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