Finnish Beer II / Kukko Tumma

In Finland several of the major beer brands make both a lager, a pilsner and a dark beer.

When I went to the restaurant Sokeri Jussin Kievari in Oulu I decided to have a Kukko Tumma (dark) with my reindeer stew.

I was quite pleased with this - both the beer itself and the combination.

I don't know if Kukko beers are available outside of Finland, but so far I haven't seen them in Sweden (where all we seem to get is Lapin Kulta and Kahru).

Finnish Beer I / Bear Beer I

I first saw Kahru (Finnish for bear) in Arlanda airport (outside Stockholm), and the label appealed to the mood I was in.

It was also my first encounter of Finnish beer, so I wasn't sure what to expect. Turns out it's a decent, strong lager.

Later I learned that Kahru tries to set itself apart from the competition on the home market by being sold in pint sized cans (rather than the half litre cans the other ones are sold in).