Ölbeat 300: Stigbergets Amazing Haze

Brewery: Stigbergets Bryggeri (in Swedish)
Country: Sweden
Style: India Pale Ale
Abv: 6,5 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is hazy juicy yellow with a two-finger thick white head. Aroma has orange, mango, lemon, pineapple and all the other fruits in the world - dangerously luring stuff. Taste starts with super-fruity citrus bitterness. Fresh lemon-orange juice with bitter grapefruity and resinous notes takes over. Towards the end bitter grapefruit and sweet orange get on top. Aftertaste has sweet-sour-bitter citrus and some spicy piny dryness.

Now we have reached the extreme citrus of India Pale Ale. Probably some true and trending Vermont style stuff here. Fruit leads beautifully, pine and bitterness follow in harmony. Damn, this is delicious from opening the bottle to the last sip. Best spent 33 Swedish crowns of my life.

Ölbeat

#300. Never thought it'd get this far. But since we're already here, why stop? Let's listen some music and then continue this neverending sleepwalk on deep waters.

Jimi Hendrix: Purple Haze (YouTube)

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

Iron Maiden: Wasted Years (YouTube)

From the 1986 album Somewhere in Time, the song was written by Adrian Smith.

Ölbeat 258: Anderson's Hannibal

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

Colour is black with a small beige head. Aroma has milk chocolate, coffee and vanilla - soft but devious. Taste starts with heavy roast and bitter cocoa. Bitter dark chocolate and roasted fresh espresso take over with some boozy spices in the background. Near the finish bitter cocoa liquor with vanilla flavour and roasted malts kick in. Aftertaste has dry roast, bitter dark chocolate and warm alcohol boost.

Killer Imperial Stout. Magnificently delicious dark chocolate on top, supported by espresso, vanilla and some boozy kick. It hasn't got much better than this. Déjà vu to Rain Shadow, perhaps? Seems that Anderson's gypsy brewery really knows the business.

Ölbeat

The beer's name has a (probably imagined) reference to Hannibal Lecter. But there's no need for the classical music from Silence of the Lambs. There were couple of matching songs from the band. Finally, this track was chosen over Fear of the Dark, just because I like this more.  

Iron Maiden: Can I Play With Madness (YouTube)

From the 1988 album Seventh Son of a Seventh Son, the song was written by Adrian Smith, Bruce Dickinson and Steve Harris.

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 011: Hopping Brewsters Warthog IPA

Brewery: Hopping Brewsters
Country: Finland
Style: India Pale Ale
Abv: 5,4 %
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Some similarities between the warplane and Pumbaa?

Hopping Brewsters, started in 2013, is a Finnish microbrewery from Akaa in Pirkanmaa region. I have tasted some of their beers - i.e. this one and Starkadr, a special gruit ale - in fairs and pubs, but finding their bottlings in stores and Alko has proven to be a challenge for me. Once I got a chance to buy Warthog, I grabbed couple of bottles with me.

What about the beer?
Colour is clear golden orange with thick white head. Aroma has strong, overwhelming scent of lemon and grapefruit. Taste attacks with dry and very hoppy bitter in the first bite. Notes of grapefruit and orange appear. Palate is bitter and piny, aftertaste adds heavy dry elements to these. When the beer warms up a little bit, grapefruit and lemon step forth in the taste.

Strong hops, lots of pine and dry bitterness and scent & taste of citrus fruits turn Warthog into a very beasty India Pale Ale. The bottle label promises US West Coast style, and the brew gets at least very near to the target.

Ölbeat

Since the brew has got its name from a war aircraft, Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II, there weren't many appropriate song choices available. Even though "Warthog" is not an air combat fighter, we'll forget the tiny mistake in details while listening to this:

Iron Maiden: Aces High (YouTube)

From the 1984 album, Powerslave, the song was written by Steve Harris, the band's bassist and primary songwriter. Instrumentally the song is pure traditional "Maiden metal" with fast tempo, solid bass & drum patterns, guitar riffs and vocalist Bruce Dickinson hitting some sick high notes. Lyrics are narrated from the viewpoint of British Spitfire pilot, who fights against German ME-109's in World War II. The fate of the pilot is left unclear, since the song ends with the pilot heading straight for the enemy and pressing down his guns. Warthog IPA can be compared to the skillful pilot of the song, but whether it's enough to keep the brewery in the air remains open. "Waiting for more brews, guys", that means.