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 109: Dieu du Ciel Rigor Mortis Abt

Brewery: Brasserie Dieu du Ciel
Country: Canada
Style: Abt/Quadrupel
Abv: 10,5 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is hazy copper brown with a thin whiteish head. Aroma has sour and sweet fruits like orange, plum, and raisins, yeasty aroma and a hint of sweet berries. Taste begins with fruits, gentle hops and yeast. Sour sweetish citrus-peachy firework fills the mouth, joined by yeast, sweet spice and caramel flavours. Towards the end sourness, yeast and soft alcohol step in front. Aftertaste has alcohol warmth and dry fruity bitterness.

After a little bit slow start, this beer's motor really gets going - despite the name. Very complex and delicious fruity Quadruple with nearly perfect symphony of sweet, sour & bitter parts. A true masterpiece from the Canadians - worth every cent.

Ölbeat

The band actually had their first hit with a song called Rigor Mortis, so the far-fetched connection in the theme is there. Since the brew is actually far from being dead stiff, so I'll pick a piece that has life, heartbeat and fireworks like the beer does.

Cameo: Word Up! (YouTube)

From the 1986 album Word Up!, the song was written by Larry Blackmon and Tomi Jenkins.

Ölbeat 047: Flying Monkeys Netherworld

Brewery: Flying Monkeys
Country: Canada
Style: India Black Ale
Abv: 6 %
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Monster beer in Canadian style

What about the beer?
Colour is thick bubbly black with small beige head. Aroma has grass and hops with some burned-roasted malts in background. Taste starts hoppy, slightly roasted bitterness in front. Soon roasted malts arrive to the scene stronger with grapefruit. Towards the end taste turns into dry coffeeish bitterness. Aftertaste has bitter hops and dry grapefruit.

Fresh hoppy and gently roasted brew with citrus flavors and a coffee twist in the end. Somewhat unordinary for the style but still very tasty and pretty recognisable Cascadian Dark Ale. The more distinctive beer can sometimes be a better one, and in this case it was.

Ölbeat

The theme, the colour and the overall character ask for something dark and shaking. Though the song ain't about beings from the underworld but about feeling isolated or separated, the dark aggression comes out  loud:

Deftones: Hole in the Earth (YouTube)

From the 2006 album Saturday Night Wrist, the song was written by band members Chino Moreno, Chi Cheng and Abe Cunningham.

Ölbeat 042: Dunham Imperial Black IPA

Brewery: Brasserie Dunham
Country: Canada 
Style: India Black Ale
Abv: 8,6 %
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Strong bubbles, powerful beer

What about the beer?
Colour is pitch black with beautiful huge foamy light-beige head. Aroma has a clean and fresh scent with mild citrus and roast. Taste bites with sharply bitter hops, especially on tongue. After the hop attack the bitterness grows with roast. Towards the end gentle roast, aggressively bitter grapefruit and dry pine make the party. Aftertaste is sandpaper dry and biting bitter.

What we have here is a "fist-on-the-face" aggressive brew: the match starts with a straight hoppy right to the cheek and ends with a hooky grapefruit left to the chin. This is heavy hardcore stuff, that you shouldn't drink unalerted. Superb craftbeer from the Quebec-based brewery.

Ölbeat

The song matching this Dunham brew had to be "f**k peace, this is rock" song. You can't change the world with beer, can you:

Ozzy Osbourne: I Don't Want to Change the World (YouTube, Live 1992)

From the 1991 album No More Tears, the song was written by Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde, Randy Castillo and Lemmy Kilmister.

Ölbeat 002: Flying Monkeys Smashbomb Atomic IPA

Brewery: Flying Monkeys
Country: Canada
Style: India Pale Ale
Abv: 6 %
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Peaceful A-bomb from Ontario, Canada

Flying Monkeys, an Ontario-based brewery, was in unknown territory for me. There isn't much availibility for its brews in Finland. However, after a scouting session of North-American beers for online shopping, Smashbomb got selected to the cart because of the reviews, tasting descriptions, style and maybe the funky name. There were basically no expectations for the experience: if it would work, make a post, if not, on to the next one.

What about the beer?
Colour is orange with a tiny white head. Aroma is hop-filled with a scent of citrus in the background. Taste explodes in the mouth with powerful dry bitterness. Slowly and smoothly the sweet fruits - mostly mango, some pineapple and orange - linger to the palate. Aftertaste is a balanced mix of bitterness, citrus and mango. And then you have to sip again to get another round in the rollercoaster.

Crazy heavy stuff. There's a party of taste in my mouth. Funky IPA indeed, leaves me thirsty for more "bombs" from the brewery.

Ölbeat

Sorry, guys, I just couldn't match a heavy beer with any kind of Eurodance. The song had to be a everything-going-on pure rock song. So I went with this happy classic:

Black Sabbath: The Wizard (YouTube)

From the 1970 album Black Sabbath, the song brings out every heavy metal band's forefathers' background in blues. Because it's performed by the original Sabbath line-up, Tony Iommi's guitar-riff-mastering, Geezer Butler's solid bass and Bill Ward's maniac drumming found a firm basis, where as Ozzy's vocal's and harmonica bend well to atypical ungloomy lyrics and mood. It's organised mess of happy noise. Song is said to be inspired by the great Gandalf from the Rings but the song's wizard is not associated to a fun-oriented sorcerer. He was probably bringing joy to potters but not Harry. Nevertheless, in the 2010's Smashbomb is a drug that "has passed by/ giving his sign/ left all the people/ feeling so fine". A perfect wizard, then.