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

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: 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: 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: Laitilan Kievari Ameriikan Ale (4.7% Finland: Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas)

The Laitilan Kievari Ameriikan Ale is an ale, more specifically an American Pale Ale. 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 Kievari Ameriikan Ale is a medium-bodied beer with a slightly sweet malty body. It starts with a malty flavor and then delivers a strong herbal hoppiness with citric and fruity aromas. The beer finishes with a hoppy citric bitterness.

Overall, The Laitilan Kievari Ameriikan Ale is a great beer. Considering the market-strength of the beer, it succeeds in delivering a strong fruity and citric hoppy taste. It's definitely one of the better choices in Finnish supermarkets, and a positive surprise from such a large brewery.

75 Good

Cider review: Nokian Panimo Omenasiideri (4.7% Finland: Nokian Panimo)

The Nokian Panimo Omenasiideri is an apple cider. It's produced by Nokian Panimo, a medium-sized Finnish brewery located in Nokia. They pride themselves in being an honest, independent brewery. The Nokian Panimo Omenasiideri can be found in supermarkets all over Finland, and currently it's one of the only widely available ciders by a medium-sized brewery.

Taste: The Nokian Panimo Omenasiideri is a light/medium-bodied cider with a natural, sweet yet sour body. It tastes like real apples and is quite juice-like. It finishes with moderate dryness.

Overall, The Nokian Panimo Omenasiideri is a really nice cider. Among the ciders available in Finnish supermarkets, it's definitely one of the best. You can really taste the natural ingredients. It's refreshing and natural, just the way a cider should be. The market-strength makes it a bit light but that's the price you have to pay for wider circulation in Finland.

75 Good

Beer review: Lervig Art Collection Funky Moi Rye Saison (6.5% Norway: Lervig Aktiebryggeri)

The Funky Moi Rye Saison is an ale, more specifically a Rye Saison. Saison beers are usually fruity and the addition of several spices and herbs create a complex fruity or citric flavor. The beer belongs to the special "art collection" series of Lervig Aktiebryggeri, a small Norwegian brewery located in Oslo. The brewery was founded in 2003 and their products have received several awards in Norway, for example for the best summer beer and best pale beer in 2008.

Taste: The Funky Moi Rye Saison is a medium-bodied beer with a soft, fruity and sweet body. It features a slight malty flavor which is quite round and smooth (typical to beers with rye). The beer also features "earthly" aromas and finishes with a slight hoppy bitterness.

Overall, the Funky Moi Rye Saison is a good beer. It doesn't offer anything unforgettable, but delivers a nice variety of flavors in a well-balanced package. It's not the best Saison out there, but it's definitely worth trying...just because of the cool labels if nothing else!

75 Good

Beer review: Humulus Lupus Double IPA (9.0% Finland: Panimo Hiisi)

Humulus Lupus Double IPA is a pale ale, more specifically a double Indian Pale Ale. It's brewed by Panimo Hiisi, a Finnish microbrewery located in Jyväskylä. Panimo Hiisi was founded in 2013 and has been in existence for just over a year. It's one of the most interesting upcomers on the Finnish beer scene, and I'm eagerly awaiting to check out their products.

Taste: The Humulus Lupus Double IPA is a medium/full-bodied beer with a slightly sweet, malty front. It is quite well-balanced and offers a strong herbal hoppy body with aromas of citrus, pine and fruits. The beer finishes with a medium-strength hoppy bitterness.

Overall, the Humulus Lupus Double IPA serves as a nice proof of the expertise of the guys at Panimo Hiisi. The world of IPAs, and even DIPAs, is really crowded and it's quite difficult to stand out. Nevertheless, the Humulus Lupus does an excellent job and is warmly welcomed into the variety of Finnish DIPAs. There's still some room for improvement though. Personally, I would've preferred more fruitiness and a smoother bitterness, but those are just my preferences.

75 Good

Beer review: Pinta Atak Chmielu (6.1% Poland: Browar Pinta)

The Pinta Atak Chmielu is a pale ale, more specifically an American style Indian Pale Ale. It's the most popular beer of Browar Pinta, a Polish microbrewery founded in 2011. Although the brewery has been in existence for only a few years, their products have received a lot of acclaim among beer enthusiasts.

Taste: The Pinta Atak Chmielu is a medium-bodied IPA which starts off with a caramel, malty body. It then moves on to deliver a fruity, malty, and herbal taste and finishes with a herbal medium-strength hoppiness and medium bitterness.

Overall, the Pinta Atak Chmielu is a pleasant beer and there is nothing bad to say about it. However, in my opinion it lacks the final character that sets beers apart from the masses. It most certainly belongs to the upper-class of IPAs, but doesn't reach a podium place in my ranking.

75 Good

Beer review: BrewDog Fake Lager (4.7% Scotland: BrewDog)

The BrewDog Fake Lager is a lager, or more specifically a Czech type pilsener. It is brewed by BrewDog, a medium-sized Scottish brewery. BrewDog, with the annual production output of about 10 million liters, was founded in 2007, and despite its young age has become one of the best-appreciated breweries in the world. The Fake Lager is their critical take on the bulk lagers, and they aim to return the Czech type pilsener to its former glory by returning to its roots. Therefore, the beer promises a malty body with a fine hoppy aftertaste, not the watery taste of bulk lagers.

Taste: The BrewDog Fake Lager is a medium-bodied pilsener with a faintly sweet, malt dominant body with a touch of citrus. After this the hop kicks in with its herbal goodness, delivering a nice slightly bitter herbal taste.

Overall, the BrewDog Fake Lager delivers what it promises. It doesn't offer anything revolutionary, but it succeeds in showing the bulk lagers what a real beer should taste like. Once again, a quality beer by BrewDog.

75 Good

Beer review: BrewDog Punk IPA (5.6% Scotland: BrewDog)

The BrewDog Punk IPA is a pale ale, more specifically an Indian Pale Ale. It is brewed by BrewDog, a medium-sized Scottish brewery. BrewDog, with the annual production output of about 10 million liters, was founded in 2007, and despite its young age has become one of the best-appreciated breweries in the world. Punk IPA is one of their most popular beers and therefore, I'm eager to test it out.

Taste: The BrewDog Punk IPA is a light/medium-bodied Indian Pale Ale. It's quite refreshing and has a body of medium strength grassy hoppiness. The beer also features some fruitiness and finishes with a good, herbal, hoppy aftertaste which features just the right amount of bitterness.

Overall, The BrewDog Punk IPA is a great way to start exploring the exciting world of IPAs. It definitely isn't the best IPA available, but neither is it the worst. It could do with some more fruitiness and a richer flavor overall, but the nice refreshing aftertaste with just the right amount of bitterness is a lot to my liking.

75 Good

Beer review: Luostari Dubbel (7.5% Finland: Saimaan Juomatehdas)

Luostari Dubbel is an ale, more specifically a Dubbel, brewed by Saimaan Juomatehdas, a relatively small family brewery located in Mikkeli, Finland. In 2014 they produced a total of 900 000 liters. The Luostari Dubbel is produced in association with Valamon Luostari, an orthodox monastery in Eastern Finland. Thus, Luostari Dubbel prides itself in being the only orthodox monastery beer in the world. Let's see if it can equal its Belgian siblings.

Taste: The Luostari Dubbel is a medium/full-bodied beer with a malt-dominant flavor. It provides a sweet, fruity and berry flavor and finishes with a slight herbal hoppy taste.

Overall, the Luostari Dubbel is a nice beer but still has some growing up to do, if it wants to challenge the Belgian monastery beers for real. It offers a nice variety of flavors, but still looks a bit thin when compared to other Dubbels. However, it's definitely worth trying since it's among the best Finnish beers available in Finnish liquor stores.

75 Good

Beer review: Chimay Triple (8.0% Belgium: Chimay Brewery)

Chimay Triple is a strong ale, more specifically a Tripel, brewed by Chimay Brewery, a brewery located in the Scourmont Abbey in southern Belgium. It is one of the ten breweries in the world to produce Trappist beer. All of the profits from Chimay products go for the benefit of the monastery and to charity. Finally a way to do charity while practising a hobby of mine! Considering that it's a monastery brewery, the annual amount of Chimay products being brewed is staggering, 12 million litres reported in 2005. That has to be a sign of something exceptional, let's find out what it is.

Taste: Chimay Triple is the driest and most hopped of the Chimay products. This is apparent in the taste, which is medium/full-bodied yet quite soft. The taste is dominated by a herbal grassy taste of hop.

Overall, Chimay Triple was a bit of a disappointment for me. Chimay Blue is one of my favorite widely available beers, and therefore maybe I expected too much of the Triple. I have to admit that I am generally quite picky about strong hoppy beers. Chimay Triple offers a nice hoppy, yet soft taste but in my opinion does not stand out in any special way. I'm not saying it's bad, when the beer is a Trappist it's bound to be good but I expected a bit more.

75 Good

Beer review: Leffe Blonde (6.6% Belgium: InBev Belgium)

Leffe Blonde is an ale, more specifically a Belgian style ale, brewed by InBev Belgium. Although it is a monastery beer, receiving its name from a monastery, it is quite obvious that the bulk quantity of Leffe production means that the monastery is present only in the beer's name. The company which produces Leffe is part of the Anheuser-Busch corporation, the largest beer corporation in the world. Leffe is brewed under a license from the monastery and it receives royalties from the product. However, being part of a big corporation, being produced in a factory, yet selling under the name of a 'monastery beer' is a bit dubious, at least in my books. Let's not let that affect the review of the taste of Leffe Blonde.

Taste: Leffe Blonde is a very sweet ale. It is medium-bodied, very soft and fruity. The taste of malt is quite mild and sweet, and the Leffe Blonde finishes with a sweet sugary and almost creamy flavor.

Overall, Leffe Blonde is a very likable beer and is easily available. It doesn't provide any mind-blowing taste experiences, but it is certainly a nice change from your typical lager beer. I guess it's a good thing that some of the profit goes to the monastery. In my opinion, one of the best beers in wide distribution.

75 Good

Beer review: Höss Adler König Das Echte Hell (4.7% Germany: Privatbrauerei Höss der Hirschbräu)

Adler König Das Echte Hell (German for Eagle King The Real Light/Pale) is a lager beer, more specifically a German Hell lager beer, made by a relatively small German brewery. It is an interesting addition to the beer selections of Finnish supermarkets and gets a plus in my books for its lightning stopper sealing method.

Taste: The beer offers a traditional German lager beer taste with hints of hop and the sweetness of honey. It is full-bodied and relatively thick for a lager beer and the flavor is enjoyably rich without being excessive.

A well accomplished beer which is definitely worth tasting if you want to enjoy a quality lager.

75 Good