Ölbeat 282: Hiisi Hati

Brewery: Panimo Hiisi (in Finnish)
Country: Finland
Style: Saison
Abv: 5,7 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is hazy yellow with a medium-sized white head. Aroma has lemon, sour apple and yeast. Taste starts with spiky fruity tartness. Tart lemon and spicy fruity yeast take over with some wheat-malty sweetness. Towards the end sour-sweet citrus takes the upper hand. Aftertaste has sour-bitter citrus and spicy dryness.

Refreshing fruity and spicy Saison. Tart-sour citrus is nicely supported by yeast, wheat and spiciness. Fine summer ale from Hiisi.

Ölbeat

According to Norwegian folklore, Hati ("He Who Hates") is a warg, a wolf that chases the moon to swallow it during the Ragnarök, an apolyptical event. The wolf is obviously hungry for the rock that the Moon consists of. In this classic pop song, there's some different kind of hunger. Norwegian electropop hustlepuff that the brewery recommends just doesn't fit to the picture. 

Duran Duran: Hungry Like the Wolf (YouTube)

From the 1982 album Rio, the song was written by Duran Duran.

Ölbeat 265: Hiisi Kyyttö

Brewery: Panimo Hiisi (in Finnish)
Country: Finland
Style: Stout
Abv: 5,5 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is black with a large tan head. Aroma has roasted malts, sweet coffee and dark chocolate. Taste starts with roasty bitter dark chocolate. Charcoal-roasted malts and mocca-spiced chocolate take over with gentle bitterness. Towards the end sweetish charcoal-liquorice bitterness rises above coffee and chocolate flavours. Aftertaste has malty sweetness, roasted bitterness and some coffee.

Tasty Milk Stout. Was afraid of overwhelming sweetness, but instead got excellent roast, malt, liquorice and chocolate flavours. Once again Hiisi didn't let me down.

Ölbeat

Kyyttö is used as the nickname of a rare Finnish cattle breed called Eastern Finncattle. For that reason and that reason only, I chose a song whose name includes the word cow. Not the worst choice, I think.

Foo Fighters: For All the Cows (YouTube)

From the 1995 album Foo Fighters, the song was written by Dave Grohl.

Ölbeat 234: Hiisi Pirunpelto

Brewery: Panimo Hiisi (in Finnish)
Country: Finland
Style: Dunkler Bock
Abv: 6,5 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is dark brown with a small tan head. Aroma has sweet bread, syrupy malts, dark fruits and raisins. Taste starts with bitter grainy malts. Dryish and grainy and bready malts take over with a hint of bittersweet fruits. Towards the end malty sweetness, dark fruits and gentle bitterness get through. Aftertaste has bitter fruits, dry malts and alcohol warmth.

Malty and tasty Bock. Malt dominance is broken a bit by fruity and bitter flavours. Didn't taste the sauna stove stones used in brewing process, though. How would a hot olivine-diabase taste, anyway? Let's leave that for you to try, dear reader.

This beer was part of Alko's Finnish microbrewery craftbeer selection in spring 2017.

Ölbeat

Of course, Hiisi guys gave their own music recommendation - Howlin Wolf's Built for Comfort - which is a rather fine Chicago blues track. But as usual, I don't mind brewer's choices but I don't necessarily follow them either. And since sometimes I just pick the song right from the name of the beer, here we go again...

Kotiteollisuus: Pirunpelto (YouTube)

From the 2002 single Routa ei lopu, the song was written by Kotiteollisuus.

Ölbeat 214: Hiisi Ikiiurso

Brewery: Panimo Hiisi (in Finnish)
Country: Finland
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 11 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is black with a huge beige head. Aroma has sweet fruity alcohol, coffee, chocolate and sugared roasted malts. Taste begins with sweet roasted bitterness. Fruity liquor coated roasted malts, sweet coffee and dark chocolate take over. Towards the finish some bittersweet roast gets through the alcohol. Aftertaste has lasting sweet roasty bitterness, spicy coffee and alcohol warmth.

Monstrous black boozy and sticking thick syrupy Imperial Stout. Horribly delicious combo of fruity liquor, coffee, chocolate and roast. This beast was truly worth getting under radar. Found the prey waiting for the predator - or was it the other way around? - in Oluthuone Kaisla in Helsinki.

Ölbeat

Picked a detail from the bottle label - the huge eye staring directly at the beer drinker. Combined it with the gloomy theme and the thick blackness of the brew. Found a beautiful metal ballad sung by a great vocalist, who sadly passed away too young before the album and the song were published.

Trees of Eternity: Eye of Night (YouTube)

From the 2016 album Hour of the Nightingale, the song was written by Aleah Stanbridge and Juha Raivio.

Ölbeat 162: Hiisi Ruisperkele

Brewery: Panimo Hiisi
Country: Finland
Style: Imperial IPA
Abv: 8,5 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is golden orange with a small white head. Aroma is very fruity with seducing mango-pineapple-orange juice. Taste begins with fresh sweet and bitter fruits. Sweet mango gets on top with a solid bitter grapefruit side note that grows towards the end. Final twist adds gently spicy piny flavour. Aftertaste is fruity bitter and piny dry.

On the label it says: "Humalaa niin perkeleesti." = Devilishly dosed hops. Imperial IPA that suits me. Damned and delicious. The luring fruity aroma gets finished in the taste. Bitter and piny flavours perfect the excellence. Hiisi belongs to my personal elite league of Finnish top breweries.

Ölbeat

For some reason the guys at the brewery know what they're doing but don't know shit about good music. Small amount of ambition would be good with artist recommendations. CMX, seriously? No. Never... Well, make a Skitbit brew and I'll consider. But here's a song to match the infernally hopped brew. Geezer Butler's bass solo intro snaps right together with the sinful aroma of the brew. 

Black Sabbath: N.I.B. (YouTube)

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

Ölbeat 081: Hiisi Pecko Brett IPA

Brewery: Panimo Hiisi
Country: Finland
Style: Sour Ale
Abv: 6,3 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is sparkling golden yellow with huge white head. Aroma has "horse-sweaty" yeast, sour lemon and sour apple. Taste gets going with strong, slightly bitter lemon sourness. Sour citrus and fruity yeast take quickly the command. Near the finish some sweet pineapple and kiwi make a visit. Aftertaste is sour, yeasty and bitterly dry.

This works. Sour and fresh brew. There's the taste of summer here. There's more Belgian ale like yeast and farmhouse ale like lemon here than IPA bitterness, so this goes to the sour ale category with me. Anyway, excellent delicious beer from the Jyväskylä dudes again.

Ölbeat

The scent of the stables and the feeling of a farmhouse ale try to force the choice towards southern state country music. If you like country, feel free to put a Dolly Parton album to the gramophone. Instead, I selected something with a sting without turning into an Englishman in New York (idiotic wordplay here, right?):

The Black Crowes: Sting Me (YouTube)

From the 1992 album The Southern Harmony and Musical Companion, the song was written by Chris Robinson and Rich Robinson.

Ölbeat 071: Hiisi Iku-Turso

Brewery: Panimo Hiisi
Country: Finland
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 9,0 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is black with a small vanishing natural white head. Aroma has thick slices of coffee, hops and some fresh grass. Taste starts with fresh and biting hoppy roasted coffee. Roasted malts take over with some coffee, chocolate and some kind of berry flavour. Towards the end hops and bitterness strike back nicely. Aftertaste is bitter, roasted and dry.

Excellent Imp which has a stiff malty body that keeps the taste palette together. Rich flavours of roasted malts and bitter hops dominate with coffee and chocolate kicking on the side. Strong and excellent brew.

Ölbeat

Don't know what the flan the guys at the brewery were thinking about when recommending Jean Sibelius' Symphony No. 7 with this one. Of course it works - Sibelius always does - but the raw nature of the brew calls for something else than joy of life and vitality. In this case, the reason for the music choice is linked to the companion and the discussion of the tasting moment. Without forgetting the difference between the feared monster of ancient legend in Kalevala and the sad but true monstrosities of modern day politics. 

Ludicrous: Delta Male Supremacy

From the 2016 album The Stoic Ideal, the song was written by Janne Leskinen and Joni Borodavkin.

Ölbeat 063: Hiisi Raivoava Rakki

Brewery: Panimo Hiisi
Country: Finland
Style: India Pale Ale
Abv: 6,2 %
@RateBeer

What about the beer?

Colour is dark copper orange with a finger-thick natural white head. Aroma has strawberry, mango and pineapple. Taste begins with gently hoppy and malty bitter bite. Grainy malt takes the lead with moderate grapefruit. Towards the end grapefruit, hops and pine show up more, with a sweet berry flavour on the side. Aftertaste has dry bitterness and grapefruit.

The brew doesn't completely match its name (in English: Furious Mongrel, hmmm?), if it should refer to aggressive hopping. Anyway I usually get bored with a beer, if it's only heavily bitter and dry. Malty start and growing fruitiness make Raivoava Rakki very enjoyable and even sessionable. Should try this again with BBQ dishes. 

Ölbeat

I tried to look up an artist and a song which has the same kind of contrast that the beer's name, aroma and taste have. Since it's a grungy brew with a doggy theme, the wheel of fortuned stopped by this short-lived 1990's supergroup:

Temple of the Dog: Hunger Strike (YouTube)

From the 1991 album Temple of the Dog, the song was written by Chris Cornell.

Ölbeat 049: Hiisi Aarni

Brewery: Panimo Hiisi
Country: Finland
Style: India Pale Ale
Abv: 6,9 %
@RateBeer

Aarni = Griffin: partly eagle, partly lion

What about the beer?
Colour is thick amber brown with small natural white head. Aroma has vanilla toffee candy and sweet fruits like pineapple and mango. (So we have a kids' happy hour just smelling the sweetness...) Taste starts with mango-toffeeish sweet hoppy bite. Rye malts, pine and grapefruit strongly step in soon after, on the side there's some fruit, caramel and vanilla. Towards the finish tiny slice of mango is added to the flavour. Aftertaste is dry, bitter and piny.

Very good IPA with some sweet fruity flavours. The rye malts kick in and add some edge to the traditional union of pine and grapefruit. Luckily the taste doesn't fully follow the aroma: the sweetness is toned down from the candy store level and the fruitiness gets more room.

Ölbeat

The brewers recommends this to be enjoyed with Sigur Rós, but nah. We'll grab some music that has connection to the edges, the sweet feeling and the name of the beer, something that also refers to the brewery on its way to success. A huge song from one of the giants of rock after its major successes:  

Pink Floyd: Learning to Fly (YouTube)

From the 1987 album A Momentary Lapse of Reason, the song was written by David Gilmour (main writer), Anthony Moore, Bob Ezrin and Jon Carin.

Ölbeat 031: Hiisi Humulus Lupus DIPA

Brewery: Panimo Hiisi
Country: Finland
Style: Imperial IPA
Abv: 9 %
@RateBeer

A wolfly brew from the wilderness?

Panimo Hiisi is an old acquiantance since Loviatar review (Ölbeat 020). Humulus Lupus is described to have been brewed by "outrageously abusing a myriad of hop plants". The name of the beer is a word play with the latin names of hop (Humulus Lupulus) and wolf (Canis Lupus). When we get a douple/imperial IPA with that kind of predatory label, we should expect a hop explosion, shouldn't we? Let's cut the crap and get to the business, then.

What about the beer?
Colour is thick orange with tiny whiteish head. Aroma gives first grapefruit and then sweet fruits like mango and pineapple. Taste is nicely sweet malty and bitter hoppy not in a sharp and aggressive but in a slowly growing and strengthening way. Palate adds citrus, fruits and some piny notes. Bitter aftertaste lasts pleasantly long.

This one's a gentle beast. It doesn't chew your head off with the first bite, but instead waits its prey let one's guard down and then makes a gentle smooth kill. The palette of flavours wasn't expected: I thought this one would be a mean hop attack but got something a lot better.

Ölbeat

As usual, the Hiisi brewers recommend some music with the beer: this time it's a Finnish band called Maj Karman Kauniit Kuvat. As usual, I don't give a shit. Instead, I try to piss them off with a song which literally has someone growing on someone:

The Darkness: Growing on Me (YouTube)

From the 2003 album, Permission to Land, the song was written by the band members Hawkins-Hawkins-Poullain-Graham. It represents the purest sound of The Darkness - guitar-riff led glam rock with Justin Hawkins' recognisable high tenor vocals. Probably the band's reputation of having fun and making music tongue in cheek is the reason why the song's lyrics have occasionally been misinterpreted to refer to pubic lice or STD's. According to singer-guitarist Justin Hawkins the song is really about a woman that you will never understand, but you love her so much that you'll get over it. Humulus Lupus got matched with the song not only because of the 'growing' thing but also because the beer was fun to enjoy.

Ölbeat 020: Hiisi Loviatar

Brewery: Panimo Hiisi
Country: Finland
Style: Barley Wine
Abv: 10,5 %
@RateBeer

The birdy beast from Jyväskylä

Panimo Hiisi (webpages only in Finnish), founded in 2013, is an artisan brewery in Jyväskylä in Central Finland. According to the webpages the brewery's selfish agenda is to make the kind of beer that the brewers themselves would like to drink. Hiisi brews' names are often borrowed from Finnish ancient legends like Kalevala, e.g. Loviatar is the blind daughter of the god of death Tuoni and the underworld queen Tuonetar.

This beer was part of Alko's Finnish microbrewery craftbeer selection in spring 2016.

What about the beer?
Colour is hazy mud-brown with small tan head. Aroma has a strong scent of sweet berries - strawberry & blueberry and distinctive maltiness. Taste starts with a strong combination of sweet rye and strawberry. The strawberry flavour takes slowly over. Palate adds slow hops and taste of alcohol and brings back the malty first bite. Aftertaste is bitter with berry flavours.

Hardcore experience. Extremely enjoyable beer: strong flavours and contrasts but the body keeps the combination together. A little too much of berriness, probably could have gotten a little more out of the rye, but hey, small flaws give character, overall a solid performance.

Ölbeat

The bottle label recommends the beer to be enjoyed with Savonian metal band Verjnuarmu's album Muanpiällinen helevetti. Well, no offence, I didn't, but the picture in the bottle label gave the idea:

Deep Purple: Bird Has Flown (YouTube)

From the 1969 album, Deep Purple, the song was written by keyboardist Jon Lord, vocalist Rod Evans and guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. This version of the song is the original album version: a shorter re-recorded version, named The Bird Has Flown, was released as the A-side of the single Emmaretta. The song's music is driven with guitar and bass riffs and drum lines combined with Lord's haunting organ background during the chorus - this longer version ends with almost three minutes jamming and Blackmore's and Lord's solos. The lyrics are built on the phrase 'the bird has flown' referring to one's lost feeling being nothing compared to even negative or childish feelings. Well, Loviatar will certainly offer feeling to the drinker.