Ölbeat 346: Beer Hunter's Mufloni Hermansson Barley Wine

Brewery: Beer Hunter's (in Finnish)
Country: Finland
Style: Barley Wine
Abv: 11 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is dark brown with a thin natural white lace. Aroma has nutty chocolate, caramel malts and dark fruits. Taste starts with bittersweet fruity caramel. Malty caramel and sweet fruits take over with spicy bitterness and hints of chocolate. Towards the end sweet caramel malts, spicy pine and bitter boozy citrus fruits come out strongest. Aftertaste has biting fruity-piny bitterness, boozy spiciness and caramel malty dryness.

Malty and sharp-flavoured Barley Wine. Caramel malts, sweet and bitter fruits, spicy pine and boozy kick dominate. Part of me desires for a little more roundness, another one is very pleased with the rough edges. Rather enjoyable, still probably on its way to excellence?

This beer was part of Alko's Finnish artisanal beer selection in spring 2018.

Ölbeat

I explain the song choice with the place, the situation and the mood, where I enjoyed the bottle with my parents. The song is about the singer being enchanted by a ghost, while I'm enchanted by the old school my parents live in. Visiting there seems to somehow take me to completely other reality, other time and other place. With this kind of classic style beverage, the trip became even more distancing.

Kings of Leon: Find Me (YouTube)

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

Ölbeat 289: Beer Hunter's Mufloni Pilsner

Brewery: Beer Hunter's (in Finnish)
Country: Finland
Style: Pilsener
Abv: 5,5 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is hazy golden orange with a small white head. Aroma has a strong sweet malty scent with some citrus. Taste starts with dry bready malts. Grainy malts and bitter-tart citrus fruits take over. Near the finish sweet malts and fruity bitterness come in front. Aftertaste has malty dryness and lasting citrus bitterness.

Simple but great Pilsner. Even though I know nothing how this style should taste like. Bitter-dry grainy malt flavour has the lead role while citrus supports the strong malty body. Works fine with me. This beer won the award of Suomen Paras Olut (Best beer of Finland) in 2016.

Ölbeat

The competition in Finnish craft beer scene will get brutal in a few years. At this moment, there are nearly (or a little over) 90 commercial microbreweries in Finland. I believe - and wish, to be honest - that some of the existing ones will be wiped out while, for sure, some new ones are born. However, I'm sure that Beer Hunter's is one that stands the fight 'til the end.

Queen: Another One Bites The Dust (YouTube)

From the 1980 album The Game, the song was written by John Deacon.

Ölbeat 277: Beer Hunter's Mufloni Mandariini IPA

Brewery: Beer Hunter's (in Finnish)
Country: Finland
Style: India Pale Ale
Abv: 6,5 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is hazy golden orange with a large white head. Aroma has stingy grapefruit, tart lemon and yeast. Taste begins with sour bitter citrus. Fresh tart lemon and bitter grapefruit take over with some pine in the background. Towards the end bitter piny grapefruit and sweet orange come out strongest. Aftertaste has sour lemon, bitter grapefruit and gently piny dryness.

Excellent citrus-dominating India Pale Ale. There's bitterness and sweetness, there's sourness an tartness. And of course, some piny bitter-dryness for the finish. This goes to the top sector of the Finnish IPAs I've had. One of Finland's best breweries has succeeded again!

Ölbeat

"Don't you think I'm so sexy? I'm dressed so fresh, so clean." Well, I don't, actually. But the beer is fresh and clean. The beer isn't supposed to be sexy, it's supposed to be great. And this is.

OutKast: So Fresh, So Clean (YouTube)

From the 2001 album Stankonia, the song was written by Andre Benjamin, Antwan Patton and David Sheats.

Ölbeat 261: Mufloni Saison de Randonneur

Brewery: Beer Hunter's (in Finnish)
Country: Finland
Style: Saison
Abv: 6,5 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is hazy golden orange with a large white head. Aroma has fruity yeast and sour-sweet fruits. Taste starts with sour fruity bite with strong yeast. Fruity sour citrus and funky yeast flavours take over. Near the finish some raisins and sour apple is added. Aftertaste has fruity dryness and sourness.

Fresh, balanced and delicious Saison. The sour yeasty citrus flavours remind me of the warm summer days in the countryside. Can imagine at least one cyclist picking this from his picnic basket on a break. Absolutely beautiful beer.

Ölbeat

Since this brew at least almost has the reputation of a classic in Finland, the natural choice for a classic cycling track gets picked.

Queen: Bicycle Race (YouTube)

From the 1978 album Jazz, the song was written by Freddie Mercury.

Ölbeat 253: Beer Hunter's Mufloni Umbalabisse

Brewery: Beer Hunter's (in Finnish)
Country: Finland
Style: Premium Lager
Abv: 4,5 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is hazy straw yellow with a large white head. Aroma has lemon and grainy malts. Taste starts with biting sour-bitter citrus. Biting bitter grapefruit takes over with dry grainy malts. Near the finish the dry-bitter flavour gets piny notes. Aftertaste has piny-malty dryness and grapefruit bitterness.

Mild but excellent hopped Lager. Citrus, malts and piny flavours are nicely present. Believe or not, this was brewed an American football team Pori Bears for their 35th anniversary. Much better than most of the band-label beers available. And much better than the official Super Bowl beer.

Ölbeat

In American football, they aren't so much after the goals but touchdowns, right? Don't know or give a shit about the game, but it's nice to see that sport clubs want to have their own brews for celebration and have them brewed in small local breweries. That's punk and so is this.

Blink-182: Touchdown Boy (YouTube)

From the 1995 album Cheshire Cat, the song was written by Tom DeLonge and Mark Hoppus.

Ölmönger Special: Beer Hunter's, Pori, 24 Feb 2017

What? Restaurant Beer Hunter's 
Where? In Pori, Finland.
When? On Friday, 24 February, 2017. Between 6 and 11 p.m.
Why? It was the gentlemen's evening out. 

"Sometimes a man feels lucky." No, that's not the sentence for anyone's wedding day or a phrase to say on the morning of one's 50th anniversary. The words don't describe the feelings that buzz around romantic or marital relationships, getting children and finally kicking them out of the house or attending the funeral of your father-in-law... or wait... No. A man feels lucky when he gets a chance to have a pint, two or many in good company.

Bar from outside. Notice surrounding the East German style architecture.

And that's the way it was last Friday. Me and my buddy - two married guys with children - had a rare chance to step out of the role of father and husband for couple of hours. Started our journey in the heart of the Finnish West Coast Pearl at around 5 p.m. First at Blind Burger with fine burgers. Then around 6 p.m. entered the Pori pilgrimage site for beer lovers.

Restaurant Beer Hunter's - as well as the brewery of the same name - is led by brewer Mika Tuhkanen. Both the restaurant and the brewery were founded in 1998. The original brewery is still in function at the restaurant premises but used mainly for special batches. The larger brewery that lies in Herralahti - couple of kilometers from the center - was started in 2014 and it's used for brewing the main commercial products (like CCCCC IPA) of the brewery.

Half of the tap row from the left...

... and the other half from the right.

The restaurant went through a major change in the winter-spring 2016: the tap line was completely renewed. The amount of taps was increased from X (a few, five, less than then, who cares?) to 24, of which 15-16 are changing craft beer taps. The amount of brewery's own products on tap has seemed to vary between four and six. In addition, there is a decent collection of bottled beer available. As a whisky bar, Beer Hunter's has even more to offer. But that's another story.

One thing that didn't change was the genuine pub style. Even though one can get sour beers, sometimes even on tap, the restaurant hast been decorated either with cheap bling or with artificial second-hand barn furniture. It's a cozy suburbian bar style pub with a beer lover's selection.

But enough with the advertising - back to the business! 

Let's start with the Beer Hunter's own Mufloni brews - from tap of course.

Mufloni Savuportteri (@Ratebeer)

Colour is black with a two-finger thick natural white head. Aroma has meaty smoke and roasted malts. Taste starts with a smoky bitter bite. Intense smoke and roasted malts take over with nice bitterness. Near the finish smoke gets sweeter and roasty bitterness comes through. Aftertaste has roasted malts and smoky bitter dryness.

Mufloni Tripel (@Ratebeer)

Colour is hazy orange with a small white head. Aroma has pineapple, orange and yeast. Taste begins with yeasty and fruity wheat malts. Yeasty sweet malts and sour citrus takes over with gentle bitterness. Near the finish sweet yeasty citrus fruits get on top. Aftertaste has bittersweet citrus and yeasty dryness.

Both Mufloni beers were between good and excellent. Savuporter had the qualities of both well-smoked beer and thick roasted porter. Tripel seemed to be traditional abbey brew with a citrus-flavoured hop twist.

Then to the guest taps - one Scottish and one Belgian beer, please! 

BrewDog Self Assembly Pope (@Ratebeer)

Colour is black with a small tan head. Aroma has strong perfumeish coconut and chocolate - like a liquid Bounty bar. Taste starts with bittersweet coconut and cocoa mix. Sweet coconut-chocolate and bitter roast take over. Near the finish spicy coffee and vanilla get mixed to the flavour. Aftertaste has sweet coconut, roasty bitterness and alcohol warmth.

Rodenbach Alexander (@Ratebeer)

Colour is hazy red with a huge natural white head. Aroma has heavy sourness, cherries and yeast. Taste begins with sour berries. Sour cherry juice takes over with slight bitterness. Near the finish cherry sweetness gets through. Aftertaste has sweet-sour cherries.

Mmm and grrr. Whereas BrewDog SAP surprises with a tasty imperial porter with almost artificial coconut-chocolate-vanilla coating, Rodenbach Alexander really disappoints with pretty one-sided less sour and more sweet cherry juice. Well, I'm not the best friend of fruit or berry sours, so don't take it personally.

In the end, we have couple of American bottlings.

AleSmith Old Numbskull (@Ratebeer)

Colour is beautiful dark brown with a thin white lace. Aroma has caramel, chocolate, nuts and sweet liquor. Taste starts with fruity sweet bitterness. Sweet rich caramel and milk chocolate take over with a bourbon boozy bite. Near the finish fruity bitterness and nutty vanillaish alcohol kicks in. Aftertaste has aged nutty bitterness and bourbon vanilla alcohol.

Great Divide Oak Aged Yeti (@Ratebeer)

Colour is black with a small vanishing beige head. Aroma has roasted malts, vanilla and chocolate. Taste begins with bitter oaky roast. Heavily roasted malts and vanilla-flavoured bitterness take over with dark chocolate. Near the finish cocoa and oaky flavours really get through. Aftertaste has bitter dark chocolate and roasty dryness.

Delicious finish for a great visit. Old Numbskull proved to be a barley wine worth every dime - soft but strong, probably aged for some time. Oak Aged Yeti showed the flavours of rich imperial stout - worthy older brother to the excellent standard version.

Ölbeat

Classy visit with only one miss, which can always be thought as lack of my personal taste. Let's end the story with a couple of classic and timeless 60's rock songs. Just to avoid putting here crap they call "music from Pori". To be continued...

Del Shannon: Runaway (YouTube)

Released as a single in 1961, the song was written by Del Shannon and Max Crook.

The Who: My Generation (YouTube)

From the 1965 album My Generation, the song was written by Pete Townshend.

Ölbeat 153: Mufloni Cascade Black Ale

Brewery: Beer Hunter's
Country: Finland
Style: India Black Ale
Abv: 6 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is black with a small tan head. Aroma has grapefruit, orange and mild roast. Taste starts with roasted malts and dry bitterness. Bitter grapefruit with roast takes over - a tiny bit of salty liquorice and some malts in the background. Towards the end herbal piny bitter flavour comes in. When the brew warms up a bit the roast comes out a little stronger. Aftertaste has piny dryness and roasted fruity bitterness.

Excellent India Black Ale. The elements of a fine IPA are present: bitter grapefruit and dry pine with a malty base to build the hop flavours on. Delicate roast gives the "black" touch. The Pori masterbrewer has done it again.

Ölbeat

So I went back to where it started with the artist. And the colour theme of the song. Well, the brew is black, too, so stop whining. Grunge born near the Cascades in the state of Oregon like Cascade hops once was. I don't know where the hop trends go but Soundgarden stays in my earphones.

Soundgarden: Black Rain (YouTube)

From the 2010 album Telephantasm, the song was written by Chris Cornell, Ben Shepherd and Kim Thayil.

Ölbeat 100: Mufloni CCCCC IPA

Brewery: Beer Hunter's
Country: Finland
Style: India Pale Ale
Abv: 7 % 
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is dark copper orange with two-finger thick natural white head. Aroma has orange, lemon, hops and a hint of mango. Taste ignites with striking bitter and fresh grapefruit. The pure first impression carries on, but citrus fruitiness grows towards orange and lemon. Somewhat strong piny dryness and citrus tartness steps in front near the finish. Aftertaste has fresh and dry citrus bitterness with a tender touch of pine.

I have enjoyed this India Pale Ale numerous bottles since it was introduced. It's still a delicious package of fresh and juicy grapefruit flavour. In Finland this can still be considered as the landmark of India Pale Ale - even the critical hedonists of Finnish Beer Guide (Olutopas) forum have dedicated a thread for the brew and the quality differences in its batches. The aroma and flavour are hard to beat - challengers come and go. Since this brew has had it's say in the process of turning me into Ölmönger, it deserves to be the 100th Ölbeat.

Ölbeat

The Five-C IPA is pure rock, period. It can be enjoyed probably with any honest rock song but since I have to, I picked couple of tunes to accompany it. After all, this is the Ölbeat number 100, and anyway this beer surely couldn't be handled with just one track:

Guns N' Roses: Paradise City (YouTube)

From the 1987 album Appetite for Destruction, the song was written by Guns N' Roses.

Hurriganes: Get On (YouTube)

From the 1974 album Roadrunner, the song was written by Hurriganes.

Ölbeat 079: Mufloni DIPA (9,0 %)

Brewery: Beer Hunter's
Country: Finland
Style: Imperial IPA
Abv: 9,0 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is copper orange with tiny diminishing white head. Aroma has orange, mango and caramel. Taste begins with soft citrus hoppy bite. Bitter grapefruit with strong piny dry twist takes over and dominates. Some lemon and orange notes appear in the middle. Near the finish harsh pine and grapefruit peel are added. Aftertaste has peely dryness and heavy grapefruit bitterness.

At first the brew seems to be almost too grapefruit-pine dominated but the other citrus arrive with time. Superb lemon, orange and grapefruit peel flavours. Strong but balanced, stiff-bodied brew. The brewery from the hood doesn't fail.

Ölbeat

Controlled power behind the chilled label. Browsed through power metal ballads and somehow got attached to this one. Guess it was the title, guess it was the longing bitter lyrics, guess it was the clear vocal and instrumental performance. Anyway, here it is:

Amoral: Blueprints (YouTube)

From the 2014 album Fallen Leaves & Dead Sparrows, the song was written by Ben Varon and Amoral.

Ölbeat 050: Mufloni Saison Gaelach

Brewery: Beer Hunter's
Country: Finland
Style: Saison
Abv: 10,0 %
@RateBeer

Irish-style Farmhouse Ale? Works for me!

What about the beer?
Colour is dark nut brown with tiny instantly dissolving light-coloured crown. Aroma has mostly sour-tart lemon and some hints of whisky and vanilla. Taste bites first with the whisky, but quickly grows into an exciting mix of lemon dominated fruity sourness and whiskey flavour. Near the finish we get some sharp tartness and alcoholic bitterness added to the flavour. Aftertaste is mainly bitter-sour with a twist of alcohol warmth.

I was a bit afraid of what would come out of a hopped saison and six-month long Jameson-barrel aging. After enjoying a bottle I would say you get a hell of a brew that you either love or hate. Since I tasted the unbarreled 7 % version of the beer I'm entitled to say that the aging worked beautifully. The whisky greatly enhances the saison-side of the brew, so the marriage is successful.

Ölbeat

Feeling temptated to grab a traditional Irish folk song because of Jameson-barreling, I decided not to. Since whisky-barrel-aged saison is pretty out there from a Finnish brewery, it's also partly "rock". So, alternative rock it is. And since the brewers of Beer Hunter's (or anyone else) didn't probably know, how good the result would be, let's listen:

Queens of the Stone Age: No One Knows (YouTube)

From the 2002 album Songs for the Deaf, the song was written by band members Josh Homme and Mark Lanegan.

Ölbeat 022: Beer Hunter's Mufloni Imperial Stout

Brewery: Beer Hunter's
Country: Finland
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 10 %
@RateBeer

Beer Hunter's (Facebook, mostly in Finnish), founded in 1998, is a microbrewery (and a beer restaurant) from Pori, Western Finland. The brewery has been awarded e.g. the best brewery in Finland in 2015 by Ratebeer. They occasionally distil whisky named Old Buck, which has been chosen as European Mainland Whisky of the Year by Jim Murray in 2009. Personally I think there are two good reasons to live in Pori - Beer Hunter's is the first.

This beer was part of Alko's Finnish microbrewery craftbeer selection in spring 2016. 

What about the beer?
Colour is black with a small beige crown. Aroma has roasted malts, coffee and dark chocolate with a hint of smoke. Taste gives first heavily roasted and burned coffee with moderate sweetness. There are flavours of cocoa and liquorice, too. Palate adds late bittersweet hops to the palette, which stays in the coffee and roast section. Aftertaste is warm, bitter and dry. The high abv is well hidden between the superb flavours.

This is what you get when you brew imperial stout by the book. And what you get is perfection: everything has its place and everything is on its place. If someone would point out that "this beer lacks that something special" - I'm not suggesting that anyone would do that, am I? -, I would add that it lacks cracks and inperfections, which are necessary for human beings.

Ölbeat

It's obvious that we needed a solid rock song for this one. When you get this kind of jewel, there's no need to stick inside neither the city nor the country borders. Fuck modesty. Sorry, Neumann, Perjantai just won't do:

AC/DC: Back in Black (YouTube)

From the 1980 eponymous album, the title track was written by singer Brian Johnson and the guitarists Angus and Malcolm Young. The song was the band's tribute to the former singer Bon Scott, who had died earlier in February, 1980. The band asked Johnson to write the song's lyrics for Scott and told him that "it can't be morbid, it has to be celebration". The new singer wrote - "whatever came into his head" - about wild lifestyle and immortality, and the bandmates loved it. The song and the album opened the Johnson era by a storm - both became instant classics. In the craftbeer scene, I wish that Mufloni Imperial Stout could be an almost similar classic. ;)