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.
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| Cafe Rooster at night. Entrance to the pub is around the corner on the right... |
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| ...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.
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.
Reviewed this already with the brewery's X-Porter, so check the story here.
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.
