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 056: De Ranke XXX Bitter

Brewery: Brouwerij De Ranke
Country: Belgium
Style: Belgian Ale
Abv: 6 %
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The hop-upgraded version of XX Bitter

What about the beer?
Colour is bubbly clear yellow with small white head. Aroma has lemon, yeast and grass. Taste starts with bitter and sour first bite. Lemon sourness and hoppy bitterness ride smoothly together. Near the finish the bitterness gets some tones of yeast and herbs. Aftertaste is sour and dry.

The tasty combination of sour citrus and dry bitter hops works with me. There are similarities with saison and farmhouse ales, which is excellent, but the bitterness turns the experience to a different direction, which is also excellent. Overall very fresh and clear cut experience.

Ölbeat

Bitter-sour brew can be matched with a blues song. Since the beer doesn't loosen its grip on the drinker easily, I found this piece of art from the master of blues rock:

Gary Moore: Enough of the Blues (YouTube)

From the 2001 album Back to the Blues, the song was written by Gary Moore.

Ölbeat 039: Orval

Brewery: Brasserie d'Orval
Country: Belgium
Style: Belgian Ale
Abv: 6,2 %
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Magic carpet ride in liquid form

What about the beer?
Colour is bubbly hazy copper brown with aggressively huge foamy white head. Aroma has deep sourness by vinegar and lemon and dry apple, and it reminds a bit of dry white wine. Taste begins with extreme sourness, which is strengthened by high carbonation. Fruits and lemon join the fun, followed by some overripe grapes and banana flavour. Bitter and yeast flavours get loose near the finish. Aftertaste is sandpaper-dry with some lemon-sourness on top.

Damn. That was a perfectly rich, fresh and versatile journey inside one beer. Unforgettably powerful sourness in the beginning, bitter fruit salad in the middle and breath-taking dryness in the end. The brewery really doesn't need any other commercial beer, if this is what they brew.

Ölbeat

Sour beer could be translated to grumpy people's music, but I'll abandon that idea. Rich fruits and Belgian yeast turn the sourness in my case to funky beats, fresh and soulful funk, if I think a little further. Since there's definitely something magical and nonunderstandable in Orval, this song matches with it perfectly:  

Stevie Wonder: Superstition (YouTube)

From the 1972 album Talking Book, written by Stevie Wonder.

Ölbeat 018: Mathildedalin Pirske

Brewery: Mathildedalin Kyläpanimo
Country: Finland
Style: Belgian Ale
Abv: 6,9 %
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Brewed like when Grandad bought the lamp?

Mathildedalin Kyläpanimo (pages in Finnish), founded in 2014, is a village brewery in Mathildedal village in Perniö town in Southwest Finland. It was founded and is literally maintained by the villagers, who - according to the brewery's homepages - wanted to pay homage to the history of the ironworks and the village community of today. "We're a small village, but we're used to do great things together. With the same attitude and ambition we make our own beer."
 
This beer was part of Alko's Finnish microbrewery craftbeer selection in spring 2016.

What about the beer?
Colour is cloudy golden yellow with nice medium white head. Aroma has distinctive sour apple and some vinegar and yeast scent. Taste starts with lemon and fruity sour flavours. Palate gives yeast and some sweetness. Finish is sour and dry.

Sour fruitiness and yeast combine very nicely, there's body to hold to and balance between the flavor. Overall, the guys at Mathildedal have created a true and fine Belgian ale.

Ölbeat

There's pretty much funk in the union of yeast and lemon. There's also pretty solid body to build the character on. So my choice for a funky tune to match the brew is:

Kool & The Gang: Get Down On It (YouTube)

From 1981 album, Something Special, the song was written by vocalist James "J. T." Taylor and saxophonist-keyboyardist Ronald Bell. The composition is based on all the good-time-disco funk elements that the band has been known for its existence for over 50 years. The music supports the simple lyrical theme which is encouraging the non-dancing people to get on the floor. I believe that Pirske was brewed with same kind of funky joyful attitude that Robert "Kool" Bell & Co. are showing in the scene.