3 Små Rum: SolDIPA (Sweden: IIPA: 8.5% ABV)
Visual: Hazy apricot. Thin white bubbled mound.
Nose: Peach. Banana. Pineapple. Very fresh. Custard. Tangerine. Dried apricot.
Body: Peach. Slight greenery. Resin. Pineapple. Syrupy feel. Tangerine. Dried apricot. Light cloying twist. Light sour cream. Pomegranate. Just slightly musky.
Finish: Pineapple. Apricot juice. Hop oils and some bitterness. Slight hop character. Slightly bready. Tangerine.
Conclusion: The first beer if the Sweden trip and it is a blinder of a fruit explosion! On the initial nose all I got was a big syrupy fruit blend, like an alcohol mixed fruit smoothie with extra syrup thrown in. It is all bright, all fresh, and occasionally quite tropical in style.
Initially the body follows that, in fact everything follows that – all insanely bright and insanely fruity. I did like it like that, but I was very glad when it, instead of just staying like that, expanded. It became more resinous, more greenery and hop oils – from that initial pure, delectable fruit juice style you get a true beer style backbone developing. It is this that takes it from a good but one note beer to an absolutely excellent beer.
It is wonderful – amongst the bright fruit it has that tiny soured tang twist that reminds me of Punk IPA, and late on you get a musky fruitiness of a heavier IIPA. It doesn’t have the pure freshness of, say, un-human cannonball, but has a similarly massive range of huge flavour, and with a heavier back as it goes on.
It doesn’t use large bitterness, or large levels of the more traditional prickling hop character, relying instead on the more hop oil and resin side for the IPA feel, and that means it is not just an excellent flavor IIPA, but a slightly unusual one as well.
A great IIPA with banana and peach side by side in a way little seen, and then combined with tropical fruit to just blow my mind in the sweet and fresh fruit contrast. A fantastic start to Sweden and a true great of the IIPA scene.
Background: Drunk at 3 Små Rum in Gothenburg on the first day of the Sweden beer trip. A wonderful place, the bar staff/brewers were fantastic to talk to, and happy to discuss their beer and beer in general. Had the motto “Don’t ask for blask!” (crappy fizzy beer), and a lovely feel with the small rooms encouraging chats between the various people there. Felt like they knew their regulars well also. They let me into the back where I saw the tiny brew setup they use, so they can be free with their experimentation. They did break my heart though – had a Närke Kaggen Stormaktsporter Börb’nåhallon on the shelves, but it was his last bottle, so for display only. NOOOOO! Still, their beer is so good I forgive them. Also tried another beer that they gave to me to try– single hopped with Nelson Sauvuin hops but brewed with Vienna malt, so you you end up with a dark beer mixing with that fresh Nelson Sauvin style. Fascinating, and shows what you can do with small experimental batches. Definitely recommend checking this place out if you are in Gothenburg.