What's Venner av Nøgne Ø?

Venner av Nøgne Ø, Friends of Nøgne Ø in English, (VANØ for short) is a beer enthusiasts club open to everybody. We were actually established before Nøgne Ø brewed their first beer! At first it was more or less a supporter club for Nøgne Ø, and it still is, but we now also focus on the good beers from the other microbreweries and brewpubs in Norway. To foreigners it's probably only Haandbryggeriet that is known except for Nøgne Ø. Most of the other brewers are too small to be thinking export, so you will have to come visit us here in Norway to get a taste of their beers. Most of the work we do are aimed at Norwegians, we are more or less ale-evangelists in a lager nation. The interest for beer are rising, but still at a level where beer is considered something you down by numbers in the weekend. Or, God forbid, even on a hot summer Tuesday and Wednesday. A few half-hearted attempts on small-scale ale-brewing were made in the 90's, but it wasn't until Nøgne Ø was established in 2003 that media showed any interest in that segment of the market. The newspapers still show little interest for beer except for the months before Christmas, and due to the ban on alcohol advertising, the breweries (and VANØ) have to work hard to get some attention. Still, since 2003, several breweries has established. Haandbryggeriet, Baatbryggeriet (already closed), Ægir Bryggeri, Ølve på Egge Bryggeri and Inderøy Gardsbryggeri are some of them, and more at least two more breweries are supposed to hop their first worts in 2009. We apologize for not being able to publish more of our info in English. Maybe in the future... Until then, you will have to do with the newsflashes. Skål!