Ölbeat 348: Mallassepät Sysi a.k.a The Resurrection

Brewery: Mallassepät (only in Finnish)
Country: Finland
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 9,5 %
@Ratebeer

What about the beer?

Colour is dark thick black with a finger-thick latte brown head. Aroma has roasted malts with notable coffee and liquorice and little less notable chocolate notes. Taste begins with very thick roast and smoothly strong bitterness. Intense, bitter roast meets its favored sidekicks: dark chocolate and salty liquorice - the duo is always warmly welcomed to this kind of party. The strength of the brew rises its ugly but friendly head with some boozy notes in the end. After the malty flavours are rinsed down the throat, we are left with lasting bitter liquorice.

I remember having this beer for the first time in the end of 2018 from tap at Konttori in Tampere. Since then, there have been four or five Sysi sessions, and the first impression of a clean, simple, strong and delicious brew hasn't faded at all. For me, it has in a short time become a beer that fits perfectly in a moment when I need to calm down, drown in the one clear thought in my mind and otherwise enjoy the silence. 

Ölbeat

Probably ruined the surprise already in the end of the previous paragraph. Well, that happens: Pleasures remain / So does the pain / Words are meaningless / And forgettable. Thirty years after hearing the song for the first time, it still has the same calming effect it had then.

Depeche Mode: Enjoy the Silence (YouTube)

From the 1990 album Violator, the song was written by Martin Gore.

* * *

"What was that you promised somewhat a year and a half ago? No waking up from the dead, wasn't it? Quote: 'But the cold truth is that the blog stays dead after the burial - this is the final post of this blog. My and Ölmönger the Blogger's paths are separated for good.' What's going on, boy?"

Well, another line from the song above goes: Vows are spoken / To be broken. Politicians, priests and policemen - among everyone else - live accordingly. Why couldn't and shouldn't a beer blogger?

To put it very short, there were actual reasons to kill the blog. Now, those reasons are mostly gone and forgotten, so it seemed too easy to open up the grave and mold something live-like from the rotten remains. And there was actually a reason to connect the jump leads to the monster and let the electricity do its magic: the Ölmönger's business seemed somewhat unfinished. You can read about one piece of evidence from this posts Ölbeat.

Coming back from the hiatus brings some changes to the idea of the blog. There will be shorter and longer silent periods, for sure: not every beer, however great it is, deserves a post. Actually, none of the beers that I supposedly taste only once or for the first time gets an independent post. I keep the best once-in-a-lifetime experiences for myself.

There will be less single beer posts - and probably more posts for bar visits, beer & whisky mixing, rebel yells agains the beer culture and other born dead ideas. There will be no time nor space for Skitbits anymore: there's enough shitty beer in the world and Finland alone to spend a couple of dimes on without me posting about them.

"The King was dead. Long live the King!" Right?

The another one goes to life:

Black Sabbath: Killing Yourself to Live (YouTube)

From the 1973 album Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, the song was written by Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward.

Ölbeat 347: Amager / Barrier The Mortician a.k.a Ölmönger's Burial

Brewery: Amager Bryghus (Barrier Brewing Company)
Country: Denmark (United States)
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 10,5 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is black with a finger-thick beige head. Aroma has dark chocolate, sweet roast and coffee. Taste begins with heavily bitter chocolate-flavoured roast. Dark chocolate, sweet coffee and bitter charcoal roast take over with spicy alcohol. Towards the end bitter dark chocolate with sweet spicy mocha tones come out strongest. Aftertaste has strong bitter roast with dark chocolate, liquorice and pine followed by lasting spicy malty dryness.

Powerfully bitter and roasty Imperial Stout. Strong bitter flavours of roast, dark chocolate and coffee supported by spicy, boozy and malty side tones. Simply beautiful, complex and delicious. Amager never lets me down with dark and heavy stuff.

* * *

My mama said that you should finish what you've started. Well said. There are many beer blogs that have died without any last words like bad TV series that get cancelled after the pilot season without the series' final episode. Where all the good and the bad guys get killed, if the series was worth watching even in the beginning. Like there are TV series born dead that just keep on living, there are beer blogs born dead, but that's a completely different story. Or is it actually?

Anyway, the blog's been dead for over four months now. There have been some things like this and some thing like that on the way of writing blog posts. More interesting things like watching the grass grow and catching up the missed/all episodes of Lost. But the cold truth is that the blog stays dead after the burial - this is the final post of this blog. My and Ölmönger the Blogger's paths are separated for good.

Possibly, even though unprobably, there are some people who would like to know why this blog is finished now. Some others might be wondering, why it took me so long to shoot this bastard against the brick wall. Both are people who are looking for reasons for things. Well, let them be looking. Over and out. Bagged and tagged.


Why are you still there looking at this? Live, enjoy and celebrate, sucker!

Ölbeat

The author's last wish. May this one be granted?

Ramones: Pet Sematary (YouTube)

From the 1989 album Brain Drain, the song was written by Dee Dee Ramone and Daniel Rey.

And one for the audience.

Faith No More: A Small Victory (YouTube)

From the 1992 album Angel Dust, the song was written by Mike Bordin, Roddy Bottum, Billy Gould and Mike Patton.

Ölbeat 345: Orava Orwellian Nightmare 2018

Brewery: Orava Brewing (brewed at Cool Head Brew)
Country: Finland
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 10 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is black with quickly vanishing head. Aroma has roast, espresso and dark chocolate. Taste begins with strong and bitter spicy roast. Bitter heavy roasted espresso and vanilla-spiced dark chocolate take over. Towards the end espresso, chocolate and spicy flavours are joined by dry oaky booze. Aftertaste has bitter dark chocolate and warm oaky-roasty dryness.

Spicy and bitter roasty Imperial Stout. Espresso and dark chocolate come deliciously out with roast, spices, booze and oak. Rich and very tasty, the squirrels (Orava means a squirrel) get the job done.

This beer was part of Alko's Finnish artisanal beer selection in spring 2018.

Ölbeat

Propaganda, surveillance, misinformation, denial of truth, and manipulation of the past? Yep, that's Orwellian enough. A case for System Of A Down.

System Of A Down: Hypnotize (YouTube)

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

Ölbeat 344: Malmgård Imperial Oatmeal Stout

Brewery: Malmgård
Country: Finland
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 9 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is black with a finger-thick beige head. Aroma has roasted malts, espresso and cocoa. Taste begins with bitter espresso roast. Strong espresso, bitter roast and dark chocolate take over. Towards the end charcoaly roasted malts and bitter dark chocolate get the strongest grip. Aftertaste has mocha chocolate, bitter roast and cocoa-flavoured dryness.

Charred and chocolaty Imperial Stout. Shortly put, a well-made coffee-chocolate-roasty by the book impy, no tricks. Fits my taste almost perfectly. But that's Malmgård.

This beer was part of Alko's Finnish artisanal beer selection in spring 2018.

Ölbeat

Sadly, this majestic beer will probably not be added to the regular selection of Malmgård brewery but will only rule for the short availability period this spring. Almost similar case as their great Imperial IPA was, then. Or how will it be?

Battle Beast: King for a Day (YouTube)

From the 2017 album Bringer of Pain, the song was written by Battle Beast.

Ölbeat 339: Austmann / De Molen Mannus & Blodøks

Brewery: Austmann Bryggeri (Brouwerij De Molen)
Country: Norway (Netherlands)
Style: Imperial Stout 
Abv: 8,8 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is black with a thin beige crown. Aroma has sweet coffee, vanilla, chocolate and alcohol. Taste starts with bittersweet roast with a boozy bite. Smoothly bitter dark chocolate and sweet roasted malts take over with vanilla, black coffee and boozy breath. Towards the end dark chocolate, bitter roast and sweet vanilla melt together beautifully, with layers of coffee and espresso lingering in the background. Aftertaste has bitter dark chocolate, strong espresso and lasting dry roast.

Strong and honest Imperial Stout. Heavy flavours of chocolate, coffee, vanilla, roast and warming alcohol roll over me. I lean back, relax and enjoy the battle between the great German ancestor and the mythical Norwegian king. I'll call this a tie and move over by the fireplace to finish my glass. Simply excellent collab brew from the strong Norwegians helped by the world famous Dutch.

Ölbeat

Mannus was, according to Roman Tacitus' writings, a son of the god Tuisto and the father of German human tribes. In the 1800's, his myth was adopted to Aryan beliefs, and later to - what else than - Nazi occult. Oh, that would've made Tacitus happy. Eirik Blodøks, on the other hand, was the king of Norway in the 10th century. The epithet, "Bloodaxe", comes from the later sagas about Eirik slaying his half-brothers to rule Norway and about him being a ruthless Viking raider. And that actually would have made the Norse gods happy, but some others probably not.

Metallica: The God That Failed (YouTube)

From the 1991 album Metallica, the song was written by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich.

Ölbeat 336 (BC17 #23): Lervig / Hoppin' Frog Sippin' Into Darkness

Brewery: Lervig Aktiebryggeri (Hoppin' Frog Brewery) 
Country: Norway (United States)
Style: Imperial Stout 
Abv: 12 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is black with a small vanishing beige head. Aroma is pure sweet milk chocolate with sip of vanilla (= pure awesomeness!). Taste begins with sweet cherry-coated chocolate. Sweet milk chocolate and vanilla-flavoured roast take over with some boozy fruits. Towards the end the chocolate gets bitter dark, nutty and coffeeish tones with a fruity alcohol bite. Aftertaste has dark chocolate bitterness, fruity sweetness and coffee liquor -flavoured roast.

Sweet and strong Imperial Stout with tons of chocolate. We start with liquid milk chocolate and end up with nutty and dark flavours. Fruit liquor kicks in nicely, vanilla, coffee and roast have just the right role. Delicious, absolutely beautiful brew.

Ölbeat

"Sipping into darkness" could mean either drinking slowly while waiting the night to fall or having small mouthfuls until one passes out. I prefer the latter one with this strong brew and welcome the mythical magical sand sprinkler to bring nice dreams... well, some kind of dreams to everyone.

Metallica: Enter Sandman (YouTube)

From the 1991 album Metallica, the song was written by Kirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield.

Ölbeat 333 (BC17 #20): Lehe / Vasileostrovskaya Ravnodenstvie Barrel Aged

Brewery: Lehe Pruulikoda (Vasileostrovskaya Pivovarnya, in Russian)
Country: Estonia (Russia)
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 11 %
@RateBeer

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 330 (BC17 #17): Fuller's Imperial Stout

Brewery: Fuller's
Country: England
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 10,7 %
@RateBeer

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 329 (BC17 #16): Amager The Sinner Series Pride

Brewery: Amager (in Danish)
Country: Denmark
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 10 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is black with a small vanishing beige head. Aroma has fruit candy, vanilla and chocolate. Taste starts with boozy fruity bitter roast. Booze-soaked sweet citrus and biting bitter roast take over with liquorice and chocolate side notes. Towards the end sweet orange and bitter citrus-filled liquorice get on top and are joined by roasted boozy flavour. Aftertaste has sweet orange, bitter grapefruit and lasting boozy roast.

Strong citrus-packed Imperial Stout. It's a merciless battle between the roasty-boozy flavours and the bitter'n'sweet citrus. Fierce but beautiful. Superb Impy from the Danish brewgods.

Ölbeat

As U2's Pride (In the Name of Love) is as far as possible from the deadly sin, I couldn't pick it. On the other hand, that wouldn't have matched with the brew. Anyway, I was trapped in the title, so there were many paths to choose from. Soil had that right kind of balance between rough aggressiveness and lyrical self-centeredness in their song, so I picked that.  

Soil: Pride (YouTube)

From the 2004 album Redefine, the song was written by Soil.

Ölbeat 327 (BC17 #14): Sori / Stockholm Brewing Sweet Mistress

Brewery: Sori Brewing (Stockholm Brewing Co.)
Country: Estonia (Sweden)
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 9,4 % 
@RateBeer

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 321 (BC17 #8): Borg Surtur Nr. 30

Brewery: Borg Brugghús
Country: Iceland
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 9 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is black with a 2-finger thick beige head. Aroma has smoked meat, roasted malts and dark chocolate. Taste starts with bitter meaty and malty smoke. Campfire smoke and sweet charcoal roast take over with hints of espresso and salty liquorice. Towards the end bitter salty liquorice and strong malty flavours rise next to smoke and roast. Aftertaste has smoky bitter liquorice, alcohol warmth and roasty malty dryness.

Smoky and powerful Imperial Stout. Smoke and salty liquorice enhance the bitter and roasty flavours of a superb imp. Rich and excellent stuff from Iceland.

Ölbeat

"Honour" is the name of this song in English. And that's where my understanding of Icelandic lyrics almost ends. Anyway, the music is dark, deep and roughed-up with the almost-screaming vocals. Without understanding a word I liked this immediately. Seriously, have to find out the meaning of the lyrics, and check out the band a little more.

Sólstafir: Æra (YouTube, Live)

From the 2011 album Svartir Sandar, the song was written by Sólstafir.

Ölbeat 318 (BC17 #5): Ruosniemen Vuorineuvos Tullibardine BA

Brewery: Ruosniemen Panimo
Country: Finland
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 10 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is black with a large beige head. Aroma has roasted malts, spicy-oaky whisky and dark chocolate. Taste starts with bittersweet spicy roast. Strong sweet roast, spicy whisky and fruity chocolate take over with espresso notes. Towards the end sweet fruity-oaky whisky and bitter dark chocolate come out strongest. Aftertaste has dark chocolate, dry roast and lasting oaky alcohol warmth.

Excellent whisky barrel-aged Imperial Stout. Chocolate and roast flavours of the original get beautiful support from fruity, oaky and spicy Speyside single malt whisky. One of the best Finnish barrel-aged ones I've had in a while.

Ölbeat

Vuorineuvos is "a honorary title granted by the President of Finland to leading figures in industry and commerce". So barrel-aged vuorineuvos sounds like a fat old rich prick after too many cognacs. This rockabilly-punk song is probably about the offspring of those called vuorineuvos, who usually are undeservably rich and pretty bitchy despite their sex or gender.

Melrose: Rich Little Bitch (YouTube)

From the 1986 album Melrose, the song was written by Mika Tuokkola and Petri Salomaa.

Ölbeat 316 (BC17 #3): Lervig Brewers Reserve Konrad's Stout

Brewery: Lervig Aktiebryggeri
Country: Norway
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 10,4 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is black with a small tan head. Aroma has roasted malts, coffee and chocolate. Taste begins with boozy and bitter heavy roast. Boozy sweet roast with black coffee and chocolate takes over. Towards the end sweet roasted malts, dark chocolate and salty liquorice get through with alcohol in the background. Aftertaste has bitter cocoa and very dry roasted liquorice.

Heavy and rich Imperial Stout. Booze kicks in early but gets smooth on the way. Coffee makes a quick visit, chocolate turns bitter and roast, well, it's definitely there. Pretty excellent. Fine work from the damn lucky "fjord" people.

Ölbeat

Majestic dark brew calls for a symphonic metal song. From Norway, of course.

Tristania: Lavender (YouTube)

From the 2013 album Darkest White, the song was written by Tristania.

Ölbeat 311: BrewDog Cocoa Psycho

Brewery: BrewDog
Country: Scotland
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 10 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is black with a two-finger thick brown head. Aroma has dark chocolate, cappuccino and roasted malts. Taste starts with biting bittersweet chocolate. Sweet roasted malts and bitter dark chocolate take over with hints of espresso. Towards the end dark chocolate and slightly sweet coffee rise up with smooth bitterness. Aftertaste has lasting bitter cocoa and strong dry roast.

Strong and absolutely delicious Imperial Stout. Chocolate leads the way, roast and coffee follow. Smooth bitterness grows all the way. It's not punk - it's damn good beer.

Ölbeat

Punk sells. Just ask Henry Rollins. Or BrewDog. ;)

Black Flag: Black Coffee (YouTube)

From the 1984 album Slip It In, the song was written by Greg Ginn.

Ölbeat 309: Ôllenaut Wahtula

Brewery: Õllenaut 
Country: Estonia
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 9,5 %
@RateBeer

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 303: Põhjala Cellar Series: Pime Öö Islay BA

Brewery: Pôhjala
Country: Estonia
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 13,6 %
@RateBeer

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 %
@RateBeer

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 297: Emelisse Black & Tan Port Charlotte BA

Brewery: Brouwerij Emelisse
Country: Netherlands
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 10,5 % 
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is black with a tiny tan crown. Aroma has mostly peaty smoke and some roasted malts. Taste begins with strong peaty Islay whisky smoke. Bitter campfire smoke takes over with hints of roast, liquorice and espresso. Towards the end sweetish smoky bitterness rises above other flavours. Aftertaste has heavily bitter smoke, dry roasted malts and burned liquorice.

Smoky and deep Imperial Stout. The Port Charlotte whisky has almost complete dominance here. But in a beautifully raw Islay way. If you love Islay peat - enjoy. If not - avoid. For me this was extreme pleasure.

Ölbeat

There are moments when something you've completed is broken to pieces and burned to the ground by someone else. And sometimes it's you who tears things built by someone else apart: "When you fall, I'll take my turn / And fan the flames / As your blazes burn." Sadly, that's the way people are taught to act.

Linkin Park: Burn It Down (YouTube)

From the 2012 album Living Things, the song was written by Linkin Park.

Ölbeat 288: Borg Garún Nr. 19 Icelandic Stout

Brewery: Borg Brugghús (in Icelandic)
Country: Iceland
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 11,5 % 
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is black with a small beige head. Aroma has smoky roasted malts, sweet black coffee, chocolate and vanilla. Taste begins with bitter boozy roast. Sweet charred-roasted bready malts take over with dark chocolate and coffee. Towards the end sweet burned coffee and spiced chocolate come through with tingling boozy bitterness. Aftertaste has sweet dark chocolate and bitter roasted coffee, which turns to lasting rye-bready dryness.

Sweet and malty Imperial Stout. Chocolate, coffee, roast, spices, booze - all there. But. The brew lacks a little bit power, a little bit smoothness and a little bit flavour. Good beer, anyway. And the first visit to beer country Iceland.

Ölbeat

Named after the deacon's girlfriend Guðrún (Garún by the deacon's ghost) in a traditional Icelandic ghost tale of the Deacon of the Dark River, the brew shows some darkness but leaves one craving for more. So the song choice is a lady-themed soft metal track, although at the time this probably was heavy metal.

Saxon: Princess of the Night (YouTube)

From the 1981 album Denim and Leather, the song was written by Saxon.

Ölbeat 286: Lehe / Vasileostrovskaya Ravnodenstvie

Brewery: Lehe Pruulikoda (Vasileostrovskaya - in Russian)
Country: Estonia
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 11 % 
@RateBeer

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.