Ölbeat 125: Bell's Expedition Stout

Brewery: Bell's Brewery
Country: United States
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 10,5 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a tiny beige halo. Aroma has sweet roasted malts, coffee, chocolate and a note of alcohol. Taste lifts off with a sweet roasty bitter bite. Delicious combination of roasted malts and black coffee with dark chocolate and vanilla hints takes over. Near the finish sweet bitterness and alcohol bite come through. Aftertaste is rich & deep and has coffee, roasted bitterness and warming alcohol.

Incredibly savoury Imperial Stout. Perfect roast, coffee and bitter flavours. Strong and thick but still amazingly smooth and soft. I feel lucky to still have couple of these stashed.

Ölbeat

Now, we entered the area of personal favourites once more. Shortly, my choice is a heavy metal classic with a dark vision fot Earth and suberb melodic guitar riffs.

Black Sabbath: Into the Void (YouTube)

From the 1971 album Master of Reality, the song was written by Black Sabbath (Butler, Iommi, Osbourne & Ward).

Ölbeat 124: Thornbridge Saint Petersburg

Brewery: Thornbridge Brewery
Country: England
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 7,4 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a finger-thick tan head. Aroma has ashy-roasted malts, espresso and bitter dark chocolate. Taste starts with strong charred-roasted bitterness. Ashy bitterness and charred-smoky malts take over with tiny hints of black coffee. The dark chocolate malts and bitter hops come clearer near the finish. Aftertaste has lasting strong roasted dryness and bitterness.

Roast and bitterness truly play the starring roles here. If we stare strictly at the beer style, this probably lacks some coffee from the flavour. But luckily this blog cares only for the taste - and it's pure, lasting and great.

Ölbeat

Once again, we'll find the original inspiration for the song choice in the name of the brew. Actually we chose the artist and the origin of the song after the name of the beer. The Russian city of Saint Petersburg was named Leningrad in 1924-1991, and the song was originally a Russian romance song. Leningrad Cowboys is a successful Finnish rock band that started its story from the 1989 Finnish movie Leningrad Cowboys Go America. The song can lead to thinking about the 18th century when the beer style of (Russian) Imperial Stout was brewed the first time in England. 

Leningrad Cowboys: Those Were The Days (YouTube)

From the 1992 album We Cum from Brooklyn, the song was composed by Boris Fomin and the English lyrics were written by Gene Raskin.

Ölbeat 123: Ruosniemen Parlamentaarikko

Brewery: Ruosniemen Panimo
Country: Finland 
Style: Abbey Dubbel
Abv: 6,9 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is hazy brown with a finger-thick white head. Aroma has sweet fruits, raisins and syrup. Taste begins with fruity and yeasty sourness. Sour fruit, sweet malts, raisins and some yeasty stuffyness take over. Towards the end sweet bitterness and sour lemon step forward. Aftertaste has bitter yeast and sour fruits.

Tasty and complex Dubbel with fruits, malts and yeast and sweet, sour and bitter flavours. Should have a taste of this later with an original Belgian one and compare. Very nice anyway.

Ölbeat

The name of the brew - Finnish word for 'parliamentarian' - steers the choice towards a politically oriented song. Well, at least this has a punk funk rhythm and lyrics from the mouth of an elite politician.  

The Clash: Know Your Rights (YouTube)

From the 1982 album Combat Rock, the song was written by Joe Strummer and Mick Jones.

Ölbeat 122: Top Fuel Weissmuller Wheat

Brewery: Top Fuel Beer Company
Country: Finland
Style: Hefeweizen (/Wheat Ale)
Abv: 4,7 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is cloudy golden yellow with a small white head. Aroma has yeast, banana and wheat malts. Taste lifts off with light hoppy sour and yeasty bite. Slightly sour yeasty flavour and wheat malts with a banana twist take over. Towards the end soft lemon sourness and gentle bitterness rise. Aftertaste has both sweetish yeast and dry lemon.

First thought was "what is this one trying to be?". Then the beer turned to a tasty mix of Saison and Hefeweizen. There's fruity sour yeast and wheaty banana. Nice and refreshing summer beer.

Ölbeat

This calls for a song about Tarzan. Yeah. A jungle song. Ok. An animal song. Whatever. Something simple and fun with a rock beat. 

The Presidents of The United States of America: Feather Pluckn (YouTube)

From the 1995 album The Presidents of The United States of America, the song was written by Chris Ballew and The Presidents of the United States of America.

Ölbeat 121: Mathildedalin Seppä

Brewery: Mathildedalin Kyläpanimo (in Finnish)
Country: Finland
Style: Stout
Abv: 7 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a small vanishing beige head. Aroma has mild charcoal and some malts - surprisingly clean scent. Taste starts with heavy charcoal bite. First charred wood dominates, but after a short wait the taste gets depth: roasted sweet malts and hoppy bitterness come through. Some liquorice in campfire coffee is added near the finish. Aftertaste has medium sweet bitterness and gentle dry roast.

Fine quality stout from the village brewery. Strong ashy charcoal and growing richness in taste make this one a unique brew with a true artisan feeling: the Finnish word seppä means 'blacksmith'. This fairly young brewery has already gotten some fans. With this kind of beer it should definitely stay on the map.

Ölbeat

First thinking about the name of the brew and considering whether The Smiths would have a suitable song for this brew - or any other thing or situation - but no. Then chose this song that's about the direction where new breweries in Finland should go following the example of Mathildedahl: eteenpäin - forward.

Timo Rautiainen: Eteenpäin (YouTube)

From the 2006 album Sarvivuori, the song was written by Timo Rautiainen.