My mom just brought me a bottle of Julmust from the World Market in Chattanooga because she knows I like trying new beverages, and it’s . . . interesting. Neither of us had ever heard of it, so when I opened it, I was pretty surprised the smell, which was reminiscent of flat beer. I took a cautionary sip, and it tasted like what I imagine watered down O’Doull’s tastes like, so I had to google the name to figure out just what the hell I was drinking.
According to wikipedia, it’s a Swedish soda invented in 1910 by a father and son as a non-alcoholic alternative to beer, and is made of carbonated water, sugar, hop extract, and malt extract, amongst other things. It’s so popular there, that it outsells Coca-Cola during the month of December, and sales of Coke products drop by over 50% during that time, which mystifies me. I don’t like egg nog either, though, so maybe I just have an aversion to Christmas beverages.
Is anyone else familiar with it? Priceguy? Is it really that popular there? Do you like it?
Must isn’t just for Christmas, I’ve seen it in the supermarkets over there almost all the time. I don’t think it’s specifically Swedish, either, as I remember seeing grape must in Turkey fairly often. I’d have to sample it again but I suspect it’s similar to Russian kvas as well.
I’m referring specifically to julmust, which wiki says means “Yule Must”. I’m also looking at the label on the bottle in front of me and it says “Christmas Soda” in English above the product name, and below a large painting of Santa.
If plain ol’ must is the same or similar as this stuff, then by all means discuss it as well. I’m curious about the opinions on it.
Sounds a lot like Malta, which you can find in many Latin-American stores around here. It tastes nothing like must, which is not carbonated (at least none of the versions I’ve had were). The kvass I’ve had (sold from street-side vendors in Moscow), also don’t taste anything like either of these two drinks, being fermented from rye and very mildly (1% or so) alcoholic. Kvass has a lactic sourness to it.
Julmust is liquid crack for me. During the winter months me and my fellow countrymen consume alot of it.
Coca-cola has extensive ad campaigns to make Cola the christmas beverage but they havent succeded yet. They have however launched their own version, Bjäre julmust.
There is a rumour that all the breweries buy the essential ingredients from one source, perhaps the descendants from the inventor.
Påskmust (Easter Must) is also popular but not so much as julmust. I hadn
t heard of the Sommarmust the wikipedia article wrote about.
They have in fact succeeded so badly that it was only a few years ago that I even realized that Coca-Cola had Christmasy connotations elsewhere in the world. Not too many people here think of Coca-Cola as a Christmas thing.
It’s popular, yes, a Christmas tradition. Maybe you can get it off-season, but I don’t think I’ve ever come across it. I’m not partial to carbonated sugar-water myself but I don’t dislike julmust any more than I dislike Coke or Pepsi. Haven’t had either in quite some time but I think I used to prefer julmust.
Julmust is extremely popular in Sweden during Christmas, but of course it is mainly for children, while grownups usually prefer julöl, or “christmas beer” (if they drink beer at all, of course). Also note that not all julmust taste the same, anymore than all cola flavoured sodas taste the same, or all lagers, or whatever. Some are better than others.