Ölbeat 232: Iso-Kallan Bière de Garde

Brewery: Iso-Kallan Panimo (in Finnish)
Country: Finland
Style: Bière de Garde
Abv: 7 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is bright copper red with a small diminishing white head. Aroma has sour fruits, sweet berries and some flowery scent. Taste begins with yeasty citrus bite. Sour and yeasty fruits take over with slightly sweet caramel malts. Towards the end nutty dry bitterness joins the flavours. Aftertaste has dry lemon sourness and bitter alcohol warmth.

Refreshing Saison/Farmhouse Ale like brew. Sour, yeasty and fruity start and dry, bitter and a bit boozy finish fit together nicely. The Kuopio brewery shows that Savonian people can also brew. In addition to being crooked in humorous self-hurting way and speaking an odd dialect.

This beer was part of Alko's Finnish microbrewery craftbeer selection in spring 2017.

Ölbeat

For one minute, I thought that France's representative in Eurovision song contest 2014 would have paired with the beer perfectly. But despite the greatness of the song - placed last in the final after a direct entry - I just couldn't fit moustache in the same picture with the brew. So because it's a nice trick from Savonians to brew a French-style beer, I picked a song sung in English by a French lady. No logic? Never needed. But I liked the song already as a kid.

Vanessa Paradis: Be My Baby (YouTube)

From the 1992 album Vanessa Paradis, the song was written by Gerry DeVeaux and Lenny Kravitz.

Skitbit Feb 2017: Stallhagen Hefeweizen

Brewery: Stallhagen (in Swedish)
Country: Finland
Style: Hefewezen
Abv: 4,7 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?
Colour is hazy murky yellow with a small white head. Aroma has sour lemon, clove and bananaish wheat. Taste begins with funkily sour bite. Sour lemon and sweet spicy malts take over with a strange meaty side flavour. Towards the end some thin citrus-banana sweetness gets added to the taste. Aftertaste has tart lemon and watery-dryish malts.

Unfortunately, this brew has the questionable honour to be this month's Skitbit. I'm not a huge fan of Hefeweizen style, but I'd expect some growth in the flavour near the finish. This just dies out after the start's sour-spicy hit.

Skitbit

An ungreat brew for summer requires a bad summer song. Since Stallhagen brewery lies in Åland, which is an autonomous Swedish-speaking region of Finland, the Skitbit is the worst Swedish-sung summer song in history.

Actually it's probably not, since it's a cover from an 80's original by Freestyle, which is utterly horrible. And we can't forget Herreys and Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley, which is a fine alternative to water torture and an excellent reason to avoid shit like Eurovision song contest even in the 2010's. But this brew wasn't that bad.

Drömhus: Vill ha dig (YouTube)

From the 1998 album Drömmar, the song was written by Tommy Ekman, Joakim Hagleitner, Christer Sandelin and Anders Uddberg.

Ölbeat 231: Prykmestar Saazer Pils

Brewery: Vakka-Suomen Panimo (in Finnish) 
Country: Finland
Style: Czech Pilsner
Abv: 5,7 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is hazy golden yellow with a huge white head. Aroma has lemon, grapefruit and bitter malts. Taste begins with fruity bitter malts. Bitter union of malts, grapefruit and citrus peel takes over with some sourness. Towards the end sweet orange-like citrus joins the flavours and the bitterness bites in strong. Aftertaste has striking citrus-peely bitterness with some malty fruits.

Tasty Pilsner that takes a step towards IPA with strong citrus presence. Beautifully hopped stuff. However, the malt is the driving force behind the taste. Excellent brew.

This beer was part of Alko's Finnish microbrewery craftbeer selection in spring 2017.

Ölbeat

Crisp. Fresh. Rocking. Several options for the song. Happened to pick this one from the Tennessee-based family band.

Kings of Leon: Waste a Moment (YouTube)

From the 2016 album WALLS, the song was written by Caleb Followill, Nathan Followill, Jared Followill and Matthew Followill.

Ölbeat 230: Suomenlinnan Zander Stout

Brewery: Suomenlinnan Panimo
Country: Finland
Style: Foreign Stout 
Abv: 8 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is black with a huge beige head. Aroma has rye bread, roasted malts and dark chocolate. Taste begins with roasted malty and bitter bite. Heavy charcoal-roast with bitter liquorice takes over with ryeish flavours. Towards the end roast and bitterness get heavier, dark chocolate gets in the picture with strong espresso. Aftertaste has strong malty dry roast and cocoa powder bitterness.

Holy shit. Now we have a clear winner of this year's Alko artisan beer round: Foreign Stout with strong roast, bitter, dark chocolate, malts and even espresso. Dark and powerful. Hits the button. Got to store one for later.

This beer was part of Alko's Finnish microbrewery craftbeer selection in spring 2017.

Ölbeat

Avoiding funny but stupid associations like "Zanderstruck" or "Zander and Lightning", the brew's name is the key. Bastion Zander in Kustaanmiekka has been the flag bastion of the Suomenlinna fortress throughout its history. The flag flies in the bastion every year from 12 May to 29 September. So, theme and mood of the brew help in selecting the style of the song.

HIM: This Fortress of Tears (YouTube)

From the 2003 album Love Metal, the song was written by Ville Valo.

Ölbeat 229: The Flying Dutchman Flip Flopped White Socked Strong Hopped White IPA

Brewery: The Flying Dutchman Nomad Brewing Company
Country: Finland
Style: India Pale Ale (Witbier?)
Abv: 5,5 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is cloudy yellow with a large white head. Aroma has strong lemon, yeast and sweetish malts. Taste begins with biting bitter citrus. Sour lemon and funky yeast takes over with a wheaty side tone. Towards the end citrus turns to tart-bitter grapefruit and some herbal spices show up. Aftertaste has dryness with sour lemon and bitter grapefruit.

Funky sour-bitter citrus-packed IPA with a yeasty twist. Really fruity stuff. Nice spicy-dry finish. Excellent fresh brew once again.

This beer was part of Alko's Finnish microbrewery craftbeer selection in spring 2017.

Ölbeat

Funky brew requires fun(ky) music. That comes easy with the obvious choice: the song behind the brew's name. Right, Dutchman?

Super Furry Animals: White Socks/Flip Flops (YouTube)

From the 2009 album Dark Days/Light Years, the song was written by Super Furry Animals.

Ölbeat 228: Malmgård Amarillo Tripel

Brewery: Malmgård
Country: Finland
Style: Abbey Tripel
Abv: 9 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is hazy golden orange with a small white head. Aroma has sweet spicy malts, orange and yeast. Taste starts with yeasty fruity bitter bite. Yeasty sweet malts and bitter citrus fruits take over. Towards the end sweet spicy orange flavours get through, as the slightly piny-turned yeasty fruity bitterness stays in control. Aftertaste has yeasty sweet orange, fruity bitterness and dryish alcohol warmth.

Interesting and exciting citrus-packed Tripel. It's there and there whether the beer goes over the limit to the unorthodox or even unholy side. And since it finally does, everything's fine. "It's still a Tripel" would've been a huge disappointment. Style barriers need to be broken now and then. This one's a success.

This beer was part of Alko's Finnish microbrewery craftbeer selection in spring 2017.

Ölbeat

One minute I thought that I would be forced to put an crappy song or its Finnish equivalent here, but I'm more than happy - and you are too - to have been saved by 2D, Murdoc & friends with this beautiful track. It was a good reminder about the virtual band's existence. It's not unprobable too see and hear Clint Eastwood here later. 

Gorillaz: Amarillo (YouTube)

From the 2010 album The Fall, the song was written by 2D (= Damon Albarn), Murdoc Niccals (= Albarn/Jamie Hewlett) and Emily Burton.

Ölbeat 227: Lammin Hippiäinen

Brewery: Lammin Sahti
Country: Finland
Style: Traditional Ale
Abv: 7 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is hazy brown with a large white head. Aroma has syrupy malts, caramel and sweet rye bread. Taste begins with grainy fruits. Sweet fruity caramel malts dominate with a little snap of alcohol. Towards the end bitter dark fruits get through among the sweet malts. Aftertaste has fruity malts and alcohol warmth.

Tasty Traditional Ale from the sahti brewery. Sweet fruity malts get the starring role as they should, boozy kick is very warm and gentle. Really enjoyable stuff.

This beer was part of Alko's Finnish microbrewery craftbeer selection in spring 2017.

Ölbeat

Since the brew's named after the smallest bird in Europe - hippiäinen, goldcrest - the song's name was deciced. Only thing to do was to find the right one to fit the style of the beer. Luckily, an acoustic song from this Irish singer-songerwriter fitted the mold.

Lisa Hannigan: Little Bird (YouTube)

From the 2011 album Passenger, the song was written by Lisa Hannigan.

Ölmönger Special: Cafe Rooster Pub, Oulu, 14 Feb 2017

What? Cafe Rooster Pub. 
Where? In Oulu, Finland.
When? On Tuesday, 14 February, 2017. Between 9:30 and 10:30 p.m.
Why? Because. 

Had a 2-day work trip up north week and a half ago. Since I arrived to the city the evening before, since the hotel was just across the yard of the pub and since I had checked that the pub has some decent stuff on tap, it wasn't hard to select where I enjoyed a couple of night caps.

Cafe Rooster at night. Entrance to the pub is around the corner on the right...

...and well camouflaged. You got to know and get in.

The pub seemed to be a very cozy cellar pub. Some students present, also some internationality present - besides some of the customers I heard the bartender speak good English during my short visit. The service was appropriate and good.

Overall, the place had a nice mood - considering that I probably looked like a tired hillbilly with my checkered shirt or a random drunk. People chatting and enjoying their drinks. Guess that the restaurant upstairs closed soon after I came in, since a group arrived before me couldn't find their way out. Well, didn't take pictures of the situations, the people or the interiors of the pub so let's cut the crap and list the beers I had.

Sonnisaari Humalaja (@Ratebeer)

Colour is golden yellow with a very thin white lace. Aroma has orange, grapefruit and hay. Taste begins with stingy biting grapefruit. Bitter grapefruit with sweet orange and a piny twist takes over. Near the finish the piny orange gets on top. Aftertaste has grapefruit-piny bitterness and malty dryness.

Tasty strongly hopped India Pale Ale. The fruity and piny bitterness comes on full throttle and stays long - power is good. Not an expert, but would expect more fruits and more cloudy colour if this should be a Vermont/New England IPA. Fine IPA, anyway. Got couple bottles of this back home with me - so there'll be a rain check later on the blog.

Malmgård Oak Porter (@Ratebeer)

Reviewed this already with the brewery's X-Porter, so check the story here.

Maistilan Samoa (@Ratebeer)

Colour is hazy orange with a small white head. Aroma has mango, sweet citrus and spices. Taste starts spicy sweet and sour mango. Bitter grapefruit and spicy mango take over with a sour twist. Towards the end lemon sourness and grapefruit bitterness walk over the sweet fruits. Aftertaste has spiking sour-bitter citrus and some herbal dryness.

Nice and different fruit-flavoured India Pale Ale. Fruits dominate, but leave enough space for spicy bitter flavours. Maistila has proved its brewing skills in festivals. Just waiting for some bottlings in shops and in Alko - there are some a lot more modest breweries offering their brews in the monopoly shelves.

***

In the end I'll have to admit that I had a couple more beers in Oulu the next day - Sonnisaari Aprikosmos with a great dinner at Sokeri-Jussi's unique atmosphere and Maku/HopHead Matryoshka afterwards at the crowded Wednesday night's Oluthuone Leskinen - tasty brews both but because of good company I didn't have time to take pics nor make notes. Overall, the beer scene in Oulu seems great - two good local breweries make it even better.

Ölbeat

Since Alice in Chains' Rooster was an early catch in the blog over a year ago, looked for something else to match the pub's name. Well, found it.

Foo Fighters: Iron Rooster (YouTube)

From the 2015 EP Saint Cecilia, written by Foo Fighters.

And then something to be linked to the city of Oulu. Even though according to Kauko Röyhkä himself, the link is wrong: Paska kaupunki (in English "Shit City") isn't about his home city Oulu, it's about any Finnish city, town or village where young men get bored or frustrated.

Kauko Röyhkä ja Narttu: Paska kaupunki (YouTube)

Released in 1986 as a single, the song was written by Kauko Röyhkä and Jari Paulamäki.

Ölbeat 226: Pühaste Humalakoda

Brewery: Pühaste
Country: Estonia
Style: Imperial IPA
Abv: 8,9 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is hazy orange with a medium-sized white head. Aroma has pineapple, mango, sweet candy - seducing scent. Taste starts with piny and fruity bitter bite. Spiking pine and bitter grapefruit take over with malty flavour and a tiny bit of alcohol. Towards the end piny bitter grapefruit and boozy sweetish orange tones are in front. Aftertaste has bittersweet citrus followed by lasting sharp piny dryness.

Superb aggressive piny-fruity Imperial IPA. Bitterness, sweetness, dryness. Fruits, pine, malts, booze. All in a crisp and tasty package. Rough but joyful.

Ölbeat

Happy and tough. That means we're going back to the end of the 60's, when there was this new rock band from London. The song's lyrics are about the frustration of falling in love and being unable to show it. Not exactly a happy theme, but it belongs to youth and somehow to the feeling of first love. And reminiscing the personal first crushes... Well, let's say it makes me laugh at myself now though there was nothing to laugh at then.

Led Zeppelin: Communication Breakdown (YouTube)

From the 1969 album Led Zeppelin, the song was written by Jimmy Page, John Paul Jones, John Bonham and Robert Plant.

Ölbeat 225: Põhjala Porridge Bullet

Brewery: Põhjala
Country: Estonia
Style: American Strong Ale
Abv: 11,9 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is dark bro... actually black with a tiny beige head. Aroma has chocolate, sweet malts, coffee and bourbon - a delicious scent, indeed. Taste begins with aggressive fruity sweetness. Sweet chocolate malts and fruity bitterness start the party. Soon spicy bourbon and fruity brandy barrels - just guessing - take over as fine and rich, complex and growing flavour. Aftertaste has sweet dark fruits and spicy vanillaish alcohol... and lasts unbelievably long.

Incredible. Amazing. How can a beer taste this great and versatile. Every sip is a symphony. Beautifully barrel-aged Strong Ale. Don't know their trick but Pôhjala seem to master the business of barrel-aged strong beers.

Ölbeat

"Porridge" in the name probably comes from multigrain malts used. "Bullet" part should be explained with the deep hit the brew makes to the drinker. This classic rock song from the Prince of Darkness got picked for the beer immediately.

Ozzy Osbourne: Shot in the Dark (Vimeo)

From the 1986 album The Ultimate Sin, the song was written by Ozzy Osbourne and Phil Soussan.

Ölbeat 224: Malmgård (Huvila) X-Porter & Malmgård Oak Porter

Brewery: Malmgård
Country: Finland
Style: Porter 
Abv: 7 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is black with a small tan head. Aroma has sweet roasted malts, espresso and spices. Taste starts with dark-roasted coffee. Strong coffee and heavily roasted chocolate malts take over with gentle bitterness. Near the finish dark chocolate with a bite of sweet alcohol comes through. Aftertaste has dry-turning roasted malts and bitter boozy coffee.

Delicious and diverse Porter. Nice roast, strong coffee, some bitter chocolate and slightly alcoholic finish. Everything is in its right place. Excellent brew from the Malmgård mansion once again.

...and since I had the chance to taste the Bourbon-oak chipped version from tap at Café Rooster Pub, Oulu, let's bring that on, too:

Malmgård Oak Porter

Brewery: Malmgård
Country: Finland
Style: Porter 
Abv: 7 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is black with a small beige head. Aroma has vanilla, chocolate and gentle roast. Taste starts with spiking spicy oaky roast. Dry-bitter roast and spiced dark-roasted coffee take over with oaky vanilla hints. Towards the end strong bitter roast comes in front and leaves dark chocolate in the background. Aftertaste has charcoal-roasty bitterness and oaky-boozy dryness.

Definitely this is X-Porter with bourbon barrel chips. Not over-barreled, just a twist of oak and vanilla mixed in the original. It would be rather easy to pull tricks, but I prefer keeping good things simple. Tasty, a bit twisted, and yet drinkable.

Ölbeat

So let's find something dark and gloomy here. Have to turn to Finnish metal music for a change. Since there were two brews, let's put a couple of songs here, too.

Mokoma: Kuu saa valtansa auringolta (YouTube)

From the 2006 album Kuoleman laulukunnaat, the song was written by Mokoma.

Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus: Hyvä päivä (YouTube)

From the 1999 album Lopunajan merkit, the song was written by Timo Rautiainen and Tomi Tuomaala.

Ölbeat 223: Anderson's Phat Fil

Brewery: Anderson's
Country: Estonia 
Style: India Black Ale
Abv: 6,2 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?
Colour is black with a large tan head. Aroma has orange, sweet liquorice, fruit candy and a little roast. Taste starts with roasty liquorice and bitter fruits. Biting bitter grapefruit and roasted liquorice get on top with sweet-fruity side tone. Towards the end fruity-piny bitter roast and sweetish orange get through. Aftertaste has strong fresh grapefruit bitterness and roasty dryness... and lasts long.

Excellent India Black Ale. Superb combo of bitter and sweet citrus and roasty liquorice, finished with a lasting aftertaste. Solid brew from this new Estonian brewery.

Ölbeat

Don't know if Ratebeer personality FatPhil - to whom this beer seems to be dedicated to - really is fat or even Phil. But here's a song made by one Phil about perspiration problems that... Actually, it's pretty firm hard rock song from the 80's. 

Thin Lizzy: Cold Sweat (YouTube)

From the 1983 album Thunder and Lightning, the song was written by Phil Lynott and John Sykes.

Ölbeat 222: Sonnisaari Pils

Brewery: Sonnisaari
Country: Finland
Style: Pilsener
Abv: 4,7 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is straw yellow with a medium-sized white head. Aroma has bitter malts, sour citrus and an oily scent. Taste begins with sour-bitter malty bite. Bready bitter malts with some crisp citrus on the side take over. Near the finish malty-fruity bitterness grows stronger. Aftertaste has malty dryness and citrus bitterness.

Crisp and tasty hoppy Pils from Oulu. With only Magnum and Hallertau hops they got this tasty brew. Sounds way too simple, so the result comes from excellence in brewing. Great work, Sonnisaari, waiting for the next one.

Ölbeat

Looking for a song with some crisp bitterness, found George Harrison's voice. Being not so much of a fan of the Beatles, I've always liked the edge in Harrison's vocals compared to the clean boyish sounds of Lennon-McCartney. Maybe it's in my head but at least here's the song with a simple question.

George Harrison: What Is Life (YouTube)

From the 1970 album All Things Must Pass, the song was written by George Harrison.

Ölbeat 221: Sori Delirious

Brewery: Sori Brewing
Country: Estonia
Style: Imperial IPA
Abv: 8,1 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is hazy dark orange with a large white head. Aroma has orange, mango and pineapple (a fresh tropical fruit salad, now we're there!). Taste starts with fresh sweet and bitter citrus. Sweet orange and mango juice takes over with a bitter twist of grapefruit. Near the finish the sweet fruity bitterness is accompanied by piny and spicy flavours. Aftertaste has sweet fruity bitter start and lasting piny dry finish.

It's great to find after a break the reason why good Double and Imperial IPA's are my original favorites. Damn, this is insanely delicious. The sweet fruits. The bitterness. The piny finish. Somehow I managed to just taste and forget this at CBH festival last summer. Big mistake. I'm truly sorry, Sori people.

Ölbeat

From all the songs named Delirious I chose this piece of disco house because of the distinctive aroma and flavour of fresh sweet fruits. The beer and the song share the unapparent "happy" side of delirium. And today it's techno-Wednesday for once. 

David Guetta (feat. Tara McDonald): Delirious (YouTube)

From the 2007 album Pop Life, written by David Guetta, Joachim Garraud, Carl Ryden and Tara McDonald.

Ölbeat 220: Tanker Reloaded

Brewery: Tanker
Country: Estonia
Style: Session IPA
Abv: 5,8 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is copper orange with a huge fluffy natural white head. Aroma has grapefruit, malts, orange and some floral notes. Taste starts with piny bitter citrus bite. Moderately bitter grapefruit with sharply piny dryness takes over. Towards the end sweet orange is added but bitter pine gets above other flavours. Aftertaste has extra dry pine with fruity bitterness.

Pine dominates this great Session IPA. But the citrus is nicely present, too. Rough stuff for this abv level. Which is nice.

Ölbeat

Now we get completely off the right path by matching an Estonian Session IPA with ex-Swedish House Mafia member's house track. Well, sometimes something unexpectable and beautiful happens. Enjoy!

Sebastian Ingrosso & Tommy Trash feat. John Martin: Reload - Vocal version (YouTube)

Published as a single in 2013, the song was written by Sebastian Ingrosso, Michel Zitron, Adam Baptiste, Tommy Trash, Vincent Pontare and John Martin Lindström.

Ölbeat 219: Bryggeri Helsinki Vuosi Sata

Brewery: Bryggeri Helsinki 
Country: Finland
Style: Doppelbock
Abv: 10 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is dark brown with a large tan head. Aroma has dark fruits, sugary malts, sweetbread and syrup. Taste starts with sweet-berried malty sting. Sweet berry-flavoured malts with gentle bitterness and slightly boozy bite take over. Towards the end caramel malts, sweet fruity bitterness and gentle alcohol burn get on top. Aftertaste has fruity malts and warm boozy bitterness.

Strong, tasty and very drinkable Doppelbock. Sweet fruity malts rule, bitterness follows and warming alcohol comes through in the end. The brew seems quite appropriate to be one of independent Finland's 100th anniversary beers. At least I enjoyed it.

Ölbeat

When they are brewing beer for the 100th year of independence, someone could expect something like Jean Sibelius' Finlandia. But no, not in this blog. Instead we take another perspective to Finnish independence and celebrate the times of recession in the beginning of the 1990's. The song's name in English goes "When Finland fell off the tree" and the song has several parodic references to bigger and smaller pieces of Finnish culture. Which always has its place - even in the most celebrated year of one century.

Ismo Alanko: Kun Suomi putos puusta (YouTube)

From the 1990 album Kun Suomi putos puusta, the song was written by Ismo Alanko.

Ölbeat 218: Hopping Brewsters Flight Cadet APA

Brewery: Hopping Brewsters 
Country: Finland
Style: American Pale Ale
Abv: 5,3 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is hazy yellow with a large white head. Aroma has grapefruit, orange and lemon. Taste begins with citrus-fruity freshness. Slightly bitter grapefruit and mild pine take over. Towards the end sweet orange and bitter pine get strongest. Aftertaste has herbal piny bitterness and malty dryness.

Refreshing American Pale Ale. Citrus-flavoured hops lead the way here. Develops better on the way. Good, not great.

Ölbeat

The brew is - both by its name and by its core - learning to fly, so an American country rock track is the obvious choice. This is not my favourite of Tom Petty songs, but pretty nice anyway, so it fits the frame.

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Learning to Fly (YouTube)

From the 1991 album Into the Great Wide Open, the song was written by Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne.

Ölbeat 217: Founders Backwoods Bastard

Brewery: Founders Brewing Company 
Country: United States
Style: Scotch Ale
Abv: 11,6 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is dark mahogany brown with a small tan head. Aroma has bourbon oak, vanilla and sweet fruity malts. Taste starts with sweet spiced boozy bite. Vanilla-oak-flavoured caramel malts with fruity bitterness take over. Towards the end fruity sweet caramel malts and biting bourbon-boozy bitterness get on top with raisins and dried fruits. Aftertaste has oaky-malty dryness and lasting gentle burn of bourbon.

As Dirty Bastard is a superb Scotch Ale, this is stunningly beautiful barrel-aged tuned sequel to that. The bourbon vanilla and oak are present in different ways on every stage, but sweet toffeed malts and fruity bitterness are surely there too to remind me of the original. Strong and delicious, that's a fact.

Ölbeat

The forest. The home of felt-hatted grey-bearded hermits. Also the dark source of stories of mystery, horror and supernatural. The nature can sometimes be cruel, but these stories bubble out from individual's personal imagination or from culturally shared collective legends. Or do they? 

Mastodon: Colony of Birchmen (YouTube)

From the 2006 album Blood Mountain, the song was written by Mastodon.

Ölbeat 216: Stone Arrogant Bastard Bourbon Barrel-aged

Brewery: Stone Brewing
Country: United States
Style: American Strong Ale
Abv: 8,1 % 
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is reddish dark brown with a tiny tan head. Aroma has mostly deliciously luring sweet bourbon vanilla and some caramel malts on the background. Taste begins with slightly bitter bourbon vanilla kiss. Vanilla-oaky bourbon whiskey and fruity bitter malts take over. Towards the end the familiar Arrogant Bastard bitterness with an oaky twist rises. Aftertaste has lasting bitter fruit and some oaky boozy flavour.

Bourbon barrel-aged bastard is still a bastard. And what a beautiful bastard it is: oaky vanilla flavour of bourbon whiskey fits with the standard arrogant flavour perfectly. Powerful and sweet at the same time. Just superb.

Ölbeat

"Arrogance, violence, world in disarray / Dealing with insanity every fuckin’ day / I hate the life, hate the fame, hate the fuckin’ scene / Pissing match of egos, fuck their vanity." Words of an arrogant bastard? Actually no. Direct thoughts of a random observing and thinking individual.

Slayer: Repentless (YouTube)

From the 2015 album Repentless, the song was written by Kerry King.

Ölbeat 215: Malheur 12

Brewery: Brouwerij Malheur
Country: Belgium
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Abv: 12 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is dark brown with a large tan head. Aroma has sweet red grapes, sour apple and yeasty malts. Taste begins with sweet fruity bitter and sour bite. Sweet wheaty malts and sour citrus fruits take over with a yeast and alcohol side tone. Towards the end sweet grapes and sour citrus come in front with malty bitterness lurking in the background. Aftertaste has sweet citrus sourness and yeasty-malty dryness.

Complex and savoury Belgian. Sweet and sour fruits dominate strongly, but there's a fine part of malts, bitterness, yeast and alcohol present. These never leave you empty-handed.

Ölbeat

The fiery label colours and the strong but warm feeling of the beer gave me the association of fire or burning. Since the beer represents a classical beer style, the song has to be classic and/or soft rock. This BÖC's classic fills the criteria nicely.

Blue Öyster Cult: Burnin' for You (YouTube)

From the 1981 album Fire of Unknown Origin, the song was written by Donald Roeser and Richard Meltzer.

Ölbeat 214: Hiisi Ikiiurso

Brewery: Panimo Hiisi (in Finnish)
Country: Finland
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 11 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is black with a huge beige head. Aroma has sweet fruity alcohol, coffee, chocolate and sugared roasted malts. Taste begins with sweet roasted bitterness. Fruity liquor coated roasted malts, sweet coffee and dark chocolate take over. Towards the finish some bittersweet roast gets through the alcohol. Aftertaste has lasting sweet roasty bitterness, spicy coffee and alcohol warmth.

Monstrous black boozy and sticking thick syrupy Imperial Stout. Horribly delicious combo of fruity liquor, coffee, chocolate and roast. This beast was truly worth getting under radar. Found the prey waiting for the predator - or was it the other way around? - in Oluthuone Kaisla in Helsinki.

Ölbeat

Picked a detail from the bottle label - the huge eye staring directly at the beer drinker. Combined it with the gloomy theme and the thick blackness of the brew. Found a beautiful metal ballad sung by a great vocalist, who sadly passed away too young before the album and the song were published.

Trees of Eternity: Eye of Night (YouTube)

From the 2016 album Hour of the Nightingale, the song was written by Aleah Stanbridge and Juha Raivio.

Ölbeat 213: Finch's Sobek & Set

Brewery: Finch Beer Co.
Country: United States
Style: India Black Ale
Abv: 8 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is black with a huge tan head. Aroma has lemon, sweet orange candy and liquorice. Taste begins with biting roasted liquorice. Heavily roasted malts and strongly bitter citrus fruits take over with some liquorice. Near the finish piny and grapefruity bitterness gets through with late roasted liquorice. Aftertaste has roasted bittersweet fruits and a lasting dry bitter-roasty ending.

Now we're on the edge of what might be too much roasty bitterness. But the long nasty finish keeps us from falling. Strong tasty IBA with both heavy roast and bitter citrus.

Ölbeat

It takes a bunch of wild imagination to connect a beer with a wild boar and an alligator/a crocodile on the label and this song. In the ancient Egyptian mythology, Sobek was a deity associated with the Nile crocodile and murdered by Set, a deity depicted as an animal with resemblance to fork-tailed coyote. What has this to do with either the beer or the song? Nothing probably, just bringing some more animal to the picture.

N.E.R.D.: She Wants to Move (YouTube)

From the 2004 album Fly Or Die, the song was written by Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo.

Ölbeat 212: Stadin American Imperial Porter

Brewery: Stadin Panimo
Country: Finland
Style: Imperial Porter
Abv: 9,5 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is black with a medium-sized foamy beige head. Aroma has roasted malts, sweet citrus, chocolate and liquorice. Taste starts with fruity and roasted bitter bite. Sweet roasted malts and strong grapefruit bitterness take over with liquorice on the background. Near the finish fruity bitterness gets on top with a sweet orange tone. Aftertaste has sweet citrus bitterness and gentle boozy roast.

Pretty fresh and funky Imperial Porter. The American side dominates here in the form of sweet citrus-packed hops, while the roast plays the rhythm guitar. Somehow this brew reminds me of fresh Siperia, but the flavours are definitely deeper and softer. Excellent and delicious beer.

Ölbeat

First time with Stadin Panimo (it's been a while) I chose another song from the same band. By incident? Well, no. I think that the brewery will forever be stuck with the first real ambassadeurs of rock made in Finland. If the people in Stadin Panimo aren't ok with that, I'll give them some time to change their minds.

Hanoi Rocks: Tragedy (YouTube)

From the 1981 album Bangkok Shocks, Saigon Shakes, Hanoi Rocks, the song was written by Andy McCoy.

Ölbeat 211: Stone (Berlin) IPA

Brewery: Stone Brewing Berlin
Country: Germany (United States)
Style: India Pale Ale
Abv: 6,9 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is bright golden yellow with a large fluffy white head. Aroma has grapefruit, lemon and mango. Taste begins with sparkling fruity bitter bite. Fresh, bitter and pine-spiced grapefruit juice takes over with tiny sweet citrus notes. Towards the end piny dryness grows above all. Aftertaste has bitter grapefruit and softly piny dryness.

Pure and straight India Pale Ale. Simple grapefruit and pine flavours, fine balance between bitter and dry. No unnecessary fancy tricks. Sometimes it's nice to be sure about what you'll get - this is the brew.

Ölbeat

- Rock, please.

- Well, here's a modern classic.

- Thank you.

Lenny Kravitz: Are You Gonna Go My Way (YouTube)

From the 1993 album Are You Gonna Go My Way, the song was written by Lenny Kravitz and Craig Ross.

Ölbeat 210: Iso-Kallan Bellywasher

Brewery: Iso-Kallan Panimo (in Finnish)
Country: Finland 
Style: Scotch Ale
Abv: 7,5 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is thick dark brown with a large cream white head. Aroma has sweet chocolate, caramel, dark fruits and alcohol. Taste starts with bittersweet fruity malts. Sweet dried fruits and bitter caramel malts take over. Spicy and piny flavours join the bittersweet malts near the finish. Aftertaste has dry bready malts,  bittersweet fruits and some alcohol warmth.

Very tasty representive of one of my favorite styles, Scotch Ale. The diversity of malt flavours is overwhelming, the balance between bitterness and sweetness great. Delicious stuff from the Kuopio brewery.

Ölbeat

Had to get a some kind of link to Scotland with this brew. As artificial it may be, the band comes from Glasgow and that's probably where Scotland in this case ends. The beer made me feel good, so it was time for party rock.

Primal Scream: Rocks (YouTube)

From the 1994 album Give Out But Don't Give Up, the song was written by Bobby Gillespie, Andrew Innes and Robert Young.

Ölbeat 209: Alechemy Photon IPA

Brewery: Alechemy
Country: Scotland
Style: Session IPA
Abv: 4,3 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is hazy golden orange with a small white head. Aroma has grapefruit, malts and orange. Taste starts with bitter, slightly piny citrus. Tart-bitter malty grapefruit takes over with a sour citrus side tone. Towards the end some pine gets through. Aftertaste has sweet fruits, bitter grapefruit and a bit harsh dry twist.

Basically a fine session IPA with distinctive grapefruit and some malty-piny side tones. Some harsh dryness in the end makes a tiny crack to the freshness. Still a tasty thirst quencher.

Ölbeat

Bluesy rock was a sure choice for this one. For once I let the lyrics speak: "You can have your riches / All the gold you saved / There ain't room for one thing / In everybody's grave / Bang, bang, bang, bang. / Vamanos, vamanos." That's all I have to say about that.

Clutch: Electric Worry (YouTube)

From the 2007 album From Beale Street to Oblivion, the song was written by Clutch and Mississippi Fred McDowell.

Ölbeat 208: Rekolan Kaffe Stout

Brewery: Rekolan Panimo (in Finnish)
Country: Finland
Style: Sweet Stout 
Abv: 5,5 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?
Colour is black with a small creamy white head. Aroma has charred malts, dark-roasted coffee and sweet spices. Taste starts with slightly bitter charcoaly roast. Sweet charred malts and fresh cappuccino take over with some spiciness. Towards the end roasted and spiced chocolate malts and bitter coffee get on top. Aftertaste has malty roasted dryness and coffee-cocoa-flavoured bitterness.

Nice sweet coffee-flavoured Milk Stout. Different levels of roast and coffee give the beer versatility. Not too challenging though, goes down easily. Good brewing. Thanks to the brewery for this treat.

This beer was part of Alko's Finnish microbrewery craftbeer selection in spring 2017.

Ölbeat

Some people need coffee in the morning to get their eyes open. For some people there's not enough coffee in the world to make them open their eyes. Maybe Zach de la Rocha's tender rap-singing with a pint of this brew can help them wake up gently?

Rage Against The Machine: Wake Up (YouTube)

From the 1992 album Rage Against The Machine, the song was written by Rage Against The Machine.

Ölbeat 207: Rekolan Talven Tähti

Brewery: Rekolan Panimo (in Finnish)
Country: Finland
Style: Spiced
Abv: 4,3 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is dark brown with a huge cream white head. Aroma has cardamom, cinnamon and sweet buns. Taste starts with a spicy fruity sting. Cardamom-flavoured sweet malts take over with some fruity sourness. Towards the end cardamom and clove get on top with gentle bitterness. Aftertaste has sour spices and a bit ashy malts.

Light spicy ale, well made though. Easy mild fun for a change. Would go nicely with seasonal dishes. Thanks to the brewery for this treat.

Ölbeat

It's no longer time for Christmas songs. Sounding more like Weezer than themselves and pretty far from their grunge roots, this song named after a girl named after a sweet spice fits with this rather light brew nicely.

Stone Temple Pilots: Cinnamon (YouTube)

From the 2010 album Stone Temple Pilots, the song was written by Scott Weiland and Robert de Leo.

Ölbeat 206: Schneider-Weisse Aventinus Weizen-Eisbock

Brewery: Schneider Weisse G. Schneider & Sohn GmbH
Country: Germany 
Style: Eisbock
Abv: 12 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is murky dark brown with a finger-thick tan head. Aroma has sweet syrup, caramel malts, dark fruits and ripe banana. Taste begins with bittersweet fruity bite. Sweet citrus fruits with boozy strawberry and sugared malts take over. Towards the end sweet and bitter fruity liquor comes out strongest. Aftertaste has alcohol warmth, fruity bitterness and malty sweetness.

Eisbock? Yep, this was the first of a kind. With this impression it won't be the last. Sweet, fruity, malty and strong. Alcohol makes a smooth entrance and doesn't steal the star role. Pretty great.

Ölbeat

For some reasons I have been avoiding good old Scorpions in this blog. Now it's the right time to put an end to that bad habit. So here's some German rock from the 80's, bitte schön!

Scorpions: No One Like You (YouTube)

From the 1982 album Blackout, the song was written by Rudolf Schenker and Klaus Meine.

Ölbeat 205: Moa Imperial Stout

Brewery: Moa Brewing Company
Country: New Zealand
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 10,2 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is black with a small beige head. Aroma has roasted malts, espresso, chocolate and liquor. Taste begins with powerfully bitter roast. Strong bitter espresso and oak-flavoured dark chocolate take over. Towards the end sweet malty and bitter boozy sides show up. Aftertaste has lasting bitter dark chocolate, dry roasted malts and alcohol warmth.

Imperial Stout from New Zealand? Hell, why not! Strength and power slowly turn into smooth delicacy. Roast, bitterness, coffee, chocolate - from sharp to rounded. Have to grab the next opportunity with Moa Brewing, if it comes available.

Ölbeat

Breaking the promise not to pair beer and music from the same country, again. Well, heavy brew required some hard rock, so I took one from the Kiwi islands.

Devilskin: Pray (YouTube)

From the 2016 album Be Like the River, the song was written by Devilskin.