Jimbo's Beerblog

Germans know how to do this properly: Make a strong beer even stronger with freezing it. Obviously one could argue, what’s the purpose but to make it stronger (12% alc vol), but with making it more dense liquid, it also becomes better, smoother and heavier. Still deceivingly easy-drinkable, sweet but not ugly sweet, just perfect for the occasion – Happy Malty New Year Beerlovers! **** Great

I must have reviewed this years ago. Memories say, this was no spectacular. They were right.  Dark winter ale. Malty, juniper spiced ale with a nice smooth taste. Had some blue cheese with this and it melted as extra salty stuff. A bit odd combination, which might have ruined this reviewing session for me, but as you might or ought to know, I’m not a traditional beer-hi-fi-reviewer, just a dude, who likes beer.  I blame also rye malts for making this odd sweet taste, as they surely are not making this less sweet.  All-in-all a bit too careful pure feel, should be more dirty and complex :D ***- Just OK PS. This review was the LAST part of my   GYERP 2016 , that's all folks!

Deutch bier = German lager, this time “winter-style”.  Pure, classic lager with a “winter” twist, nothing more, nothing less. *** OK PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

Eesti kasitod olu. Or something like that. Props for the bros down south, but this was a bit disappointing, and “old age”. Maybe deservingly. Still, I drank it. Malts and stuff. Traditional. **+ Props for doing the traditional PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

Habanero & mango, wtf. This is odd and wonderful. I would have wanted this to be extraordinary good too, but this only had the looks and the back-kick. Still, get some! **+ Looks and habanero, booyaah PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

Sure, I bought this for the label. And for the title. Metallica’s Fade to Black is cold and dark and nasty. And great.  This was warm and sunny (dark, but only candylike) and sweet. And great.  But, my only complain is that it was too candy for me tonight, but still, I liked it a lot. ***+ For sweetasses like me PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

So, craft from Colorado.  Nice, malty, easy-drinkable, pleasant.  Hoppy but nicely - like skiing in the mountains, if you will. *** OK PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

Winter ale with 4,6% ABV.  Looks like dirty water. Unfiltered for sure. Also organic.  Quite watery and not very pleasant malty ale. ** Drinkable PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

Yule is here again, in a month or so. [written in november] This light 4,5% ABV Yule Ale is dark, nicely roasted ale, which has a nice malty flavor both in scent and taste.  Easy-drinkable and nice with food, but a bit more body wouldn’t hurt.  Still, good Yule ale. *** OK PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

Nice, but a bit too sharp taste.  Malty body with enough hoppy backup, but after perfect Ruination from Stone, this feels a bit raw. Still, not bad, definitely not. *** OK PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

Beautiful, just perfect IPA with body, character, freshness and hops. **** Great PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

So, this is a collaboration beer with Finnish indie brewery Humalove and Polish counterparts, brewed in Poland.  8,5% Stout, so near Imperial Stout, but still maybe just stout with lingonberries aged with sherry barrel chips and Arabica beans.  So, smell is nicely coffeeish, I like coffee and espresso.  Taste has that espresso feel with lots of liquorice or salty liquorice, and I like both of them too. So very nice brew, thank you! I’m not sure if I can find any sherry or lingonberries in this, but all the same, this tastes like a beautiful stout, balanced, easy drinkable and nice.  Very good beer, not spectacular, but very very good. **** Great PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

Pours like pale ales do, clear and pale. Quite flat, not a lot of carbondioxide, tiny head disappears fast.  Smells fresh and flowery, NZ-hops rule, I guess.  Tropical taste, almost like soda, very easy drinkable, I just drank this quite fast, because it was so easy. Is it good then? Well, guess it is, if you like easy, sessionable, tropical smooth easy-drinkable beer. *** OK- Maybe even a bit too easy-drinkable, if you know what I mean J

Malmgård is one of my favorite Finnish indie brewers, but this was a disappointment.  Grapefruit and pine, still more malty than aromatically hoppy. And then, something in this beer, launched an allergic reaction in me. Sometimes some beers do, and I don’t know if its some particular hop, yeast or malts – but still, I couldn’t fully enjoy this because of that.  I remember some Fuller’s anniversary beer making similar reaction years back (I gave it a better review, though it made me feel a bit sick after, like having a bad flu for an hour or so), which is a shame, because after that I just can’t risk having another of these beers. ** Drinkable, because enjoyment was ruined by an allergic reaction… PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

Beautiful, spicy, peppery Saison from Kuopio, Finland.  Huge drinkability factor, very very nice and easy drinkable, fresh, aromatic, fruity, spicy and all-around nice brew. **** Great PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

Citrus, sweet coffee, but still more espresso and dark chocolate than latte or milk chocolate, more bitter than sweet.  Hoppy bitter (huge hop-selection: Amarillo, Columbus, Citra, Chinook, Centennial, Simcoe) end is very nice, but all-around smell-taste-balance-aftertaste-palette is perfect. **** Great PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

Rye-infused double IPA. I love rye bread, but sweet rye is the worst. This is sweet and malty, but with loads and loads of mouth drying hops.  First I thought, that scent was nice and fruity, then it turned almost perfume like sweet, and finally the taste combined everything until the bitter, sorry, BITTER end.  Well, it was not my cup of tea, but still quite good in its genre. *** OK  PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

Wow. A magnificent black brew.  Liquorice and salty liquorice (salmiac) with a hint of chocolate and coffee which means that this beer includes all the black flavors I love. Perfect. **** Great PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

This has been a regular for me lately in local wine bar Maria P.  Nice & malty with huge bitter hoppy end.  Golden brown, hasty, middle bodied, hoppy, caramel malts, dry fruity, slightly grassy, balanced, bright! *** OK PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

Nice easy-drinkable, a bit dry roasted and stouty IPA with nice hoppiness also. *** OK PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

When the real cork pops, you know, that there is something happening and happened in the bottle. This huge Belgian has to be poured extra carefully and still it makes more head than 100 bottles of bulk lager combined.  Sweet, sugary, brown… Mämmi   is a traditional Finnish Easter dessert and this is like drinking it, but still, maybe the alcohol makes this more a sweet red portwine.  Nice, but odd brew for enthusiasts and mämmi-lovers. *** OK PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

Malty, but very nicely hopped IPA.  Great piny endeavour.  Tasty, grapefruity brew. *** OK PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

A bit too malty for my taste, but still Okay.  Red Ale for hohos. *** OK PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

As bad as it sounds. * Shit PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

An indie brewery from Finland, Hopping Brewsters.  Fucking good mild session IPA wit 4,5% ABV. Fruity as hell, easy-drinkable as fuck! **** Great session-IPA PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

I just love these cans from Saimaa! (info side not visible in the picture, it's really the best side!!) And I love this beer also. ***+ Good PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

Hahahaha. Funny name. Beer is actually very easy-drinkable, but beautiful saison.  Very mild in flavor, but still coriander and pepper with huge refreshing fruity feel. *** OK PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

This is fresh, refreshing, fruity, like smelling flowers.  Nice citrusy IPA, sooooo easy-drinkable and good.  Still, just good, not spectacular. *** OK PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

Norwegian brewed Belgian ale. Coriander, Orange, Grapefruit.  Easy-drinkable, quite enjoyable. *** OK PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

Catpiss scent…and such a lovely orangy taste! This Sorachi Ace hop seems interesting in this saison or “farmhouse ale” (is this some American version of saison?) as they say in the bottle. It is originally from Japan, but now grown is US too. There is also that usual Belgian yeasty spicyness but orange and apple and citrus rules. Beautiful, very easy-drinkable and tasty fruity ale! Specs from Brooklyn’s own page: Style:  Farmhouse Saison Malts:  German Pilsner Hops:  Washington-grown Sorachi Ace Yeast:  Our special Belgian strain (primary); Champagne yeast (secondary) Alcohol by Volume:  7.6% **** Great PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

Iconic West Coast IPA, a classic.  In a can, from Stone’s Berlin breweries.  6,9% ABV. Citrus in a scent, pinewood in a taste, hoppy bitter magic.  Fucking good IPA, which gets better, can by can :D **** Great PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

Nice to have some Stadin beer for a while. I almost went to Stadi - Helsinki, Finland - myself the other weekend, but my 43 rd birthday was just another weekend home, because I was so tired. Maybe another time, another year. Hazy brown beer with particles swimming in the dirty looking stuff. Scent is interesting, but I can’t get a hold of it. Maybe some fruity nutty fudge? Taste is full of like berry winelike bitter but sweet stuff. Odd, but at first I think this might be good.  Maybe not so much that fudge/toffee, but still some nuttiness and malty sweetness. I don’t know, bitterness comes last, and saves a lot, this could be horrible sweet lager shit, but now this is more interesting and a bit more pleasant, but still not very good. One time experience, a bit too watery/thin/light-bodied. **+ Just hardly OK PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

Friday is crowned with Falafel roll/pita wrap, great music and perfect beer. There are occasions and occasions for a beer: This was perfect for this Schlenkerla Märzen. Beautiful, dark brown smoked Märzen. Obviously a smoke flavor and taste, but the taste is way smoother than in those overthetop-smoked beers and with food this is just perfect. Easy-drinkable and all-the-way great beer, Schlenkerla is magic! **** Great

“Premium Lager Beer”. Propably the worst three words a (craft)beer lover could read from a bottle. But this in a local Nepalese restaurant Nepal Aama with my lovely wife and firstborn son at my birthday was surprisingly good. With food best, but even without very balanced and refreshing, not metallic nor too sweet but easy-drinkable and good lager! *** OK

Saison or something like that. Very nice big bottle, pours hazy brown and the head is huge so slowly pourable. Saison-scent is familiar, Belgian yeasts rule. Taste has nice bitterness, that comes in many forms – there is that peppery saison yeast bitterness and hoppy bitterness at the end. Very nice! Then there is also orange bitterness and what not. Complex but still easy-drinkable, enjoyable with food or without, fucking good all the way for me. **** Great PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

Interesting, but just too bitter hoppy without malty body to back it up.  Bartender lied that this would be like APA, fuck him. ** Drinkable PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

A new indie brewery from Finland. Very nice stout, 7% ABV, very enjoyable, very easy-drinkable, liquorice and espresso with sweetness.  So good, I want to enjoy this slowly through the night. Fucking great! **** Great PS. Review is part of my   GYERP 2016

Lingonberries mixed with saison . ** Drinkable PS. Review is part of my  GYERP 2016

Bartender in a local Hospoda Koruna thought that this beer might be a bit too hoppy, but I still wanted it.  Fucking good, dry hoppy beer with enough body to back up the hoppy overdose.  Very enjoyable night warmer and propably the best double/imperial IPA I have had, actually. **** Great PS. Review is part of my GYERP 2016

Amager Bryghus, I fucking love them.  Funny story in the bottle, maybe true, maybe not.  Beer is very very light, so finally a Pale beer.  Very nicely hoppy lager, fucking great, easy-drinkable, sessionable, refreshing and what not! **** Great lager PS. Review is part of my GYERP 2016

Nice, different IPA. Very easy drinkable. So easy, I didn’t even have time to do my notes, beer just flowed through my mouth and throat.  Good, but not spectacular.  This had not that American style hard and dry hoppiness, not pine, but some other sensations. Maybe a nice British-American IPA hybrid then. *** OK PS. Review is part of my GYERP 2016

Solid German Wheat, nothing less, nothing more. TAP5 rules ok, this is more a traditional version of German wheats and those, who dig them, love this. This has THAT German wheat beer feel.  Lots of nice hoppiness alongside banana flavor and all those wheaty things. *** OK (Great for a [German] wheat) PS. Review is part of my GYERP 2016

Celebration brew with lots of hops.  Well, it was fine. Everything that Nogne O:s IPA was, but maybe a bit more fruitier.  Still, just very good, not great. ***+ Very Good PS. Review is part of my GYERP 2016

Balanced easy-drinkable.  Refreshing, enjoyable.  Still, nothing special here. *** OK PS. This "review" is part of my GYERP 2016

Grapejuice in a beer bottle. ** Drinkable PS. This "review" is part of my GYERP 2016

Beautiful blend of traditional British IPA and American hoppy style modern IPA. Malts, pinewood, nice hoppy bitterness. Perfect balance and drinkability. **** Great British-American IPA PS. Review is part of my GYERP 2016

Simple, nice, crisp summerbrew!  Danke Schön, me likes. ***+ Very Good PS. Review is part of my GYERP 2016

Bottle in a local Nepalese restaurant. Food was great as usual, but beer was hardly drinkable. Not cardboard or metallic, but just too sweet malty sense, didn’t enjoy at all. **- Drinkable, hardly PS. Review is part of my GYERP 2016

Fresh, fruity, hoppy, enjoyable, great scent and even better taste.  Highly drinkable, sessionable, enjoyable. Just perfect in its style. **** Great PS. Review is part of my GYERP 2016

At first this feels like a usual Hartwall-shite: Head disappears before you can walk to your table in a bar from the counter, smell is like in all those industrial macro brewery bulk lagers and first taste is just a bit sharp and dull. After a while I can however drink this without any bad feelings, but is this good beer? Hardly so. ** Drinkable PS. Review is part of my GYERP 2016