Ola Dubh tasting

Ola Dubh is Harviestouns Old Engine Oil that has been stored on old whisky barrels. They use Highland Park barrels of different ages. Last Saturday we tried their 12, 18 and 30 year old versions. I tried their 12 year old version at Örebro Beer and Whisky Festival and was really impressed. Ended up giving it a 4,3/5 and was lucky enough to be given what was left in the bottle when I bought my 5 cl sample. However there where more then 5 cl left in the bottle so I was quite pleased with myself.

To save time and space I can tell you that all three of them had similar characteristics. They where all black as sin with chocolate, coffee, whisky, licorice and wood aromas. So instead of repeating myself I will give you some shorter reviews focusing on their differences.

Ola Dubh 12 (33 cl) 8%
This one was quite raw and boozy despite it's relatively low alcohol. The others thought this one had the most whisky flavour in it. Some even claimed it had to much whisky flavour. I personally didn't find it that intense.
Total: 4/5
Ola Dubh 18 (33 cl) 8%
This one was allot milder then both the 12 and the 30. It also had more licorice and butter compared to the others. It also had the lightest body of the three. Definitely worse then the others.
Total: 3,8/5

Ola Dubh 30 (33 cl) 8%
This is the one I thought had the strongest whisky flavour of the three. It had a very noticeable smoky whisky flavour. It had the most intense flavour and the thickest body of the three I tried. Also felt more complex and well balanced then the others. Definite winner in this test.
Total: 4,2/5

Per turns 25

On Saturday Per turned 25 years old. He has been quite frequent on this blog since he tend to follow me to various beer festivals. Since he is also a beer geek we decided to meet up at Akkurat together with some friends. Actually quite allot of people came, allot more then I expected. I even bumped into Hå-Ge and Berith from Närke Kulturbryggeri. As with every other time I've visited Akkurat it was a great evening. I started out trying their supply of real ales. Since I forgot to put my memory card and can't find the cord that connects my camera with my pc I dont have pictures to show you. But here are some short reviews of the beer:

Inveralmond Homecoming (tap) 4,2%
A classic bitter with a taste of grassy hops. An easy to drink beer with a lasting bitterness.
Total: 3,6/5

Cairngorm Trade Winds (tap) 4,3%
A fresh, fruity and flowery real ale with some citrus and hops. Easy to drink and also with a lasting bitterness.
Total: 3,6/5

Cairngorm Black Gold (tap) 4,4%
A dark liquid with tastes of chocolate, coffee, dark bread and something burned. Smooth like the others and a bit stronger flavour, but still easy to drink.
Total:

Then I went for some Christmas beer:

Nögne Ö God Jul (tap) 8,5%
Nice Christmas beer with a taste of chocolate, coffee, something burned and liqourice.
Total: 3,8/5

Winterkoninkske (tap) 8,3%
It smelled like "Julmust", sweet and spicey. But it tasted more like red wine, spices and grapes. Fairly smooth mouthfeel.
Total: 4/5

N'Ice Chouffe (tap) 10%
Sweet beer with tastes of red wine, spices, yeast and grapes.
Total: 3,4/5

La Rülles Noël de Coeur (tap) 7,3%
Complex belgian Christmas ale with tastes of wood, nuts, red wine, grapes, dried fruit and yeast. Interesting and nice.
Total: 3,8/5

After these beers I wanted to finish off with something interesting. They had two bottles of St Bernadus that I always wanted to try. But more about thoose tomorrow.

Christmas Beer 2009, part 3

Nils Oscar Julöl 2009 (Bottle) 7,7%
It poured a pitch black liquid with a light brown foam that left very little lacing.

It had a smell of chocolate, spices, burned malt and a hint of plastic. That plastic smell wasn't very pleasent.

Smooth mouthfeel with a thick body and low bitterness. Taste of chocolate, burned toast, malt and nuts.

A nice beer but the plastic smell draws down the points. Looking at other reviews not everybody seems to have had this problem, so might be worth trying another bottle.
Total: 3,5/5

Harviestoun Mr. Sno'Balls (Bottle) 4,5%
It poured a hazy dark golden-caramell liquid with a medium sized white foam that left a nice lacing.

It had a very fresh smell of hops, citrus, malt and caramell.

Smooth mouthfeel with a medium body and light-medium bitterness. Tasted fresh off grassy hops, citrus and malt.

Nice beer but not really a Christmas beer, I think this one would work allot better during the summer. It was so fresh and crisp that I think it would be a great thirstquencher during a hot summers day. Not sure how it would work with the salty and fat christmas food.
Total: 3,6/5

BrewDog 77 and Zeitgeist

I picked up two new Brewdog beers at Systembolaget the other week. They where both part of the release to the ordinary supply.

BrewDog 77 Lager (bottle) 4,9%
It poured a clear golden liquid with a medium sized white foam that left a little bit of lacing.

The smell was the best part of the beer, even though it wasn't that good. A noticable smell of malt, bread and caramell.

It had a smooth and dry mouthfeel. Tasted of malt, bread and a hint of caramell. But where´s the hops? Where's the rebellion? In the end it's just another average lager and doesn't seperate itself from the rest.
Total: 2,2/5
BrewDog Zeitgeist (bottle) 4,9%
It poured a pitch black liquid with a medium sized light brown foam that left some lacing.

It had a smell of coffey, chocolate and burned toast.

It had a smooth and dry mouthfeel. Tasted the same as it smelled with some coffey, chocolate and burned toast. It feels like there is something lacking in this beer. There's nothing wrong with it, but it feels like it doesn't bring anything to the table.
Total: 3,1/5

SBWF 2009, part 6

After a couple of beers at Galatea we got a bit split up and started trying all kinds of beers. But the focus still lay on heavy beers such as Imperial Stouts, IPAs and Barley Wines. When we stood at the Wicked Wine booth I ran into the guys at FemKommaNoll TV. Friendly guys and I'm looking forward to watching the segment they did at the festival.

Me, Johan and Thomas from FemKommaNoll-Tv.

When we came back to Oliver Twist I also ran into Markus from Öl är gott, resor är kul. When we stood there talking I also got introduced to Hrigilzkar from this blog and Fajanen and Jöns was there as well. It was allot of fun meeting these guys and I hope to run into them again in the future.

Markus, Hrigilzkar and Fajanen.

I didn't get to chat very long with them, before my father came running and told me had something special he wanted me to try. When I got over to Wicked wine that was only a few meters away I got handed a glass of something very black and heavy. Even though I had tried quite allot of beers at this point I could feel the spicey aroma that was drifting up from the glass. I tasted it and it was like an explosion of flavour. Very heavy and my tongue got attacked from left and right. My father just laughed and showed me the bottle, it was this beer:


BrewDog Tokyo* (bottle) 18,2%
An imperial stout at 18,2%. Well actually the label said: "intergalactic fantastic oak aged stout". Which is actually a very good description. I look at my notes now and see that I have written: "Warm alcohol hits me in the face!". I bet if I would have been more focused I would have written something similar about the taste. It tasted sweet with chocolate, wood, burned and lots of other spices. The alcohol was also very dominant and it might have been a bit to much. However a very nice beer, would love to re-test it in the future.
Total: 4,1/5

Cleaning out the beer storage.

I've been cleaning out the beer storage a little bit at the time. Here are a couple of beers I tried during my vacation:

Anchor Steam Beer (Bottle) 4,8%
It poured a hazy amber liquid with a thick medium sized foam with some craters. It left just a little bit of lacing though.

It had a fresh smell of pine needles and citrus.

It had a medium body with some citrus but also a bit bland. It felt stingy in my mouth. IT feels like it’s lacking something. It got some bitterness but not in a hoppy kind of way, more like overboiled tea. An ok beer.
Total: 2,8/5

Traquair House Ale (Bottle) 7,2%
I've had this beer lying around for quite some time now and I think it might have been a bit to long. It looked great and smelled pretty good as well. But once I tried it I was really dissapointed. It tasted like watered down red wine. Since I have had this beer before I'm fairly certain something has gone wrong while storing it, since I remember it as a quite good beer. So I won't rate it this time, instead hope to get a new bottle soon and re-rate it.

St Peters Cream Stout (Bottle) 6,5%
It poured a pitch black liquid with a big light brown foam that left some lacing. Looked very appealing.

It had a fairly strong smell where chocolate and coffey where the two dominant aromas. It also had a hint of nuts and something burned and toasty.

It was smooth and tasted of chocolate and coffey. It also had a hint of nuts and that burned sensation that I felt in the smell. It wasn't overwhelming though and quite easily drinkable. Very enjoyable beer overall. But it didn't stand out in any special way.
Total: 3,7/5
Black Boss Porter (Bottle) 7%
It poured a pitch black liquid with a big light brown foam. It had some really nice craters in it and when it receded it left quite allot of lacing.

It had a smell of chocolate.

It tasted of dark chocolate and coffey. It was smooth yet dry and didn't feel very complex or balanced. Felt like it was lacking something.
Total: 2,8/5

Testing Harviestoun

A while back I went on a cruise with a couple of friends. To my suprise I found a couple of interesting beers from a brewery I had never heard of: Harviestoun. They had three different beers in the tax free and I tried them all a couple of weeks ago. My notes where a bit sparse and my memory is apparently shorter then I thought. But here is what I could get out of it:

Harviestoun Schiehallion 4,8% (Bottle)

It poured a hazy golden liquid with a small but big bubbly foam that made it look very fresh. It had a strong smell of honey and hops, both flowery and grassy. The flavor was fresh with grassy hops and a hint of citrus. It was a bit watery but overall very nice, without a doubt one of the best lagers I've tried.

Total: 3,1/5

Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted 4,2% (Bottle)

It poured a hazy golden liquid with a small foam that left some lacing. It had a fresh aroma of citrus and hops. It tasted fresh with some citrus and hops. But also a bit watery and bland, it smelled better then it tasted.

Total: 2,9/5

Harviestoun Old Engine Oil 6% (Bottle)

It poured a dark liquid with a small brown foam that left some lacing. It had an aroma of chocolate and coffee. It tasted of chocolate, coffee, something burned and a bit bitter.

Total: 3,4/5

Laughstock

First of all, the weather is fantastic at the moment. Clear blue skies and around 30 degrees C.

Yesterday me and the missus went to Laughstock (Skrattstock). It's a stand-up comedy festival on Långholmen in southern Stockholm. There where lots of people and we had a fun time. After a couple of hours we went to watch the runners at Stockholm Marathon. It sounds insane to run that long, but it would be fun to try sometime. However I have a feeling Im a bit to heavy and my joints would probably kick me in the nuts for weeks afterwards ;)

We had lunch at Lasse i Parken. A cozy little place in southern Stockholm, located in an old house in a garden. The food was nice but they have really taken the whole 'less is more' to a new level. Last time I was here it was allot better, maybe they have changed owners? However they did have some beer from Belhaven so I had their Twisted Thistle IPA.

Belhaven Twisted Thistle IPA 5,3%

It poured a clear golden liquid with a big foam that left allot of lacing. The aroma was filled with metall, grass, hops and flowers. It had a medium bitterness with grassy hops. Fresh and nice and worked great in the sunny weather. Easy to drink.

Total: 3,2/5

When we got home we had our first fresh potatoes of the season. Served with some herring, sourcream, onions, eggs and chives. Really nice!

Sugar Daddy Double

Det blev en mycket lyckad kväll igår. Vi började som sagt redan på förmiddagen med en tur till Humlegården. Blev förvånad av hur långt ut det låg. Trodde det låg närmare stan. Men det var kul att gå runt och titta på alla prylar man kunde inhandla. Farsan köpte ett kit med fat, gaspatron och en massa slangar som han ska ha till pumpen hemma. Sen bar det av in mot stan för lunch of bastu. Gubbarna hade lånat en lägenhet som låg i närheten av Handelshögskolan. Rikigt fin med både bastu och pool på innergården. Efter bastun provade vi en Maredsous 8 som bytit etikett sedan senast jag drack den.


Smakade bra även denna gång även om jag inte hade något minne av att den var så rökig. Farsan hade också fyndat en Mikkeller Fra & Till som vi avsmakade innan det blev färd mot Monks. När jag satte mig i taxin så fick jag ett sms från en vän: "Tjena, det är Anders. Sitter på Monks och provar öl, är du i närheten?". Så när vi kom dit så beställde vi fram lite extra stolar och började prova vår egna brygd: Sugar Daddy Double. Den var svagt kryddad och len i smaken. Kändes väldigt låg i alkoholhalten jämfört med liknande öl. Jag och brorsan kom fram till att den nog var rätt nära Leffe Dark. Tyvärr beställde vi aldrig in för att jämföra.

Efter ett par glas började vi prova lite annan öl och det blev en del godbitar. Bl.a. en tall (trädet) ale. Alba - Scots Pine Ale Smakade sött av tall och päron. Väldigt intressant öl.



Morfar hade fått upp ögonen för ett argentiskt mikrobryggeri som hette Antares så jag sprang och hämtade en Barley Wine åt han. Morfar sa att den var god men att han föredrog dubbeln som vi varit med och bryggt. Den hade smak av honung och humle, smakade inte riktigt som en normal Barley wine. Den var väldigt söt med och påminnde mer om en mjöd.



Nästa runda tänkte jag ta ett säkrare kort så jag tog in en Riegele Veteöl till morfar och en Struise Pannepot 2006 till mig själv. Veteölen var ok, men knappast den bästa jag provat, samtidigt som Pannepot'en var riktigt fin. Smaken verkligen exploderade i munnen och attackerade hela tungan. Den var söt och kryddig, med lång eftersmak. Smaker som jag upplevde var: mörk chocklad, rök, tobak/cigarr, bränd karamell, torkad frukt, muskot och lakrits. I mina kommentarer har jag bl.a. skrivit: "Härlig!!". Måste prova mer av Struise nästa gång.




Nu började det bli dags för hemgång och vi hade till slut lyckats betala för maten. Då tog farsan och Mårten in en varsin flaska De Molen. Först en Hel & Verdoemenis (Hell and Damnation) och sen en Steen & Been (Stone and Bone). Båda var riktiga smakbomber men inte lika välbalanserade som Pannepot'en. Den första var klart bäst i mina ögon samtidigt som den sista var lite för mycket för min smak. Kändes lite som när jag drack en Thomas Hardy Ale som inte lagrats klart. Lite grann som att dricka saftkoncentrat. Men nu är ja petig, det var ändå två riktigt bra öl. Mårten hade tagit in den sistnämnda och jag skrev ner ett citat: "Den smakar ladugård. Utsökt!". Tyvärr börjar min kamera bli gammal och tar i tid och otid oklara bilder. Men här är en bild på den första:

Då kanske man ska ta och betygsätta dom här på ratebeer också...