Ölbeat 337 (BC17 #24): Vakka-Suomen Prykmestar Savukataja

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

Colour is dark brown with a small natural white head. Aroma has pure smoked ham and spices. *A short break while the blogger couldn't help himself from making and eating a cheese-ham rye sandwich. And another cheese-ham rye sandwich.* Taste begins with smoothly bitter meaty smoke. Heavily smoked malts and thick cured ham takes over with spicy peppery side tones. Towards the end bitter burned liquorice gets mixed with the dominating meaty smoke. Aftertaste has sweetish bitter liquorice and spicy smoky dryness.

Strong and meaty Smoked Ale. The association of smoked meat or heavily cured ham is present from the first aroma to the final end. And that's stunningly beautiful. Frankly, this is the best smoked beer I've had - beats Bamberg any day. A modern classic from the Uusikaupunki-based brewery.

Ölbeat

For the sake of Christmas Eve, I had to give in a little and pick the only seasonal song of the calendar here. Originally from the animated movie The Snowman (1982) and written by composer Howard Blake, I picked a slightly modernized version from the 90's. Merry Christmas!

Nightwish: Walking in the Air (YouTube)

From the 1998 album Ocean, the song was written by Howard Blake.

Ölbeat 336 (BC17 #23): Lervig / Hoppin' Frog Sippin' Into Darkness

Brewery: Lervig Aktiebryggeri (Hoppin' Frog Brewery) 
Country: Norway (United States)
Style: Imperial Stout 
Abv: 12 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a small vanishing beige head. Aroma is pure sweet milk chocolate with sip of vanilla (= pure awesomeness!). Taste begins with sweet cherry-coated chocolate. Sweet milk chocolate and vanilla-flavoured roast take over with some boozy fruits. Towards the end the chocolate gets bitter dark, nutty and coffeeish tones with a fruity alcohol bite. Aftertaste has dark chocolate bitterness, fruity sweetness and coffee liquor -flavoured roast.

Sweet and strong Imperial Stout with tons of chocolate. We start with liquid milk chocolate and end up with nutty and dark flavours. Fruit liquor kicks in nicely, vanilla, coffee and roast have just the right role. Delicious, absolutely beautiful brew.

Ölbeat

"Sipping into darkness" could mean either drinking slowly while waiting the night to fall or having small mouthfuls until one passes out. I prefer the latter one with this strong brew and welcome the mythical magical sand sprinkler to bring nice dreams... well, some kind of dreams to everyone.

Metallica: Enter Sandman (YouTube)

From the 1991 album Metallica, the song was written by Kirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield.

Ölbeat 335 (BC17 #22): Põhjala Odravein 2016

Brewery: Pôhjala
Country: Estonia
Style: Barley Wine
Abv: 12 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is dark brown with a small natural white head. Aroma has chocolate, peanut butter and caramel. Taste starts with sweet fruity and malty alcohol. Bittersweet raisin and malty caramel take over with boozy coffee and chocolate. Towards the end fruity and malty bitter alcohol gets in front. Aftertaste has strongly bitter raisin-boozy bite followed by malty and fruity dryness.

Sweet and strong Barley Wine. The power of alcohol is pretty much unleashed, but it's fruity and malty with caramel, coffee and chocolate at the same time. Like barrel-aged brew but without aging in the barrel, Põhjala hits the right spot once again.

Ölbeat

Power and aggression but in the same time beauty and sensibility. So it's time for neoclassical metal by the master of the style.

Yngwie Malmsteen: Rising Force (YouTube)

From the 1988 album Odyssey, the song was written by Yngwie Malmsteen and Joe Lynn Turner.

Ölbeat 334 (BC17 #21): Dieu du Ciel Solstice d'Hiver

Brewery: Brasserie Dieu du Ciel
Country: Canada
Style: Barley Wine
Abv: 10,2 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is dark brown with a tiny natural white lace. Aroma has caramel malts, raisins and dark fruits. Taste begins with sweet fruity malts. Caramel malts and sweet raisins take over with gentle fruity alcohol bitterness and dark chocolate. Towards the end dark fruity bitterness gets through with strong piny-boozy kick. Aftertaste has lasting fruity bitterness and piny alcohol kick.

Rich and complex Barley Wine. Malts have their time in the spotlight, but in the end hops and strength take control. Pretty delicious. Dieu du Ciel keeps the Maple Leaf high, despite the difficulties in availability here in Finland.

Ölbeat

Since it's named "Winter Solstice" - the day that has the shortest period of daylight - today is the right day in the Northern Hemisphere for this beer. In Finland, the darkness, and possibly the coldness, of winter often makes people turn inside their shell and interact with other people less than during the brighter seasons. I'm not considering it a bad thing. Quite the opposite: everyone needs some time with only oneself every now and then, so why not in the midst of winter?

Black Sabbath: Solitude (YouTube)

From the 1971 album Master of Reality, the song was written by Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Ozzy Osbourne and Bill Ward.

Ölbeat 333 (BC17 #20): Lehe / Vasileostrovskaya Ravnodenstvie Barrel Aged

Brewery: Lehe Pruulikoda (Vasileostrovskaya Pivovarnya, in Russian)
Country: Estonia (Russia)
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 11 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a large beige head. Aroma has chocolate, sweet bready roast and fruity booze. Taste starts with bittersweet roasted malts. Sweet roasted malts, dark chocolate and bitterish espresso take over with hints of alcohol. Towards the end sweet dark fruity-oaky liquor coats the chocolate, coffee and roast flavours. Aftertaste has dark chocolate, roasted malts and lasting warming bittersweet fruity alcohol.

Extremely enjoyable barrel-aged Imperial Stout. The Cuban rum barrel adds sweet dark fruits, oak and - of course - alcohol to the deep coffee-chocolate-roast Imp flavour. Another excellent presentation of Estonian skill in brewing and beer aging.

Ölbeat

Since I have a poor imagination, I skipped thinking in a new way and continued exactly from where I ended up last time.

Jean-Michel Jarre: Equinoxe, Pt. 5 (YouTube)

From the 1978 album Équinoxe, the track was written by Jean-Michel Jarre.

Ölbeat 332 (BC17 #19): Sonnisaari Juomahammas II

Brewery: Sonnisaari (in Finnish)
Country: Finland
Style: Imperial Porter
Abv: 11 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a small beige head. Aroma has milk chocolate, vanilla, sweet roast and oak. Taste starts with bitter chocolate roast. Sweet milk chocolate and bitter roasted malts take over with hints of vanilla and oak. Towards the end sweet roasted malts, dark chocolate and spicy oak flavour get on top with soft boozy warmth. Aftertaste has bitter dark chocolate, sweetish roasted malts and oaky-spicy whisky bite - and it lasts.

Warming and delicious Imperial Porter. Chocolate, oak, roast, spices, booze - complex and layered rich flavours. Finish is phenomenal. Hard to tell whether I loved this one more than the sherry version. Absolutely beautiful brew.

Ölbeat

Searching for great Finnish craft beer can sometimes seem to be "hunting high and low and even in between", if high is considered to be the Northern Finland and low the Southern Finland. This time we caught an excellent brew from one of the breweries up north.

Stratovarius: Hunting High And Low (YouTube)

From the 2000 album Infinite, the song was written by Timo Tolkki and Timo Kotipelto.

Ölbeat 331 (BC17 #18): Chimay Bleue

Brewery: Chimay
Country: Belgium
Style: Belgian Strong Ale 
Abv: 9 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is dark nut brown with a large natural white head. Aroma has apple jam, sweet caramel and spices. Taste begins with bittersweet dark fruits. Sweet prunes and bitter caramel take over with some yeasty tones. Towards the end caramel-chocolate malts get a bit over the sweet prune-raisin flavour. Aftertaste has fruity sweetness, smooth boozy bite and moderate caramel malty bitterness.

Rich and fruity strong Trappist Ale. Caramel, chocolate, dark fruits, sweet, bitter and even some yeast - complex but still by-the-book Belgian. In the best meaning of the word. Delicious stuff.

Ölbeat

The bottle with a simple blue label looks modest. Too modest, as I found out. Behind the humble appearance there's a complex and outstanding beer. Looks fooled me in this case. 

The Who: Behind Blue Eyes (YouTube)

From the 1971 album Who's Next, the song was written by Pete Townshend.

Ölbeat 330 (BC17 #17): Fuller's Imperial Stout

Brewery: Fuller's
Country: England
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 10,7 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a small tan head. Aroma has strong roast, coffee, dark chocolate and kick of alcohol. Taste starts with bitter strongly roasted malts. Dark chocolate and bittersweet roasted malts take over with hints of espresso. Towards the end malty chocolate and spicy fruity booze rise next to the sweet roasty flavour. Aftertaste has malty roast, bitter dark chocolate and warming sweet alcohol.

Delicious and sweet Imperial Stout. Malty roast and chocolate carry the experience, with coffee, spices, fruits and booze as competent sidekicks. This is also deviously drinkable. Great brew from a great brewery.

Ölbeat

Heavy stuff from the classic London brewery. Simply put, the brew called for another huge London classic, and no one can deny that there's whole lotta love put inside this beer.

Led Zeppelin: Whole Lotta Love (YouTube)

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

Ölbeat 329 (BC17 #16): Amager The Sinner Series Pride

Brewery: Amager (in Danish)
Country: Denmark
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 10 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a small vanishing beige head. Aroma has fruit candy, vanilla and chocolate. Taste starts with boozy fruity bitter roast. Booze-soaked sweet citrus and biting bitter roast take over with liquorice and chocolate side notes. Towards the end sweet orange and bitter citrus-filled liquorice get on top and are joined by roasted boozy flavour. Aftertaste has sweet orange, bitter grapefruit and lasting boozy roast.

Strong citrus-packed Imperial Stout. It's a merciless battle between the roasty-boozy flavours and the bitter'n'sweet citrus. Fierce but beautiful. Superb Impy from the Danish brewgods.

Ölbeat

As U2's Pride (In the Name of Love) is as far as possible from the deadly sin, I couldn't pick it. On the other hand, that wouldn't have matched with the brew. Anyway, I was trapped in the title, so there were many paths to choose from. Soil had that right kind of balance between rough aggressiveness and lyrical self-centeredness in their song, so I picked that.  

Soil: Pride (YouTube)

From the 2004 album Redefine, the song was written by Soil.

Ölbeat 328 (BC17 #15): Humalove Hammer of Sucellus

Brewery: Humalove
Country: Finland
Style: Barley Wine
Abv: 10,5 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is dirty cola brown with a thin light lace. Aroma has caramel, chocolate and dark fruits. Taste starts with strong fruity bittersweet bite. Booze-soaked berries and bittersweet malty caramel take over with some dark chocolate in the background. Towards the end piny bitterness, berry sweetness and chocolate-coated malty caramel melt together in a rich-flavoured union. Aftertaste has malty-fruity sweetness, piny bitterness and warm boozy kick.

Caramel-malty and bitter berry-fruit flavoured Barley Wine. Piny flavours strike near the finish and are joined by some alcohol. Sticky and sweet stuff. Liked it a lot. Excellent work by the gypsy brewers from the capital.

Ölbeat

Named after the mallet of a Celtic-Gallic deity of agriculture and wine, the brew needs to be paired with a song about hammers, gods or both. So it's no surprise that I ended up with a power metal track from the land of Zee Germans. The feel-good mood of the song surely annoys somebody. Well, it can't be Slayer all the time, can it?

Freedom Call: Hammer Of The Gods (YouTube)

From the 2016 album Master of Light, the song was written by Chris Bay.

Ölbeat 327 (BC17 #14): Sori / Stockholm Brewing Sweet Mistress

Brewery: Sori Brewing (Stockholm Brewing Co.)
Country: Estonia (Sweden)
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 9,4 % 
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a small vanishing beige head. Aroma has roasted caramel, dark chocolate and espresso. Taste begins with boozy-espresso bitter roast. Sweetish dark chocolate and bitter espresso take over with alcohol bite and quite heavy roast. Towards the end strong spicy roast and salty bitter chocolate come through first with caramel, coffee and booze in the background. Aftertaste has bitter dark chocolate, slightly sugared espresso and salty roasted dryness.

Strong, sweetish and flavourful Imperial Stout. Liquid dark chocolate meets booze-powered roast, thick layers of coffee and salty caramel. Extreme pleasure - magnificent brew. My first choice as mistress, and sweet just the right way.

Ölbeat

I wouldn't mind a sweet mistress every now and then. But let's face the facts: no chance, never. Why? Because no mistress couldn't handle the truth about what I am but she can never be.

LMFAO: Sexy And I Know It (YouTube)

From the 2011 album Sorry For Party Rocking, the song was written by Stefan Kendal Gordy, Jamahl Listenbee, Erin Beck, George M. Robertson and Kenneth Oliver.

Ölbeat 326 (BC17 #13): Swannay Barrel Aged Orkney Porter (Isle of Arran)

Brewery: Swannay Brewery
Country: Scotland
Style: Imperial Porter
Abv: 10,5 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a small tan head. Aroma has chocolate, nuts, roast and oaky-spicy alcohol (very nice!). Taste begins with bittersweet fruity chocolate. Sweet roasted malts, dark chocolate and booze-soaked fruits take over. Towards the end spicy chocolate and dry oaky-fruity alcohol mix deliciously, while sweet roasted malts give the liquid a solid backbone. Aftertaste has sweet fruity-spicy chocolate and dryish oaky-bitter whisky.

Rich and sweet barrel-aged Imperial Porter. The sweet chocolate-roasty basic porter is obviously nicely present, the aging of 12 months (in previous editions 18 months) in Isle of Arran Orkney Bere casks shows up in fruits, spice, oak and booze. The whole package is delicious. The brew has a fine story and tastes simply great.

Ölbeat

"I am a mountain / I am the sea / You can't take away from me." Well, OK, the Orkney Islands are mainly quite flat but there are some steep coastal cliffs. But the Isle of Arran is called Scotland in miniature: there are some mountains. And certainly, presence of the sea is always strongly there in the Scottish islands.

Biffy Clyro: Mountains (YouTube)

From the 2009 album Only Revolutions, the song was written by Simon Neil.

Ölbeat 325 (BC17 #12): Sonnisaari Juomahammas I

Brewery: Sonnisaari (in Finnish)
Country: Finland
Style: Imperial Porter
Abv: 11 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a finger-thick foamy beige head. Aroma has roast, espresso, chocolate and vanilla. Taste starts with bitter heavy-roasted espresso. Vanilla-spiced espresso and powerful roast take over with bitter dark chocolate. Towards the end bitter roast gets on top with some sweet cherry notes showing up. Aftertaste has coffee roast, chocolate bitter and spiced oaky dryness.

Strong and delicious Imperial Porter. Powerful basic elements - vanilla sweetness, turbo roast, espresso and chocolate - get some cherry-oaky vibes in the finish. Excellent one from Sonnisaari.

Ölbeat

Strong, passionate and complex - sounds like a troubled relationship. This rock ballad is about one near the end or, as the final verse of the lyrics says: "I will try until the last drop falls."

Sonata Arctica: Last Drop Falls (YouTube)

From the 2001 album Silence, the song was written by Tony Kakko.

Ölbeat 324 (BC17 #11): Põhjala Cellar Series: Öö XO

Brewery: Pôhjala
Country: Estonia
Style: Baltic Porter
Abv: 11,5 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a finger-thick beige head. Aroma has fruity liquor, chocolate and sweet roasted malts. Taste begins with sweet fruity boozy bite. Syrupy roasted malts, sweet espresso and dark chocolate take over with fruity alcohol coating. Towards the end fruity and boozy warmth of cognac is released against bittersweet chocolate. Aftertaste has sweet dark fruits, dark chocolate and smooth liquor warmth.

Really rich and fabulous barrel-aged Imperial Stout. Fruity biting cognac flavours really enhance the sweet roast and chocolate of the original Öö. Delicious aftertaste seems to linger around and warm the mouth endlessly. From any other brewery this would be a superb surprise, but from Põhjala this adds to the continuum of solid dark brews.

Ölbeat

"Under his spell / Blinding my eyes / Twisting my mind / Fight to resist the evil inside." Ok, that's Satan alright. Someone would call it sacrilege to combine a strong and beautiful dark beer with a thrash metal classic. Well, I think it's pretty devilish to brew this kind of barrel-aged stuff again and again.

Slayer: Black Magic (YouTube)

From the 1983 album Show No Mercy, the song was written by Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King.

Ölbeat 323 (BC17 #10): Lehe Suur Paks Mastif

Brewery: Lehe Pruulikoda
Country: Estonia
Style: Barley Wine
Abv: 9,6 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is thick mahogany brown with a small tan head. Aroma has sweet caramel, chocolate and dark fruits. Taste begins with malty sweet caramel. Sweet caramel malts, chocolate and alcohol-soaked raisins take over with gentle bitterness. Towards the end biting fruity and boozy piny bitterness strikes through and pushes chocolate-caramel flavours to the background. Aftertaste has piny bitterness, fruity malty sweetness and spicy boozy dryness.

Sweet, malty and fruity Barley Wine. Caramel and chocolate flavours dominate in the start, fruits, booze and bitterness hit it in the end. This young vintage version has matured since brewing in 2014, but there's still some sharpness to be rounded. Gladly another bottle will be saved for later inspection.

Ölbeat

Suur Paks Mastif means Big Fat Mastiff. This kinda dog moves completely without any hurry, if at all. Since I decided to put another bottle to sleep for some time, this song was a natural choice.

Zakk Wylde (feat. Corey Taylor): Sleeping Dogs (YouTube)

From the 2016 album Book of Shadows II, the song was written by Zakk Wylde.

Ölbeat 322 (BC17 #9): Founders Barrel-Aged Series: Doom

Brewery: Founders Brewing Company
Country: United States
Style: Imperial IPA
Abv: 12,4 % 
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What about the beer?

Colour is bright golden orange with a medium-sized natural white head. Aroma has mango, orange and bourbon vanilla. Taste begins with sweet bourbon bite. Bitter pine and oaky vanillaish booze take over with sweet fruity side tones. Towards the end strongly piny and boozy bitterness comes through with grapefruit and peel lurking in the background. Aftertaste has heavily bitter grapefruit, dry resinous oak and boozy warmth.

Damn powerful and rich barrel-aged Triple IPA. The start is bourbon-dominated with sweet vanilla, oak and booze. In the middle pine and grapefruit - the hops - step in front. The end combines oak of the barrel and piny citrus of the brew beautifully. An unusual marriage between strong IPA and bourbon barrel brings out the beauty from both sides.

Ölbeat

"You take a mortal man / And put him in control / Watch him become a god / Watch people's heads a'roll." That's it. That's the doom.

Megadeth: Symphony Of Destruction (YouTube)

From the 1992 album Countdown to Extinction, the song was written by Dave Mustaine.

Ölbeat 321 (BC17 #8): Borg Surtur Nr. 30

Brewery: Borg Brugghús
Country: Iceland
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 9 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a 2-finger thick beige head. Aroma has smoked meat, roasted malts and dark chocolate. Taste starts with bitter meaty and malty smoke. Campfire smoke and sweet charcoal roast take over with hints of espresso and salty liquorice. Towards the end bitter salty liquorice and strong malty flavours rise next to smoke and roast. Aftertaste has smoky bitter liquorice, alcohol warmth and roasty malty dryness.

Smoky and powerful Imperial Stout. Smoke and salty liquorice enhance the bitter and roasty flavours of a superb imp. Rich and excellent stuff from Iceland.

Ölbeat

"Honour" is the name of this song in English. And that's where my understanding of Icelandic lyrics almost ends. Anyway, the music is dark, deep and roughed-up with the almost-screaming vocals. Without understanding a word I liked this immediately. Seriously, have to find out the meaning of the lyrics, and check out the band a little more.

Sólstafir: Æra (YouTube, Live)

From the 2011 album Svartir Sandar, the song was written by Sólstafir.

Ölbeat 320 (BC17 #7): Fuller's Imperial IPA

Brewery: Fuller's 
Country: England
Style: Imperial IPA
Abv: 10,5 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is amber red with a small tan head. Aroma has grape juice, dark fruits and caramel malts. Taste begins with biting fruity bitter caramel malts. Bitter dark fruits and sweet boozy malts take over with hints of sweet citrus. Towards the end boozy piny bitterness rises above the sweet fruity and caramel malty flavours. Aftertaste has piny bitter fruits and malty boozy dryness.

Heavy and biting Imperial IPA. The strong sweet malty presence and piny alcohol pushes this one determinedly towards the direction of barley wine, but I'm not that fussy about the beer style. Powerful show of hops and malts. Not the traditional Fuller's but still rich and great.

Ölbeat

Since I see this beer as a traditional English brewery's showcase on a modern strong American beer style, the music is about London rockstar turning into American Western legend. You don't have to make it identical to be authentically great.

Billy Idol: John Wayne (YouTube)

From the 2008 compilation album The Very Best of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself, the song was written by Billy Idol, Brian Tichy and Derek Sherinian.

Ölbeat 319 (BC17 #6): Sori Anniversary Barley Wine 2017

Brewery: Sori Brewing
Country: Estonia
Style: Barley Wine 
Abv: 11,6 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is dark brown with a small tan head. Aroma has caramel, chocolate and brandy. Taste begins with sweet and boozy bitter fruity bite. Sweet caramel and bitter dark fruits take over with some alcohol kick. Towards the end sweet chocolate and creamy caramel get on top with smoothly bitter and fruity - grapes, plums and raisins - cognac coating. Aftertaste has sweet red grapes, bitter caramel and lasting fruit liquor warmth.

Sweet and fruity barrel-aged Barley Wine. Caramel, dark fruits and cognac play excellent head roles here, some chocolate and lingering gentle bitterness fit in the picture perfectly. Beautiful brew for celebrating both the brewery's 2nd and Finland's 100th anniversary.

Ölbeat

Just something great and Finnish music to accompany this superb brew.

Nightwish: Deep Silent Complete (YouTube)

From the 2000 album Wishmaster, the song was written by Tuomas Holopainen.

Ölbeat 318 (BC17 #5): Ruosniemen Vuorineuvos Tullibardine BA

Brewery: Ruosniemen Panimo
Country: Finland
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 10 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a large beige head. Aroma has roasted malts, spicy-oaky whisky and dark chocolate. Taste starts with bittersweet spicy roast. Strong sweet roast, spicy whisky and fruity chocolate take over with espresso notes. Towards the end sweet fruity-oaky whisky and bitter dark chocolate come out strongest. Aftertaste has dark chocolate, dry roast and lasting oaky alcohol warmth.

Excellent whisky barrel-aged Imperial Stout. Chocolate and roast flavours of the original get beautiful support from fruity, oaky and spicy Speyside single malt whisky. One of the best Finnish barrel-aged ones I've had in a while.

Ölbeat

Vuorineuvos is "a honorary title granted by the President of Finland to leading figures in industry and commerce". So barrel-aged vuorineuvos sounds like a fat old rich prick after too many cognacs. This rockabilly-punk song is probably about the offspring of those called vuorineuvos, who usually are undeservably rich and pretty bitchy despite their sex or gender.

Melrose: Rich Little Bitch (YouTube)

From the 1986 album Melrose, the song was written by Mika Tuokkola and Petri Salomaa.