You’ve been hearing us talk about our sister brewery, Nya Carnegie Bryggeriet in Stockholm, Sweden, for over a year. Seeing as it’s the first American-style craft brewery in Europe (set up in collaboration with Carlsberg), it’s a justifiably big deal. We’ve bragged about them on our tours, visited them on our Mash Tour, and encouraged everyone we know to go and visit. “Sounds great!” We often hear in response, “Can I try some in your Tasting Room?”
For much too long, the answer was a longing, wistful, “not yet.” But today, we have big news. Starting this weekend, we’ll be tapping some of the first in a line of many kegs from our Swedish family, right here in Brooklyn.
For the first time on American shores, taste the deep, wintry tones of Ljusslingan. Or enjoy a glass of Kellerbier, the Nya Carnegie flagship. Whichever you choose, do so quickly. While we’re hoping to have more and more Nya Carnegie beers in our Tasting Room, our stock will not last long (mostly due to our own drinking plans) and it may be a while before we get a chance to replenish our kegs.
See how the Nya Carnegie brewers describe their beers below, then make plans to come visit our Tasting Room and try them out. We’ll see you at the bar.
Ljusslingan (5.2%): At this time of year – especially up here in the frozen north – we need a little light in our lives. From the brewery we see many people hanging up colourful strings of lights in their living rooms and on their balconies to illuminate the long dark winter nights. It seems beautifully poetic that from our location in the old ‘Luma’ lightbulb factory, in fact on the street called Ljusslingan (meaning string of lights), that we can produce this beer designed specifically to lighten up everyone’s winter.
‘Ljusslingan’ is based on a traditional German Schwarzbier, and as is usual from a Nya Carnegie beer, we have given this style a modern, innovative twist. Although fermented as a lager, the main driver of the malt flavour is provided by caramelized and roasted malts from Bavaria. This deep russet brown beer has an easy, snappy bitterness and a quick finish with lingering malt roast tones and tropical fruit notes from a late hop addition of the Pacific Northwest hop blend Falconer’s Flight.
Winter’s here. Let’s welcome it with open arms and celebrate!
Kellerbier (5.9%): We first wanted our flagship beer to represent everything we love about lager brewing. While warm-fermented ales are fruity and spicy, lagers are clean and direct….but that doesn’t mean that they should be boring. Our Kellerbier takes the classical style (an unfiltered, golden cold-fermented lager beer), and transforms it into a friendly wolf in sheep’s clothing. It’s a beer that is both familiar and exciting. Far from being neutral, this beer may be clean and direct, but it is also bursting with flavour.
Why? First, plenty of floor-malted Bohemian pilsner malt, made from the Hanka barley variety, gives us a deep golden color, a bready, malty center, and a sturdier-than-usual richness at 5.9%. Then lots of snappy Perle and aromatic Mittelfruh hops from the Hallertau region of Germany are blended with the spicy Czech Saaz, producing crisp bitterness and a big floral, herbal hop aroma. Finally, we had a choice between boring lagers yeast and fun lager yeast. We chose a fun lager yeast, one which performs a long cold fermentation, while enhancing malt and hop aromas and leaving a slight touch of sulfur, one of the hallmarks of fresh lager beer.
Brewers often love to drink their beers unfiltered, straight out of the maturation tanks. Here is your chance to drink your beer like a brewer. The haze of Bavarian yeast gives the beer a little extra body and flavor, and completes the classical Kellerbier flavor. Whether you have always loved lagers or you have left them behind to chase more “exciting” beers, we think we’ve made a beer you’re going to enjoy. We’re excited about our Kellerbier, especially because it pairs with almost anything.