Spent a very enjoyable evening at the new local beerfest, Ota Olut in the Startup Sauna building in (obviously enough) Otaniemi.
While the environment was on the basic side, it turned out to be the most enjoyable festival of the year.
The weather was pleasantly balmy without being too hot. The crowd was friendly and thin enough to be comfortable. And the brewers had time to talk with visitors on account of a lack of queues.
Had a long chat with the Olarin Panimo guys, and tried out their non-Area-21 beers. Neither Esponator nor ESBO hit my taste nerves, but it was good to see that they are not sticking to the trendiest genres. And I’m really looking forward to being able to buy their wares in the shops following equipment expansion.
Neither Vibrant Forest’s or Anderson’s brews were that special. Apart from Danger Zone from the latter, it is the second strongest beer I’ve tasted so far. It was nowhere near as boozy as Sink the Bismarck, but at less than half the ABV that was only to be expected.
New England IPA was clearly the up and coming genre, with the obvious sours and IPAs very much holding the reins of power. Tuju’s Vermont Ravit was the finest example of NEIPA – hazy, juicy, very hoppy and packed with fruit. The eponymous Ota Olut NEIPA took the second prize.
The food vendors were fewer in number than in the capital festivals, but quality always trumps quantity. Naughty Burger’s blue cheese worked wonderfully with the hoppy IPAs, and Entocube’s crickets & nuts-offering was easy enough introduction into the eating bugs-trend.
FI: Otaniemen oiva olutfestivaali toimi mainiosti. Ja vallan yllättäen Lappeenrannasta tulee paras New England-tyylinen IPA.
brewnardo 