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 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 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 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 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 309: Ôllenaut Wahtula

Brewery: Õllenaut 
Country: Estonia
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 9,5 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a small tan head. Aroma has roasted malts, sweet coffee and chocolate. Taste begins with strong and bitter roast. Heavily roasted malts and bitter black coffee take over with spicy dark chocolate. Towards the end cocoa bitterness and roasted-malty sweetness get through with some salty liquorice. Aftertaste has roasty-ashy dryness and strong cocoa bitterness.

Powerful and straightforward Imperial Stout. Strong basic flavours - roast, dark chocolate, coffee, bitterness, salty liquorice - , no fancy tricks. In the end there's nothing but a delicious quality brew. Ôllenaut hits the spot once again.

Ölbeat

Because the brew is named after the nickname of female Mark V tank used by Estonian Army in the Estonian Independence War in 1919-20, I chose a war-themed song. The beer deserves a heavy song with a strong message. The simplified message is: "Warmonging is f**king stupid." 

Black Sabbath: War Pigs (YouTube)

From the 1970 album Paranoid, the song was written by Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward.

Ölbeat 304: Sori / AF Brew Midsummer Melancholy

Brewery: Sori Brewing / AF Brew (in Russian)
Country: Estonia (Russia)
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, coffee, vanilla and gentle roast - a scent to drown into. Taste starts with sweet and gentle vanillaish roast. Sweet chocolate, bitter black coffee and boozy roast take over. Towards the end sweet chocolate liquor with vanilla and coffee gets on top, while smoothly bitter roast lingers in the background. Aftertaste has dark chocolate, sweet vanilla and gently bitter alcohol warmth.

Delicious dessert Imperial Baltic Porter. Chocolate, vanilla and alcohol rule with their sweet and gentle grasp. Coffee and roast surrender and accept the supporting role. The result is a superb and beautiful brew. Even though - or maybe just because - the beer was enjoyed a month ago, at the edge of ending summer.

Ölbeat

Since everyone knows the obvious choice for this brew, I included it below the actual choice. The obvious choice clearly lost the duel, due to this song's dark power that I associate with the brew. 

Paradise Lost: No Hope in Sight (YouTube)

From the 2015 album Plague Within, the song was written by Nick Holmes and Greg Mackintosh.

The Obvious Choice

Almost too clear first choice for the brew, but in my opinion much too light slow disco song for a heavy beer. Melancholy is simply deeper than plain sadness. 

Lana Del Rey: Summertime Sadness (YouTube)

From the 2012 album Born to Die, the song was written by Lana Del Rey and Rick Nowels.

Ölbeat 303: Põhjala Cellar Series: Pime Öö Islay BA

Brewery: Pôhjala
Country: Estonia
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 13,6 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with no visible head - just thin beige halo. Aroma has syrupy malts, sweet roast and fruity booze. Taste begins with sweet boozy roast. Sweet chocolate roast and peaty-smoky booze take over with dark fruits and malts lingering in the background. Towards the end strongly sweet peaty malts and boozy dark grapes step on top of bitter whisky smoke. Aftertaste has sweet booze-soaked raisins, malty chocolate and spicy alcohol.

Sweet, boozy and smoky Imperial Stout. The Islay whisky comes out as recognizable peaty smoke and alcohol that wraps around malty sweet roast and fruity flavours of the basic brew nicely. Really slow, complex and extremely enjoyable Imp. Aging could round the sweet and boozy edges a bit, but nevertheless this is powerfully beautiful show from Põhjala again. Had this at Kaisla, Helsinki, since didn't have the patience to wait it to hit the monopoly selection (if it ever actually does...).

Ölbeat

The song has probably no other similarities with the beer except the darkness. This is one song that just had to be connected with a strong black "drownable" brew:"We build cathedrals to our pain / Establish monuments to attain / Freedom from all of the scars and the sins / Lest we drown in the darkness within." I think this one fits the description.

Machine Head: Darkness Within (YouTube)

From the 2011 album Unto the Locust, the song was written by Robert Flynn, Phil Demmel and Dave McClain.

Ölbeat 299: Põhjala Cellar Series - Taara Avita!

Brewery: Pôhjala
Country: Estonia
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 10,8 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a tiny diminishing beige crown. Aroma has sweet roasted malts, chocolate, coffee and booze. Taste begins with syrupy malty roast. Syrupy roast and sweet rye-bready malts take over with gentle bitterness. Towards the end syrup-sweet malts and roasty bitterness are accompanied by fruity sugary booze warmth. Aftertaste has sweet rye-bready malts, bitter roast and warming alcohol.

Excellent rum barrel-aged Baltic Porter. Sweet roast comes in front, rum and malts follow. I've actually tasted this great beer couple of times before it was ready to be reviewed the blog. But still it's always nice to yell war cries with Estonian gods of dark brews a.k.a. brewmasters of Põhjala brewery.

Ölbeat

The brew is named after an ancient Estonian war cry - or prayer, since avita! means 'help!' - addressed to Taara, the Estonian god of war. Asking any god for help was a good enough reason to pair the beer with this song. And because the brew is black as the night(mare), there should be no place for objections. 

Black Sabbath: Black Sabbath (YouTube)

From the 1970 album Black Sabbath, the song was written by Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward and Ozzy Osbourne.

Ölbeat 295: Põhjala Must Kuld Colombia

Brewery: Pôhjala
Country: Estonia
Style: Porter
Abv: 7,8 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a large beige head. Aroma has strongly charred roast, espresso and cocoa. Taste begins with sweet and bitter roasted malts. Charcoaly malts and sweetish espresso take over with bitter dark chocolate. Towards the end sweet espresso roast and dark chocolate bitterness get on top with coffee taking the upper hand in the end. Aftertaste has malty coffee, bittersweet chocolate and dry roast.

Excellent roasted Porter with Colombian coffee. Deep charcoal roast builds a solid base for espresso and dark chocolate. Growing bitterness fits in the picture, too. Great amplified version of the excellent basic brew.

Ölbeat

Every song with a reference to coffee seemed to be too light for this one. Both in colour and in flavour everything light seems to be stolen away from the brew. And there came the idea.

Triosphere: Steal Away The Light (YouTube)

From the 2014 album The Heart of the Matter, the song was written by Ida Haukland and Marius Silver Bergensen.

Ölbeat 286: Lehe / Vasileostrovskaya Ravnodenstvie

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

Colour is black with a medium-sized beige head. Aroma has milk chocolate, strong vanilla and even some berry scent - slightly luring. Taste begins with vanillaish dark chocolate. Roasted malts, dark chocolate and delicious vanilla take over. Towards the end fruity bitterness and coffee get mixed to the sweet vanilla-chocolate liquid. Aftertaste has dark chocolate, vanilla spice and dry cocoa bitterness - and it lasts.

Sweetish chocolate-vanilla dominated Imperial Stout. Chocolate chips and Madagascar vanilla used in the brewing really stick out in the flavour. And it's liquid perfection. Thick, strong and smooth brew - only thing that's missing is booze. But I don't mind. The strong collabs seem to work fine with Lehe.

Ölbeat

Ravnodenstvie (in Russian) means equinox, the moment when day and night are approximately equal, which happens twice a year around 20 March and 23 September. So, choosing the album and the artist was easy. Since the brew is so complex and great, I probably should have chosen the whole album (Spotify, YouTube) here, but because it's one beer and one song, the choice between parts 4 and 5 turned to the victory of the former.

Jean-Michel Jarre: Equinoxe, Pt. 4 (YouTube)

From the 1978 album Equinoxe, the song was written by Jean-Michel Jarre.

Ölbeat 285: Ôllenaut Must Eksport Puidul

Brewery: Õllenaut
Country: Estonia
Style: Baltic Porter
Abv: 11,1 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a diminishing beige crown. Aroma has milk chocolate, vanilla, roast and coffee. Taste starts with sweet boozy roast. Sweet charred malts and milk chocolate take over with some coffee and vanilla flavours. Towards the end chocolate-malty sweetness gets joined with roasted smooth bitterness and spicy oak. Aftertaste has sweet vanillaish chocolate, bitter cocoa powder and malty roast.

Delicious sweet-spicy Imperial Baltic Porter. The bourbon barrel chips show their nature in flavour. Otherwise it's smooth layers of chocolate supported by roast and vanilla. Excellent dessert brew. Top of the art once again by Ôllenaut.

Ölbeat

This is the 10th post of a beer brewed by this great Estonian brewery - hopefully the series continues*. Haven't had an ordinary beer from them yet. All step out of the pack and have been excellent. So the song choice reflects my relationship with their brews.

Apocalyptica (feat. Brent Smith): Not Strong Enough (YouTube)

From the 2010 album 7th Symphony, the song was written by Diane Warren.

* I count the whisky experiment with traditional Must Eksport in, because the beers chosen to the test were top of the notch brews. And other opinions don't matter.

Ölbeat 284: Käbliku Penumbra

Brewery: Käbliku Pruulikoda (in Estonian)
Country: Estonia
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 10,6 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a tiny beige lace. Aroma has sweet espresso, dark chocolate, roasted malts and spicy booze. Taste starts with sweet and bitter espresso. Sweet roasted malts and strong espresso take over with dark chocolate and spicy booze. Towards the end dark chocolate bitterness and boozy sweetness take over. Aftertaste has bitter cocoa, dry roasted malts and spicy alcohol.

Complex, simply superb Imperial Stout. Beautiful domination of dark chocolate and sweet espresso, not forgetting the solid roast and growing bitterness. Flavours seem simple but strong. Great work from this rather new Estonian brewery.

Ölbeat

Umbra, penumbra, antumbra. All are forms of shadows - umbra the perfect one, while the others are partial. Or something. Well, at least there's a lot of darkness in the brew. Probably some perfect and some partial.

Children Of Bodom: Kissing the Shadows (YouTube)

From the 2000 album Follow the Reaper, the song was written by Alexi Laiho.

Ölbeat 281: Pühaste Mosaiik

Brewery: Pühaste
Country: Estonia
Style: India Pale Ale
Abv: 6,9 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is thick orange with a large natural white head. Aroma has orange, pineapple and mango. Taste begins with fruity bitter pine. Grapefruit and sweetish malts take over with piny side tones. Towards the end bitter pine and sweet pineapple get on top with malty sweetness crawling to the background. Aftertaste has heavily bitter grapefruit, sweet piny mango and alcohol warmth.

So, a truly tropical India Pale Ale with heavy Mosaic hopping and Vic Secret to bring more fruits. Despite the strong fruits there's some strong growing bitterness, too. Excellent delicious brew.

Ölbeat

Mosaic is a pice of art, where pieces of coloured glass, stone or other materials are placed together to form a figure or a decorative form. Before it can be built, the material has to be broken to pieces. Sometimes human life can be like an ongoing mosaic: something complete shattering always, to be constantly under construction. Sadly, this song was about singer Scott Weiland's personal battle against drugs - a battle that ended to Weiland's death in 2015.

Velvet Revolver: Fall to Pieces (YouTube)

From the 2004 album Contraband, the song was written by Scott Weiland, Slash, Duff McKagan, Matt Sorum and Dave Kushner.

Ölbeat 279: Lehe / St. Erhard Endspiel

Brewery: Lehe Pruulikoda (St. Erhard)
Country: Estonia (Germany)
Style: Barley Wine
Abv: 9,5 %
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What about the beer?
Colour is mahogany brown with a tiny natural white lace. Aroma has caramel, milk chocolate and raisins. Taste begins with sweet slightly boozy caramel. Sweet malty caramel takes over with boozy grapes. Towards the end soft milk chocolate and booze-soaked raisins with gentle fruity bitterness join the caramel flavour. Aftertaste has malty caramel, bittersweet fruits and alcohol bite.

Quite tasty sweet Barley Wine. The required qualities - caramel, fruits, chocolate and boozy bite - are nicely present. There's a bit of rawness in the taste that will probably be rounded by time. Fine Estonian brew.

Ölbeat

Endspiel, the German word, means endgame, the stage of a chess game when there are only few pieces left. If we escalate the meaning to the worldly scale, we're talking about the moment of reckoning, in Finnish: tilinteon hetki . To put things straight I've turned a German name of a beer to a Finnish name of a song, just with only one awkward transition. In the end, it's a great smooth beer paired with a great smooth song. 

Timo Rautiainen & Trio Niskalaukaus: Tilinteon hetki

From the 1997 EP Hävetkää!, the song was written by Timo Rautiainen and Esa Moilanen.

Ölbeat 273: Vaat Blimey!

Brewery: Vaat
Country: Estonia
Style: Imperial IPA
Abv: 7,5 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is white-flaky hazy orange with a large white head. Aroma has a straight flush of citrus - lemon, grapefruit and orange - with piny and fruity drops. Taste begins with piny bitter grapefruit. Bitter grapefruit-lemon juice with citrus peel and spicy pine takes over. Towards the end sweet orange-mango juice gets through to the pine-grapefruit mix. Aftertaste has freshly bitter grapefruit, tart lemon and dry pine.

Fresh citrus-packed Double IPA. A very good one, though I don't believe this to belong to the sub-style of New England/Vermont IPA's: there's a fine amount of unshamed bitterness, especially in the finish. Rich in fruits, pine and bitterness. Delicious.

Ölbeat

Thought of bitter and fruity. Thought of Jimi Hendrix. Picked one song.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience: The Wind Cries Mary (DailyMotion)

From the 1967 album Are You Experienced, the song was written by Jimi Hendrix.

Ölbeat 271: Pühaste Sosin

Brewery: Pühaste
Country: Estonia
Style: India Black Ale
Abv: 6 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a large tan head. Aroma has pine, orange and roasted sweet liquorice. Taste starts with roasted bitter pine. Bitter pine and citrus take over with gentle malty roast. Towards the end sweet orange and spicy liquorice get behind the piny bitterness. Aftertaste has lasting piny-grapefruity bitterness and spicy-malty dryness.

Superb piny, fruity and roasty India Black Ale. The rye comes out as strong malty flavour, as the overall feeling is smoothly strong. Really enjoyable brew despite the bottle being almost "too old" for the style.

Ölbeat

Smoothness takes us away from the heavy area where the strong brews usually take us. There is still some nice toughness in the beer.

The Fabulous Thunderbirds: Tuff Enuff (YouTube)

From the 1986 album Tuff Enuff, the song was written by Kim Wilson.

Ölbeat 263: Pühaste Dekadents

Brewery: Pühaste
Country: Estonia
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 11,2 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a two-finger thick beige head. Aroma has milk chocolate, vanilla, sweet liquor and roasted malts. Taste begins with roasted sweet and bitter chocolate. Milk chocolate and sweet roast take over with some spiked coffee and vanilla. Towards the end fruity bitterness and boozy raisins join the sweet chocolate. Aftertaste has fruity liquor, vanilla-spiced raisins and sweet chocolate.

Sweet and delicious dessert Imperial Stout. Chocolate, raisins, roast, alcohol, some bitterness, a hint of coffee - wide spectrum of flavours. The sweetness is present but doesn't get overly dominating. Damn strong and tasty.

Ölbeat

Definition of decadence: "moral or cultural decline as characterized by excessive indulgence in pleasure or luxury". Moral decline - check. Excessive indulgence in pleasure - sadly, not quite there yet.

Sirenia: Path to Decay (YouTube)

From the 2009 album The 13th Floor, the song was written by Morten Veland.

Ölbeat 262: Ôllenaut Rukki Kuningas

Brewery: Ôllenaut (in Estonian)
Country: Estonia
Style: Old Ale
Abv: 7,7 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is dark reddish brown with a huge cream white head. Aroma has sweet rye bread, dried plums and raisins. Taste begins with grainy and fruity sweetness. Sweet rye malts and dried dark fruits take over with lingering bitterness. Towards the end malty sweet, fruity bitter and warming boozy flavours get on top with some burned sugar. Aftertaste has burned bready dryness and fruity-boozy bitterness.

Beautiful and complex Old Ale. Rye malts show clearly up as malty strength and sweetness. Dark fruits, bitterness, alcohol, some burned sugar in the end - everything's at its right place. From my point of view Ôllenaut has so far succeeded extremely well with their unordinary brews.

Ölbeat

Since the brew is named "the king of rye" in Estonian, having a taste of it is riding with the king. So, the choice was between the Eric Clapton & BB King cover and the original. I chose the original.

John Hiatt: Riding with the King (YouTube)

From the 1983 album Riding with the King, the song was written by John Hiatt.