The Christmas beer season is almost upon us. The domestic monopoly lists no less than twenty-three christmassy beers in its portfolio. Quite a few of them are repeats from previous years, but there’s nonetheless something to pick up and try.
I’ve divided the selection into three buckets:
New Blood
- Kapuziner Winter-weiß: wheat beer is not the usual fare for the dark season, so it’ll be interesting to see what Kulmbacher has cooked up. And it was decent indeed, though shockingly I’ve forgotten to log the bottle (I’d say a 3.5 with a moral bonus point for its atypical nature).
- Tammiportteri: Malmgård’s been steadily good, and their previous version of an oaky porter was good indeed. Mildly disappointing (at three stars), expected a much heftier taste.
- Kors Øøll: A whole new ballgame. This was actually the highlight of the selection (with 4 stars), a very malty and sweetish taste that’s close to the traditional domestic home-made beers.
- Talven Tähti: The higher voltage version of Rekola’s spiced ale is another new arrival. The milkstore edition was quite decent, the christmas flavours were subdued enough not to steal the show. Time to try out whether this is less watery. And it is a bit tastier, yet losing out a bit of the sugar – but the difference is not a huge one (3 stars).
- Old Tom Ginger: I’m willing to give any beer a chance, most of the ginger-flavoured ones haven’t deserved a second chance, however. Not my favorite genre, but better than its colleagues (3.25)
- Insanely Bad Elf Vintage Ale (not sure if this is truly a new entry): Haven’t been much of a fan for the ever-strengthening Ridgeway elves, but the barley wine-monicker might be a tad better hiding the high ABV than the previous installments. And the verdict is the same, the alcohol burns through uncomfortably.
- Shepherd Neame Double Stout sounds exactly what the darkest nights of November need. And that’s indeed the ticket – a very dry and roasty stout (4 stars)
- Brewdolf: Stallhagen’s been rather uneven lately, but I refrain from being prejudiced. And the prejudices were indeed unwarranted, this was a nicely fresh accompaniment to the fish table.
- Old Greig: Old Ale is a new genre for Suomelinna. And a good entry it was indeed, coming in at full four stars as well. Should have picked up a couple of more bottles, but the stocks had run out.
- Prykmestar Vahva Joulubock: VASP has been hiding out for a while, their dopplebock is irresistible. This was an unexpectedly pleasant arrival, its plentiful spices and malt are worth the same four stars I’ve been dealing out to the top contestants.
- Kasteel Rouge: No christmas selection would be complete without a heinously strong Belgian beer (this baby packs an infusion of cherry liquor). Essency and terrible – almost undrinkable (the 1.5 stars probably has some extra lift in it).
- Donator: Another doppelbock, will get compared against the Prykmestar one. Way lighter than expected, three stars worth.
Familiar but good
- Gud Jul: I’ve tasted Nøgne Ø’s winter ale before, but have missed logging it. Clearly a good reason to go for a repeat. And it was pleasant on the rebound as well (four stars)
- Arctic Circle Ale: I’m pretty sure I underestimated this beer in its original run (3.5 is low), time to check out whether the old judgment still stands. Almost, but not quite – raised the grade to an even four.
- Schlenkerla Urbock: The emperor of rauchbiers (rated at 4.5) will pay a visit this year as well. It indeed did.
- Imperial Rye Porter: Nøgne Ø’s rye porter was good (at 4 stars), but it’s expensive enough to warrant a careful evaluation whether to go back for seconds.
- N’ice chouffe: Rated ths Belgian at 4 last year, and it probably merits a second look.
- Ayinger Winter Bock: Based on the strength of their Urweisse, this bock gets a second chance (at 3.5 I was rather critical on it originally). Skipped this year.
- Hoppy Christmas: Not the greatest season for IPAs (worthy of a 4 star-rating, anyway), but considering that I spilled 50% of last year’s batch on the kitchen floor, I’ll check out the appropriateness of hops, again. The hoppiness is indeed atypical, but the selection is pleasant (raised slightly to 4.25 stars)
- Talviporter: not the greatest of Mufloni variants, but it’s been a while, and the four star rating does indicate it was well ahead of the norm. Bought a pair of bottles, but haven’t sampled them yet.
Not again
- Fuller’s Old Winter Ale: Never been much of a fan, hence the 3.5 star rating is surprisingly high.
- Mönchshof Weihnachtsbier: I more than a little vaguely recall this being quite a basic lager, and my last year’s rating of 3.5 is unexpectedly positive.
- Sinebrychoff Jouluolut: Better than the average domestic lager. Which, obviously, isn’t saying much (3 stars).
Not too exciting a selection. No american beers at all, and the scandinavian entries aren’t that exciting either.
I’ll keep on updating the page as the tastings proceed.
brewnardo 