Craft Beer Helsinki, now on its fourth year, continued strong.
The breweries were recruited deep and wide, and the food-side of things offered plenty of alternatives.
There was no unifying theme – sours, IPAs and imperial stouts were very much in the vogue.
Omnipollo was (again) the brewery with the longest queues, and while they apparently had run out of the dessert-y excesses, the pale ales (Henosis and Tetraktys) were pleasant new acquaintances.
By far the worst disappointment was Stone’s Enter Night, a limp pilsner that utterly fails to capture what’s good about Metallica. Like the band itself these days, the beer was about maximizing the audience – hence it is an immediately forgettable pilsner that evokes no meaningful positive response beyond “wet” at all.
The best in show-award goes to Coolhead’s Peanut Butter Caramel Crisp, a massively sweet imperial stout that piles on the chocolate and nut flavours.
Other notables:
- Danish Hustler, my first triple NEIPA – which turned out a lot better with a little bit of warmth (unlike pretty much any other IPA).
- Liquid Rorschach, the debut from Salama – a very black stout that proves that the Espoo brewing scene keeps on evolving.
Looking forward to 2020.
FI: CBH onnistui taas.
brewnardo 