There are so many different styles of beer out there that I wanted to have one round that celebrated a range of tastes. I tried to get beers that were completely diverse from each other to really play with the taste buds of those attending. It was so hard for me to pick one that I thought might win as they were all so contrasting. I did enjoy the barley wine when I tested it before so I thought that it could do well and I was correct.
Results – Round 3:
1st place (10 votes): Malmgård Winter Warmer barley wine, Finland (10.2%, 28kr)
2nd place (7 votes): Sundbybergs Ingefära ale, Sweden, (4.8%, 26kr)
3rd place (5 votes): Flying Couch Yuzu raspberry, Denmark, (4%, 35kr)
Last place (1 votes): Against The Grain Plus One APA, Norway, (4.7%, 30kr)
I admit it’s rather hard to compare a barley wine to a ginger ale, raspberry sour and an APA. Malmgård Winter Warmer proved popular however, with its deep sweetness coupled with big dried fruit hits and chest warming alcohol. The APA was pretty poor to be honest and I’m not surprised it came dead last. After three rounds, and with a good showing in the wildcard round, Finland jumped into a shock first place with 23 votes. Denmark and Sweden were hot in its heels with 20 votes each. Lagging way behind and way out of the fight was Norway, limping in with a sad 4 votes in total. I was genuinely surprised at just how badly Norway was doing. I really thought they would be a lot closer but the guests just didn’t vote for those beers on the night. Would Finland hold on to be crowned kings, or would someone else pip them to the post? Find out in the next post!