Nils Oscar - Ctrl Alt Delete

I'm not entirely sure what I expected from Ctrl Alt Delete, though a little part of me somewhat thought that it would be another lager, one that would rival God Lager... But then I realised that that would be an utterly stupid move and would, more than likely, be bad for business. The reality is much better than what I imagined... Luckily. What we have is a dark amber, light looking beer with little head and low carbonation that smells slightly of berries and, for all intents and purposes, is very unassuming. It looks, partially, as comfortable as a liquidised, pine, sofa and I'm looking forward to drinking it.

At 4.5% it is the lowest percentage Nils Oscar... I imagine, I don't speak Swedish, I only assume that this is the case because everything I've tried so far has been as broad and as well stocked as a pantry full of lard cakes and bacon. The taste is very interesting, a light mix of red berries and a slight metallic twang that isn't unpleasant but is quite definitely a shot from left field. Like every other beer from Nils Oscar it is incredibly easy to drink and with it's 4.5% tag, it's a lighter choice for a session or as that one beer at the beginning of the night when you know you've got to drive all your horrifically drunk friends home.

This is such an odd beer! Something I've not come across before! It's bordering on the lines between a ruby or dark ale and a lager or pilsner because it has the fizzy carbonation and easy drinkability of a pilsner but the taste of a decent ruby ale, if slightly lighter and a touch more subtle. I'm not sure if that's what the guys were going for but if they were then, well, kudos, because that's some bold stuff and exactly the kind of thing I like. Mixing it up in a way that is inoffensive, whilst still sewing the seeds of revolution, very, very interesting.

Though, of course, I could be giving them way too much credit and this could be a dark ale that has no head but a lovely, drinkable, body... I don't think that's the case, I get the impression that they're willing to take risks in Sweden.

I broke a cardinal rule before I reviewed this... I had a look on Ratebeer.com to see what this got and it didn't get a good score, it wasn't an awful score but these guys are used to better. I don't think their score is entirely fair because I read through some of the reviews by, so called, beer critics (most of which can't string together a coherent sentence) and I got the impression that they just didn't UNDERSTAND this beer. I did. I like it. I want you to give it a chance... If you get the chance.

Food Suggestion: I'd love to pair this up with some lovely hot crossed buns or a raisin and cinnamon bagel with just a little bit of butter on them. Sweet and sticky comfort food for a smooth and tasty beer.

Drink this if you like: Alt means, literally, "old" and this is a Swedish version of a German equivalent of English ale. So if you like Tribute or ESB or anything of that ilk then you'll like this but, in a similar way, if you like Warsteiner or Spatenbrau or Lowenbrau then you'll probably get along with this very well too. This is a beer for everyone but, most of all, it's for computer nerds who understand what Ctrl Alt Delete does... Because that's why I got so excited about it in the first place.