On they way stopped in Lohja, since it seems to be the sole place to pick up Paloaseman Panimo‘s beers.
After a very swedish birthday dinner took in the sights of the town.
Turku Brewdog wall of collateral
The first step was Koulu, whose bier garten was the finest of the summer so far, a lot bigger than I remembered. Too bad they only had a few of their own beers available, and the queues were bordering on the ridiculously long. Both their wheat and the appropriately named Kakolan Kalpea pale ale were smooth, and happily enough the large crowds were interested in the house beers rather than the the true mainstream alternatives.
Turku got a Brewdog establishment quite unexpectedly, and as a shareholder had to inspect the grounds. Smallish, very dark and with a shorter list of taps than the in Helsinki. Raspberry Blitz was (once again) too sour for me, but Amager’s Fru Fredriksen was a swell stout indeed (and a good preparation for the thirty minute walk back to the HQ). Tasting both herr and fru Fredriksen side by side is definitely a project to try out at some point.
FI: Turusta löytyi paikallistakin olutta. Ja kesän komein terassi.
Spent a day in Tallinn, with pretty much the same plan as on the chilly January cruise: eat well, and buy beer on the way back to the ferry.
Rataskaevu 16Ate well in Rataskaevu 16. The food and service are easily worth the fortnight-long waiting list. The beer list was shortish, but both selections (Virmalised and Padrun) worked well with the food. Definitely a place to return to, since there were plenty of intriguing items on the menu.
Uba ja Humal signBought plenty of beer from Uba ja Humal (yes, it’s a Facebook link, the shop does not have a conventional web page at all). Though sadly this time there was way less in the way of american imports (the likes of Jai Alai were sorely missed). But this time I actually remembered to take a couple of photos instead of just shopping fanboyishly.
FI: Rataskaevu 16:sta ruokaa / Uba ja Humalista olutta.
The second participation in a tap takeover happened on a (very long overdue) first visit to Stadin Panimo in Suvilahti.
My failure to appreciate the ultra sour selection was not that much of a surprise, but failing to be impressed by the house selection was.
Alvinne tap takeover @ Stadin Panimo
Of the four of Stadin Panimo’s own beers none rose above mediocrity.
And of the Alvinne crop, Sigma I actually had problems downing half a taster, the rest (Mad Tom, Kerasus and Phi) were mercifully less acidic. No matter how trendy the sours might be, I’m having a hard time even tolerating some of them.
As is traditional, the summer holidays started with a trip to Fiskars.
This time we took a roundabout way, and visited Mustio along the way. The famed “castle” turned out to be a manor house, but the gardens were awesome in the early summer greenery and the biggest surprise was the brewery on the grounds. Sampled two of their products (sommaröl and amber ale) over lunch and took home the full selection.
Fiskars was packed with antique dealers ahead of the big sales weekend, and it was hard to find a parking spot. The local brewery had a brand new hefeweizen up for grabs.
FI: Mustio yllätti positiivisesti paikkana, eikä panimokaan huono ollut.
I had my doubts on the brand new beer festival. Having been disappointed by many a shindig, my expectations were low.
But I was happily proven wrong.
The inaugural Craft Beer Helsinki exceeded expectations on most fronts, and proved that perennial SOPP has a lot of room for improvement: the small glasses were excellent in maximizing the tastings, the food was far better than the norm, and the cashless payments worked out surprisingly well.
There was twenty-ish breweries present. A lot of them domestic, but plenty of international guests as well.
Without further ado, a short but sweet review on the lot:
Radbrew’s Ranger was a basic pale ale, good to get things started, but by no means anything special.
The second Radbrew was something of a disappointment as well: Plumbbob, the first Fat IPA sighted never reached the promised heights of sweetness.
Area 21 Saison is the first beer I’ve tasted from Olarin Panimo, a pleasantly wheaty saison is a fine debut indeed (their stand had run out of a couple of more interesting choices).
Videogame-inspired Ocarina of Lime was a real disappointment – there was no hops or maltiness to offset the pungent acidity.
Mila brewery had changed their name to a more generic Vallilan Panimo, but the change hadn’t affected the wares as Vallila Amber turned out to be a balanced take on amber lager.
Founders’ Mango Magnifico raised quite a bit of doubts, I’ve never been much of a mango man, and chili is hard to get right in beer. But I was again proven wrong – this is indeed a magnificent beer that starts off sweet and easy and quickly crescendoes into palate-melting habanero attack in the aftertaste.
Bourbon Barrel-Aged Arrogant Bastard didn’t agree with me: too spiky and haunted by an odd cassis-y sidetaste, I was glad it was only a deciliter.
Sori’s Öökull was likely a victim of circumstances, after a couple of hefty beers the balanced pale ale just left a very shallow impression. Bonus points for forcing a belgian brewery to utilize umlauts in the name.
Founders Nitro Pale Ale was probably the first non-canned-irish-stout nitrogen-infused beer. The mouthfeel was a bit thicker, but that’s impossible to attribute on the added gas alone.
Tanker’s Animal Instict was the second wild IPA in a week. And like Bruxellensis Lupus the combination of wild yeast and american hops proved a winner.
Lehe’s Kazbek was a more traditional IPA, but nonetheless packed with enough fruit to be likeable.
Ogar Polski is the first grätzer/grodziskie I’ve sampled. Some smoke, some wheat, with chalky minerals thrown in the taste.
Letra A was the only pure wheat beer tasted. Refreshing and light – devoid of the traditional estery character.
The last beer of the evening was Hiisi’s Black Bretty, the second wild IPA of the day. The smooth black IPA takes an unexpected twist from the belgian yeast.
Best in show: Mango Magnifico (sadly not available generally, should have had a second glass).
Pluses: Sampled pulled oats and was moderately impressed (nice texture, taste masked by the hefty BBQ-sauce).
Minuses: Nothing special on Brewdog’s stand.
FI: Oikein mainiot festarit. Odotukset korkealle ensi kesän tilaisuuteen.
Bruxellensis LupusThere can be only one, and the top dog of June is Dog D. No beer came close to its steamrolling taste: hops, chocolate and chili all in a neat liquid package. I so need to stock up on this (and other dogs, too), would be just perfect to combat the melancholy of sleety November evenings.
The finnish honours go to Hiisi’s Bruxellensis Lupus, a wild yeast take on Humulus Lupus, my Miss October 2015. It’s deeper and sweeter than its older brother, and somehow just oozes stony fruits in its taste.
brewnardo 