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 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 306: Thornbridge Mango Halcyon

Brewery: Thornbridge Brewery
Country: England
Style: Imperial IPA
Abv: 7,4 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is hazy juicy yellow with a large white head. Aroma has strong mango with grapefruit and orange. Taste begins with strongly hitting citrus punch. Fresh and softly carbonated sour-bitter grapefruit-lemon juice takes over with orange, mango and herbs in the background. Towards the end the fruit juice keeps its grip, piny and herbal flavours rising up a bit. Aftertaste has bitter grapefruit, sour lemon and herbal dryness.

Delicious fruity Double IPA. Fresh citrus and mango packed beer with moderate piny bitterness. Someone could call this a fake New England IPA. I call this one heck of a brew. Great tuned Halcyon from Thornbridge - something completely different from the ordinary but still magnificent.

Ölbeat

Time for some raw and brutal rock. With fruit, of course.

Danko Jones: The Mango Kid

From the 1999 EP My Love is Bold and 2001 album I'm Alive and On Fire, the song was written by Danko Jones.

Ölbeat 291: Fuller's ESB

Brewery: Fuller's
Country: England
Style: Premium Bitter
Abv: 5,9 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is bright dark orange with a finger-thick white head. Aroma has malts, caramel and some sweet fruit. Taste begins with bittersweet malty bite. Caramel malts dominate with some sweet citrusy flavour. Towards the end sweet caramel flavour gets joined with gentle fruity bitterness. Aftertaste has sweet fruity malts and slightly bitter alcohol.

Shortly put, simple and rather fine Bitter. Classic quality brew with malty caramel lead and fruity bitter side tones. No room for any disappointment here. Surprisingly, it took this long for the first Fuller's brew to show up here. But this won't be the last.

Ölbeat

Classic English ale from the 1970's needs to be paired with classic English 70's rock. And to push any coincidence aside, another thing that connects these two is London. Iron Maiden seemed a bit too rough choice and they have already brewed their Trooper with Robinsons. 

Status Quo: Whatever You Want (YouTube)

From the 1979 album Whatever You Want, the song was written by Rick Parfitt and Andy Bown.

Ölbeat 250: Magic Rock Cannonball

Brewery: Magic Rock Brewing
Country: England 
Style: India Pale Ale
Abv: 7,4 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is hazy light orange. Aroma has grapefruit, orange and mango. Taste begins with biting piny and bitter grapefruit. Fresh grapefruit-lemon juice takes over with a piny twist and some sour candy. Towards the end bitter pine and grapefruit with a bunch of sweet orange get on top. Aftertaste has fresh grapefruit-lemon bitterness and fruity piny dryness.

Excellent super-drinkable fruity India Pale Ale. Fresh citrus lead by grapefruit and strong pine all the way. Simple but solid. Right kind of first impression by Magic Rock.

Ölbeat

Bring your own booze, bring your own bombs... What's the difference? Huge, of course, when you think about it. But nevertheless, despite the critical message of the song, I matched it with this beer explosive. Call it playing with a serious matter if you like.

System Of A Down: B.Y.O.B. (YouTube)

From the 2005 album Mezmerize, the song was written by Daron Malakian and Serj Tankian.

Ölbeat 243: Thornbridge Valravn

Brewery: Thornbridge Brewery
Country: England
Style: India Black Ale
Abv: 8,8 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a overflowing tan head. Aroma has mild roast, liquorice and slightly sweet fruit. Taste starts with biting roasty bitter citrus. Piny-grapefruity bitterness and heavy roast take over with salty liquorice. Towards the end roasted liquorice and sweet orange get added to the flavour. Aftertaste has bitter grapefruit, dry roast and a snap of alcohol.

Smooth Imperial India Black Ale. Bitter fruits and liquorice-flavoured roast get joined deliciously. Finish shows the strength of the brew gently. Worthy big brother to great Wild Raven.

Ölbeat

The Danish mythology behind the brew's name caught me this time. According to one folklore, when the ravens ate the remains of a dead king or chief on the battlefield, they became valravne, ravens with supernatural powers and human's intelligence. An electric folklore band from the Faroe Islands adopted the creature's name and performed mythical Scandinavian music from 2005 to 2013. This is just one song from the band's second album.

Valravn: Sjón (YouTube)

From the 2009 album Koder på snor, the song was written by Valravn.

Ölbeat 238: Oakham Ales Green Devil IPA

Brewery: Oakham Ales
Country: England
Style: India Pale Ale
Abv: 6 %

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What about the beer?

Colour is clear light yellow with a medium-sized white head. Aroma has fresh lemon, sweet orange and pineapple. Taste starts with bitter twist of citrus fruits. Tart lemon and bitter grapefruit take over with oily malty body. Towards the end some sweet orange is added to the fruity bitter-turning flavour. Aftertaste has sour and bitter citrus with malty dryness.

Excellent citrus-packed English IPA. Aroma promises fruits and taste delivers. Lemon, grapefruit and touch of orange come through. Really fresh experience.

Ölbeat

Am I the only one who thinks it may seem disturbing that many breweries name their brews with a connection to the Lord of the Underworld? I don't think it is disturbing, but some people probably get disturbed. Well, probably they already are if their world is shaken with what's on the label. Right. Enough crap. Let's bring couple more devils to the arena.

The 69 Eyes: Devils (YouTube)

From the 2004 album Devils, the song was written by Jyrki Linnankivi, Pasi Moilanen and Arto Ojajärvi.

Ölbeat 203: Thornbridge Huck

Brewery: Thornbridge Brewery

Country: England

Style: Imperial IPA

Abv: 7,4 %

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What about the beer?

Colour is bright golden orange with a finger-thick white head. Aroma has grapefruit, lemon, orange - nice fresh citrus palette. Taste starts with citrus bitter bite. Fresh grapefruit with gentle resin takes over. Towards the end bitterness grows and both citrus (grapefruit-lemon-orange) and pine come clearer through. Aftertaste has lots of lasting strong grapefruit and spicy piny dryness.

High quality Double IPA. Beautifully tasty citrus with developing piny bitterness. Extremely enjoyable. In my books Thornbridge seems to have the top resume in Pale Ales in England.

Ölbeat

The combining theme with the beer and the song's name is obvious. The brewery hasn't kept its beers inside Derbyshire borders, but sent them "over the hills and far away". Good for people like me, since we like ales that rock.

Gary Moore: Over the Hills And Far Away (YouTube)

From the 1987 album Wild Frontier, the song was written by Gary Moore.

Ölbeat 202: Thornbridge Crackendale

Brewery: Thornbridge Brewery
Country: England
Style: American Pale Ale
Abv: 5,2 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is bright light yellow with a small white head. Aroma has fresh lemon and a malty scent. Taste begins with sour-bitter lemon. Sour-tart lemon and bitter malts take over. Near the finish malty dryness is added to the flavours. Aftertaste has lemon sourness and gentle malty-dry bitterness.

Refreshing sour fruity American Pale Ale. Citra hop really comes through with bitter malt flavour and gently dry finish. Easy and nice.

Ölbeat

Almost picked the neighboring song Lemon, but this proved to be just the right kind of funky piece of music. Spoken disco rock - or whatever you want to call it - fits the brew perfectly.

U2: Numb (YouTube)

From the 1993 album Zooropa, the song was written by U2.

Ölbeat 201: Thornbridge Chiron

Brewery: Thornbridge Brewery
Country: England
Style: American Pale Ale
Abv: 5 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is bright golden orange with a finger-thick white head. Aroma has fresh orange, lemon, pineapple and flowery notes. Taste begins with fresh grapefruit. Smoothly bitter and superfresh grapefruit juice fills the mouth with slightly sweet citrus side tone. Near the finish bitter grapefruit and gentle pine get on top. Aftertaste has fruity bitterness and slight dryness.

Fresh and fruity American Pale Ale. Nicely drinkable grapefruit mouth massage. Excellent example how fruity and good a relatively low abv ale can be, when the right hops are used with a solid malty base.

Ölbeat

Probably a wrong choice, but easy drinking beer is matched with a simple and catchy pop rock song. First that popped in my head.

Blur: Song 2 (YouTube)

From the 1997 album Blur, the song was written by Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree.

Ölbeat 195: Buxton Extra Porter

Brewery: Buxton Brewery
Country: England
Style: Porter
Abv: 7,4 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a small vanishing beige head. Aroma has sweet milk chocolate and fresh black coffee, a deliciously seducing scent. Taste starts wiht dark chocolate and bitter coffee bite. Bittersweet pure-cocoa chocolate and fresh dark-roasted coffee with sweet spices come on strong. Towards the end roasted malts, vanilla and warming booze join the flavours. Aftertaste has sweet chocolate, bitter cocoa liquor and lasting black coffee.

Boom! Excellent Porter with cocoa and coffee beans really showing the magic. Delicious chocolate and coffee get joined with spicy, roasted and boozy flavours. Beautifully multisided brew from Buxton who have already presented great skills with thick black beers earlier on.

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There's certainly some magic and some royalty in this brew. Don't know if the magic is black or if it's the queen of gypsies that's present but Carlos Santana's guitar leads the way and Gregg Rolie's vocals dance along. Great music to match a superb beer.

Santana: Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen (YouTube)

From the 1970 album Abraxas, the song was written by Peter Green (Black Magic Woman) and Gábor Szabó (Gypsy Queen).

Ölbeat 185: Thornbridge Jaipur

Brewery: Thornbridge Brewery
Country: England
Style: India Pale Ale
Abv: 5,9 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is bright light yellow with a finger-thick white head. Aroma has lemon, malty sourness and some grass. Taste starts with spiking sour-tart lemon. Dry sour-bitter lemon-grapefruit juice takes over. Towards the end bitter malts and hayish dryness come through. Aftertaste has malty dry bitterness and lemon sourness.

Really strong-flavoured citrus-filled India Pale Ale with steady and solid malt base, especially considering the abv. Sourness on top, bitter and malty flavours follow. Despite the intense sour-bitterness this goes down the throat pretty easy.

Ölbeat

Since the brew's name is taken from a city in India where the owners of Thornbridge Hall were married, we'll let it show in the selected song. Of course, the IPA style cries for rock, so this time it's raga rock.

Aerosmith: Taste of India (YouTube)

From the 1997 album Nine Lives, the song was written by Steven Tyler, Joe Perry and Glen Ballard.

Ölbeat 183: Buxton Axe Edge

Brewery: Buxton Brewery
Country: England
Style: India Pale Ale
Abv: 6,8 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is fuzzy golden orange with a medium-sized white head. Aroma has grapefruit, orange and tropical fruits. Taste lifts off with biting fruity bitterness. Freshly bitter and piny grapefruit takes over with sweet orange in the background. Towards the end strong pine and citrus peel flavours come in front. Aftertaste has peel bitterness and piny dryness.

Fruity, fresh and delicious India Pale Ale. Grapefruit and pine dominate the flavour strongly but smoothly. Sweet orange and bitter peel give some extra fruit and twist. Excellent brew from Buxton, once again.

Ölbeat

As a superfresh IPA, the beer demands a rock song. The name demands a war-related song... Well, since we're in Finland, someone could consider a song where the drunk head-of-the-family takes his axe and drives the rest of the family outside to the cold snow. ("Perr-kele!!") But since those songs are only made in Finland and for certain Finnish beers, we'll stick to the war theme. Even though there are only muskets and horses - no axes - mentioned in the song lyrics. Damn the details, just listen to Bruce and the boys! 

Iron Maiden: The Trooper (YouTube)

From the 1983 album Piece of Mind, the song was written by Steve Harris.

Ölbeat 165: Buxton King Maker

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

Colour is clear light orange with a finger-thick white head. Aroma has boozy fruit cocktail i.e. alcohol, orange and banana. Taste starts with strong fruity alcoholic bitterness. Bittersweet orange-mango liquor fills the mouth with hints of bitter grapefruit and dry pine. Towards the end sweet fruit candy, spicy-biting alcohol and strong piny bitterness start to compete with each other. Aftertaste is strong and lasting and has bitter pine and sweet fruity booze.

Really strong, fruity and bitter Imperial IPA. The combination of sweet orange, boozy bite and pine bitter make this one hard to handle - the beer barks and bites. And I love it. Excellent stuff from the other Derbyshire master brewery.

Ölbeat

Strong brew asks for a powerful song. In addition to a sword pictured in the bottle label, the king needs a temple or a sanctuary. This is a medieval-toned fantasy ballad about one. Rainbow was one of the supergroups of the 70's, originally joining together Ritchie Blackmore's mastery of guitar and Ronnie James Dio's unbelievable vocal range.

Rainbow: The Temple of the King (YouTube)

From the 1975 album Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, the song was written by Ritchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio.

Ölbeat 164: Thornbridge Eldon

Brewery: Thornbridge Brewery
Country: England
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 8 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a tiny beige crown. Aroma has heavy ashy roast, some black coffee and a malty scent. Taste begins with strong charcoal bitter roast. Roasted malts and bitter dark chocolate take over with hints of black coffee and dry oak. Near the finish dry bitterness and sweet roasted malts with bourbon oak and vanilla flavour rise. Aftertaste has roasty strong dryness, vanilla-covered bitterness and alcohol warmth.

Slowly starting ashy Imperial Stout that develops with every sip. First it's pure ash but slowly we get some malts, oak, coffee and vanilla out. Interesting beer, in a positive way. In the start pretty one-sided, in the end magnificent.

Ölbeat

The beer is named after Eldon Hole, a pothole in the Derbyshire Peak District. According the folklore, it was believed to be the refuge of the devil himself. Well, if the devil has had to hide underground we probably should feel compassion for him. "But what's puzzling you / Is the nature of my game." That surely fits the brew's style, too.

The Rolling Stones: Sympathy for the Devil (YouTube)

From the 1968 album Beggar's Banquet, the song was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.

Ölbeat 154: Thornbridge Wild Raven

Brewery: Thornbridge Brewery
Country: England
Style: India Black Ale
Abv: 6,6 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is dark blackish brown with a medium-sized natural white head. Aroma has pineapple, strawberries and fresh forest. Taste begins with roasted and fruity gentle bitterness. Sweet orange and bitter grapefruit take over with charcoaly roast on the side. Near the finish citrus turns completely to grapefruit with grassy and piny notes. Aftertaste has bitter-roasted grapefruit and a slice of dry pine.

Incredibly fresh-bitter India Black Ale with pure and sharp flavours. Citrus dominates the party with sweet orange in the start and grapefruit all over. Roasted flavour gives its stamp to the brew but doesn't rush in. Very delicious treat.

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Chose the music partly because of the bird theme and partly because the brew needed to be matched with a rock classic. This song is an "evergreen" from the band whose success was cut short too early in 1977, when singer Ronnie Van Zant and two other band members died in a plane crash.

Lynyrd Skynyrd: Free Bird (YouTube)

From the 1973 album (Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd), the song was written by Allen Collins and Ronnie Van Zant.

Ölbeat 152: Buxton Nth Cloud

Brewery: Buxton Brewery
Country: England
Style: Imperial IPA
Abv: 8,2 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is clear golden orange with a bubbly medium-sized white head. Aroma has rich mango, pineapple and citrus. Taste begins with rough piny and  fruity bitterness. Piny bitter grapefruit juice takes over with some sweet citrus on the background. Orange and alcohol flavours join the taste near the finish. Aftertaste has piny dryness and grapefruit bitterness.

Rough pine in the start makes the entry of incoming fruits easy. Strong citrus and pine powered Double or Imperial IPA. Very savoury and rich. No disappointments from the favourite brewery.

Ölbeat

Heavy brew - heavy flight to the sky and beyond. Nuff said.

Avenged Sevenfold: Higher (YouTube)

From the 2016 album The Stage, the song was written by Avenged Sevenfold.

Ölbeat 149: Anarchy Sublime Chaos

Brewery: Anarchy Brew Co.
Country: England 
Style: Stout

Abv: 7 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a thin beige crown. Aroma has charred-roasted malts, black coffee and chocolate. Taste bites first with charred roast. Charred malts and strong dark-roasted coffee dominate the taste with a twist of cocoa. Some chocolate and malty sweetness come slowly through. Towards the end sweet spicy bitterness and warming alcohol show up. Aftertaste has bitter chocolate and alcohol.

They call this Breakfast Stout - this would really be an awakener. Where the hell do beer styles get named? And who the hell gives names to beers? No chaos present here, just smooth, harmonic and delicious taste. Charcoal in the beginning, followed by coffee, chocolate and bitterness. Damn beautiful this is.

Ölbeat

Sorry. Sex Pistols answered: "No. It's not anarchy in the UK when it's Anarchy from the UK." The chaos was so well hidden in the brew that we'll select a "nice" punk song here. I think that in the brewery they already know that their enemy is tasteless and uninspiring beer. At least they brew the other kind.

Green Day: Know Your Enemy (YouTube)

From the 2009 album 21st Century Breakdown, the song was written by Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool.

Ölbeat 124: Thornbridge Saint Petersburg

Brewery: Thornbridge Brewery
Country: England
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 7,4 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a finger-thick tan head. Aroma has ashy-roasted malts, espresso and bitter dark chocolate. Taste starts with strong charred-roasted bitterness. Ashy bitterness and charred-smoky malts take over with tiny hints of black coffee. The dark chocolate malts and bitter hops come clearer near the finish. Aftertaste has lasting strong roasted dryness and bitterness.

Roast and bitterness truly play the starring roles here. If we stare strictly at the beer style, this probably lacks some coffee from the flavour. But luckily this blog cares only for the taste - and it's pure, lasting and great.

Ölbeat

Once again, we'll find the original inspiration for the song choice in the name of the brew. Actually we chose the artist and the origin of the song after the name of the beer. The Russian city of Saint Petersburg was named Leningrad in 1924-1991, and the song was originally a Russian romance song. Leningrad Cowboys is a successful Finnish rock band that started its story from the 1989 Finnish movie Leningrad Cowboys Go America. The song can lead to thinking about the 18th century when the beer style of (Russian) Imperial Stout was brewed the first time in England. 

Leningrad Cowboys: Those Were The Days (YouTube)

From the 1992 album We Cum from Brooklyn, the song was composed by Boris Fomin and the English lyrics were written by Gene Raskin.

Ölbeat 110: Beavertown Smog Rocket

Brewery: Beavertown
Country: England
Style: Smoked Porter
Abv: 5,4 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a small quickly dissolving beige head. Aroma has heavily charred-roasted malts, sweet spiciness and a hint of smoke. Taste begins with charred bitterness and high carbonation. Gently smoked charcoaly malts take over with some semisweet malty flavour in the background. Hoppy bitterness gets through near the end. Aftertaste has smoky and charred bitterness.

Tasty smoked porter with charcoal bitterness playing the main part. The smoky flavour is present but not in any way stingy. Simple and enjoyable brew, no bad tricks nor ugly surprises.

Ölbeat

Inspired by the Beavertown can artwork by Nick Dwyer, I started looking for a song that fits the charcoaly smoked character of the beer. Found none. Looking at the can's futuristic and, yes, crazy picture I found a song that fits the gloomy mood of the dark beer:

Muse: Madness (YouTube)

From the 2012 album The 2nd Law, the song was written by Matt Bellamy.