Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 10 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

April 2019: 330 ml bottle, probably at Kaisla Beer House, Helsinki, ABV 9.0%. Black colour, tan head. Both aroma and flavour are very well balanced, AFAIK without any unusual ingredients - this is an imperial stout the way it should be. Notes of roast malts, chocolate, coffee and liquorice, hints of tar. Not too sweet. Moderate hops. The best beer I had in Finland.

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

April 2019: 330 ml bottle, as Hiisi Nuri Brut IPA, from a grocery store in Helsinki. ABV 5.5%, 25 IBU. Slightly hazy pale golden colour, moderate white head. Aroma of piney, citrussy and herbal hops. Dry flavour, citric, herbal, piney and easy drinking.

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

December 2017: 330 ml bottle, from Alko Karigasniemi. ABV is 6.5%. Reddish brown colour, huge off-white head. Aroma of malts, caramel and dried fruits, hints of oak and leather. Malty flavour too, slightly sweet, a bit unclean, some dust and wood, some caramel.

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

March 2015: Shared 375 ml green and corked & caged bottle at local tasting. Golden colour, moderate white head. Nice aroma of farmhouse kitchen and oaked cider, hints of dusty attic. Easy drinking, light bodied. Some fruitiness but not really sour, a mild spicy hint.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

440 ml can, at Cardinal, Stavanger. ABV is 6.5%. Hazy yellow colour, moderate white head. Strong and pleasant aroma of peaches, apricots and tropical fruits, also notes of spruce. Citric mouthfeel. Flavour of said fruits, also some citrus fruits, a distinct resinous bitterness in the finish. Good beer.

Aroma: 2 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 2 | Flavor: 2 | Overall: 2

330 ml clear bottle, at Cardinal, Stavanger. ABV is 4.7%. Clear golden colour, shortlived white head. Unpleasant aroma of artificial "apple" essence and sulphur. The sugary flavour is mid between dry and sweet, certainly not "extra dry". Again unpleasant artificial "apple" and sulphur notes. This is an insult to real ciders. Drainpour, crap-o-lainen.

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

440 ml can, from Vinmonopolet Odda. ABV is 5.0%. Pale golden colour, large to moderate white head. Aroma of citrus, pineapple and lychee. Citrus in the flavour too, moderate to low bitterness. Simple, but drinkable.

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 6

(500 ml bottle, in Helsinki). Dark brown colour, good head, moderate but decent aroma - and then: Bland, boring flavour when you expect the richness of a good dunkel. Short aftertaste. Disappointing. All Norwegian dunkels are better than this Finnish stuff.

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

On tap at the Suomenlinnan Panimo brewpub on the island of Sveaborg/Suomenlinna at the seaward approach to Helsinki (a UNESCO World Heritage site). This is an English style ale, golden to amber colour, slightly cloudy, moderate to low head. Moderate yeasty and hoppy aroma, some yeastiness and cloves in the well rounded flavour. Sufficient body to be a treat, light enough to be refreshing. Pleasant bitterness in the aftertaste. I'd say the brewer has done a good job with this one.

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 7

On tap at the brewpub, which is situated in a listed building at the former Swedish (later Russian and Finnish) military island stronghold Sveaborg (since 1918 Suomenlinna) near Helsinki - now a UNESCO world heritage site. As I had this porter after the good Coyet Ale, my expectations were high (which normally, as in this case, leads to disappointment). Good to moderate head, pitch black. Coffee aroma with hints of fruit. Strangely sweet and fruity flavour. Some roast bitterness in the aftertaste.

Aroma: 10 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 10 | Flavor: 10 | Overall: 10

(Bottle). Pitch black porter, even held against the light. Tan head. Complex aroma of coffee, cocoa, dried fruits, ensilage(!) and oak. The full and rich flavour has coffee, bitter chocolate and loads of roasted maltiness. Not too sweet, just the right bitterness in the aftertaste. This must be a world class porter!

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 5 | Flavor: 6 | Overall: 6

(500 ml can). Typical pale golden pilsener colour, good thick head, nice lacing. There is nothing offensive in aroma or flavour - just too little of everything. "Clean" taste as far as there is any flavour at all - with a little more hops, this could have been a reasonably good lager.

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

An average Finnish lager. Tasted good on the sundeck of the Helsinki - Tallinn ferry though (on tap), but then most light lagers / pilseners go down easily when the sun is shining!

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

(Draught at Helsinki Airport). Golden colour, low head. Dangerously drinkable strong lager. Fruity and slightly perfumed aroma. While strong pale or golden lagers are not my favourite "style" in general, this one was not too bad.

Aroma: 4 | Appearance: 5 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 4 | Overall: 4

More of a tropical lager than anything you'd expect from Lapland. Sure, there's the 'Arctic water' gimmick - but some flavour would have been nice too.

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

(500 ml can). Golden, low head, very alcoholic, sweet but at least there are some hops too. Overall boring, but I didn't find it too easily drinkable - which means that I won't get drunk as fast as the tougher Finns who constitute the target group of this beer. Having met this group as they were busy breaking empty bottles, puking and pissing in every doorway in downtown Helsinki on a Friday night (as early as 10 p.m.) - I say: You're welcome!

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

(On tap at Helsinki Airport). An ordinary golden pilsener with a low head, good hoppy (Saaz?) aroma. Light bodied, easily drinkable. You could down a few of these on a midsummer’s day/night. Not unpleasant in any way (= not too much character either). Moderate bitterness in the aftertaste.

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

Bottle, RBESG 2005, Grand Tasting. ABV was 8.1%. Hazy brown colour, no carbonation. Interesting aroma of bread yeast, brown sugar, rye bread, fermenting fruits and pigshed(!). Flavour is sweet and fruity and rather alcoholic. Hints of juniper berries.

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

Sampled RBESG 2006 Grand Tasting. Golden colour, low head. Moderately hoppy aroma with grassy notes. Fairly clean malty flavour with some caramel and tolerable hops. Average.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 4 | Flavor: 5 | Overall: 5

Sampled RBESG 2006 Grand Tasting. Pinkish orange colour, low head. Artificial red colour (E120) has been added to the beer as a gimmick, hence the "red" (USSR / Lenin) style of the label. Grassy aroma with hints of wild cranberries. Boring pale lager flavour with some hops in the finish.

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

A typical golden "get drunk fast" strong lager. Totally uninteresting.

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

An acceptable lager, but not as good as the best Czech, German and BeNeLux varieties.

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

750 ml champagne style corked bottle, bought in Denmark. Pleasant fruity and yeasty aroma. Clear golden colour, good head. A light bodied (despite 6.5% ABV) blonde ale, aimed to please - and it does. Flavour is fruity sweet but not cloying, just a faint hint of spices. Easy drinking, some other raters seem to have expected a strong and dark Belgian to hit them in the head - forget that, this is a delicate French blonde to be savoured for what it is. I like it!

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

(750 ml corked bottle, champagne style. Bought in Denmark.). A Christmas beer in August, why not? Amber colour, large fizzy head that doesn’t last very long. Pleasant and complex aroma of oak, caramel, dried fruits and spices. I find the flavour less complex, maybe because of the beer’s fizzyness. Still it is reasonably malty and easily drinkable, fairly sweet. Aftertaste is OK but not impressive.

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

Average French lager - easily drinkable, but Kronenbourg 1664 is better. Light bodied, nothing offensive, nothing remarkable. This has for decades been the standard pale lager you get on tap everywhere in France, but 1664 seems to taking over more and more, esp. internationally.