[A friendly toast with sommelier Ulla Häkkinen before destroying her in a Beer Vs Wine food pairing showdown]

Here in Brooklyn our minds are presently bent towards Scandinavia, as Brewmaster Garrett Oliver has traversed the Atlantic to partake in an exciting collaborative effort that has sent 150 bourbon barrels from Heaven Hill Distillery to Sweden, along with the entire Brooklyn brewing team, to barrel the 175th Anniversary version of Carlsberg’s classic Carnegie Porter.

See the slideshow below for pictures of barreling and beer dinners (and stay tuned for updates):

On the other side of the beer spectrum, the brewers will also celebrate the launch of Brooklyn Summer Ale at Marie Laveau, a popular bar, restaurant, nightclub and concert venue in Stockholm. And the trip wouldn’t be complete without a beer and food pairing: at the flagship Brooklyn venue in Stockholm, AG (partly owned by celebrated Swedish chef Johan Jureskog) the Brooklyn team will assist the staff in guiding guests to select the best Brooklyn beers with their meals.

[Garrett conducts a tasting at Marie Laveau]

Post-barreling, the brewers will head back home, but Garrett pushes on for a soiree of tastings and dinners, sprinkled with bar and restaurant visits and interviews from top Scandinavian media outlets, including TV appearances on Norway’s TV2 and Sweden’s FST. In Finland, the main event is a Beer & Wine Dinner at Grotesk. Garrett and sommelier Ulla Häkkinen from Restaurant Pöllöwaari in Jyväskylä will face off in a Beer v. Wine battle in front of an audience of 50 people. Ms. Häkkinen may have been awarded twice as the Sommelier of the Year, but Garrett is armed with an astounding track record of illuminating diners on the pleasure of pairing beer with food. Place your bets now! On to Norway, highlights include Garrett being presented with beer from the top Norwegian Home Brewer, and conducting a Brewmaster’s Buffet beer and food pairing event at Ringnes Beer Centre.

[UPDATE 5/5 :: Check out photos HERE of Garrett at the Ringnes Centre entertaining brewers, bloggers and beer lovers.]

Enjoy the Skype video interview with Garrett below from Beer Sweden. We’ll be posting more photos and video as they come in, so check back often!