BarcelonaBeerFest Vol.18

Day #2 of Advent Calendar. The beer pours opaque, bright black. Carbonation is restrained and the subsequent head is equally subdued. Its color is tan. The head dies hastily to a gossamer lace ring only. The scent offers roasted malt, burned wood, charred coffee beans and tobacco. Sounds unwelcoming but it's actually a quite balanced cocktail — the different sectors complement each other at least decently. A proposal of black pepper monitors the package from a distance. The taste profile is both a bit shallow and reasonably intense: I can observe roasted malt, some peat, dry cracking moss, licorice and a suggestion of charcoal teasing my tastebuds keenly. Somewhat smoky single malt Scotch is the impression that I get. Raw coffee beans are there, as well, albeit in minority. As for the peppery hint, I'd suggest that it's powdered white pepper on the tongue rather than the black pepper that featured in the air. A sourish flavor escorts the setting. The body is medium at maximum. The finish gives the bitter flavors of Scotch, a bit of smoked peat and sourish coffee beans, perhaps even an idea of rowanberry, while the roasted malt doesn't go idle either. The aftertaste gets exhausted when ranging across the swamps and moorlands of Speyside but gets each time extra energy from a shot of whisky. The mouthfeel is somewhat intense, roasty and a bit charred. A quick analysis suggests that the beer is raw and coarse but also neatly balanced as well as modestly dry. Not really demanding. At least not in my opinion. Sometimes it's nice to go with the flow, sometimes I like resistance. This is more of the former than the latter. NOTE: The barcode leads to Kotwiczne 2.0.

Tuoksussa savua, tummaa suklaata, kahvia ja makeaa ruista. Keskitäyteläinen suutuntuma. Savuinen ensipuraisu. Kahvia ja luumua. Myös punaviinimäistä rypälettä ja puista kuivuutta. Hieman tuhkainen ja suklainen loppu. Vähän sekamelska, mutta siitä huolimatta ihan nautittava.

Heti häviävä vaahto mustassa läpinäkymättömässä, täyttävässä ja lämmittävässä oluessa. Kaikesta huolimatta pettymys collaboration olut Hopiton ja Spóldzielczy Socjalna DALBA:n kesken. Paahtoa joten kuten mutta jotenkin viinimäinen ponneton rypistys. Yäk ! Mallasmainen, paahteinen ja viinimäinen.

Oikein maistuva brittityylinen ESB Puolasta.

Tämä on joku yhteistyö Hopium-panimon kanssa ja pojilla ei ole ollut oikein homma hanskassa. Tuote tuoksuu ja maistuu lähinnä huonolta kotioluelta. Epäilykset heräsi jo pulloa avatessa kun hiilihapot oli ihan yliammutut ja olut vaahtosi aivan liikaa. Tuoksussa on alkoholia ja hiivaa ja maku on sekavan simainen. Ei tätä ipaksi tunnistaisi jos etiketissä ei niin lukisi. Takaisin harjoittelemaan kaverit.

Kirsikalla maustetut portterit ja stoutit on melkein aina hyviä ja niin on tämäkin. Maussa löytyy viinimäistä kirsikkaa ja syvää mallasta. Maku on kuivempi kuin baltic porterissa yleensä, mikä on minusta vain hyvä. Jälkimaku muistuttaa Koffin porteria.

My souvenir from Poland in early January. Misty, redcurrant-juice-colored beer with reasonable carbonation creates a white pinkish, soapy head that rises up to two fingers. The foamy stack melts rapidly to a frazil-icy lacing wafting on the top. The withdrawing foam leaves the glass intact. The fragrance reveals sour raspberry mash, a bit of wild blueberry and a suggestion of redcurrant. The taste receptors like the sour raspberry-blueberry nectar that gains company from redcurrant, a bit of strawberry and distant rhubarb. Notwithstanding, I googled what the main source of the Polish-language berry-like aroma is: it's blue honeysuckle a.k.a. honeyberry. I have though no idea what it should taste like. The palate is, generally speaking, rather juicy although fairly thin which comes at no surprise since the ABV is merely 3.5 %. The thin-bodied beer finishes with sour raspberry, a tad cranberry, blueberry, redcurrant and a drop of strawberry juice. The aftertaste manages to pucker the tastebuds up for a brief moment only. The mouthfeel is thin, medium-tart and a bit puckering. It's also juicy, gardeny and summery. Gluggable for a low-alc Sour Ale.