Ölbeat 199: AleSmith IPA

Brewery: AleSmith Brewing Company
Country: United States
Style: India Pale Ale
Abv: 7,2 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is cloudy golden orange with a finger-thick white head. Aroma has grapefruit, orange and tropical fruits. Taste bites first with fresh fruity bitterness. Strong grapefruit bitterness takes over with some sweet orange and mango juice lingering in the background. Towards the end gentle pine gets in the bitterness. Aftertaste has grapefruit bitterness and lasting smooth piny dryness.

Legendary India Pale Ale. Rich, fresh, bitter and especially fruity. No overtones, just pure and smooth enjoyment. Incredible brew.

Ölbeat

Once again it's time for a rock ballad to the West Coast state. The song is actually about the dark side of the American culture industry, to which the Californian breweries don't belong in my opinion. Still the mood, especially the guitar playing of John Frusciante, matches with the great IPA.

Red Hot Chili Peppers: Californication (YouTube)

From the 1999 album Californication, the song was written by Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Ölbeat 198: Evil Twin Lil' B

Brewery: Evil Twin Brewing
Country: United States
Style: Imperial Porter
Abv: 11,5 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a small beige head. Aroma has charred roast, black coffee and dark chocolate. Taste begins with sharply bitter dark chocolate and coffee. Strongly bitter and semisweet roast, chocolate and coffee take over. Towards the end burned roast and espresso bitterness with dark chocolate get through. Aftertaste has dry cocoa, bitter dark mocca chocolate and alcohol warmth.

Superb and delicious Imperial Porter. Powerful and bitter mix of roast, chocolate and coffee. My second beautiful Impy from the brother from the dark side. Waiting to get my hands on the next one.

Ölbeat

Hip hop? Nope.We'll leave the loose trouser stuff out, since this brew is far more raw power than any rhiming clown could ever show. True domination of strong flavours.

Pantera: Domination (YouTube)

From the 1990 album Cowboys from Hell, the song was written by Pantera.

Ölbeat 197: Evil Twin I Love You With My Stout

Brewery: Evil Twin Brewing
Country: United States
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 12 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a small tan head. Aroma has sweet chocolate, alcohol, coffee and roast. Taste begins with biting bitter salty liquorice. Bitter dark chocolate and roasted salty liquorice take powerfully over with a hint of coffee on the side. Towards the end dark chocolate gets extra-strong in all aspects: bitterness, cocoa and saltiness. Aftertaste has roasted dryness, strong bitterness and alcohol warmth and lasts long

If the Evil Twin Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø really thinks that this beer is a metaphor for freedom, then freedom is unleashed power and aggressive overwhelming show of strength. And if it is, I don't oppose. If I should take the brew as a declaration of love, then I would expect something wild, violent and unexpectable. As a beer, this is extreme and superb.

Ölbeat

Smooth but rough. Since the brew jumped straight among the ones on the top of my list, it gets joined by a long-time favourite song and an alternative one. First it's the bearded dudes and the favourite.

ZZ Top: Rough Boy (YouTube)

From the 1985 album Afterburner, the song was written by Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard.

Alternative Ölbeat

Then we get to the declaration part. I would never offer this brew to anyone as a declaration of love, unless... See, that was your dirty imagination working there. No. Never.

Public Image Ltd.: This Is Not a Love Song (YouTube)

From the 1984 album This Is What You Want... This Is What You Get, the song was written by John Lydon, Keith Levene and Martin Atkins.

Ölbeat 196: Nøgne Ø Rød Jul

Brewery: Nøgne Ø
Country: Norway 
Style: Imperial IPA
Abv: 8 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is murky brown with a 3-finger thick natural white head and some flakes. Aroma has grapefruit, orange, peach and spices. Taste begins with bitter and sweet fruits. Bitter grapefruit and caramel malts take over with a hint of sweet spices. Towards the end sweet orange and mango with gentle pine join the flavours. Aftertaste has fruity bitterness, malty dryness and a soft touch of pine.

Tasty and rich spiced Double IPA. Packed with bitter citrus flavours, kept in balance by strong malty body, gently spiced with pine. Excellent especially for a seasonal brew.

Ölbeat

Who said Christmas is over? Just a little over a month from the season, and everyone's nagging about how this should've been posted a month ago. Well, life sucks and then you die. We probably shouldn't celebrate Christmas either.

Hardcore Superstar: We Don't Celebrate Sundays (YouTube)

From the 2005 album Hardcore Superstar, the song was written by Hardcore Superstar.

Ölbeat 195: Buxton Extra Porter

Brewery: Buxton Brewery
Country: England
Style: Porter
Abv: 7,4 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a small vanishing beige head. Aroma has sweet milk chocolate and fresh black coffee, a deliciously seducing scent. Taste starts wiht dark chocolate and bitter coffee bite. Bittersweet pure-cocoa chocolate and fresh dark-roasted coffee with sweet spices come on strong. Towards the end roasted malts, vanilla and warming booze join the flavours. Aftertaste has sweet chocolate, bitter cocoa liquor and lasting black coffee.

Boom! Excellent Porter with cocoa and coffee beans really showing the magic. Delicious chocolate and coffee get joined with spicy, roasted and boozy flavours. Beautifully multisided brew from Buxton who have already presented great skills with thick black beers earlier on.

Ölbeat

There's certainly some magic and some royalty in this brew. Don't know if the magic is black or if it's the queen of gypsies that's present but Carlos Santana's guitar leads the way and Gregg Rolie's vocals dance along. Great music to match a superb beer.

Santana: Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen (YouTube)

From the 1970 album Abraxas, the song was written by Peter Green (Black Magic Woman) and Gábor Szabó (Gypsy Queen).

Ölbeat 194: Linden American Pale Ale

Brewery: Linden Brewery (in Finnish)
Country: Finland
Style: American Pale Ale
Abv: 4,7 % 
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What about the beer?

Colour is straw yellow with a large white head. Aroma has grapefruit, orange, grass and yeast. Taste starts with spiking citrus bite. Sour-bitter lemon-grapefruit juice takes over with gentle pine and a tiny slice of sweet orange. Dry fruity and piny bitterness come out strongest near the finish. Aftertaste has piny dryness with citrus bitter side tones.

Tasty American Pale Ale. Citrus aromas and flavours come out many sided and lead the brew's way. Excellent first contact with this new brewery from Rauma.

Ölbeat

Well, what's more American than some hard rock from the 80's? Tried to listen to some "hits" from Mötley Crüe, but no, not that side of American glam rock. Then I thought that since this was one of the first commercial brews of the brewery, there's some wild and young in the beer.

Skid Row: Youth Gone Wild (YouTube)

From the 1989 album Skid Row, the song was written by Rachel Bolan and Dave Sabo.

Ölbeat 193: Founders Breakfast Stout

Brewery: Founders Brewing Company
Country: United States
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 8,3 % 
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a small tan head. Aroma has sweet chocolate, coffee and alcohol. Taste begins with sharply bitter cocoa bite. Bittersweet cocoa and chocolate take over with espresso and roast flavours. Towards the end the taste stays bitter but gets sweeter chocolate tones. Aftertaste has dark chocolate and sweet bitterness.

Amazingly delicious Imperial Stout. Chocolate layers melt in the mouth, and the growing bitterness tickles the tongue. Coffee and roast have small but meaningful side roles here. The trusted brewery just seem to be incapable to fail.

Ölbeat

This imp surely is no Wake Up Little Susie brew. It takes a heavier grip to reach the weight of this "Good Morning" coffee. Some bells, some violence, some guitar and drums. 

Metallica: For Whom the Bell Tolls (YouTube)

From the 1984 album Ride the Lightning, the song was written by James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Cliff Burton.

Ölbeat 192: Spencer Trappist Ale

Brewery: Spencer Brewery
Country: United States
Style: Belgian Ale
Abv: 6,5 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is cloudy golden orange with a small white head. Aroma has yeast, sour apple, lemon and banana. Taste starts with yeasty sour lemon and ripe banana. Bananaish wheat malts and sweet-sour citrus take over with strong carbonation. Towards the end gentle fruity bitterness joins the flavours. Aftertaste has apple sourness and malty dryness with a sweet fruity side tone.

Great Belgian ale from the American monks. Sour, sweet and bitter, fruity and malty flavours are all smoothly present. The aftertaste is something superbly special.

Ölbeat

Some peaceful soul ordered for this smooth brew. Well, there's only one Otis Redding. Sadly, this one was among the last recordings from him. But it's an ultimate salute for just wasting time and watching around - just stopping for a while. 

Otis Redding: (Sittin' on) The Dock of the Bay (YouTube)

From the 1968 album The Dock of the Bay, the song was written by Otis Redding and Steve Cropper.

Ölbeat 191: Prykmestar Talvibock

Brewery: Vakka-Suomen Panimo (in Finnish)
Country: Finland
Style: Doppelbock
Abv: 9,2 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is nut dark brown with a small tan head. Aroma has sweet caramel, dark fruits and malts. Taste starts with sweet malts and fruits. Caramel malts and sweet dark fruits take over with raisins and berries. Towards the end sweet fruits and berries get on top with some alcohol bitterness. Aftertaste has fruity sweet bitterness and some warming alcohol.

Sweet and delicious Doppelbock for warming up the cold winter nights. Malt and fruit flavours join to make a tasty treat. Vakka-Suomen Panimo seems to be the right Finnish brewery for German-style beers.

Ölbeat

If the was any consistency in the beer and music pairings, the right kind of choice would be a sweet soul or an spicy r'n'b song. Nah, consistency is boring. The brew is not, and neither is Rammstein.

Rammstein: Ich Will (YouTube)

From the 2001 album Mutter, the song was written by Rammstein.

Ölbeat 190: Sori Brewing Vanilla Cake Fever

Brewery: Sori Brewing
Country: Estonia
Style: Baltic Porter
Abv: 9,9 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a finger-thick vanishing beige head. Aroma has charred malts, espresso, spices and dark chocolate. Taste begins with sweet vanilla-spiced chocolate. Sweet roasted chocolate malts with spicy bitterness and vanillaish black coffee takes over. Towards the end chocolate, vanilla and alcohol come through. Aftertaste has roasted dryness, spicy dark chocolate and alcohol bitterness.

Black, sweet and tasty. Great Imperial Baltic Porter with lots of chocolate and vanilla. Roast, coffee and booze flavours are there too. Excellent dessert brew.

Ölbeat

This was a choice between vanilla, cake and fever. Since Vanilla Ice and Milli Vanilli are meant for other blogs than this, and Peggy Lee's or Madonna's Fever just isn't there, we're left with the cake. Since it's always nice to watch middle-aging men running around the stage on the music video, I chose this classic. What? It ain't a Benassi or Prydz video, is it?

Van Halen: Poundcake (YouTube)

From the 1991 album For Unawful Carnal Knowledge, the song was written by Eddie Van Halen, Michael Anthony, Sammy Hagar and Alex Van Halen.

Ölbeat 189: BrewDog Hardcore IPA

Brewery: BrewDog  
Country: Scotland
Style: Imperial IPA
Abv: 9,2 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is bright dark orange with a small white head. Aroma has orange, mango and pineapple. Taste starts with strong fruity bitterness. Fresh bitter grapefruit with a slice of orange and mango takes over. Towards the end sweet citrus and gentle pine come through. Aftertaste has bittersweet citrus and gently piny dryness.

Amazing fruity Imperial IPA. Bitterness strikes in the start, but then it's all fruit explosion. Soft touch of pine in the end smoothens the experience to the finish. I'm rather pissed that the commercialized punks are retiring this one from their 2017 selection.

Ölbeat

Of course it's rock, no question about it. A personal message to the brewery on quitting this superb DIPA is written in two lines of the lyrics of this song:

• Now you're messin' with a son of a bitch
• Time's come to pay your dues

Nazareth: Hair of the Dog (YouTube)

From the 1975 album Hair of the Dog, the song was written by Manny Charlton, Dan McCafferty, Pete Agnew and Darrell Sweet.

Skitbit Jan 2017: Ruosniemen Koodari

Brewery: Ruosniemen Panimo
Country: Finland
Style: Premium Lager
Abv: 5,7 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is hazy golden orange with a large white head. Aroma has grapefruit, lemon, malts and some herbs. Taste begins with strongly harsh herbal bitterness. Piny but unclean bitter citrus flavours take over with an earthy sidetone. Towards the end the soily flavours get stronger. Aftertaste has harsh bitterness and some bad vegetable flavours.

Damn. This shouldn't have happened: the first brew from a local favourite brewery that goes awfully wrong. A bad bottle, perhaps? Somehow I'm glad that the miss came with a style I don't so much care about.

Ölbeat

The commercial description of Koodari (Coder) begins with the words: "Coder closes out the distractions with big headphones." Utter crap. I can imagine the original lyrics of this song going: "I'm serious as a necromancer when I say / Coder is a f***ing cancer." But that wouldn't have been a 90's eurodance hit but rather a protest song by Slipknot.  

Snap!: Rhythm Is a Dancer (YouTube)

From the 1992 album The Madman's Return, the song was written by Benito Benites, John Garrett III and Thea Austin.

Ölbeat 188: Victory Storm King Imperial Stout

Brewery: Victory Brewing 
Country: United States
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 9,1 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a small vanishing beige head. Aroma has salty liquorice, charred malts and spices. Taste begins with strongly bitter roast. Sharply bitter charred malts with sour and fruity salty liquorice take over. Towards the end gently sweet and heavily bitter-sour burned liquorice gets on top. Aftertaste has strong citrus bitterness and heavily roasted dryness.

Sharply biting extreme flavour Imperial Stout. Comes on almost too strong at first but the power of storm grows on the drinker. Great and delicious brew.

Ölbeat

Storm Kings aren't hip, mingling-oriented social people. They are lone wrathful gods. Heavy, strong and far from brainwashed Facebook nation. Well, taste the brew and you'll quit meaningless networking.

Godsmack: I Stand Alone (YouTube)

From the 2003 album Faceless, the song was written by Sully Erna.

Ölbeat 187: Malmgård Barley Wine

Brewery: Malmgård
Country: Finland
Style: Barley Wine
Abv: 10,4 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is dark reddish brown with a small tan head. Aroma has a strong malty scent, sweet dark fruits and some hops. Taste starts with strongly malty bitterness. Sweet caramel malts and bitter dark fruits take over. Near the finish bitter and slightly piny dryness gets on top with alcohol warmth. Aftertaste has lasting piny bitter dryness and a spike of alcohol.

Tasty Barley Wine with nasty attitude. Strength rolls over, unhidden and unleashed malty power fills the mouth. Supported by sweet fruits, biting bitterness and beautiful long dryness it makes this an unforgettable brew.

Ölbeat

For some reason I decided that this requires a great Nightwish song. Despite most of the songs have a female vocalist - Tarja, Anette or Floor - , my favourite tracks have vocals of the band's bassist Marco Hietala. One the favourites to match a great Finnish brew. Powerful ballad from the edge of the world.

Nightwish: The Islander (YouTube)

From the 2007 album Dark Passion Play, the song was written by Marco Hietala and Tuomas Holopainen.

Ölbeat 186: Amager Hr. Frederiksen

Brewery: Amager
Country: Denmark
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 10,5 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a finger-thick beige head. Aroma has heavily roasted malts, strong black coffee and bitter alcohol. Taste starts with strong and bitter charcoal roast. Heavily roasted malts and bitter espresso take over with cocoa hints. Towards the end bitter black coffee and dark chocolate get strongest. Aftertaste has dry bitter roast, dark chocolate, coffee and alcohol warmth (and it lasts pleasantly long).

Unbelievably untamed and powerful Imperial Stout. Roast, coffee and dark chocolate all attack with full throttle as does the bitterness. Extreme beer in the word's best and most fabulous meaning. Amager shows once again world class skill in brewing.

Ölbeat

Don't know Mr./Hr. Frederiksen personally, so I don't know if he is an asshole, a liar, a cheater or a fool. But at least the brew named after him hits you hard, as does this Danish rockabilly metal. (And no, I still don't know what it is with Danish beers and Volbeat.) 

Volbeat: Still Counting (YouTube)

From the 2008 album Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood, the song was written by Michael Poulsen, Anders Kjølholm, Jon Larsen and Thomas Bredahl.

Ölbeat 185: Thornbridge Jaipur

Brewery: Thornbridge Brewery
Country: England
Style: India Pale Ale
Abv: 5,9 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is bright light yellow with a finger-thick white head. Aroma has lemon, malty sourness and some grass. Taste starts with spiking sour-tart lemon. Dry sour-bitter lemon-grapefruit juice takes over. Towards the end bitter malts and hayish dryness come through. Aftertaste has malty dry bitterness and lemon sourness.

Really strong-flavoured citrus-filled India Pale Ale with steady and solid malt base, especially considering the abv. Sourness on top, bitter and malty flavours follow. Despite the intense sour-bitterness this goes down the throat pretty easy.

Ölbeat

Since the brew's name is taken from a city in India where the owners of Thornbridge Hall were married, we'll let it show in the selected song. Of course, the IPA style cries for rock, so this time it's raga rock.

Aerosmith: Taste of India (YouTube)

From the 1997 album Nine Lives, the song was written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry and Glen Ballard.

Ölbeat 184: Maku Imperial Stout

Brewery: Maku Brewing
Country: Finland
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 8,5 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a finger-thick beige head. Aroma has mild charcoal, coffee and dark fruits. Taste begins with dry and bitter roast. Charcoaly malts and bitter espresso come in front in the taste. Near the finish dry and roasted bitterness overpowers the other flavours. Aftertaste has roasty dryness and gentle bitterness.

Good and easy Imperial Stout. Roast, bitterness and coffee are all there, without aggressiveness or overpowering flavours. But. Nice and simple doesn't fit the Impy. Nothing is wrong, but something is missing. Still, nice to see that Maku stepped out from the pale ale closet.

Ölbeat

Calm and peaceful black brew can be paired with same kind of heavy metal or heavy rock. Since Maku has brewed couple of band brand beers for Amorphis (1st & 2nd), a song from the band is a natural choice here. In the end, the song was rather easy to pick.

Amorphis: Silent Waters (YouTube)

From the 2007 album Silent Waters, the song was written by Santeri Kallio and Pekka Kainulainen.

Ölbeat 183: Buxton Axe Edge

Brewery: Buxton Brewery
Country: England
Style: India Pale Ale
Abv: 6,8 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is fuzzy golden orange with a medium-sized white head. Aroma has grapefruit, orange and tropical fruits. Taste lifts off with biting fruity bitterness. Freshly bitter and piny grapefruit takes over with sweet orange in the background. Towards the end strong pine and citrus peel flavours come in front. Aftertaste has peel bitterness and piny dryness.

Fruity, fresh and delicious India Pale Ale. Grapefruit and pine dominate the flavour strongly but smoothly. Sweet orange and bitter peel give some extra fruit and twist. Excellent brew from Buxton, once again.

Ölbeat

As a superfresh IPA, the beer demands a rock song. The name demands a war-related song... Well, since we're in Finland, someone could consider a song where the drunk head-of-the-family takes his axe and drives the rest of the family outside to the cold snow. ("Perr-kele!!") But since those songs are only made in Finland and for certain Finnish beers, we'll stick to the war theme. Even though there are only muskets and horses - no axes - mentioned in the song lyrics. Damn the details, just listen to Bruce and the boys! 

Iron Maiden: The Trooper (YouTube)

From the 1983 album Piece of Mind, the song was written by Steve Harris.

Ölbeat 182: Traquair 50th Anniversary Ale

Brewery: Traquair House
Country: Scotland
Style: Old Ale
Abv: 9 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is nut brown with a small tan head. Aroma has sweet berries, caramel malts, dark fruits and sweet spice. Taste starts with strong and sweet wooden bitterness. Oaky and spicy caramel malts take over with dark fruits and sweet berries. Towards the end caramel and fruits get gently bitter and on top. Aftertaste has sweet malts, bitter fruits and dry alcohol.

Rich and delicious like a superb Old Ale can be. Caramel malts, oak, fruit and berry flavours with bitter and boozy finish make this one a really great experience. Truly a brew for celebrating a half century of brewing excellent beer.

Ölbeat

Since Traquair House Brewery has specialized in old ales and has been around for 50 years, one might think that the brewery has become old and dusty. The anniversary ale shows that the beers are doing great. Matching song from a Scottish band is here.

Simple Minds: Alive and Kicking (YouTube)

From the 1985 album Once Upon a Time, the song was written by Jim Kerr, Charlie Burchill and Mick MacNeil.

Ölbeat 181: Stone (Berlin) Arrogant Bastard Ale

Brewery: Stone Brewing Berlin
Country: Germany (United States)
Style: American Strong Ale
Abv: 7,2 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is mahogany reddish brown with a large fluffy natural white head. Aroma has caramel malts, sweet citrus fruits and berries. Taste starts with sweet malty bitterness. Bitter citrus-pine liquid with caramel malts dominates. Herbal pine and bitter grapefruit grow towards the end. Aftertaste has piny dryness, citrus bitterness and warming alcohol.

Arrogant. Bastard. Yep, that's me alright. And I'm worthy. Aggressive showdown of nut-kicking strong malty base and face-slapping pine-grapefruit bitterness. Groovy. Love every drop.

Ölbeat

Finding a song to match the brew was hard. To be honest, it was actually very easy, since this was the obvious first choice. It was finding an option with an equal amount of bastardish arrogance in the song's name that was hard and in the end impossible. The mood of the song seems to have the same kind of neglecting aggressiveness as the beer does.

Green Day: American Idiot (YouTube)

From the 2004 album American Idiot, the song was written by Green Day.

Ölbeat 180: Stone (Berlin) Ruination Double IPA 2.0

Brewery: Stone Brewing Berlin
Country: Germany (United States)
Style: Imperial IPA
Abv: 8,5 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is light yellow-orange with a medium-sized white head. Aroma has pineapple, mango and hops. Taste begins with sharp fruity piny bitterness. Bitter piny grapefruit dominates with sweet fruit flavours in the background. Towards the end the pine comes in front with a bite of alcohol. Aftertaste has grapefruit bitterness, piny dryness and alcohol warmth.

Thoroughly piny, bitter and fruity Double IPA. Fresh and strong flavours. Powerful stuff, heavy experience, magnificent beer. Got to get this some other time - or many other times.

Ölbeat

Had to pick some rock with defiance and rebellion, that's the brew is about. How convenient, there was this song with some affiliation to the brew's name. By the way, the song's name seems to have foretold the story of it's music video, too. Of course it shows the whole meaningfulness of making expensive music videos. 

Faith No More: Everything's Ruined (YouTube)

From the 1992 album Angel Dust, the song was written by Roddy Bottum, Billy Gould and Mike Patton.

Ölbeat 179: Great Divide Hibernation Ale

Brewery: Great Divide Brewery
Country: United States
Style: Old Ale
Abv: 8,7 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is reddish dark brown with a small diminishing tan head. Aroma has sweet caramel malts, alcohol, cherries and coffee. Taste begins with heavily bitter wooden bite. Sweet and bitter, strongly oaky malts take over with hints of alcohol, spices and dark fruits. Towards the end bitter fruity alcohol comes out with piny and spicy flavours. Aftertaste has oaky-piny dryness and alcohol bitterness.

Strong oaky and spicy Old Ale. Alcoholic bitterness, fruit flavours, caramel malts - excellent stuff from an excellent brewery.

Ölbeat

In addition to hibernation and cold climate, winter is a season of snow in the Northern Hemisphere. Reflection of light from snow can cause a state of snowblindness. This song has actually nothing to do with actual snowblindness, but rather an ode to cocaine from a completely addicted band. Still, the heavyweight song matches the mood of a strong ale nicely.

Black Sabbath: Snowblind (YouTube)

From the 1972 album Vol. 4, the song was written by Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne and Bill Ward.

Ölbeat 178: Hornbeer The Fundamental Blackhorn

Brewery: Hornbeer 
Country: Denmark
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 10 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a tiny beige crown. Aroma has roasted malts, dark chocolate and liquorice. Taste starts with powerful roast and sharp biting bitterness. Charred-roasted malts and heavily bitter thick coffee take over with some dark chocolate and liquorice side tones. Near the finish roasted and slightly sweet bitterness becomes the leading flavour. Aftertaste has lasting strong roast and burned dry bitterness.

Powerful, strong-flavoured Imperial stout. Pure and clean heavy roast shows the power of malts. Continuously strong biting bitterness shows the strength of hops. This is something amazingly unusual and great.

Ölbeat

If we should cure a beer lover from an Imperial Stout allergy, this would either do the trick or kill the patient. That's exactly why this song with a somewhat dark message fits with the beer well.

Seether: Remedy (YouTube)

From the 2005 album Karma and Effect, the song was written by Shaun Morgan.

Ölbeat 177: 't Ij Struis

Brewery: Brouwerij t' Ij
Country: Netherlands
Style: Barley Wine
Abv: 9 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is dark reddish brown with a small tan head. Aroma has dark fruits, raisins and honeyed malts. Taste starts with sweet malty and fruity bite. Silky caramel malts and sweet fruity bitterness dominate. Towards the end smooth vanilla-flavoured chocolate-toffee liquor and bittersweet dark fruits get mixed to the taste. Aftertaste has lasting bittersweet fruits and caramel alcohol with growing dryness.

Absolutely magnificent fruity and malty Barley Wine. Caramel-chocolate malt layers meet dark fruits and boozy flavours. Beautiful aftertaste seems to last forever. This has to be tasted again.

Ölbeat

Dutch word 'struis' means an ostrich which is the logo bird of the brewery. Could Struis be the flagship beer of the brewery or why the name? Don't know so we'll have to stick to the mysterious bird theme when selecting the song. Nothing in the song tells me why it's named Birdy. Despite their names the beer tastes great and the song sounds fine, so that's a match.   

22-Pistepirkko: Birdy (YouTube)

From the 1992 album Big Lupu, the song was written by P-K Keränen and Asko Keränen.

Ölbeat 176: Aecht Schlenkerla Urbock

Brewery: Brauerei Heller
Country: Germany
Style: Smoked Bock 
Abv: 6,5 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is very dark brown with a small tan head. Aroma has peaty smoke and smoked malts. Taste starts with sharp smoked-roasted bitterness. Sweet smoked caramel malts with bitter dark fruits on the side take over. Growing roast and bitterness strike near the finish. Aftertaste lasts long and has roasted malty bitterness and gently smoked dryness.

Really special smoked brew from Bamberg. Luring smoky aroma incarnates in the taste: strong smoke in the start rounds up a bit to give room to sweet malts and bitter hops. Lasting aftertaste crowns the experience. Heavy and delicious beer.

Ölbeat

A traditional classic brew must be joined by a golden classic. Remembering that the theme of the brew is smoke in a very luring way. Don't know if my heart caught fire wtih the brew, but it surely was damn close.  

The Platters: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (YouTube)

From the 1959 album Remember When?, the song was written by Otto Harbach and Jerome Kern.

Ölbeat 175: Rekolan Panimo Paavin Polku

Brewery: Rekolan Panimo
Country: Finland
Style: Abbey Tripel
Abv: 9 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is thick copper orange with a small white head. Aroma has sweet ripe and dried fruits, yeast and spices. Taste begins with yeasty and spicy sweet fruits. Spicy sweet apple and grape juice takes over with funky yeast. Near the finish sweet bitterness and citrus sourness get released. Aftertaste has lasting dry sourness and fruity bitterness.

Truly delicious Belgian style brew. Fruits, spices and yeast in perfect pitch. Strength comes out in the depth of flavour. Couldn't expect much more even from a genuine Belgian.

Ölbeat

When the beer is called Paavin Polku, "Pope's Path" in English, Ölmönger is very tempted to play with it. If we want to connect the beer style funk to the song and add a little something from the brew's name, then David Byrne with his new wave friends has got just the right tune for us.

Talking Heads: Road to Nowhere (YouTube)

From the 1985 album Little Creatures, the song was written by David Byrne.

Dark Humor Ölbeat

In the case of a surprisingly nice brew, it's ok to pair two songs with an Ölbeat. In this case, the beer is great and the name gives us the chance to show the darker side of us - and the beer, of course. Some food for thought, s'il vous plaît. Peace.

Slayer: New Faith (YouTube)

From the 2001 album God Hates Us All, the song was written by Kerry King.

Ölbeat 174: Stone (Berlin) Cali-Belgique IPA

Brewery: Stone Brewing Berlin
Country: Germany (United States)
Style: India Pale Ale
Abv: 6,9 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is bright golden orange with a large white head. Aroma has yeast, lemon and tropical fruits. Taste begins with yeasty fruity bitterness. Piny bitter fresh grapefruit dominates with strong yeast flavour and slightly malty flavour. Near the finish bitter citrus and dry pine are joined by sweet orange. Aftertaste has citrus bitterness and yeasty dryness.

Excellent quality West Coast IPA with yeasty Belgian twist. Bitter pine and citrus fruits meet funk, malts playing the bass. Easy, fruity, funky, tasty.

Ölbeat

Funk, right? Metal, ok? That's funk metal. We'll pick some RATM here. Hate it or just dislike it, but there's something uniquely striking in Zach de la Rocha's vocal and rap style. The funk takes the Belgique part of the brew, by the way.

Rage Against the Machine: Renegades of Funk (YouTube)

From the 2000 album Renegades, the song was written by Afrika Bambaataa, Arthur Baker, John Miller and John Robie

Ölbeat 173: Stone (Berlin) Go To IPA

Brewery: Stone Brewing Berlin
Country: Germany (United States)
Style: Session IPA
Abv: 4,7 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is cloudy golden yellow with a 2-finger thick white head. Aroma has superfresh grapefruit, orange and mango. Taste lifts off with extra powerful dry fruity bitterness. Bitter grapefruit takes over with slowly growing pine flavour. Near the finish dry strong pine gets mixed with citrus and sweet fruity flavours. Aftertaste has bitter grapefruit with tropical fruit tones and strong lasting dryness.

The King of session IPAs is here. Unbelievably strong and fresh grapefruit is beautifully crashed with piny dry and a bitter kick. The fruity aroma and flavours fit perfectly together. Great. Delicious.

Ölbeat

"And all the guys say / it's pretty fly for a session IPA" No, no, it didn't go like that. Except it does. Session IPA, as good as it gets, is still a low abv beer. You just can't hit the skies with that. However, this one truly earns some pretty fly respect.

The Offspring: Pretty Fly (for a White Guy) (YouTube)

From the 1998 album Americana, the song was written by Dexter Holland.

Ölbeat 172: Mallaskosken Black Imperial Rye

Brewery: Mallaskosken Panimo
Country: Finland
Style: Specialty Grain
Abv: 11,4 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a small cream white head. Aroma has berries, dark fruits and sweet malts. Taste begins with thick and sweet caramel malts. Sweet caramel malts and rich dark fruits with slight bitterness and bite of alcohol take over. Towards the end deep fruity and warming alcohol flavours get on top. Aftertaste has malty fruits, sweet bitterness and alcohol warmth.

Strong and rich-flavoured dark Rye Wine. Thick malty liquid is filled with taste of fruits and caramel, which makes a complex and rich beer. Superb brew from Seinäjoki.

Ölbeat

Beautifully rich dark beer needs to be accompanied with a melodic dark-toned music. Well, band fronted by guitar wizard Timo Tolkki and high pitch vocalist Timo Kotipelto seem to have just right song for the occasion.

Stratovarius: Black Diamond (YouTube)

From the 1997 album Visions, the song was written by Timo Tolkki and Timo Kotipelto.

Ölbeat 171: Lagunitas IPA

Brewery: Lagunitas Brewing Company 
Country: United States
Style: India Pale Ale
Abv: 6,2 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is clear straw yellow with a large white head. Aroma has fresh grapefruit, orange and pineapple. Taste begins with sweet fruity and slightly bitter bite. Fresh grapefruit bitterness with growing sweet orange flavour takes over. Near the finish gently piny dryness is added. Aftertaste has stronger piny dryness and bitter grapefruit.

Excellent. Delicious. Super fruity India Pale Ale. Bitter grapefruit and sweet orange with nicely growing pine. No wonder that this brew is considered as one of the West Coast IPA landmarks.

Ölbeat

So I chose this one instead of all the Californian style songs available. At least the band is from the same state with the brewery, but why pick a song titled Panama? Beats me but just did. But I wasn't going to San Francisco or Hotel California or even dreaming about the state.

Van Halen: Panama (YouTube)

From the 1984 album 1984, the song was written by Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen and David Lee Roth.

Ölbeat 170: Ôllenaut IMPI

Brewery: Õllenaut 
Country: Estonia
Style: Imperial Stout 
Abv: 10 % 
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What about the beer?
Colour is black with a small tan head. Aroma has alcohol, sweet roast, coffee and chocolate. Taste starts with strong bite of charcoal and alcohol bitterness. Heavily charred-roasted malts with bitter black coffee and dark chocolate take over. Towards the end roasted heavy bitterness and alcoholic malty flavours rise with salty liquorice. Aftertaste has long-lasting roasted alcoholic bitterness and dry black coffee.

Powerful and delicious American Imperial Stout. Strong flavours of roast, coffee, bitter hops and alcohol. Aggressive, complex and untamed. Excellent brew from Ôllenaut - not for easy beer loving nor faint-hearted people.

Ölbeat

Since it says American on the label and the flavour is powerful, aggressive and untamed, there certainly has to be some kind of insanity planted to the brew's taste, right? And when the sense of taste has been tricked to madness, next we'll mess with the sense of hearing. Of course, the American part is taken care of on the way.

Shinedown: Sound of Madness (YouTube)

From the 2008 album The Sound of Madness, the song was written by Brent Smith and Dave Bassett.

Ölbeat 169: Emelisse Black IPA

Brewery: Brouwerij Emelisse
Country: Netherlands
Style: India Black Ale
Abv: 8 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is dark brown to black with a large cream white head. Aroma has liquorice, pineapple and citrus fruits. Taste begins with sweet liquorice-grapefruit roasty bite. Roasted malts, sweet liquorice and bitter grapefruit take over. Towards the end roasty bitterness and sweet fruits come strongest through. Aftertaste has fruity bitterness and charred dryness.

Excellent, really savoury India Black Ale. Citrus, liquorice and roast find each other really nicely. Burned bittersweet harmony. Great brew from Emelisse. This makes 2 out of 2 for me - glad to have couple others stashed.

Ölbeat

This one called for good-time heavy rock. Positive type of fire, like the brew has. Well, Udo and the boys had something burning in the beginning of 80's, so we'll pick a German early heavy classic from them. 

Accept: Burning (YouTube)

From the 1981 album Breaker, the song was written by Accept.

Ölbeat 168: Bryggeri Supernova (4th edition)

Brewery: Bryggeri Helsinki
Country: Finland
Style: Imperial IPA
Abv: 7,8 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is clear orange with a small white head. Aroma has mango, orange and candy sweetness. Taste begins with sweet fruits and slight bitterness. Bitter grapefruit juice with a sweet orange twist takes over. Bitterness grows towards the end and is joined by alcohol bite and a bit herbal dry flavour. Aftertaste has bitter grapefruit and citrus-fruity dryness.

Double IPA that has everything in it's place. Fruits and bitterness have more kick than a standard IPA, also the alcohol and dryness are more easily noticed. Quality brew which stands out with a bit more strong and fruity aroma and flavour than the usual thing.

Ölbeat

For a change, I decided that it's time for an instrumental piece. The guitar master's freshest album gave just the right answer - some strong and skilled playing is present here. Powerful and aggressive like the brew. We'll probably visit his surprise box another time later.

Joe Satriani: Shockwave Supernova (YouTube)

From the 2015 album Shockwave Supernova, the song was written by Joe Satriani.

Ölbeat 167: The Flying Dutchman Strong Minded Brave Hearted Bold As Love India Pale Lager

Brewery: The Flying Dutchman Nomad Brewing Company
Country: Finland(brewed in Belgium)
Style: Pale Lager
Abv: 5,2 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is clear straw yellow with a large white head. Aroma has mostly malts, some hay and a slice of lemon. Taste starts with dry malty bitterness. Stiff bready malts and tart citrus bitterness take over with some yeast hints. Towards the end dry pine and heavy grapefruit bitterness get on top. Aftertaste has lasting grapefruit-bitter malty dryness.

This brew gives what it promises. Starts as a malt-driven lager and turns to a gently bitter IPA - the finish combines some fine sides of both styles. Not a big fan of pale lagers but this beer works.

Ölbeat

There are three options in the brew's label: "strong minded", "brave hearted" and "bold as love". The chosen song has the title of the last one, but it owns the first two qualities as well. The colours in the song have been thought to correspond emotions: angry purple, envious green, quiet blue, happy turquoise, confident red, daring orange and frightened yellow. "And all these emotions of mine keep holding me from / Giving my life to a rainbow like you" tells about the storyteller's fear to express emotions to other colour (and emotion) showing people. The song fits the brew's mood nicely, since there is more than one side in the beer, too. 

Jimi Hendrix: Bold as Love (Vimeo)

From the 1967 album Axis: Bold as Love, the song was written by Jimi Hendrix.

Ölbeat 166: Mikkeller Porter

Brewery: Mikkeller
Country: Denmark (brewed in Belgium)
Style: Porter
Abv: 7,4 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a bubbly large beige head. Aroma has roasted malts, sweet black coffee, vanilla and burned wood. Taste starts with charred malty bitterness. Sweet roasted malts and bitter espresso take over with spicy notes in the background. Towards the end roasted bitterness gets on top with some alcohol and dark fruits getting in, too. Aftertaste has charcoal dryness and roasted bitterness.

Excellent and uncompromised strong Porter. The charcoal roast is deeper than I've had recently. The dry and bitter flavours are perfectly untamed here. The master of beer recipes has yet again composed a masterpiece for the monkeys to play.

Ölbeat

The label art shows a cartoon man shaking a possibly empty bottle upside down. If the bottle really is empty, the dude has turned from a porter or a doorboy to a poor boy. Probably Willy and the rest of the band is somewhere near, too. Actually, haven't had CCR on the blog at all so it's about time. And who would be a better brewer than Mikkeller to have his beer combined with the swamp sound first? Well, probably any of the California breweries, but let's not stick to details too much... 

Creedence Clearwater Revival: Down on the Corner (YouTube)

From the 1969 album Willy and the Poor Boys, the song was written by John Fogerty.