To put it mildly, Norway is not known for its beer."About 98 percent of the beer consists of light lagers," sighs tall, bearded Kjetil Jikiun, cofounder and brewmaster of Nøgne Ø, one of Norway's scant microbreweries. "Norwegians," he laments, "don't know much about craft beer."
Jikiun is the exception: Since launching Nøgne Ø (naked isle) six years ago, the gregarious, bespectacled Norwegian has begun altering his country's carbonated landscape. He crafts bold, flavorful beers more in line with American microbrews than Norway's watery lagers. "Most bars there just have one beer on tap," he says, holding court in New York City's multi-tap beer bar Jimmy's No. 43. "You just order a beer-no choice needed." But Jikiun, an ex–airline pilot who sampled suds wherever he landed, liked choice. He began homebrewing, looking toward American microbrewers for inspiration. "Everybody I served my homebrews to liked them, so I though there'd be a market," he says of launching Nøgne Ø.
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