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Well, these look nice, don’t they? Clean, suitably Nordic labels, crossed axes on the bottle-cap and promises of all-marauding Ales to pillage my tastebuds into submission. Einstock – as well as Winter – is coming.*
Ok, I’m being a little mean. I’m just such a whore for good design that – more often than not, to be honest – you end up getting conned. White Ale (5.2%abv) evokes Wit to some extent, but pours way too pale to hold any real promise of depth. There’s some – very faint – hint of lemon peel and spice on the nose, and the sip holds nothing much more than a pleasant, but all too brief, burst of Citrus. What is it? I’m not sure. It’s not really a Wheat, not really a Wit.
The simply-monikered Pale Ale redeems things somewhat. It’s a US influenced interpretation of the style; plenty of candy-sugar sweetness and piney, resiny hop character. There’s an interesting Strawberry Jam/Victoria Sponge note floating around in the nose, along with a tiny hint of yeasty breadiness. It’s crisp, clean and not too sweet despite all that sugar in the nose. I’d gladly keep a couple of these in the fridge for a post-work loosener, for sure. It sure hides its 5.6% abv.
So, a mixed bag. Will I try them again? Well, yeah. The Toasted Porter sounds good, and the fact that they’ve brewed a Doppelbock intrugies me as well; it’s not a style you see newer breweries going for.
**Well -*technically – Winter is going. I know it’s mixing metaphors, but I couldn’t resist getting a Game of Thrones reference in there. After all, there’s ice, and snow, and swords. That’s all you need really. and Zep’s Immigrant Song blasting really, really loud.*



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