My lovely friend at work Catherine generously gave me this beer to see what I thought about it. This beer has been brewed especially for IKEA stores by Krönleins Bryggeri who are a macro brewery, unsurprisingly, based in Sweden. This is a dark lager style beer which I’ve potentially had once before. I was a big fan of it then as it provides a really good twist on a less exciting style of beer. Also despite being brewed by a macro brewery it’s actually vegan as well!

Pours a black currant cordial perhaps coca-cola like colour with a dense white head. Classic malty aroma, with that slight breadiness, but also a touch of dark chocolate mixed in as well. The body of the beer isn’t super complex flavour wise but there is a nice smokiness that provides a variety away from what could be a bog standard lager. Drinkable and smooth throughout with a nice little fizz on the finish as well.

A quick note on the can art: I suppose it’s in-line with IKEA’s simplistic design but I actually don’t particularly like the label very much. It feels as if very little effort was put in.

While this is of course not a groundbreaking beer, I am genuinely surprised by how much I actually enjoyed a brew from IKEA. I can imagine if this was a bog standard lager it would be getting a lower score but the dark, roasted malts used provide an extra dimension to what is a fairly basic lager flavour. There is a light level of smokiness that is almost woody while still being pretty drinkable. Certainly would not turn my nose up at that in a pub and I’d rather have it over a pint of Fosters any day!

Score: 6/10

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Additional Information:

• Hops: Not Available
• Malt: Not Available
• IBU: Not Available
• ABV: 4.7%
• Gluten Free: No
• Vegan: Yes!