Friday, 2008 May 23: Vesterbro and Nørrebro

Yesterday: Plan B is Plan A

Still feeling a bit weak, but I can't see spending the rest of the trip in this hotel room. I want to take another whack at Plan B, and Vesterbro is not far away, and then I can meet Paris for dinner at Nørrebro.

Vesterbro Bryghus is a real nice place, fancy wood bar, mirrors, ornate chandeliers, real old-timey stuff.

Vesterbro Bryghus is across the street from Tivoli

Vesterbro's bar

Vesterbro's brewhouse

The beers are drinkable — not great, but not as bad as I had heard. Damned expensive, though: DKK 59 ($12.48) for a half-liter.

• Blond Lager


• Amber Lager


• Red Ale


• Brown Ale


• India Pale Ale

Sampler tray at Vesterbro

Vesterbro Red Ale

It was a real nice day, so I got some sun on a park bench on the way to Plan B. Once there, I introduced myself to the owner, a very enthusiastic beer lover. He's justifiably proud of his collection of beers, and of his very knowledgeable staff. He had to leave shortly after my arrival, but he insisted on buying me a bottle of Amager Imperial Stout. It was the not-wood-aged version of the beer I had yesterday; this one was very tasty, but also very very intense. It took me the better part of an hour to finish it. I followed it up with a bottle of Refsvindinge AZ Ale No. 16, a much milder beer. This smoked brown ale worked nicely as a palate cleanser.

Amager Imperial Stout

Refsvindinge AZ Ale No. 16

All too soon, it was time to walk across the water to Nørrebro Bryghus. In terms of decor, this is the most modern of the brewpubs I visited here.

Nørrebro Bryghus, Copenhagen

Nørrebro's brewhouse

Nørrebro's fermenters

Beer seminar and tasting party at Nørrebro

They brew a lot of different beers here; twelve of them were on tap today, and we had a couple of bottles as well.

• Çeske Böhmer


• Oostende Orange (an "orange-and-carrot beer)


• Balders Blid


• Ravnsborg Red


• Stuykman Witt


• Brugge Honning Blonde


• King's County Brown Ale


• Pacific Summer Ale


• Golden Spike IPA


• Skärgaards Porter


• Little Korkny Barleywine 2006


• North Bridge Extreme


• New York Lager


• Bombay Pale Ale

One of several sampler sets at Nørrebro

Nørrebro New York Lager and Bombay Pale Ale

I think we got off cheap: all that beer and a light meal for DKK 266, about $56.24.

Back at the hotel, we enjoyed two rare beers that Jacob had brought from the Faroe Islands. He says these are just about impossible to get in Denmark, and even the Faroese have a hard time finding them.

Rockall Brown Ale

Green Islands Stout

And that's that. I think I counted fifty different beers this week, not bad considering. Our flights leave Copenhagen tomorrow morning, and we'll get home around 8:30pm.