Explorations in beer
As the blog now has begun its second calendar year, it’s time to establish rules on how the montly “best beers” work out.
I try to promote new arrivals over things tried out before, and hence there shall be no repeats in the selections and new beers trump old favourites even if they do not manage to exceed the grade.
FI: Ennen kokeilemattomia oluita esiin vanhojen tuttujen kustannuksella (ellei nyt vallan heikko sato jollekin kuulle osu).
Finally updated the page with tasting notes. Not the greatest batch indeed, missing bold entrants from the new world as its gravest sin.
FI: Eipä ollut jouluolusto mitenkään suurten kehujen arvoinen, Bambergin savumörkö setin ykkönen.
Spent the first cold day of the winter on a day trip to Tallinn.
Took the morning ferry, whose trip towards the steaming sea (quickly freezing up at -16C) was on the surreal side.
Spent most of the day walking and shopping, stopping for a quick lunch at Clayhills in the Old Town. Sadly their house beers were probably the weakest links on the menu, and the food was heavy on the batter.
The last stop of the day was Uba ja Humal, a beer shop I’d heard plenty of good things about. The grapevine did not do justice to the place, the selection was wide and reasonably priced, the location out of the downtown hustle. In my best “kid in a candy store”-impression managed to buy no less than 38 beers, and take no pictures whatsoever. Concentrated on Estonian beers and picked up a couple of others along the side as well.
Tallink had expanded their range of beers in the ship’s tax free store to cover domestic craft breweries as well, picked up two sixpacks worth of them.
A cabin on the backswing was a very useful purchase, and fortunately the car hadn’t suffered in the freezing weather in the harbour either.
A very nice shop indeed, and one where I aim to return in the spring. It’ll be a while before this stash runs dry.
FI: Tallinnan olut-tarjonta yllätti talvimatkailijan.
Whoa, December just flew past on the wings of multiple unrelated crises on several fronts. I promise to be a more diligent blogger this year (and to complete the woefully inadequate christmas beer-campaign and julepakkekalender-content pages).
Despite a twenty four bottle exposure, the best beer of the month was not a Mikkeller one, but Metro Man by the Brazilian wing of Evil Twin. I picked the beer on recommendation in downtown’s Ølhus Köbenhavn, and wasn’t disappointed. Metro man approaches the traditionally robust imperial stout with a couple of extra arrows in its quiver (certainly didn’t expect the minerals/salt to be so prominent).
On the domestic side of things the top finisher is not a christmas beer, but an unexpected discovery in the depths of the cabinet. I though we’d finished Malmgård‘s Barley Wine already, but there was one more bottle. The intervening half a year had been kind to the beer, the flavours of dried fruits had become far more pronounced, but hadn’t overwhelmed the bitter-ish frame. Unfortunately the barley wine is no longer available, should definitely have picked up at least half a case from last year’s Käsityöläisolut-round in the spring.
FI: Musta oli valttia joulukuussakin.
brewnardo 