Beer review: Robinsons Old Tom (8.5% England: Robinsons)

The Robinsons Old Tom is an ale, more specifically an Old Ale. It's brewed by a British family-run regional brewery Robinsons. Robinsons was founded in 1838 and produces about 4,2 million litres annually. The Robinsons Old Tom has been brewed for over a 100 years and has received several awards, most notably it's been voted the World's Best Ale at the World Beer Awards in 2009.

Taste: The Robinsons Old Tom is a full-bodied ale with a sophisticated and mature flavor. It starts with some dried fruits, then moves on to aromas of bittersweet chocolate, toasty malt and smokiness. The beer finishes with a slight bitterness and some barley wine taste with some alcohol warmth in it.

Overall, The Robinsons Old Tom is a very mature beer. It offers a wide variety of aromas and is best when enjoyed slowly and with care. The beer offers a demanding amount of flavors and might be a bit too demanding for the casual drinker. Personally I don't enjoy the barley wine finish since alcohol is a bit too present. However, it definitely is a truly remarkable beer!

90 Exceptional

Beer review: Fuller's London Porter (5.4% England: Fuller's Brewery)

The Fuller's London Porter is an Ale, more specifically a Porter. It's brewed by Fuller's Brewery, a medium-sized British independent brewery located in Chiswick, London. The company was founded in 1845 and currently produces about 26 million liters annually. The Fuller's London Porter is widely regarded as the World's Finest Porter: having won awards all over the world, London Porter is regularly voted the number one Porter on beer websites such as www.ratebeer.com. Sounds really promising!

Taste: The Fuller's London Porter is a medium/full-bodied beer with a very sophisticated and mature taste. It starts with the flavor of brown bread with notes of caramel and faint notes of sweet fruit. This is followed by a roasted, quite sweet bready flavor and the beer finishes with some chocolate, roasted coffee, smoky aromas and a faint hoppiness.

Overall, the Fuller's London Porter is an excellent beer. I'm personally into Porters and Stouts but they're easily a bit too overwhelming and demand quite a lot from the drinker. Therefore, it's easy to understand the world-wide popularity and fame of the Fuller's London Porter: it's the easiest Porter that I've ever tasted. It's easy to enjoy and yet it offers a very wide range of sophisticated and mature aromas. It's an excellent stepping-stone into the more demanding world of Imperial Stouts, which in the eyes of many beer connoisseurs are the ultimate taste experiences in these types of beer. To put it short, the Fuller's London Porter is the best porter I've ever tasted!

95

Beer review: Coisbo Queens Desire (4.8% Denmark: Coisbo Beer)

The Coisbo Queens Desire is a wheat beer, more specifically a Hefeweizen. It's brewed by Coisbo Beer, a Danish micro-brewery founded in 2008. The brewery has received a lot of recognition since, for example winning 1 silver medal and a total of 8 bronze medals at Commonwealth Craft Beer Cup 2014 that was held in Kentucky, USA on May 15-17 2014. The Queen's Desire won the Bronze Medal in the category of Weissbiers, let's see what all the fuzz is about!

Taste: The Coisbo Queens Desire is a light/medium-bodied wheat beer with a surprisingly malty body. In my opinion the beer is closer to a Belgian Witbier than a German Hefeweizen. It offers aromas of sweet malt, citrus, some exotic fruits, slight yeast and finishes with a dryish fruity and wheat aroma with medium hoppiness.

Overall, The Coisbo Queens Desire was a surprise, and no really a positive one I'm afraid. It's described as a Hefeweizen but it's lacking most of the qualities of one, and I would define it more as a Witbier. Even as a Witbier, it offers a surprisingly strong malty body which covers the aromas traditionally present in a wheat beer so the overall impression is quite dull. However, it's definitely an OK beer, I just expected a bit more.

60 Above average

Cider review: Gwynt y Ddraig Gold Medal (7.0% Wales: Gwynt y Ddraig Cider)

The Gwynt y Ddraig (the wind dragon in English) Gold Medal is an apple cider. It's produced by Gwynt y Ddraig Cider, an award-winning Welsh cider producer. The cider is their first commercially produced cider and it is the winner of CAMRA’S gold medal at the 2004 National cider & perry judging.

Taste: The Gwynt y Ddraig Gold Medal is a medium-bodied cider with a medium sweet body. It offers aromas of sweet apple, with light tartness and bitterness. It also offers faint aromas of wood and vanilla.

Overall, the Gwynt y Ddraig Gold Medal is a very mature and well-accomplished cider. Despite the fact that it's a commercial cider, its taste has maintained a home-made quality and feel to it. A very nice cider, and definitely recommended for any cider lovers.

95 Legendary

Beer review: Litovel Sváteční Speciál (6.0% The Czech Republic: Pivovar Litovel)

The Litovel Sváteční Speciál is a lager, more specifically a Czech Pilsner. It's brewed by Pivovar Litovel, a Czech brewery founded in 1893, although the brewing traditions allegedly reach all the way to 1291. The brewery produces about 22 638 100 litres annually. Litovel is the leading brand of the brewery, and therefore its beers are quite bulk in quality. However, the Sváteční Speciál is a special brew first produced in the brewery's 111th anniversary in 2004, so let's see if it manages offer something special.

Taste: The Litovel Sváteční Speciál is a medium-bodied beer with a round, sweet and malt-dominant body. It offers an aftertaste of medium-strength herbal hoppiness but not much else.

Overall, The Litovel Sváteční Speciál is, for some reason, a hard one to put my finger on. It does have potential, but then again it's missing any of the distinct flavors that make a beer great. It's average in every way, and I have to admit I was a bit disappointed by it.

50 Average

Beer review: Mikkeller Not Just Another Wit (7.6% Belgium/Denmark: De Proefbrouwerij/Mikkeller)

The Mikkeller Not Just Another Wit is a wheat beer, more specifically a Belgian White (Witbier). It's brewed by Mikkeller, a Danish microbrewery founded in 2006 and specializing in collaborations with other breweries. This beer is brewed in collaboration with De Proefbrouwerij, a Belgian brewery founded in 1996. As the name of the beer suggests, it isn't your typical Witbier, let's find out what this means.

Taste: The Mikkeller Not Just Another Wit is a medium-bodied beer. It starts with a fruity taste of orange and citrus and then moves on to deliver a malty wheat body, with aromas of moderate yeast, coriander and finishes with a strong dryish, herbal and citric hoppiness.

Overall, The Mikkeller Not Just Another Wit is exactly what the name suggests. It stands out among the Witbiers, since it offers strong distinct aromas and finishes with a strong hoppy aroma, not common for Witbiers. That's why I'm a bit confused: As an individual beer it's really pleasant and offers a wide range of aromas but as a Witbier, it really doesn't offer the traditional qualities of one. Therefore, it's definitely worth trying since it offers a flavor-rich experience, but if you're looking for a typical Witbier this isn't your choice.

75 Good

Beer review: Stella Artois (5.0% Belgium: InBev Belgium)

The Stella Artois is a lager, more specifically a Pale lager. It's brewed by InBev Belgium, a brewery that is today part of the world's largest beer corporation Anheuser-Busch InBev. The beer has been brewed in Leuven, Belgium since 1926. Since it's one of the most popular beers in the world, one can't really expect a detailed, mature taste. Then again, there has to be something appealing in it since so many people choose to drink it.

Taste: The Stella Artois is a light/medium-bodied lager with a light, refreshing fruity sweet malt body. The beer finishes with a citric, herbal hoppiness.

Overall, the Stella Artois is very easy to drink. It's a nice refreshing beer that isn't demanding in any way, and I guess this goes a long way to explain its popularity. I'm guessing it doesn't really appeal to anyone, but neither does it turn any of its drinkers away from it. The beer is quite light and refreshing, yet isn't really watery because of the heavy carbonation and the sweet maltiness. I can easily imagine myself drinking this on a sunny day, and apparently so can millions of others. There are definitely many better pale lagers available but the Stella Artois succeeds in being a decent beer despite the fact that it's produced in serious bulk quantities.

65 Above average

Beer review: Fuller's ESB (5.9% England: Fuller's Brewery)

The Fuller's ESB is an ale, more specifically an extra special/strong bitter. It's brewed by Fuller's Brewery, a medium-sized British independent brewery located in Chiswick, London. The company was founded in 1845 and currently produces about 26 million liters annually. The beer was launched in 1971 and has won three CAMRA Beer of the Year awards, two World Champion Beer awards, and numerous other gold medals. Sounds really promising!

Taste: The Fuller's ESB offers a very varied and mature medium-bodied taste. It offers aromas of sweet malt, fruits and berries, nuts, some toffee and caramel. The beer then moves on to deliver the characteristic bitterness which is quite smooth and round, and then finishes with a herbal, faintly citric hoppiness.

Overall, the Fuller's ESB is a very sophisticated bitter with quite easy drinkability. It's very easy to enjoy and it can basically be used as the benchmark of what a bitter should taste like. It succeeds in delivering all the qualities expected in a bitter, and does it in a very enjoyable manner. If you're into bitters and haven't tried this one out, do it now! I'm not giving the beer a full score since I'm personally not that much into bitters and because the aromas could perhaps be a bit stronger (although this would decrease the drinkability of the beer). I haven't given a top score to any IPA because I'm still looking for the perfect one, and the same goes with bitters, although the Fuller's ESB gets quite close!

90 Exceptional

Beer review: Olvi CXXXV (4.5% Finland: Olvi)

The Olvi CXXXV is a lager, more specifically a Pale lager. It's brewed by Olvi, one of the largest breweries in Finland. Olvi was founded in 1878 and is located in Iisalmi. The beer celebrates the 135 years of Olvi and is described as having matured with good time. It follows the recipe of the original CXX beer, which celebrated the 120 milestone of the brewing company. Let's see how the slow maturing affects the taste of the beer...

Taste: The Olvi CXXXV is a light/medium-bodied beer with a slightly sweet malty and faintly fruity flavor. The flavor is quite soft and round, and unlike the bulk lagers of Finland (Lapin Kulta, Karhu, Karjala, Koff, and the basic Olvi) it lacks the unpleasant cardboard and metallic tastes. The beer finishes with a pleasant faint touch of hoppiness.

Overall, the Olvi CXXXV is clearly more mature than the basic Olvi lager. This isn't saying much, but actually the CXXXV is quite easy to enjoy. It doesn't offer any exciting aromas, but as a refreshing beverage it works much better than the basic bulk lagers in Finland. Overall, it's a decent accomplishment in the category of Pale lagers and personally I definitely prefer it over the basic bulk lagers.

65 Above average

Herbal liquor review: Jägermeister (35% Germany: Mast-Jägermeister SE)

Jägermeister is one of the most well-known alcoholic drinks in the world. It's most certainly the best-known herbal liquor, a so-called digestif. It's produced by the German company Mast-Jägermeister SE, a private company founded in 1878 and located in Wolfenbüttel. The liquor was first brought to market in 1935 and today is available in almost any bar, in more than 70 countries in the world. A popular drink mixture is Jägermeister + Red Bull and for example dropping a shot glass of Jägermeister into a glass of Red Bull is called a Jägerbomb. However, it's most often served straight, and preferrably ice cold. Jägermeister's ingredients include 56 herbs, fruits, roots, and spices, including citrus peel, licorice, anise, poppy seeds, saffron, ginger, juniper berries, and ginseng.

Taste: As one would expect the drink is dominated by a intricate mixture of herbal aromas. Compared to other herbal liquors, Jägermeister is remarkably sweeter and less bitter. However, the bitterness of the herbs is still present and the ice-cold serving is recommended to reduce the stingy quality of the liquor. The herbal bitterness is followed by the sweetness and the drink finishes with a warm alcohol feel and a combination of the sting of alcohol and the herbs.

Overall, Jägermeister is a quality liquor deserving its fame. Compared to other herbal liquors, it's considerably easier to drink (read less bitter) and this explains why Jägermeister out of all the herbal liquors has achieved such worldwide fame. I'm not a huge fan of these bitter herbal liquors, but I have to give credit to something that deserves it.

75 Good

Beer review: Hartwall Karjala III (4.5% Finland: Hartwall)

The Hartwall Karjala III is a lager, more specifically a Pale lager. It's one of the 'basic beers' in Finland along with Lapin Kulta, Olvi, Koff and Karhu. It's brewed in bulk quantities by Hartwall, one of the largest breweries in Finland. Hartwall was founded in 1836 and their annual production (alcohol and soda drinks combined) is about 400 million litres. The name Karjala refers to the Finnish region of Karjala (Karelia), part of which was lost to Russia in the Winter War. Hence, a somewhat popular catch-phrase among people for whom Karjala is the beer of their choice is: Karjala takaisin, vaikka pullo/tölkki kerrallaan. (Karelia back, one bottle/can at a time.)

Taste: The Hartwall Karjala III is a light-bodied lager. It starts off with a slightly roasted, bready malt taste and then finishes with a slightly metallic, faint bitter hoppiness.

Overall, The Hartwall Karjala III suffers from the same weaknesses as all of the other bulk lagers in Finland. It's quite watery, the taste is metallic and doesn't really have any real hoppiness. However, in my opinion the malty taste in Karjala offers a bit more roasted, bready malt taste than other basic lagers of Finland and if you're into that, maybe Karjala should be your choice. However, Karhu is the most aroma-rich when it comes to the Finnish bulk lagers. Karjala isn't the best but neither is it the worst. Really average!

50 Average

Beer review: Sinebrychoff Koff III (4.5% Finland: Sinebrychoff)

The Sinebrychoff Koff III is a lager, more specifically a Pale lager. It's one of the 'basic beers' of Finland, along with Karhu, Lapin Kulta, Olvi and Karjala. It's produced in bulk quantities by Sinebrychoff, the oldest brewery in the Nordic countries founded in 1819. Nowadays Sinebrychoff belongs to the Carlsberg Group, the 5th largest beer brewing corporation in the world. Koff is usually one of the cheapest (and often the cheapest) beer in Finland so it's definitely worth reviewing, although one shouldn't really expect any good quality from it (although back in the day it apparently won some awards in international competitions).

Taste: The Sinebrychoff Koff III is a light-bodied lager. It starts with a watery, malty taste with a slight metallic flavor and finishes with a very faint metallic hoppy bitterness.

Overall, the aromas that the Sinebrychoff Koff III succeeds in delivering are quite thin and one-sided. This makes the beer quite easy to drink and to enjoy, but taste-wise it doesn't really offer much. For a beer connoisseur it's one of the worst beers available, but I guess it serves its purpose if your aim is just to get drunk.

35 Below average

Cider review: Sherwood Apple Cider (4.7% Finland: Olvi)

The Sherwood Apple Cider is an apple cider produced by Olvi, one of the largest breweries in Finland. Olvi was founded in 1878, has a 24% market share in Finland and is the largest Finnish brewery not belonging to the large international beer corporations. The Sherwood cider brand is a relatively new release by Olvi and it aims to honor the English ciders in its taste. Let's see if that's true!

Taste: The Sherwood Apple Cider is a light-bodied cider with a sour apple taste. The taste is quite natural and is reminiscent of apple wine and apple juice (which is logical, since the ingredients list reveals that it's actually a mixture of the two in addition to other things of course).

Overall, the Sherwood Apple Cider is quite refreshing and a decent cider. The Finnish supermarket ciders are quite poor when it comes to taste, and the Sherwood Apple Cider doesn't really make the situation any better. However, personally I'd say it's above average when comparing it to other market ciders, although not by much. It's on the same level as Somersby and if you prefer sweetness go with Somersby, but if you prefer some sourness, choose Sherwood.

50 Average

Beer review: Laitilan Kukko Lager (4.7% Finland: Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas)

The Laitilan Kukko Lager is a lager, more specifically a premium lager (a beer type balancing between pale lagers and pilsners). It's brewed by Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas, a medium-sized Finnish brewery mainly focused on soda manufacturing. The company was founded in 1995 and is currently the fourth largest brewery in Finland. The beer is available in Finnish supermarkets.

Taste: The Laitilan Kukko Lager is a light/medium-bodied lager with aromas of bready maltiness, metallic bitterness and an aftertaste of grassy hoppiness.

Overall, The Laitilan Kukko Lager is a decent lager. It doesn't offer anything exciting but neither does any other Finnish bulk supermarket lager. In my opinion, it's actually among the better supermarket lagers and competes with Karhu and Sandels for the title of the best bulk lager in Finland.

55 Above average

Beer review: Laitilan Kukko Pils (4.5% Finland: Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas)

The Laitilan Kukko Pils is a pilsner brewed by Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas, a medium-sized Finnish brewery mainly focused on soda manufacturing. The company was founded in 1995 and is currently the fourth largest brewery in Finland. The beer is available in Finnish supermarkets and is one of the few pilsners produced by the large Finnish breweries. Apparently there isn't a large demand for pilsners in Finland, but let's see if the Laitilan Kukko Pils is good enough to satisfy the needs of pilsner lovers.

Taste: The Laitilan Kukko Pils is a light/medium-bodied beer with a slightly sweet malt dominated aroma. It starts with a slight citrus aroma, then offers a sweet malt body with some metallic bitterness and the beer finishes with a slight herbal hoppiness.

Overall, the Laitilan Kukko Pils is a really decent beer. I hate to admit, but in my honest opinion it's one of the worst beers available in Finland. It offers the aromas characteristic for a pilsener, but it fails to offer any of them in a pleasant way. The overall impression of the beer is a metallic, bitter sourness and it's quite far from the aromas that I like in a pilsner.

30 Below average

Beer review: Gauloise Brune (8.1% Belgium: Brasserie du Bocq)

The Gauloise Brune is an ale, more specifically a Belgian style dubbel. It's brewed by Brasserie du Bocq, a small Belgian family-owned brewery located in Purnode, near Yvoir. The brewery was founded in 1858 and produces about 6 million litres annually.

Taste: The Gauloise Brune is a medium/full-bodied beer with a sweet malty body. It features aromas of dried fruit, some spices, faint yeast and the beer finishes with the taste of dried fruit, a faint bitterness and a slight taste of alcohol.

Overall, the Gauloise Brune was a slight disappointment. The high price, and the fancy bottle raised my expectations quite high, but in the end the beer is a very average Belgian dubbel. I would maybe buy it again if I found it relatively cheap, but in Finland the price is just too damn high!

70 Good

Beer review: Fuller's Organic Honey Dew (5.0% England: Fuller's Brewery)

The Fuller's Organic Honey Dew is an ale, more specifically a honeyed blond ale. It's brewed by Fuller's Brewery, a medium-sized British independent brewery located in Chiswick, London. The company was founded in 1845 and currently produces about 26 million liters annually.

Taste: The Fuller's Organic Honey Dew is a medium-bodied beer with a sweet honey-dominant flavor. The beer is very sweet (a bit too sweet to my taste) and the honey flavor overrides the faint aromas of sweet malt. The beer finishes with a faint hoppiness and dryness.

Overall, the Fuller's Organic Honey Dew is a really honey-dominant beer so if you're into that, this is definitely the right choice of beer for you. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of honey, although I don't hate it either. The beer became overly sweet really quick and since it doesn't offer much else, it was a slight disappointment. However, if you're looking for a sweet nectar-like beer, this might be your choice.

60 Above average

Beer review: Budejovický Budvar (4.5% The Czech Republic: Budweiser Budvar Brewery)

The Budejovický Budvar is a lager, more specifically a Czech styled lager/pilsener (the beer is described as a lager but is really close to a pilsener taste-wise.) It's brewed by the Budweiser Budvar Brewery, one of the largest breweries in The Czech Republic. The brewery was founded in 1895 and has been disputing over the name "Budweiser" with other breweries, such as the Anheuser-Busch corporation. Today the company owns the right to use the name in Europe and thus the American Budweiser is called Bud around Europe. The beer is exported to more than 60 countries all over the world. It's worth mentioning that this is the Finnish supermarket version of the beer, containing only 4.5% alcohol because of the dumb alcohol laws in Finland.

Taste: The Budejovický Budvar is a light/medium-bodied lager with the typical qualities of a Czech lager/pilsener. The beer offers a slightly sweet and pleasant malty body and finishes with a Czech styled herbal grassy hoppiness.

Overall the Budejovický Budvar is a very pleasant Czech lager/pilsener with easy drinkability and a smooth and refreshing taste. This is a great alternative for the typical bulk lagers, and although it's not a masterpiece it's one step closer to saying goodbye to the piss-water sold as beer.

75 Good

Beer review: Paulaner Hefe-Weissbier (5.5% Germany: Paulaner)

The Paulaner Hefe-Weissbier is a wheat beer, more specifically a Hefeweizen. It's brewed by the Paulaner brewery, a German brewery founded in 1634 and located in Munich. Paulaner ranks number 8 among Germany's best selling breweries. The brewery is part of the Brau Holding International corporation, a German beer corporation owned by Schörghuber Unternehmensgruppe (50,1%) and Heineken International (49,9%).

Taste: The Paulaner Hefe-Weissbier is a medium-bodied beer with traditional Hefeweizen qualities. It starts off with a fruity banana aroma and then moves on to deliver a wheaty malt aroma with medium-strength yeast flavors. The beer finishes with a dryish, faintly citric hoppiness.

Overall, the Paulaner Hefe-Weissbier is a well-accomplished wheat beer. It delivers everything that one desires in a Hefeweizen. However, perhaps the flavor is too well-balanced because the overall impression is a bit dull. Other wheat beers manage to deliver the same flavors with more character. Still, it's a good beer! (You can't really go wrong with German wheat beers.)

75 Good

Beer review: Laitilan Kukko Vehnä (4.7% Finland: Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas)

The Laitilan Kukko Vehnä is a wheat beer, more specifically a Hefeweizen. It's brewed by Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas, the fourth largest brewery in Finland. The brewery was founded in 1995 and has since grown immensely. Since the Laitilan Kukko Vehnä has only 4.7% alcohol in it, it's available in Finnish supermarkets and therefore contends in the category of "supermarket strength Hefeweizens".

Taste: The Laitilan Kukko Vehnä is a medium-bodied wheat beer with all the classic characteristics of a Hefeweizen. The beer starts with a sweet fruity banana flavor and then moves on to deliver a wheaty malt body and faint sweet yeastiness. The beer finishes with a citric, herbal hoppiness.

Overall, the Laitilan Kukko Vehnä is a good Hefeweizen. Unfortunately the Finnish alcohol laws force the Finnish breweries to create beers which are slightly watery and lack strong flavors. However, in the category of "supermarket strength Hefeweizens" the Laitilan Kukko Vehnä is a well-accomplished individual.

70 Good

Beer review: Corona Extra (4.6% Mexico: Grupo Modelo)

The Corona Extra is a lager, more specifically a Pale Lager. It's brewed by Grupo Modelo, a large Mexican brewery founded in 1922. The company has 63% of the Mexican beer market and exports beer to most of the countries in the world. In 2013 the brewery merged with Anheuser-Busch InBev, the largest beer producer in the world with a total of 25% global market share. Talk about bulk quality...nevertheless, let's give it a go!

Taste: The Corona Extra is a light-bodied beer with a watery body and faint aromas of corn, malt and citrus. The beer finishes with a really faint citric hoppiness.

Overall, The Corona Extra is a beer connoisseur's nightmare. Taste-wise, it doesn't really offer anything. However, there's a time and a place for it: it belongs to the category of "when you want to pretend you're drinking beer but actually you're drinking lemonade water with a lime". Personally, I occasionally do enjoy these types of beers as a refreshment but when it comes to taste experiences, the Corona Extra doesn't deliver much.

45 Below average

Beer review: Grafenwalder Vehnäolut (4.5% Germany: Lindenbrauerei Unna)

The Grafenwalder Vehnäolut is a wheat beer, more specifically a Hefeweizen. Grafenwalder is a beer brand by the international supermarket chain Lidl. The Grafenwalder Vehnäolut is a wheat beer specifically aimed for the Finnish market since Finnish supermarket beers are only allowed to have a maximum of 4.7% alcohol in them. The beer is presumably (I say presumably since the can doesn't mention the brewer) brewed by Lindenbrauerei Unna, a brewery belonging to the Oetker Group, a large German company that produces various food products.

Taste: The Grafenwalder Vehnäolut is a light/medium-bodied Hefeweizen which starts off with a slight sweet fruity banana taste. It then delivers a typical sweet wheaty malt body with a faint yeasty aroma and finishes with a very faint hoppiness.

Overall, The Grafenwalder Vehnäolut is a surpisingly well-accomplished Hefeweizen considering the cheap price and the bulk quality. It doesn't deliver as wide a spectrum of flavors as, for example the Weihenstephaner Hefe Weissbier, but then again it's ridiculous to expect that. For a supermarket wheat beer it's an excellent choice with easy drinkability.

65 Above average

Beer review: Prykmestar Vehnä (4.5% Finland: Vakka-Suomen Panimo)

The Prykmestar Vehnä is a wheat beer, more specifically a Hefeweizen. It's brewed by Vakka-Suomen Panimo, a medium-sized Finnish brewery located on the western coast of Finland, in Uusikaupunki. The brewery was founded in 2007 and its products have received several awards since. The Prykmestar Vehnä contains only 4.5% alcohol so it's allowed to be sold in Finnish supermarkets (dumb Finnish alcohol laws limit the sale of alcohol stronger than 4.7% to liquor stores).

The Prykmestar Vehnä is a light/medium-bodied beer with a typical Hefeweizen character. The beer delivers a fruity banana flavor with a hint of pepper which is followed by a sweet wheaty malt aroma and a slight taste of yeast. The beer finishes with a dryish citric hoppiness.

Overall, The Prykmestar Vehnä is a very nice wheat beer. It's a bit light, which is understandable since it only has 4.5% alcohol. The Finnish alcohol laws limit the beer's strength and thus prevent it from becoming a true masterpiece. However, when it comes to wheat beers available in Finnish supermarkets, the Prykmestar Vehnä is definitely one of the best (although it's also one of the most expensive ones).

85 Great

Beer review: Iso-Kallan Savo Special Bitter (4.5% Finland: Iso-Kallan Panimo)

The Iso-Kallan Savo Special Bitter is a bitter, more specifically a British styled bitter. It's brewed by Iso-Kallan panimo, a Finnish microbrewery founded in 2013 and located in Kuopio. Their beers are currently available in some supermarkets in the Savo region but they're also available in beer houses all around Finland.

Taste: The Iso-Kallan Savo Special Bitter is a medium-bodied beer with a refreshing, smooth and medium strength malty body with a faint yeasty taste. It finishes with a surprisingly mild, yet pleasant and round bitterness and light grassy hoppiness.

Overall, the Iso-Kallan Savo Special Bitter is a nice beer with a nice, surpisingly smooth bitter body. It's bitter in a British, sweet sort of way and what gives this beer it's distinct character is the surpisingly hoppy finish. In my opinion, the beer lacks some strength, but then again it delivers a really nice smooth bitterness.

75 Good

Beer review: Iso-Kallan Savo Dark Lager (4.5% Finland: Iso-Kallan Panimo)

The Iso-Kallan Savo Dark Lager is a lager, more specifically a dark lager. It's brewed by Iso-Kallan panimo, a Finnish microbrewery founded in 2013 and located in Kuopio. Their beers are currently available in some supermarkets in the Savo region but they're also available in beer houses all around Finland.

Taste: The Iso-Kallan Savo Dark Lager is a medium-bodied beer with a slightly sweet, bready and faintly roasted malty body. The malty aroma is quite pleasant and the beer finishes with a faint hoppy aftertaste.

Overall, the Iso-Kallan Savo Dark Lager is a really pleasant dark lager. Especially when comparing it to the other dark lagers available in Finnish supermarkets, the Savo Dark Lager does well.

80 Great