Lammin Kataja Olut IVB

Aroma: 2 | Appearance: 3 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 2 | Overall: 2

wood, dog buttle, rotten apple aromas .. . murky brown .. . no head .. . some light wood, chocolate, odd sourness .. . thin like water.. i hate you stu...

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Bottle at tasting at Chris Fischer’s (from Liars Club) house. Pours with an amber-orange body topped by a thin to medium thick head with som lacing. It’s sweet and fruity wtih a note of candy sugar. Light bodied and smooth with a touch of dryness.

Aroma: 5 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Lately I've decided I'm going to "expand my horizons" and break away from the typical beer powerhouse countries like the USA, Belgium, Germany, and England. Lammin Kataja Olut was one of my first steps away from the brews of those countries.

I found this beer on the bottom shelf at the Burtonsville (MD) Beer and Wine store a weekend or so ago. The label stated this beer was made with juniper branches. Rather odd, but I've had a few beers with juniper berries in it and liked them, so I figured I'd give this one a whirl. On top of that, this beer was from Finland, so it would be my first venture into that country's brewing style.

The pour of this beer is weird. There is absolutely no carbonation to this beer at all. Reading the other reviews here, I have to assume that is by design. There was some clumpy dark sediment at the bottom of the bottle that poured into the glass. It didn't look too appetizing. The color of the beer is dark orangy and cloudy.

The aroma from this beer oozes out of the glass. It's hard to put my finger on what I'm smelling, but it is rather pleasant on the nose. The first sip of the beer was really sour. From my limited tasting of the style, it reminded me of a gueuze that I once had. Once you got your first hit of sourness, the beer becomes more drinkable. You can definitely taste the juniper flavoring in there mixed with some unknown spices. The drink is smooth and rather juice like. The back end of the taste is a little on the dry side, but still very enjoyable. I bet this would pair nicely with a seafood dinner.

Bottomline this is a very interesting, strange brew, unlike anything that I've had before. I agree with biegaman's comments in that I wish this style was more popular to see how others would put their spin on this. This is definitely something I'd recommend everyone try at least once.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

I liked the aroma, which was slightly spicy and fruity. A hint of berries and maltiness. The appearance was pretty bland. An attractive brown tone but no head at all. The taste was fair enough-average, really. It was bit flat with little or none of the aroma coming through in the taste. Not bad-not great.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

(Had it as Lammin Puhti, which is the name used for the Kataja IVB in Finland). Rusty brown no head at all. Aroma of bread with hints of juniper berries. Soft and smooth palate. Flavour of juniper berries and a bit alcohol with hints of bread. No aftertaste to talk about. Wellbalanced taste.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

Poured a hazy brown, iced tea color with no head, just bubbles. Aroma of caramel malt, spices, citrus fruits, herbs, and some oxidation. Raisins, caramel malt, mint leaves, and some alcohol in the taste. Flat mouthfeel.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 6

I dont wanna give it marks this low, though it wasnt a great beer in the conventional sense, but it was certainly enjoyable and very interesting to have. Pours mildhazy amber colour. NO head or rentention what so ever. Flavour and aroma are strong gin, or juniper rather. Very neat drink Id have again. I wish this style was more popular it would be interesting to see all the different variations.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 5

Sampled at the Lynnwood International Swill Fest. 330ml bottle. Orange gold color. Small sized white foamy head. Aroma is fruity and sweet, with a distinct juniper aroma. A light to medium bodied ale. Malts are fruity and sweet, Lots of juniper and spruce. Syrupy and sticky. Low carbonation. Kind of cola like. Strange beer. As syrupy as it is, one would expect it to be much sweeter, Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is sweet.

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

If you can't get sahti style in Finland, you have to punt and go with a variation that can store here in the states. That's what I did and this one was nice. Aroma was hard to pick up on both tastings, some tea bags and almost a plastic type smell (juniper, where are you?). The flavor was tea bags, brown sugar, slight sour notes, gentle juniper finish / after taste. The pour was murky orange in color, completely flat, pretty unexciting. An interesting blend of sweet, spice, and even some sour.