Tag Archives: Beer Hunter’s

SOPP Helsinki 2011 – Suuret Oluet – Pienet Panimot

1 Reply

Yesterday I paid a visit to the Suuret Oluet – Pienet Panimot (Big Beers – Small Breweries) festival at Rautatientori. This 3-day event (28-30.07)  is a chance for Finnish microbreweries to exhibit and advertise their products, and consequently beer lovers to taste new brews. The event is free if you enter before 18:00, after that entrance is 5 euros. You also get to buy a deposit glass for 2 euros, in which all beer is served, and when you leave you can either return the glass and get back your 2 euro deposit or take it home as a memory. There is a glass rinsing station available, if you wish to give your glass a rinse between beers. All in all there are 14 microbreweries (one Estonian) at the event, offering a total of 81 beers (you can find the whole list by clicking here). Prices varied between 3 and 4 euros for a 20 cl portion (bigger portions were also available, but if you want to try out many different beers I recommend the smaller ones). The following microbreweries could be found at the event:

  • Hollolan Hirvi, Hollola
  • Koskipanimo / Panimoravintola Plevna, Tampere
  • Laitilan Wirvoitusjuomatehdas, Laitila
  • Lakeuden Panimo / Mallaskoski, Seinäjoki
  • Lammin Sahti, Hämeenlinna
  • Malmgårdin Panimo, Loviisa
  • Nokian Panimo, Nokia
  • Panimoravintola Beer Hunter´s, Pori
  • Saimaan Juomatehdas, Mikkeli
  • Stadin Panimo, Helsinki
  • Suomenlinnan Panimo, Helsinki
  • Teerenpeli Yhtiöt, Lahti ja Helsinki
  • Vakka-Suomen Panimo, Uusikaupunki
  • Taako / Pihtlan Olut, Saarenmaa, Estonia

 

I had time for a short visit yesterday, and was planning on tasting the following 6 beers:

  • Beer Hunter’s CCCCC IPA
  • Beer Hunter’s Nasty Suicide Imperial Stout
  • Hollolan Ameriikan Hirvi APA
  • Malmgård Arctic Circle Ale
  • Plevnan Siperia Imperial Stout
  • Stadin Panimo Vintage Ale 2005 Barley Wine

 

I was able to test all of them except Malmgård’s Arctic Circle Ale. I unfortunately have no pictures from the visit, but I’ll post some short taste notes below:

Beer Hunter’s CCCCC IPA

This American IPA is brewed with five C hops, i.e. Cascade, Centennial, Citra, Chinook and Columbus, and has an ABV of 7%. The beer has an amber color, with a minimal head that quickly collapses leaving almost no lacing along the glass. The aroma is full of citrus and tropical fruits, and it is clear that this beer is hop-centered. The flavour contains some tones of caramel, but is quickly overtaken by tones of citrus, mango, pineapple, and resin, and ends with a (slight) bitter finish. Quite well balanced, with nothing overpowering, but I felt the body was a little light, and it somehow seemed as if the beer had been watered down. The carbonation level was also on the low side. A good attempt on an American IPA, but it seemed as if something was missing from it. Score: around 3.5

Beer Hunter’s Nasty Suicide Imperial Stout

This Imperial Stout was one of the new releases at the event. I have no further information on this beer other than it contains muscovado sugar, honey, has an ABV of 12%, and is supposedly ‘Belgian-styled’. The beer poured with a very dark brown/black color, and a minimal cream head. The aroma was sweet, with tones of raisins and roasted malts. The flavour was quite sweet and similar to the aroma and contained tones of roasted malts, licorice, raisins, and fruits. Could find much hoppiness in the beer, and bitterness was low as well. The high alcohol level was very well hid behind the sweetness. I felt this beer was a little too sweet for my taste, and would rather have had some bitterness and slight hoppy tones instead of the rich and fruity tones. The body was quite full and the carbonation level was low. Did not really enjoy this one, was a bit too sweet and ‘Belgian’ for my liking. I would have prefered a more bitter finish. Score: around 3.0

Hollolan Ameriikan Hirvi APA

This American Pale Ale by Hollolan Hirvi has been brewed using pilsener, münchener and dark caramel malts, and hopped with Tettnanger, Magnum and Tomahawk (dry hops), to an ABV of 5.3% and an IBU of 51. The beer poured a clear amber color, with a thin white head. The aroma was sweet, resiny, citrusy and aggressive, with the Tomahawk (a.k.a. Columbus or Zeus) tones dominating. The flavour is also hop dominated with citrusy and resiny tones upfront, and some maltiness in the background. The flavour ends in a slightly bitter finish. This beer also seemed watered down, and I felt it had a bit too light body. The carbonation level was also on the low side, but overall this was a very drinkable APA, with some delicious and aggressive hop tones from the Tomahawk.  Score: around 3.0-3.5

Plevnan Siperia Imperial Stout

This Imperial Stout by Panimoravintola Plevna was definitely my favorite of the day. This has been hopped to an IBU of 100 with Tomahawk, Mount-hood, Simcoe and Vanguard, has a EBC of 300 (meaning its pretty damn dark), and an ABV of 8%. The beer was originally brewed for Olutravintola Pikkulintu’s 5 year anniversary. The beer poured pitch black, with a tan head, that left some lacing on the glass. The aroma contained tones of vanilla, coffee, roasted malts, and hops. The flavour was full of roasted tones, featuring coffee, chocolate, licorice, as well as some bitter, citrusy and resiny tones from the massive hoppiness. The beer was very well balanced, and no particular flavour element dominates. The body was full and smooth, while the carbonation level was quite low. A very drinkable and tasty Imperial Stout, that definitely was my favorite of the day. This is also the only beer I tested that is available from Alko as well. You can (only) buy it from the Arkadia Alko for 18.21€.  Score: around 4.0-4.5

Stadin Panimo Vintage Ale 2005

This Barley Wine from Stadin Panimo was the least favorite of the day, and the only one I was close to pouring out. Since I haven’t tried many other (aged) Barley Wines I can’t tell how well this beer fits the style, but I at least didn’t like it. I have no information about this beer, other that it was brewed in 2005, is described by the brewery as a Madeira-like Barley Wine, and has an ABV of 11%. The beer poured a murky amber-brown color, with an almost non-existing head. The aroma is sweet, and has tones of raisins, plums and alcohol. The flavour is pretty much equivalent to the aroma, and is very sweet and caramelly, together with tones of raisins, plums, madeira, and alcohol. The beer was way too sweet for my liking, and the fruity and rich tones put me off. This definitely not a session beer, and body was full, and the carbonation level was low. This might have worked better sitting by the fireplace a cold and stormy winter night, but here in the warm summer under the scorching sun, it was a real challenge to finish the beer. The keg is unfortunately empty so there is no possibility to taste it anymore for those interested. Score: around 2.0-2.5

 

All in all it was a great experience, and there are some beers I still want to try, so might have to make a trip to Rautantientori today 🙂

Beer Hunter’s Mufloni Intianpässi

1 Reply

 

  • Brewery: Panimoravintola Beer Hunter’s
  • Country: Finland
  • Style: India Pale Ale
  • ABV: 4.5%
  • Size: 330 ml
  • Bought from: K-Citymarket, 5.10€
  • Not on Beer Advocate
  • RateBeer

    •  

    This is a ‘low ABV’ (i.e. it can be sold in supermarkets here in Finland) India Pale Ale, brewed by Beer Hunter’s. It is hopped with Cascade and Amarillo, and supposedly has an IBU of 150! Let’s check this one out!

    [easyreview title=”Beer Hunter’s Mufloni Intianpässi” cat1title=”Appearance” cat1detail=”The beer has a golden-amber color, and is slighty hazy (the beer is unfiltered and bottle conditioned), leaving a medium fluffy white head (leaving lacing along the glass).” cat1rating=”4″ cat2title=”Smell” cat2detail=”The hoppiness of this beer gives the aroma fruity and citrusy tones, but there is some unpleasant aroma hiding in the background that I can’t put my finger one. It’s a shame as it’s probably unintentional.” cat2rating=”2″ cat3title=”Taste” cat3detail=”A slightly malty initial flavour that quickly is overtaken by some fruitiness and finally a massive bitterness that ends in a dry finish. I feel this is very unbalanced, and cannot understand why the brewers would choose to have such a large bitterness for such a light beer. Tasted a lot like my first attempt at homebrewing (an IPA with Amarillo, Cascade and Citra): way too bitter, way too dry, and way too little hop flavour. The malt profile could be a lot stronger to help balance the bitterness (I know this is difficult because the ABV has to be under 4.7%), and the hop profile could be changed towards late hopping to improve the flavour and aroma, while simultaneously lowering the bitterness.” cat3rating=”2″ cat4title=”Mouthfeel” cat4detail=”The body is dry and light, with moderate carbonation. The large bitterness, combined with the dry finish, makes this quite unpleasant to drink.” cat4rating=”2″ summary=”I hate giving this low of a score to a microbrew from Finland, but this was on the border to drinkable. I love bitter beers, but I also like them balanced and packed with hop flavour. I would love to try Brew Hunter’s CCCCC IPA which I have heard is much better. It’s a shame this wasn’t good, as I was hoping for a tasty supermarket IPA. The high price combined with the low score means I definitely won’t be buying again.”]

    Beer Hunter’s Mufloni Simcoe

    Leave a reply

     

  • Brewery: Panimoravintola Beer Hunter’s
  • Country: Finland
  • Style: Bitter
  • ABV: 3.5%
  • Size: 330 ml
  • Bought from: K-Citymarket, 5.10€
  • Not on Beer Advocate
  • RateBeer

    •  

    The Simcoe version of Beer Hunter’s Single Hop series, that won the beer of the year award at the Helsinki Beer Festival 2011. I’ve had this one once before and it was really tasty, so lets see how it does in the review!

    [easyreview title=”Beer Hunter’s Mufloni Simcoe” cat1title=”Appearance” cat1detail=”The beer has a golden-amber color, and is slighty hazy (the beer is unfiltered and bottle conditioned), leaving a slight cream colored head (leaving some lacing along the glass).” cat1rating=”4″ cat2title=”Smell” cat2detail=”The beer aroma is dominated by fruitiness (mostly grapefruit) and pine, with some sweetness and maltiness hidden behind.” cat2rating=”3.5″ cat3title=”Taste” cat3detail=”The flavour is fruity, with hints of grapefruit and peach, and resiny, with hints of pine, that finishes in a quite dry and bitter aftertaste. I feel the malt profile is lacking a bit, and the beer could benefit from a stronger body.” cat3rating=”3″ cat4title=”Mouthfeel” cat4detail=”The body is dry and light, with moderate carbonation. Quite easy to drink, but not perfectly balanced in my opinion.” cat4rating=”3″ summary=”I remembered that this one was a lot tastier, so am slightly disappointed. Not a bad beer, but would think twice before buying again because of the high price. Beer Hunter’s are one of the more interesting microbreweries in Finland, and will be trying their low-ABV India Pale Ale next.”]

    Beer Hunter’s Mufloni Citra

    1 Reply

     

  • Brewery: Panimoravintola Beer Hunter’s
  • Country: Finland
  • Style: Bitter
  • ABV: 3.5%
  • Size: 330 ml
  • Bought from: K-Supermarket, 4.99€
  • Not on Beer Advocate
  • RateBeer

    •  

    The Citra version of Beer Hunter’s Single Hop series. Sorry for the poor photo (taken with my cell phone, as I didn’t have my camera with me)!

    [easyreview title=”Beer Hunter’s Mufloni Citra” cat1title=”Appearance” cat1detail=”The beer has a golden amber color, and is slighty hazy (the beer is unfiltered and bottle conditioned), leaving a large thick head (producing nice lacing along the glass).” cat1rating=”4″ cat2title=”Smell” cat2detail=”The beer has a slighty sweet and fruity (pineapple, mango and some citrus) aroma. Not a very strong aroma.” cat2rating=”3″ cat3title=”Taste” cat3detail=”The beer has a slightly fruity flavour, that ends in a quite harsh bitter and dry aftertaste. I felt the beer was not very balanced, and it would probably benefit from a strong malt body or a shift of the hop profile from early (bitter) hopping towards late (flavour and aroma) hopping. Where is the hop flavour?” cat3rating=”2″ cat4title=”Mouthfeel” cat4detail=”The body is dry and light, with moderate carbonation. Quite easy to drink.” cat4rating=”3″ summary=”Was quite disappointed with this one, as I feel Citra is a very interesting hop, but this beer did not do it justice. I have reviewed the Amarillo version and also tasted the Simcoe version, which I found much tastier, mainly because they were more balanced and highlighted the hop flavour better.”]

    Beer Hunter’s Mufloni Amarillo

    1 Reply

     

  • Brewery: Panimoravintola Beer Hunter’s
  • Country: Finland
  • Style: Bitter
  • ABV: 3.5%
  • Size: 330 ml
  • Bought from: K-Supermarket, 4.99€
  • Not on Beer Advocate
  • RateBeer

    •  

    [easyreview title=”Beer Hunter’s Mufloni Amarillo” cat1title=”Appearance” cat1detail=”The beer has a golden-brown color, and is hazy (the beer is unfiltered and bottle conditioned), with a couple centimeter thick head (leaving nice lacing along the glass).” cat1rating=”4″ cat2title=”Smell” cat2detail=”The beer has a slighty sweet and fruity (tropical fruits and grapefruit) aroma. The aroma isn’t very pronounced. (Note: I currently have a cold, so my olfaction isn’t at its best)” cat2rating=”3.5″ cat3title=”Taste” cat3detail=”The beer is quite dry, with a fruity and bitter taste (good level of hoppiness). Slight aftertaste of grapefruit and peach. Good balance between maltiness and hoppiness.” cat3rating=”4″ cat4title=”Mouthfeel” cat4detail=”The body is quite dry and has medium-low fullness, with moderate carbonation. Quite easy to drink.” cat4rating=”3.5″ summary=”A tasty and easy to drink single hop beer, that shows of the aroma and flavor of Amarillo hops. The beer is quite expensive, but is produced by a domestic microbrewery/pub, so I shouldn’t complain. A little too low hoppiness for my taste.”]