Two great beers from Iceland

I guess it is not so common to drink Icelandic beer. So last weekend I was lucky enough to have and try some. Even their names are just awesome Vatnajokull Frozen in Time and Myr Kvi Porter Nr.13.

Olvisholt Vatnajokull Frozen in Time Brewed by Ölvisholt Brugghús is dunkler bock (RateBeer overall/style rating 58/76). Olvisholt Brugghus is a microbrewery located at an old dairy farm in south Iceland. It was founded in the year 2007 by two neighboring farmers who had a true passion for beer. Their portfolio is pretty rich and I would love to try some more - specifically their smoked lager called Lava (RateBeer overall/style rating 99/99). But I liked the Frozen. Clear amber body, nice head, a bit sweet a bit fruity in taste. Easy to drink and pretty nice label. According to their webpage you can order their beers in Scandinavia, Canada and USA as well. For US try this link - http://belgianexperts.com.

Borg MyrKvi Porter NR.13 (RB rating 69/46) is brewed at Ölgerðin Egill Skallagrímsson in Reykjavik. Ölgerðin was established in 1913 and is one of the largest and oldest companies in Iceland. The company has its own beer brand - Egils - which is considered to be not very good (see the ratings) but it brew for smaller contractor Borg Brugghús. They number their beers so MyrKvi is their 13th beer. Up to date Borg Brugghus made 20 different beers. The last one is India Red Lager called Teresa. Brugghus has very neat and interesting webpage and I´m looking forward to their next brews. Porter NR13 was very heavy, dark chocolate stout with small brown head and long pleasant dry palate with coffee tones in it. Perfect for a cold nights not only in Iceland.

Iceland has some very interesting and decent breweries and I really wants to see what more is hiding up there.

Polish beer II. - 3reviews

I continue to explore polish beer scene. And it's better then most of you could imagine. I slowly start to appreciate all the good things and all the good beers Poland can offer. I knew the gods from the AleBrowar and now I found two more breweries which brew the good stuff.

Piwna Manufaktura - Altbier
Piwna Manufaktura is very interesting project. It seems like a side product line made by Browar Jablonowo. Their stout called Belfast is very nice. And I´m sure the rest of the line will be fine as well. They use the modern brewery to try something different, something for the fans not for the average customer. Their Altbeer is very refreshing. Dark brown color, small white head. That´s how I imagine old time beer. The taste is pretty good. Malty with a slight caramel tone. The finish is pleasant, yeasty, maybe a bit too much dry. I really wonder if such a beer tasted the same way in some medieval pub.

Komes - Porter Baltycki
Beer made by Fortuna brewery in Miloslaw. Komes beers (there are three in that product line - Porter, Podwojny Ciemny, Potrojny Zloty,) are special made and crafted for the real beer lovers. Porter is able to stay and grow in the bottle so you can store it for a pretty long time - up to 18 months. The beer is strong and very heavy. It's pure black with small white head. The taste is dry and hoppy, strong chocolate and coffee tones. The big suprise comes with a finish. It´s very typical with almost a smoke palate.

AleBrowar - Sweet Cow
The best of the batch. I wrote a short story about AleBrowar while ago and I still think that this is the best brewery in Poland. Their Sweet Cow is fantastic. Very smooth stout. Not sweet but milky. You can really feel the milk in it and that´s the best thing ever! Pure black color, white head, chocolate, coffee and smoke tones in taste. Spicy smell. Long smooth palate. I´m not a big fan of strong black stouts but this one - I salute to it and need much more!

I can´t wait to the next beer shopping in Poland. I only hope somebody open some good beer shop in Cziesyn soon!

BEER MADE FROM ELEPHANT POOP SELLS OUT IMMEDIATELY (GUISM)

"You’ve likely heard of coffee made from beans semi-digested by cats, but the beer industry wanted in on the action as well. Instead of cats, however, Sankt Gallen Brewery used beans found in elephant poop to create Un, Kono Kuro.

Forget the weird fruits, obscure extracts, and other questionable ingredients brewers have used in the past. This tops the list of weirdest ingredients.  It’s somehow even more odd than Wynkoop using actual bull testicles. They’re so proud of the process that they actually put a picture of an elephant taking a dump on the label. So how does it taste? As with many seemingly ridiculous ideas, it somehow worked out well."

Rest of story and the beer review - guyism.com

AleBrowar - The best beers from Poland?

Poland is country famous maybe for its vodka. It is not a typical beer nation. Not even close. But recently it's getting better and better.

This situation is caused mainly by the fact that more and more small, micro and flying breweries started their existence.

One of the best examples is AleBrowar - the flying or nomad brewery of three beerheads which is using small family brewery in Gosciszewo (a small municipality near Gdansk). It started about a year ago and - thanks to their skills - their beers became instantly famous. Their specialization is ale - style which is not so common in mainland european countries but style which is getting more and more popular there.

I was lucky enough to taste three bottles. Rowing Jack, Black Hope and Smoky Joe. The label design is just awesome. I love the names, I love the art style and mainly I love all the information on them. I know what I am drinking, I know how many IBU they have, I know alcohol percentage. Excellent job! These information I sometimes miss when I´m tasting beers from the small czech breweries.

The best beer from the batch is - without any doubt - Rowing Jack. Very fresh IPA with fruity smell, great white head, a bit hazy yellow color and the heavenly taste. I admit - IPA is my favourite style and this IPA is one of the best I have ever had. It´s pretty strong but you can´t tell it from the taste. No sharp alcohol tones. Fruits (mango, lime) in every sip. I felt in love with it instantly.

Black Hope is Black IPA - style which is even less known in the Central Europe. It is very interesting, strong beer an I liked it. It´s not so refreshing but it has its magic. You can sip it slowly and it feel good. It tastes like something between stout and IPA. Fruity tones with thick layer of malt taste. Nice dark brown color, white head and a bit bitter palate.

The last on in the batch was Smoky Joe - my first Foreign Stout. It was very interesting but I may need some more samples to fully appreciate it. It is a good beer - there´s no question about it - but maybe too robust for my personal taste. Deep black color, ligh brown head, very thick taste of coffee and chocolate. A hint of whisky. Just a small one. Long malty palate.

I became a big fan of this project and I can´t wait to visit some good beer shop in Krakow next week to have a chance to buy more of these great ales. And many many many bottles of Rowing Jacks! :)