Beer review: Game Brewery RyePA (5.3% Finland: Panimo Hiisi)

The Game Brewery RyePA is a pale ale, more specifically a rye American Pale Ale. It's a collaboration by Panimo Hiisi, a Finnish microbrewery located in Jyväskylä and Game Brewery, an upcoming Finnish game company. Panimo Hiisi was founded in 2013 and has just released its first beers to wider distribution so I'm eager to try them out. Extra credit for the cool retro-gaming styled labels.

Taste: The Game Brewery RyePA is a medium-bodied beer with a smooth, moderately hoppied taste. The beer is slightly sweet and round, and unfortunately delivers a slightly watery feel. It delivers a smooth taste of rye malt and moderate bitter hoppiness but the taste fades quite fast.

Overall, The Game Brewery RyePA is a mild disappoinment in my books. Maybe it could've done with some extra kick since now it delivers a slightly thin set of aromas. It serves well as a refreshment and certainly does an OK job but it would've been great to be blown away by it.

60 Above average

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