Ölbeat 310: Rocking Bear Porkka Portteri

Brewery: Rocking Bear Brewers
Country: Finland
Style: Porter
Abv: 4,3 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is black with a huge beige head. Aroma has roast, bready malts and dark chocolate. Taste begins with dry charcoal roast. Charred bready malts take over with gently bitter dark chocolate. Near the finish roasted malty sweetness gets on top. Aftertaste has dry and bitter malty roast.

Mild but flawless basic Porter. Charred roast with some bitter chocolate and sweet malts. After one and a half year of active business, Rocking Bear seems to have succeeded in breaking into the brewing scene of Pori.

Ölbeat

The brew "Porkka" is named after Pormestarinluoto, a notorious part of the city in Pori. Although its blocks of rental flats have cleaned up and also polished the reputation of the neigbourhood, for me it will always represent pure darkness. I have no reason to visit or stay on that side of the city. Well, not in this lifetime, at least.

Depressed Mode: Suffer in Darkness (YouTube)

From the 2007 album Ghosts of Devotion, the song was written by Ossy Salonen.

Ölbeat 309: Ôllenaut Wahtula

Brewery: Õllenaut 
Country: Estonia
Style: Imperial Stout
Abv: 9,5 %
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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 308: Linden Red Ale

Brewery: Linden Brewery (in Finnish)
Country: Finland
Style: Irish Ale
Abv: 4,5 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is dark brown with a huge natural white head. Aroma has caramel malts, dark fruits and gentle roast. Taste starts with bitter bready malts. Dry grainy malts and bitter hops take over with mild fruity side tones. Near the finish malty dryness comes out strongest. Aftertaste has dry malts and bitter grainy flavour.

Dry malty Irish Ale - first of this style in the blog. Alright, but would've expected a little more depth behind the grainy main flavour. The first one from the brewery tasted a lot better for me.

Ölbeat

Simply put, I picked a song from a band from the same town as the brewery. Some experimental rock for the experiments of a rather new brewery.

Musta Valo: 26200 Rauma (YouTube)

From the 2014 album Musta Valo, the song was written by Lauri-Matti Parppei and Timo Kuismanen.

Ölbeat 307: Rocking Bear Pietniemi Pale Ale

Brewery: Rocking Bear Brewers (Facebook, in Finnish)
Country: Finland
Style: American Pale Ale
Abv: 4,5 %
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What about the beer?

Colour is dark orange with a huge natural white head. Aroma has mango, orange and pear. Taste begins with gentle citrus bitterness. Juice mix of sweet orange-mango and sour-bitter lemon takes over. Towards the end some bitter grapefruit strikes through. Aftertaste has grapefruit bitterness and slightly piny dryness.

Fruity fresh American Pale Ale. All the elements of citrus present. Light but good. Tastes like summer should have felt. Works like a charm. The beer of my neighborhood, by the way. Until they brew Pelle Miljoona Barley Wine, of course.

Ölbeat

Pietniemi Pale Ale has gotten its name from a quarter in the city of Pori. Near Pietniemi, in the fields of western Pori there used to be a grey barn with a text "Pelle Miljoona Oy" on its outside wall. The barn was burned down in 2004.

Pelle Miljoona Oy: Juokse villi lapsi (YouTube)

From the 1980 album Moottoritie on kuuma, the song was written by Pelle Miljoona and Ari Taskinen.

Ölbeat 306: Thornbridge Mango Halcyon

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

Colour is hazy juicy yellow with a large white head. Aroma has strong mango with grapefruit and orange. Taste begins with strongly hitting citrus punch. Fresh and softly carbonated sour-bitter grapefruit-lemon juice takes over with orange, mango and herbs in the background. Towards the end the fruit juice keeps its grip, piny and herbal flavours rising up a bit. Aftertaste has bitter grapefruit, sour lemon and herbal dryness.

Delicious fruity Double IPA. Fresh citrus and mango packed beer with moderate piny bitterness. Someone could call this a fake New England IPA. I call this one heck of a brew. Great tuned Halcyon from Thornbridge - something completely different from the ordinary but still magnificent.

Ölbeat

Time for some raw and brutal rock. With fruit, of course.

Danko Jones: The Mango Kid

From the 1999 EP My Love is Bold and 2001 album I'm Alive and On Fire, the song was written by Danko Jones.