Ölbeat 339: Austmann / De Molen Mannus & Blodøks

Brewery: Austmann Bryggeri (Brouwerij De Molen)
Country: Norway (Netherlands)
Style: Imperial Stout 
Abv: 8,8 %
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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 %
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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 316 (BC17 #3): Lervig Brewers Reserve Konrad's Stout

Brewery: Lervig Aktiebryggeri
Country: Norway
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 10,4 %
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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 276: Nøgne Ø / Terrapin Imperial Rye Porter

Brewery: Nøgne Ø (Terrapin Beer Co.)
Country: Norway
Style: Imperial Porter
Abv: 9 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a small tan head. Aroma has roasted malts, spicy chocolate and sweet citrus fruits. Taste begins with roasted malty dark chocolate. Dark chocolate and roasted malts take over with hints of espresso. Towards the end spicy liquorice and bittersweet citrus get pleasantly through. Aftertaste has bitter citrus, dark chocolate and spicy sweet roasted malts.

Incredibly rich Imperial Porter. Rye malts seem to add spice, sweetness and thickness to the brew. Probably American hops give strong citrus and liquorice to the mix. The result is rich and complex parade of flavours. Damn fine stuff. Thanks go to the brewers of the Naked Island in Norway and their colleagues in Athens, Georgia.

Ölbeat

It's black. It's heavy. Now it belongs to the secret stash of my favourite brews.

Avenged Sevenfold: Welcome to the Family (YouTube)

From the 2010 album Nightmare, the song was written by Avenged Sevenfold.

Ölbeat 264: Lervig Lucky Jack Grapefruit Edition

Brewery: Lervig Aktiebryggeri
Country: Norway
Style: American Pale Ale
Abv: 4,7 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is hazy orange with a two-finger thick white head. Aroma has superfresh grapefruit and sweet orange. Taste begins with fresh sweetish grapefruit. Light and fresh grapefruit takes over with sweet orange notes. Towards the end citrus lemonade flavour becomes distinctive.  Aftertaste has lightly bitter grapefruit and mild dryness.

Light American Pale Ale with a genuine grapefruit juice flavour. The taste is very near to Finnish long drink - lonkero, in Finnish. Clearly a summer beer that stays a bit thin behind the citrus. Well made brew, still. The Stavanger brewery has shown it can manage the low abv limits of the Scandinavian countries (as we all know as a fact, Denmark is just a peninsula of northern Germany).

Ölbeat

The beer and its moment probably don't deserve this song, but having this - and many other - kind of beers available for me to drink and enjoy makes me feel lucky. And the last time I checked, I was a man. Whether I have any balls or not, doesn't make a difference - I'm a lucky man.

The Verve: Lucky Man (YouTube)

From the 1997 album Urban Hymns, the song was written by Richard Ashcroft.

Ölbeat 260: Nøgne Ø Sunturnbrew

Brewery: Nøgne Ø
Country: Norway
Style: Smoked Ale (Barley Wine)
Abv: 11 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is very dark brown with a small natural white head. Aroma has campfire smoke, burned malts and boozy sweetness. Taste begins with intense sweet and meaty smoke. Heavily smoked malts and sweet salty liquorice take over with charcoal bitterness and genuine Finnish rye bread. Towards the end boozy bitterness rises beside the smoke with liquorice and faint fruit flavour. Aftertaste has strong smoky bitterness and fruity alcohol warmth.

Powerful smoked Barley Wine - with rye malts. A beer with strong everything: smoke, liquorice, rye, booze and bitterness. Symphony of untamed flavours. Ultraslow sipper. Masterpiece. Nøgne Ø seems to have a problem with brewing imperfect beer.

Ölbeat

Since the beer was originally brewed to celebrate the 21st of December. The day when according to ancient Scandinavian beliefs the sun changed its direction. But instead of picking a pagan folk song, I picked a great sun-themed song from a classic heavy metal band. Because the brew is heavy. And great.

Black Sabbath: Under the Sun / Every Day Comes And Goes (YouTube)

From the 1972 album Vol. 4, the song was written by Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne and Bill Ward.

Ölbeat 196: Nøgne Ø Rød Jul

Brewery: Nøgne Ø
Country: Norway 
Style: Imperial IPA
Abv: 8 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is murky brown with a 3-finger thick natural white head and some flakes. Aroma has grapefruit, orange, peach and spices. Taste begins with bitter and sweet fruits. Bitter grapefruit and caramel malts take over with a hint of sweet spices. Towards the end sweet orange and mango with gentle pine join the flavours. Aftertaste has fruity bitterness, malty dryness and a soft touch of pine.

Tasty and rich spiced Double IPA. Packed with bitter citrus flavours, kept in balance by strong malty body, gently spiced with pine. Excellent especially for a seasonal brew.

Ölbeat

Who said Christmas is over? Just a little over a month from the season, and everyone's nagging about how this should've been posted a month ago. Well, life sucks and then you die. We probably shouldn't celebrate Christmas either.

Hardcore Superstar: We Don't Celebrate Sundays (YouTube)

From the 2005 album Hardcore Superstar, the song was written by Hardcore Superstar.

Ölbeat 150: Lervig/Way 3 Bean Stout

Brewery: Lervig Aktiebryggeri / Cervejaria Way Beer
Country: Norway (Brazil)
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 13 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a thin beige crown. Aroma has roast, chocolate, alcohol and vanilla. Taste spikes with sharply boozy and spicy coffee. Vanilla-flavoured chocolate-mocca takes over with sweet boozy bitterness. Near the finish vanilla, tonka and cardamom spices come through with chocolate and alcohol. Aftertaste has sweet roasty bitterness and warming cocoa liquor. And it lasts.

Damn great spicy and sweet Imperial Stout. Vanilla, chocolate and spices really dominate - booze, roast and coffee play the second violin. If there comes a chance, I'll surely get back in business with this Norwegian brewery.

Ölbeat

Complex spicy and orchestrally magnificent brew deserves an equal counterpart. We'll find it in this bittersweet track: "Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life / Try to make ends meet / You're a slave to money then you die." Someone might wisecrack something like "it's too early to reserve this great song for a beer". But that's life.

The Verve: Bitter Sweet Symphony (YouTube)

From the 1997 album Urban Hymns, the song was written by Richard Ashcroft (and also credited to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards for samples of an orchestral version of Rolling Stones' The Last Time).

Ölbeat 098: Nøgne Ø #100

Brewery: Nøgne Ø
Country: Norway
Style: Barley Wine
Abv: 10 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is thick dark nutty brown with a small tan head. Aroma has sweet caramel malts, berries and dark fruits. Taste lifts off with intensely sweet malty and fruity hoppy first bite. Combination of sweet caramel malts and fruity bitter hops takes over with notes of chocolate and berries. Presence of alcohol is noticeable in a great way. Near the finish sweet bitterness and piny flavours come through. Aftertaste has dryness, bitterness, fruits and alcohol.

Magnificent, complex and delicious Barley Wine. Beautiful marriage of sweet malts and fruity bitter hops, with strong abv and nice side flavours applauding in the background. This surely goes to the top of my beer list and again grows expectations for the next Nøgne Ø brew to be tasted.

Ölbeat

This brew calls for something magical. I guess it's personal, too. Hearing this song live a little over a year ago was unforgettable. There's something in Robert Plant's voice that gives me the chills - especially after Zeppelin years:

Robert Plant: Rainbow (YouTube)

From the 2014 album Lullaby and the Ceaseless Roar, the song was written by Robert Plant, Justin Adams, John Baggott, Billy Fuller and Liam Tyson.

Ölbeat 092: Nøgne Ø India Pale Ale

Brewery: Nøgne Ø
Country: Norway
Style: India Pale Ale
Abv: 7,5 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is hazy golden yellow with a nice white foamy head. Aromas has orange, mango and lemon. Taste starts with gentle fruity bitterness. Fresh, slightly bitter and mildly sweet grapefruit takes control with some piny dryness and malty flavour in the background. Near the finish some orange and a bite of alcohol gets through. Aftertaste has long-lasting bitter grapefruit and dry pine.

Balanced and delicate India Pale Ale from Norway. It's doesn't offer overthrown hop feast but smooth bitterness that gives room to the citrus flavours and even some spotlight to the malts. There's the delicious and enjoyable tingle in this one that should be in every IPA.

Ölbeat

No questions asked - this was instantly my choice. The fruity flavour just asked for some R&B and we've already listened to Mr. D'Arby once before with an IPA. So let's timetravel back to the 80's again:

Terence Trent D'Arby: If You Let Me Stay (YouTube)

From the 1987 album Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby, the song was written by Terence Trent D'Arby.

Ölbeat 040: Nøgne Ø Imperial Stout

Brewery: Nøgne Ø
Country: Norway
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 9 %
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Excellence looks like this: the front...

What about the beer?
Colour is delicious thick black with medium beige head. Aroma has black coffee, dark chocolate and roasted malts.Taste gets a heavily bitter hoppy start that stays in front long. Roasted chocolate malts grow slowly in the mouth, strong black coffee and salty chocolate enter later. Dry bitterness comes back in the end. Aftertaste has long-lasting roasty malts and bitterness.

The beer is a thick and complex combination of strong elements. Everything has lots of weight, nothing is left half-way. Magnificent, extremely enjoyable and very slow brew.

...and the back. Now - get one!

Ölbeat

Black, heavy, strong, aggressive. The matching song wasn't hard to choose - taste the beer and find the reason:

Metallica: Wherever I May Roam (YouTube)

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

Ölbeat 030: Nøgne Ø Havrestout

Brewery: Nøgne Ø
Country: Norway
Style: Sweet Stout
Abv: 4,5 %
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Brew with oat - you'll have black beer...

Nøgne Ø, founded in 2002, is a craft brewery from Grimstad, Norway. The name of the brewery means 'naked island', referring to the name used of the barren islands near Norway's southern coast by the 19th century playwright and poet Henrik Ibsen in one of his poems, Terje Vigen. Their webpage describes the mission of the brewery "to create fantastic full bodied and handcrafted beers" and the subtitle to the brewery's name is "The Uncompromising Brewery".

What about the beer?
Colour is espresso black with small bubbly beige crown, that rebuilds as a tiny foam top after vanishing due to high carbonation and oats, probably. Aroma has coffee, dark chocolate and sweet malts with a slight roast. Taste starts with the carbonated mouthfeel, which turns to caramel and chocolate malts. Palate adds soft bitter hops and coffee with a gentle roast. Aftertaste has roasted malts and coffee.

After getting over the strongly carbonated mouthfeel, there are elements of a really fine stout. The oats added to the brew really give an extra taste to the malt. Coffee is clearly present in the aroma, but surprisingly shows up in the taste in the last minute. Very nice beer especially for the abv.

Ölbeat

The colour of the beer doesn't make it heavy. On the contrary, this stout was pretty light to drink but there was some serious soul present, so that's what we get:

Marvin Gaye: I Heard It Through the Grapevine (YouTube)

From the 1968 album, In the Groove, the song was written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong for Motown Records. First recorded in 1966 by The Miracles and first released as a single in 1967 by Gladys Knight & the Pips, it was Marvin Gaye's version that became the soul classic. Gaye had an argument with the producer about singing higher than his normal range. The producer was the one to finally decide, and as we can hear Gaye's raspy overhigh vocals give the cake its icing. The sharp-hitting soul is played by the Funk Brothers and the recording was enhanced with the string section of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Lyrics tell a story about the betrayal of the singer's lover, that he hears from the gossiping people ("through the grapevine"), and his suffering on the ordeal. It was the serious subject and the gently floating soul that I felt with Havrestout to make this match.