Herkkujen Suomi, the annual end-of-the-summer occasion of hawking domestic food has recently attached a conspicuous beer-appendix to itself.
Sadly the show itself has gone downhill, as the small producers get crowded out by food stalls. This year big chunks of the nation went unrepresented. The gravest loss was Kainuu, as the mighty tar bread produced by Pekka Heikkinen’s bakery was shockingly not available. Also missing in action: rönttöset, proper rieska and non-industrial cinnamon buns.
Sampled a pair of beers over a warm Thursday lunch alongside pulled pork burgers (which seems to be the sushi of the latter half of decade, so rapid has its ascent in popularity been). Pyynikki’s Vanilla Stout was the better of the two, even if its hefty dark warmth was quite out of place on a sunny day. Laitila’s Wasaborg, a smoked wheat beer, was more appropriate but as the common complaint goes “not smoky enough”. The former reinvigorated my interest in Papabeers (which I’d happily forgotten about) and I’ll keep an eye out for the latter as well for a more autumny second encounter.
FI: Makujen Suomi heikkenee vuosi vuodelta kun muikkukauppiaat vievät tilan. Lounasoluet turhan tummia hienoon myöhäiskesän päivään.
The Finnish craft beer scene gets its biggest exposure on the multi-stop Suuret Oluet Pienet Panimot exhibition tour.
Spent a good chunk of the Thursday afternoon in the festival when it reached Helsinki.
Our three-strong entourage sampled a total of seventeen beers. Seventeen as a group, not per person. Even with 2dl pours, such a set of high voltage beers on a moderately warm day would have been interesting.
My best-in-show award goes to Radbrew’s Wasteland Oasis – a fresh and fruity hefeweizen that just worked wonders.
Suuret Oluet Pienet Panimot 2015
The whole list is obviously easily available on Untappd, but I’m appending it here as well for maximal accessibility:
Bryggeri’s Supernova, 2nd edition: not as good as the original (the hopping felt somehow off-kilter), but a good IPA nonetheless.
Maku’s Diana: of which I made no notes whatsoever, but do recall that it was another decent IPA without any remarkable features.
Närke Kulturbryggeri’s Anders Göranssons Bästa Rököl: probably the finest rauchbier not from Bamberg. Very dark, very smoky – impressively tasty, but I was happy that I took a short pull, this could have murdered tastebuds in larger quantities.
Nynäshamns Ångbryggeri’s Brännskär Brown Ale: another beer with no real notes, mostly bland in comparison to the preceding.
Bryggeri’s Spezial: another rauchbier, though one with a far more moderate taste than the swedish colleague’s. Missed out on this when it was on Bryggeri’s tap last year so it was nice to catch up.
Närke Kulturbryggeri’s Tallskott: sadly this had far less of a piney taste than the barkeep let on. FIrst “braggot” that I’ve tasted so far.
Maku’s Maalais-Tamminen: a bit bland, stronger oaking would have helped.
Hopping Brewsters’ Warthog IPA: unpleasantly one-dimensional, the hopping steamrolled any other flavours. They were temporarily out of “Double Warthog”, whose 200IBU would have been a leap into an even more extreme direction.
Hopping Brewsters’ Resistance: a soothing mild ale in the middle of hoppy beers was a welcome break.
Ruosniemi’s Diplomi-insinööri: takes the original Insinööri and improves on it with a stronger flavour (as double IPAs tend to do).
Ruosniemi’s Lomittaja: a good take on saison, pleasant but without any extra edge.
Ruosniemi’s Konttorirutto: a barley wine is out of season in the high summer, but I’m definitely looking forward to a second encounter when the autumn descends upon us.
Hiisi’s Kaksi Kotia: Granaattiomena: my first pomegranate beer, tasted genuine (not essency) and was non-bubbly as a bonus as well. Expected a tad more as a card-carrying member of the pomegranate fan club, but this could have been so easily so much worse.
Hiisi’s Jyväskylän Kesä: moderately bitter APA that didn’t leave a lasting impression (beyond one of liking the taste).
Radbrew’s Alone in the Dark: sweet stout also a bit out of season in the summer.
As the list proves, we didn’t reach the bars of a lot of the breweries (like Plevna or Lapin Voima), there was plenty to sample in the beginning of the circuit.
The experience was a pleasant one once again, though during a bout of heavy rain the crowding under the canopies was kind of excessive.
FI: Eipä pettänyt SOPP tänäkään vuonna, kokeiltavaa olisi ollut useammaksikin päiväksi, nyt tuli bongattua vain muutaman panimon antimia.
brewnardo 