Category: blog

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Is this thing still on?

Microphone

So. Returning to the scene of the crime, two years after the last post.

Many things intervened: busy with lack of and changing jobs, a health scare and all around just not getting to maintain the blog.

And many things have changed since the last. First amongst the changes is obviously the new domestic legislation that allows the sale of beers up to 8ABV in milkstores. A few favourite bars have sunk, some have risen and the times are not kind on breweries either.

However, I’m not going to delve too deep in the archæology of the early twenties beyond ultrabrief annual highlights as followups to this montage.

Some of the topics above might be revisited, but only when it makes sense in the context of something acute.

My tastes have not changed in the intervening times – still keen on hoppy pale ales, bold imperial stouts and smoky beers of all kinds.

FI: Uudestaan.

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Time flew

What a busy fourth quarter. Missed the blog almost completely (a few token posts in the early October do not count for much).

FI: Lipesi taas kirjoittamattomuuden puolelle.

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Unexpected break

The lapse into silence for a fortnight was due to unexpectedly hectic bout of work.

Ought to be better now.

Or at least louder.

FI: Tauko. Lyhyt. Tahaton.

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Theme updated

Took a slightly more modern theme in use.

Clearly the era of carefully inlining photographical content into the flow of text is gone.

And that necessitates a reworking of the posts, as the narrow confines of a message no longer accommodate the old skool ways.

So pardon the mess in the archives for a while. This should not take that long to accomplish.

FI: Kuvien säätöä WordPressin mielestä tolkullisemmin asetelluiksi.

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Beers that made a difference

Every hobby (and laterally, every blog centered on a hobby) needs a side project.

The first side project here will be a series of articles on beers that left a lasting impression – most of them positive, but hardly 100% so.

Aiming for chronological order, to the limits of recall.

Kicking off with a truly classic czech entry first. Stay tuned.

FI: Vahvimpia muistijälkiä oluenmaistelu-uran varrelta.

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Back in the Saddle

Proudly using a stock image!

Yeah, despite promises to be active and all that, the restarted blog went fallow almost immediately, pretty much a year ago.

So here’s restart 2.0.

It sure was a long year, but despite the COVID-bunkering, writing fell by the wayside.

So, here’s to a another new start. Proudly headlined with a bland stock image.

FI: Jos tällä kertaa jaksaisi pidempään kuin pari viikkoa.

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Back in business

So, this is what taking a 23 month unscheduled break feels like.

Hogs Back label
Hogs Back label

Was not in prison or strung out by work, just silent.

And considering how much has happened in the intervening time, there’s plenty to write about.

FI: Pitkäksi venähti tauko, mutta nyt vedetään taas.

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4 years

This blog is now four years old.

Considering that last year was utterly silent, things can only get better from now on.

4 years
4 years

FI: Neljä vuotta takana. Niistä jopa kolme aktiivisia.

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Back!

So THIS is what an eighteen month break feels like… It’s the gestation period an asian elephant.

Elephant
Elephant

No good reason for taking a break, it just happened.

As did plenty of things meanwhile (which would’ve been blogged about):

  • The law concerning the sale of beer changed for the better. While the increase to 5.5ABV in milkstores brought a significant amount of new brews, the main benefit is the breweries ability to do direct sales.
  • Pien opened a bar and seriously upped the ante in how to import fresh beer.
  • Pien also sadly lost the Espoo location on account of legal complications.
  • The festival circuit continued to expand: Craft Beer Garden was nice, Craft Beer Ullanlinna was awesome. But considering the serious lack of crowds in the latter, it’s no wonder that it was a one-off.
  • Uba ja Humal seemed to have gone downhill since the opening of their taproom, selection was severely limited to mostly Estonian beers.

Considering that Mikkeller opens a bar in Helsinki tomorrow, and Craft Beer Helsinki is just a week away, this is a good time to leap back into the saddle.

FI: Pidin taukoa.

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100

Nøgne Ø: #100
Nøgne Ø: #100

This blog is now 100 entries old. No better way to celebrate than a scrounged label of Nøgne Ø’s equally numbered beer.

FI: Sata lasissa.

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Blast from the past

Fat Tire
Fat Tire

Picked up a can of New Belgium’s Fat Tire in Stockholm.

It’s been a good ten years since I last tasted it. While travelling on business in the pacific northwest, this was a beer that was pretty much universally available (even though the brewery is in Colorado).

Tastewise it was a pleasant re-acquintance – an amber ale with a bitter finish.

As the blog hasn’t exactly been swimming in new content, I figured a retrospective series on beers that have shaped me and my taste is in order. At some point. Do not hold your breaths waiting, it’s not healthy.

FI: Läskipyörän maku ennallaan, kitkeryydessään ei mikään helppo aloittelijan amberi.

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Second anniversary

Second Anniversary
Second Anniversary
Hooray! It’s the second birthday of the blog.

The blog that has slowed down considerably and got very single-minded in its content during the year. It’s been a hefty year on multiple fronts and that’s clearly reflecting the the quantity and quality of updates.

I solemnly promise to improve matters.

FI: Toinen vuosi ohi, ja nihkeämmäksi on mennyt.

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Best beers of December 2015

Metro Man
Metro Man

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 MalmgÃ¥rd‘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.