Ölbeat 328 (BC17 #15): Humalove Hammer of Sucellus

Brewery: Humalove
Country: Finland
Style: Barley Wine
Abv: 10,5 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is dirty cola brown with a thin light lace. Aroma has caramel, chocolate and dark fruits. Taste starts with strong fruity bittersweet bite. Booze-soaked berries and bittersweet malty caramel take over with some dark chocolate in the background. Towards the end piny bitterness, berry sweetness and chocolate-coated malty caramel melt together in a rich-flavoured union. Aftertaste has malty-fruity sweetness, piny bitterness and warm boozy kick.

Caramel-malty and bitter berry-fruit flavoured Barley Wine. Piny flavours strike near the finish and are joined by some alcohol. Sticky and sweet stuff. Liked it a lot. Excellent work by the gypsy brewers from the capital.

Ölbeat

Named after the mallet of a Celtic-Gallic deity of agriculture and wine, the brew needs to be paired with a song about hammers, gods or both. So it's no surprise that I ended up with a power metal track from the land of Zee Germans. The feel-good mood of the song surely annoys somebody. Well, it can't be Slayer all the time, can it?

Freedom Call: Hammer Of The Gods (YouTube)

From the 2016 album Master of Light, the song was written by Chris Bay.

Ölbeat 157: Humalove/Wasosz Puola/Polska

Brewery: Humalove / Browar Wasosz
Country: Poland (Finland)
Style: Foreign Stout
Abv: 8,5 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is thick black with no visible head. Aroma has black coffee, liquorice, berries and alcohol. Taste begins with strongly roasted black coffee. Charred  bitter malts and strong dark-roasted coffee take over with a hint of sour berries. Near the finish dry bitterness and liquor warmth joins the flavours. Aftertaste has roasted dryness and lasting malty bitterness.

Delicious Strong Stout with solid base with spicy surprises. Heavy roasted coffee, lingonberries and liquor flavour fit the taste palette nicely. Successful collaboration between Finnish "gypsies" and a Polish brewery.

Ölbeat

This is pure irony. The day before this brew was like: "It's your last cup of sorrow. / What can you say? Finish it today." And today: "With a new face you might surprise yourself." Some dark depth in the song that actually encourages people to get over their demons.

Faith No More: Last Cup of Sorrow (YouTube)

From the 1997 album Album of the Year, the song was written by Billy Gould and Mike Patton.