as the crow flies

Good things take time - This ancient folk wisdom has already driven so many impatient people up their sleeves. Patience is a virtue that, fortunately, is rewarded with an absolute treat in this particular case.

As a brewer you have to be able to wait, because beer cannot be rushed. Traditional strains may take a few weeks to mature, but there are some specialty strains that require brewers to be extremely patient. A delicious example is As The Crow Flies from Nøgne Ø. The Norwegian brewery has ventured into a Belgian Kriek for this example and, in addition to Norwegian barley, wheat and oats, cherry juice and fresh cherries, it also spends a great deal of time to give its delicacy the finishing touches. Wild yeasts, which do their job by means of spontaneous fermentation, are responsible for the strong 9.0% alcohol content. The brewers give the naturally occurring yeasts in the fermenting cellar a full two years to do this. The hop artists then add sour cherry juice and deep red sweet cherries from Frederiksdal. To top it off, the beer is matured for another year.

The time-consuming total work of art flows into the glass in the color of ripe cherries and also smells like it. In the mouth, the summery aroma of the red fruits is combined with strong malt and hints of wood and almonds.