Jimbo's Beerblog

Stadin Panimo from Helsinki Finland is propably the most interesting brewery in Finland. It’s craftbrewing is always intriguing, experimental and they don’t stick long with anything – they just make another tasty beer. This time it’s a “Paques”-special, 9,0% alc vol, perhaps a Belgian styled (like have they thought about Westvleteren XII or Chimay Blue maybe?) strong ale with sweetness and chocolate and such. It’s like having a nice portwine, but not at all port or even barley wine stylishly, but more like a very good strong black lager, though its not a lager either. It has coriander and liquorice, but its more like a nutty British styled ale, and maybe it also reminds me a bit of Fuller's London Porter as well. It has that kind of nice multiplexity whe n you just begin to wander in your thought s and memories about other beers - and that is a nice feature in a beer.  I like this beer a lot, this is like a chocolate easter egg, you just have to have it fast to see, what’s inside ...

Dark amberish brown beer with foamy head. Very smoky smell, as expected. Taste is smoky and, well, smoky maltiness rules the whole experience. Smoke smoke smoke. If you like smoked meat, fish or tofu (which I prefer as I’m a vegetarian) you might like this a lot. Nice mouthfeel, easy drinkable (if smoke is good, and its good in this), aftertaste enjoyable. Good malty German stuff with lots of smoke flavors. Best smoked beer I’ve had in a while, but I’d say VASP SavuKataja is still better to my taste. ***+ OK, and specially recommended for smoke-fans

4,7% with Pils and Wheat malts, Columbus and Cascade hops. A bit misty outlook. Belgian yeasty, flowery smell. Refreshing taste, that Belgian yeast rules, not very hoppy. Easy drinkable Belgian styled mild ale, nice work, sessionable, not very interesting though. **+ Drinkable / OK

Well, Brewer’s Special Series of Finnish craftbrewers of Saimaan Juomatehdas have just released new tastes, so I picked an old one, that I guess I have not tasted earlier. Reddish copper brown outlook, 4,7% alc vol and 40 EBU. Nice to read the ingredients straight from the can: Pale Ale, Wheat, Munich, Dark Ale and Crystal malts. Columbus, Chinook, Cascade and Amarillo hops. Nicely crispy and easy-drinkable, but not quite among the best red ales I have had recently (like great Stadin American Red Ale or almost equally as good Shepherd Neame Late Red Ale). *** OK

4,5% alc vol crafted “easy-drinkable” with pale ale, wheat and cara pale malts. Hops used are Columbus, Cascade, Chinook, Citra and Amarillo. Very light-looking and clear. Smell has some fruits, but quite lightly, even a bit metallic, maybe too cold. Taste is very easy-going, easy-drinkable, with hoppiness. I think this might be a good choice for the average beer-consumer, that doesn’t necessarily yet have the same kind of hoppy magic fondness that beer enthusiasts have, so this might be a nice portal beer from basic lager comsumption to a better, tastier, hoppier beers. Quite nice, but nothing spectacular and I choose those more hoppy grocery-sold counterparts over this. **+ Drinkable / OK

They say this is “21 st Century Pilsner”. Well, I say: This.Is.Shit. 4,7% alc vol, grocery store sold lager. There are hundreds or thousands of different lagers in the world. Why even make another? I liked they “77 Lager” and “Fake Lager” – they still seemed to have some attitude. Maybe this is just same shit in another bottle, but that’s just the problem. This is just like BrewDog selling their principles and pissing on their own thing. I don’t understand. Someone should now make a video, where they golf down these BrewDog lagers…  ** Drinkable, but WHY?!

4,6% alc vol, lager from Hawaii? Kona is a familiar name, so I took the risk of buying expensive lager, that has made a long way from Pacific Ocean to Northern Finland. And for nothing…very light-looking, piss-like lager lacking aroma and having a disturbing metallic sense in taste. Well, there’s also the problem with the age: “JAN 29 14” and “Best before 1 Feb 2015”. Phew. I’m either stupid as hell or the importer and the grocery selling this piss are to blame. Fuck you! And don’t buy this, unless it’s fresh – maybe not then either. * BAD

Old familiar session APA from Nokian Panimo. One of my favorite all-around beers there are. Went to a local grocery store and picked one along with two other beers. 4,2% American Pale Ale. Piny, citrusy smell is wonderful as ever! It's really a nice scent this beer has, beer looks a bit misty and head is nice. Taste is a bit hoppy sharp at first and you might say it lacks balance, but after some more sips, the magnificently hoppy bitter taste just works from the start ‘till the bitter end. Simply the best session beer there is. Wonderful as ever, despite all the “quality problems” they are said to have had. ****+ Great! 

Belgian Strong Ale, 8% alc vol. Not so strong, still. And kinda mild in many ways. Belgian yeasts rule, in smell and taste. Very easy-drinkable, tasty, but not giving much else than yeasty vibes. But if you like those Belgian yeasty vibes this is a beer for you. If not, drink something else. Aftertaste has nice bitterness, some other vibe after all? Balanced, that I must say. I liked this, but wouldn’t call this great. Still, good enough, indeed. *** OK

Organic sprinx equinox / easter / påsk beer. 7,2% alc vol, dark beer with nice creamy head. Quite easy on the smell, maybe some malty sweet flavors. Taste is interesting. It’s sweet, but not too sweet. It has nice hoppiness, but not too much that either. So very balanced and easy-drinkable, but the same time enjoyable and balanced. Some fruity/nutty/chocolate feel, but also bitter end, so definitely not too sweet or heavy in that way. I’d call this a nice “dessert beer” if I had to categorize this nice ale. Way better feel than in my 2012 review  where I couldn’t find the essential greatness ot this in its own kind of simplicity; I mean that this doesn’t blow your mind, but it is just nicely and elegantly enjoyable. Nice way to end evening with this. ***+ Very good, even great in its own category of “dessert beers” :)

Another Finnish indie brewery, which I haven’t had many beers from. This is somewhat interesting, though I’m not sure, what to think about the “Golden Ale” –branding, wtf does it mean? Aren’t most of the beers “golden” by the colour anyways? Scent gives very nice fruity and sweet sense. I would call it “Sunny Ale” of “Fruity Ale” by the smell. Taste is like of APA/IPA-hybrid and the hoppy citrusy bitterness rules the taste&aftertaste. 5,6% alc vol. Pale Ale and CaraMalt. Centennial, Nelson Sauvin and – obviously – Citra hops. Kinda nice, somewhat raw hoppy feel, which doesn’t matter after lame saison I had earlier. I would like to return to this with some food, now hops rule the taste, so the balance was lacking a bit, but not bad, not at all. *** OK

First of all, wtf is so “Special” about this? Saison/Wheat beer with a bit yeasty smell and a somewhat disturbing side smell, metal or something. 6,0% alc vol. Pils, Vienna and wheatmalts. Wheat goes on top of everything else, bubblegum and banana, very misty looking beer. Columbus and Cascade hops try to give it a hoppy edge, but even they won’t save this to please me. I’m not a fan of wheaty beers and this just doesn’t work for me at all. ** Drinkable

5,5% lager from Nepal. Had it with Nepalese food in a new Nepalese restaurant in my home town. Basic lager, easy to drink, nothing disturbing, nothing interesting, went down easily with nice food. ** Drinkable

A black beauty from Finnish capital, 10.5% alc vol with Polaris-hops and lots of malty magic. Head is thin, but visible, beer is black and thick. Very sweet espresso feel with some liquorice and black chocolate maybe as well, but burned malts take the lead after sweetness and finish is nicely dry. This is surprisingly easy-drinkable for such a strong beer; alcohol is not at all noted, but rather very nicely hidden behind nice mixture of porter, imperial stout and black IPA –notions. I liked this “hybrid black” a lot, though it’s not the best of porters (nor imp stouts or black ipas). Still very good. ***+ Very good

Mildly bretta yeast -infused ale (or is it some other “wild yeast”?) from Finnish indie Brewery Rekolan Panimo. A nicely balanced and easy-drinkable belg-styled ale that uses mainly organic ingredients (“luomu” means organic). Very much ok and pleasantly easy-drinkable, but not giving any great sensations, though it definitely is better than average piss-lagers and such. *** OK

A Steam Beer collaboration with Finnish Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas and Yalobusha Brewing Company.  Very fruity, flowery, nice smell – beautiful scent for a “lager” beer (though steam beers are not exactly “lagered”, are they?). The taste is even better than smell. First a bit sweet, but then fruits and finally some drying hops. Nice, balanced beer. Great in its own genre, haven’t had better steam beer before. **** Great

Abbey-Blonde from Belgium, thank you. Almost as good as Blond Ale from Finnish indie kings of Malmgård, but I have to be homebound and say, that Malmgård made this better. Still, very much OK! *** OK

10,5% Belgian Strong Ale. And strong it its. A little bit too much alcohol in the taste. Nice Belg feel in a way, but still, body doesn’t do justice to alcohol volume and it goes over the top…sad to say, but it’s no pleasure for me drinking this. ** Drinkable