u00f6rk, fermented shark snacks<\/a><\/span>\u00a0and a 74-year prohibition on beer that lasted from Jan. 1, 1915 to March, 1, 1989<\/strong> (also known as \u201cBeer Day\u201d<\/a><\/span>).\u00a0To be fair though, from 1935-1989 the prohibition was only against \u201cstrong beer\u201d, or any beer at or above 2.25% ABV.<\/span><\/p>\n

Needless to say, the craft beer movement in Iceland was off to a bit of a late start, but is catching up quickly.\u00a0 As of this writing, there are about 14 total breweries<\/a><\/span> in a country of about 330,000 people.<\/span><\/p>\n

One such brewery\u00a0is Einst\u00f6k \u00d6lger\u00f0, or the Einst\u00f6k Beer Company, located just 60 miles south of the Arctic Circle in the fishing port of Akureyri, Iceland. \u00a0It\u2019s there, according to the brewery<\/a><\/span>, where the water flows from rain and prehistoric glaciers down the Hl\u00ed\u00f0arfjall Mountain and through ancient lava fields, delivering the purest water on Earth, and the perfect foundation for brewing deliciously refreshing craft ales.<\/span><\/p>\n

With production starting in 2011, Einst\u00f6k (translated as “unique”) now sees distribution in 14 states<\/a><\/span> in the U.S., and is available in 14 countries around the world.\u00a0 So far, the brewery is living up to its slogan of \u201cDrink. Conquer. Repeat.<\/span>\u201d<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

\"DREKKTU.

[Drink. Conquer. Repeat!]<\/p><\/div>\n

The Viking-branded brewery produces beer in a range of styles including a Belgian White, Pale ale, Doppelbock, Wee Heavy, a fruit beer, and a Porter.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our pick from the lot is Einst\u00f6k\u2019s multi-award winning Icelandic Toasted Porter<\/a><\/span>, brewed with a slight addition of authentic Icelandic roasted coffee.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Einst\u00f6k\u2019s<\/a><\/p>\n

Icelandic Toasted Porter<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

The Gist<\/strong>: An absolutely lovely porter with moderate chocolaty-sweet character and medium-high body.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Icelandic<\/a><\/p>\n

Description<\/strong>: This dark porter develops a thick finger of creamy ochre\u00a0head that slowly recedes over a cold brew coffee-colored beer, leaving behind swaths of elegant lacing inside the glass. The aroma is suggestive of chocolate wafer cookies, chocolate waffles, light vanilla, Turbinado sugar, molasses, dark wheat bread, red grape skin, purple crayon, and as the name implies, the malt character is more toasted than roasted. The flavor offers impressions of Swiss Miss Coco, praline cookie, and a bit of hazelnut balanced by a medium-low coffee tannic bitterness, with an aftertaste of roasted malt and baker\u2019s chocolate.<\/span><\/p>\n

How to Say \u201cCheers\u201d in Icelandic<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Sk\u00e1l.<\/strong>\u00a0 Pronounced \u201cSk-owl\u201d, the word is directly related to the other Scandinavian words for cheers \u201cSk\u00e5l\u201d (Swedish, Danish and Norwegian).\u00a0 Myth has it that the word \u201cSk\u00e5l\/Sk\u00e1l\u201d as a toast is related to the word \u201cskull\u201d and originates with the Vikings who would supposedly drink mead from the skulls of their enemies.\u00a0 As bad-ass as that might be, it\u2019s not likely the case (spoiler alert: there\u2019s also no evidence that the Vikings wore horned helmets<\/span>\u2026 Sorry Minnesota).<\/span><\/p>\n

As it turns out, in all Scandinavian languages, the word \u201cSk\u00e5l\/Sk\u00e1l\u201d also means \u201cbowl\u201d (or container) and is etymologically related to the word \u201cshell\u201d more so than \u201cskull\u201d.\u00a0 The \u201cshell\u201d in this case refers to a cup made from a shell, and is derived from the Proto-Germanic word \u201cskelo<\/a><\/span>\u201d. \u00a0The word first appears in Scottish English, and may have been connected to the visit of King James VI of Scotland<\/a><\/span> to Denmark in 1589.\u00a0 It’s suggested that the word was meant to encourage people to empty (drink) a bowl<\/a><\/span> in somebody’s honor.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sk\u00e1l!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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