Testing Christmas beer - and Christmas food in a new way

Is Christmas already here? No, not quite yet, but autumn is here and last week we were invited to Spendrups to test Christmas beer. We also got to try Christmas food in a new way, which was both delicious and exciting. Here we offer inspiration for Christmas drinks and food.

At an event with Spendrups this week

At the end of last week, we were invited to an event with Spendrups, to test Christmas beer and taste Christmas food in a modern way. The company had set up a "Christmas market" on their farm, and it was undoubtedly the first Christmas market of the year for us ...

Christmas beer test - with a favourite

We had the chance to try three Christmas beers, all of which were very good, although one of the three was a clear favourite for us.

We started by testing Melleruds Prima Christmas Beer, which is an organic dark lager. This is a full-bodied and at the same time slightly spicy Christmas beer that fits nicely on the Christmas table. From Mellerud there is also Mellerud's non-alcoholic Christmas beer, which we did not test on this occasion.

Mariestads Julebrygd is a dark and full-bodied lager, brewed with five different malts. This beer has a slight sweetness and a hint of citrus in the aroma, and is available both with alcohol (5.8) and in a non-alcoholic version.

According to the brewery, the flavour goes particularly well with salmon on the Christmas table. We tried it together with a small, fancy dish of gravlax and rum and we're inclined to agree. Very good together!

Our absolute favourite among the Christmas beers we tried was Wisby Christmas from Gotlands Bryggeri. This is a classic Nordic Christmas beer and the recipe is the same from year to year, although the raw materials from this year's harvest may cause the flavour to vary slightly. The beer is available with alcohol (6.0) or in a non-alcoholic version.

Why we liked this one best? Maybe it's because it's brewed with a slightly darker malt. The beer has a fuller flavour, and we also felt that it was perhaps a little less sweet.

Mulled wine - the traditional or the new way

Christmas is not only about Christmas beer, but also about mulled wine. We tested Grythyttan Skogsglögg from Spring Wine and Spirits. This is a spicy and delicious Christmas drink with hints of berries and Christmas spices. The recipe is unique because the drink is made with berries and apples, instead of grapes.

The mulled wine can of course be served in the traditional way, i.e. warm with raisins and almonds.

If you want something different, you can serve it as a cold aperitif with ice and a thin slice of orange. We also got an exciting variant, where the mulled wine was served warm with cream and some candy cane sprinkles. Fun and festive, even if it was perhaps a little too sweet for our taste.

Christmas food in a new way

At the event, we were served Christmas food in a new way, in the form of modern small dishes inspired by traditional Christmas food. The dishes were composed by chef David Lundqvist, who won Chef of the Year 2018, and we were inspired to think about Christmas food in new ways. Maybe you can find some inspiration too?

We were served crusts with small omelettes, along with herring and black rum. Very good!

Another small dish was served in small tin cans. The tins contained, among other things, gravlax, roe and chives. A delicious and creamy little mess, which you can munch on with a teaspoon, together with the Christmas beer.

Another exciting dish was ostrich with almond cream, chanterelles and caramel & salt, according to the sign. Ojoj, how good these were!

The small dishes continued with cabbage and pork broth, served with rye bread chips and Swedish coppa (air-dried curry) and parsley emulsion. Perhaps a variation on dip in the stew? This dish was not our favourite actually, but an interesting variation on Christmas food.

One dish we really liked was the modern version of Jansson's temptation. The temptation was a bit creamier than usual and was served in small portion moulds. A very nice way to eat the gratin.

We were also very fond of the halibut dish, which is probably a modern version of lutefisk. The halibut was served with a pea cream, a foamy sauce and bacon bits. Very, very good!

Last but not least, it was time for desserts. Here the chef had experimented with two traditional dishes, the first of which was Bohuslän egg cheese.

Course number two was a souped-up version of the rice pudding. The modern and stylish serving does a lot, doesn't it?

Do you like Christmas beer and food?

Do you like Christmas beer and food? Do you like to experiment and cook new versions of traditional dishes? Can you tell us about something you cooked on the theme of Christmas food that turned out well... or maybe something that turned out less well?