Now, for the final 8 beers in the advent calendar of beers.
Beer #17: Parallel 49 Sahti Claws Finnish Sahti 7.7% ABV 35 IBU
Rated: 4 out of 10
I had never heard of sahti before, so I looked it up on wikipedia. A sahti is made with juniper berries, and apparently often has a banana flavour that is caused by isopental acetate (which, if memory serves, is a favourite ester of high school science teachers as it smells strongly of bananas). I am not a fan of gin, so I was a little apprehensive of the juniper berries. This beer is certainly not for me. I did hunker down and finish it, and it had grown on me a little by the end but I would certainly not have another.
Beer #18: Red Racer Imperial IPA 9% ABV 90 IBU
Rated: 5 out of 10
I took yesterday off, so there’s two beers for tonight. This is a super strong, super bitter IPA. But it just seems a bit one dimensional. The flavours seem to meld into a single bittery taste, with a side of sweetness, and I can’t get the distinct fruity and bitter tastes that you would expect from a good IPA. On the plus side, it pours with a nice coppery colour.
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Beer #19: Parallel 49 Salty Scotch 7.5% ABV 17 IBU
Rated: 8 out of 10
According to the label, this beer is a sea salted caramel scotch ale and the ingredient list includes both sea salt and caramel, which had me a little nervous given my general dislike for flavoured beers. This beer surprised me, and is actually quite good. The caramel has given this beer its colour, and it has a rich complex nose with sweet caramel notes. The added flavours of the sea salt and caramel are subtly but noticeable, and give this beer a hearty feel. I don’t think it’s the type of beer you would want to have multiple in a row, but it is a good easily drinkable beer.
Beer #20: Central City Imperial Porter 9% ABV 60 IBU
Rated: 6 out of 10
This porter pours extremely dark and with a good head. The bottle informs us that the beer is “bourbon barrel aged,” and the bourbon notes are certainly discernible on the nose. The bourbon also imparts a very smoky taste underlining the flavour profile. I’ve never really been such a big fan of smoky beers, and I think I would prefer this beer if it hadn’t of been aged in the bourbon barrel. It seems like there is a good porter underneath the smokiness, but it’s a little hard to tell.
Beer #21: Parallel 49 Ugly Sweater Milk Stout 5% ABV 30 IBU
Rated: 7 out of 10
This beer has lactose added to it, which seems an interesting choice for a beer. The nose is a traditional rich stout with caramel notes plus a hint of sweetness (which I guess is the lactose coming through). Almost no head is present. When drunk the lactose really hides the traditional stout flavour, but the stoutiness does come through towards the back end. It’s not a bad stout (if you want a bad stout then you should try Sheaf Stout, which literally tastes like licking a road), but then it doesn’t really have that thick dark taste that you normally associate with a stout either. Probably a good stout for someone who doesn’t really like stout.
Beer #22: Central City Thor’s Hammer Barley Wine 11.5% ABV
Rating: 8 out of 10
This one barely counts as a beer, being labelled as a “barley wine” (although my guess would be that it is more of a legal thing given the high alcohol content). But this does have a lot of qualities of a wine, including the fact that it can apparently be cellared for up to 5 years. The bottle claims notes of dried fruit, plum and figs but it is the plum that stands out for mine. It’s a hard beer to describe, tasting a bit like the bastard child of a rich shiraz and a pale ale. But, somehow, it works to make a rich, complex and tasty beverage. Not a beer to have before driving, as each beer has the alcohol content of half a bottle of wine.
Beer #23: Parallel 49 Vow of Silence Belgian Strong Ale 9.8% ABV 25 IBU
Rating: 6 out of 10
This is the final Parallel 49 beer in the advent calendar, and is designed in the trappist style (think Chimay). It has a nice fruity aroma, but no head, and pours a light brown colour. Upon tasting the beer the overwhelming flavour is sweetness. There is a nice underlying fruity flavour profile, but it’s somewhat hidden by the sweetness. It’s ok, but I don’t think it’s really on par with a true trappist beer.
Beer #24: Central City Dubbel Trubbel 6.5% ABV
Rating: 5 out of 10
Well, this is the final beer in the advent calendar. This Belgian Dubbel is rum & raisin flavoured, which has me a little worried. It pours a partially opaque coppery colour with no head. The raisins come through on the nose, although there is little trace of the rum. The flavour is surprisingly light, although I had this beer after some red pepper jelly so perhaps that is masking the flavour. After a palate cleanser the flavour profile was still rather subdued, particularly lacking in hops. I think they got the ordering a bit wrong on this one; it would have been much better if the advent calendar went out with a bang on Thor’s Hammer instead of this rather nondescript offering.