The first beers to be tried were the lagers, as I wanted to start things off at the lighter end of the spectrum. As always the beers were judged on appearance, body, carbonation, aroma, taste, aftertaste and general drinkability. After some serious (and not so serious discussion) the tasters began to vote and straight away a clear leader was established. The result at the end of pretty conclusive.
Results – Round 1:
1st place (12 votes): Nørrebro Bryghus New York lager, Denmark (5.2%, 23kr)
2nd place (8 votes): Tornio Panino North Artic lager, Finland (5.5%, 30kr)
3rd place (2 votes): Remmarlöv The Lupo pils, Sweden (5%, 18kr)
Last place (1 vote): Macks Arctic lager, Norway (4.5%, 14kr)
Taking an early lead in the competition was Denmark with their New York modern style lager from Nørrebro Bryghus. The tasters noted a lovely crispness coupled with a slightly maltier presence that the other lagers. Drying on the palate, it proved a hit with its light biscuit aroma coupled with a slight grass bitterness and citrus. Bringing up the rear sadly was the Arctic lager, which failed to get anyone excited as it was watery and as generic a lager as you can get. First blood to Denmark then, but how would they do in the IPA round? Check out the next page to find out!