Beer review: Lervig Art Collection Funky Moi Rye Saison (6.5% Norway: Lervig Aktiebryggeri)

The Funky Moi Rye Saison is an ale, more specifically a Rye Saison. Saison beers are usually fruity and the addition of several spices and herbs create a complex fruity or citric flavor. The beer belongs to the special "art collection" series of Lervig Aktiebryggeri, a small Norwegian brewery located in Oslo. The brewery was founded in 2003 and their products have received several awards in Norway, for example for the best summer beer and best pale beer in 2008.

Taste: The Funky Moi Rye Saison is a medium-bodied beer with a soft, fruity and sweet body. It features a slight malty flavor which is quite round and smooth (typical to beers with rye). The beer also features "earthly" aromas and finishes with a slight hoppy bitterness.

Overall, the Funky Moi Rye Saison is a good beer. It doesn't offer anything unforgettable, but delivers a nice variety of flavors in a well-balanced package. It's not the best Saison out there, but it's definitely worth trying...just because of the cool labels if nothing else!

75 Good

Beer review: Lervig / Nøgne Ø We Love Wheat (7.9% Norway: Lervig Aktiebryggeri)

Lervig / Nøgne Ø We Love Wheat is a wheat ale, more specifically a wheat Indian Pale Ale, brewed by Lervig Aktiebryggeri, a relatively small brewery from Norway. The combination of being an IPA made out of wheat is an interesting one since wheat beers are among my favorite kind. On the other hand, I'm quite picky about IPA's and only prefer their hoppy taste to a certain extent/depending on the kind of hop. Let's see how they have succeeded in this interesting combination.

Taste: The We Love Wheat beer starts with a fruity mango-ish flavor typical to some wheat beers. However, its hoppy character overrides the fruitiness and a wheaty, strong taste of hop with some bitterness steps in. The beer finishes with a relatively smooth taste, at least for an IPA.

Overall, the Lervig / Nøgne Ø We Love Wheat is a really nice beer. It succeeds in combining the good qualities of a wheat beer and an IPA, being mildly sweet on the start and then moving on to a hoppy bitterness. Yet the hoppiness is not too dominant. If you are into IPAs and wheat beer, this is definitely your choice!

85 Great