So IKEA now sell beer...

You know that you have hit a certain age and stage in your life when bank holiday mondays change from the pub to DIY or garden centers. For us this week we decided to brave IKEA...if you think we have gone mad you are probably right, venture away from the arrows on the ground and you are separated between a sea of furniture customers.
Whilst waiting for our friends to pay at the end of the store I decided to have a browse around the food section. I started by picking up a pack of Elk mini sausages (yum), moved onto some blue cheese (not so yum). When I went to pay I discovered that Ikea sold beer! This was a very exciting time for me as when choosing lager I tend to stick to Czech, Belgium and German lager.
Both beers are 4.7% and cost £1.50 a bottle...which is certainly overpriced for a 330ml bottle, but worth a try surely?

At looking at the bottles I decided to start with the Ol Ljus Lager. This was a very generic lager, golden in colour and ideally suited chilled. After drinking a bottle of Staropramen the other day (£2 for a 660ml bottle in Morrisons at the moment) I was expecting something similar due to the flavourful aroma coming from the lager. Unfortunately the flavours ended with the smell, it was still a really refreshing lager but lacked a lasting taste in the mouth. Honestly I will purchase this again, maybe for a Sunday afternoon in August when I am not in the mood for an IPA. It certainly is better than Carlsberg or Fosters...but if you want better quality for your money then pick up a Staropramen, or even a Birra Morretti (for a more value Peroni). 6/10

Following the light lager I moved onto the Ol Mork Lager (dark lager). This excited me at first, all I could think of was dark Budvar. On pouring this beer it really did look the part (see below), however I ended up with the same dissapointment that I had from Guinness Dublin Porter. It was really bland, it had the fizzyness (is that a word) of a bottle of Old Peculier, but was almost like I had watered down a fizzy guinness....not good at all. So if you see this bottle...avoid it. 2/10

All in all I wouldn't say that my venture into IKEA beer was completely unsuccessful, the Ol Ljus light lager is really worth a try, if it is ever better priced...or even in larger bottles for your money then it will certainly be making an appearance in my fridge again. But as mentioned above, avoid the Ol Mork and pick up a bottle of dark Budvar instead.