Norwegian and Swedish Christmas sodas

[TidiousTed]

Julebrus is a Norwegian soft drink, usually with a festive label on the bottle. It is brewed by most Norwegian breweries, as a Christmas drink for minors, who aren’t eligible (by law) to enjoy the traditional juleøl (English: Christmas Ale). Although the soft drink is supposed to be for sale through December only, it is often found in stores as early as late October, along with the various sorts of Christmas candy. Buying it outside December is frowned upon by some.

The popularity of the drink varies from area to area, and in some places it is very popular with both children and adults. Many Julebrus drinkers have their favourite version from their favourite breweries.

Julebrus might have a sparkly red color, inspired by strawberry and raspberry, or a pale-brown color, similar to beer, depending on brewery and brand.

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Julmust (Swedish jul "Christmas" and must "juice") is a soft drink that is mainly consumed in Sweden around Christmas. During the rest of the year it is usually hard to find in stores, but sometimes it is sold at other times of the year under the name must. At Easter the name is påskmust (påsk "Easter"). The content is the same regardless of the marketing name, although the length of time it is stored before bottling differs; however, the beverage is more closely associated with Christmas, somewhat less with Easter and traditionally not at all with the summer. 45 million litres of julmust are consumed during December (to be compared with roughly 9 million Swedes), which is around 50% of the total soft drink volume in December and 75% of the total yearly must sales.

Must was created by Harry Roberts and his father Robert Roberts in 1910 as a non-alcoholic alternative to beer. The syrup is still made exclusively by Roberts AB in Örebro. The original recipe is said to be locked up in a safe with only two persons knowing the full recipe.

Must is made of carbonated water, sugar, hop extract, malt extract, spices, caramel colouring, citric acid, and preservatives. The hops and malt extracts give the must a somewhat root beer-like taste, but much sweeter. It can be aged provided it is stored in a glass bottle. Some people buy Julmust in December only to store it a year before drinking it.

Any Norwegians or Swedes on the forum who like to share their memories or comments on these Christmas sodas are very welcome to post these on my blog, mail them to me or post them as a comment to this post - Ted

 

[John in Covina]

Some spices give me a hard time. I hadn't heard of Christmas sodas before.

 

[Flicka]

Oh, must! We have a few bottles of julmust in the house right now. It tastes rather like a sweet soda version of stout or porter. I never had root beer so can't comment on the similarities. I didn't care for it as a kid, but now I like it fine.

I heard that Coca Cola desperately tried to get us to drink Coke at Christmas but finally gave up and just bought a must brand instead.

 

[Isis]

Oh, must! We have a few bottles of julmust in the house right now. It tastes rather like a sweet soda version of stout or porter. I never had root beer so can't comment on the similarities. I didn't care for it as a kid, but now I like it fine.

I heard that Coca Cola desperately tried to get us to drink Coke at Christmas but finally gave up and just bought a must brand instead.

LOL, Flicka- I loved must as a kid, but can't stand it now. I don't think it taste like root beer at all- root beer to me taste like toothpaste...

My son love must and have amused himself with saying (in English) "I must have must for Chirstmas" since early December.