“Wherever I wander, wherever I rove,
The hills of the Highlands for ever I love.”
We were inspired by Scottish Highlands and peated Scotch whisky. Brewed with peated malt and aged in the sherry barrel it’s more or less fermented whisky - if there is such thing.
It’s best enjoyed like whisky too - in a small glass and savoring every sip.
Experience: The thin layer of foam disappears rapidly, leaving in the glass bright orange beer. Dried apples, dates and hint of caramel sweetness preparing you for the main act - peat smoked malt and sherry barrels.
While in the aroma, exceptionally high alcohol was somewhat hidden, there is no way around it in the flavor. The sip starts with slightly fruity and sweet but turns quickly into warming wave of alcohol. There isn’t too much form the beer vocabulary to describe the experience. Is there peat liquor? Probably smokey whiskey is much better starting point o understand the beast.
In the aftertaste, there is a long tintinnabuli of peat smoke and malt sweetness.
The rich imperial stout brewed with chocolate hops and flavored with Madagascar vanilla was born in collaboration with St. Petersburg brewers. This bottle contains a special version of Ravnodenstvie, which has long matured in smoky Scottish whiskey barrels.
In the darkest hour before dawn, when it feels like light is gone forever, we are carrying the fire. This tiny spark in our hearts is carrying the light and the warmth for the entire world until the sun will set again.
“The Darkest Hour Before the Dawn” is pitch black barrel aged imperial stout whose dark exterior hides shiny hope from maple syrup and tonka beans.
Experience: It pours pitch black with thick and firm light brown head that leaves solid lacing on the walls of your glass.
Aroma provides volumes of hints for the upcoming party. Vanilla, almonds, marzipan and maple syrup.
The first sip. OK, this is pure opulence. Creamy full body starts shoveling the goodies - sweet maple syrup, aromatic mocha, darkbitter 98% chocolate, sugared almonds, and caramelly toffee.
In the end, some hop bitterness and tannins from the oak barrel will try to establish bridgehead but will be quickly overpowered by sweet spices and maple syrup.
The Moment. The beginning of all opportunities. An unconscious glance. Eyes meeting for the fleeting moment. The sentence that was never finished. The cautious smile that gets an enthusiastic reply. Decisive inhaling to start the conversation. The moment that can start eternity, or nothing but memories fading away with your life.
“Moment” is the cherry ale, where strong bourbon barrel character and delicate playfulness of cherries will mingle into one multilayered flavor.
Experience: In the aroma, there is everything - bourbon barrel vanilla, red berries, treacle, honey, fresh cut on a cherry tree branch.
Flavor starts with the sharp tartness of cherry skins mixed with caramel sweetness. In the middle barrel aging add woody and tannin notes to the mix. It all ends up with long lingering oak mixed with sweet and tart cherries.
It’s a sophisticated and multilayered beer that requires time and slow sipping to appreciate fully all the nuances it has to offer.
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie Rye Barrel Edition
Barrel Aged Bière de Garde
Rye Barrel Edition is a younger brother of The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie. While initial version mixed Bière de Garde with wine-like notes, this time it’s time to let rye barrel shine.
Experience: Beige foam covers the bright golden beer. Head will disappear quickly into a thin layer that keeps lacing the glass.
In the aroma vanilla from the rye barrel gives the central theme. There is the scent of red berries and, of course, rye whiskey itself.
First sip. Light beer lets the rye barrel shine. Sweet vanilla from rye barrels turns quickly into the mix of slight bitterness from oak tannins and sourness from wheat.
Aftertaste has a nice warming effect like a sip of good rye. Oak barrel is working together with light-colored but strong beer, to keep this warming sensation lingering forever.
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie is Bière de Garde aged in sweet wine barrel from Jurançon. It’s a different view at the barrel aging. Instead of a power struggle between heavy stouts and strong distillate barrels you can find light-colored, multilayered beer, flirting with winey notes.
Experience: The foam has a subtle yellow tint. While pouring, it forms a thick layer on the top of the deep yellow beer, disappears quickly, leaving thin stubborn layer and richly laced glass.
Aroma is dominated by mishmash there everybody is present, but no-one is dominating. Melon, vanilla, late autumn overripe pear, the fresh aroma after a summer downpour - all are here, but no-one claims the driver’s seat.
In the first sip, white wine barrel will step up, and there is unmistakable sherry in the flavor. It’s followed quickly by the mix of tropical sweet fruits and the dash of vanilla.
In the aftertaste, you can taste all the long months spent in the oak barrel. Bittersweet tannins will provide long aftertaste balancing nicely main fruity theme.
This is not your fathers IPA. This is your grand-grand-grand-fathers IPA. Brewed like it was done at the beginning of the 19th century - with burtonised water and bucketfuls of East Kent Golding hops.
We didn’t ship the beer all around Africa, but we pushed the oak barrels out of brewery doors to the blazing heatwave of 2018 and cool autumn nights of Estonia. We added a dash of bettanomyces claussenii, to stay true to the good old times.
The result is nothing like the fruity-citrusy hop soup you are enjoying today. But times are different. At the beginning of the 19th century, there were not much of the smartphones, Internet or social drinking apps around. Don’t even get me started on electricity.
Experience: Once you have manhandled the muselet and the cork you can fill your glass with dark golden, almost reddish nectar. Thin bright white head disappears quickly.
In the aroma, there is prominent brett. No, no, not your horse blanket or barnhouse brett. It’s good old Brettanomyces claussenii from foggy Albion. Elegant fruits, white currant berriness, freshly ground spices. Here and there vanilla notes from oak barrels are breaking through.
First sip. Time and oak barrels have been hard at work rounding out all the rough edges of this IPA. Fruity bitterness from brett and malty sweetness are ready in the dancefloor for a waltz. First restrained steps quickly develop into bold whirls and end in a spicy passionate embrace.
The endspiel. Yes, this is IPA, slowly but steadily all the kilos of East Kent Golding will stack on your tongue in complex, multilayered bitterness. If you got the patience to wait a few minutes for another sip, you could enjoy all the shades of bitterness, playing like northern lights in the night sky.
Huitzilopochtli begins hotly and is followed by fire and smoke as if by the Aztec war god of the same name. Respect and you will be under his protection forever.
It’s a busy, bustling bar in the downtown. You have not seen each other for years. You order your rye whiskeys and sit down in the quietest corner you can find, away from the happy sound of Friday evening bar. There is plenty to catch up.
“Three pleasures - rye” is doppelbock aged in rye barrels.
Experience: Deep dark beer with beige head. Nose is dominated by soft wood and vanilla from the barrel.
This time tannic and drying barrel has found a good match in sweet and malty base beer. Colliding these two matching armies will create a multitude of flavors. Toasted rye bread, dried fruits, cafe Cubano, raisins, molasses, sour and spicy notes from rye.
In the aftertaste, malty rye and oak vanilla will mingle very long time.
“I confess to you,
my brothers and sisters,
that I have greatly sinned,
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done and in what I have failed to do,
through my fault, through my fault,
through my most grievous fault;”
Belgian quadrupel, matured in bourbon barrels, is suitable for repentance to all naughty pranksters.
The English Mastiff is a big dog, who is in no hurry. It is hard to come by to see him just running around. Barleywine with aristocratic roots also needs time, time for both the maturity and the enjoyment. A decent Barleywine is completed in many years, if not in decades. To enjoy this wine, it is enough if you can find one free night, a glass of port wine and a nice fireplace with fire.
Big fat Mastiff is an English Barleywine, which actual nature is born over the years. This beer, brewed in 2014, is matured for one year only and, therefore, the master brewer believes that the best days lie ahead. At the age of one, just a tiny part of the whole brew will reach the stores; the majority will remain in a safe place to wait for a better time.
Just like cheap horror movies have ruined the Rottweiler’s reputation, have cheap and strong lagers ruined the name of double bock. But just as every dog-person knows, the Rottweiler is a big-hearted and loyal companion, every beer enthusiast knows that double bock beer has a dignified history.
This strong, malty and sweetish beer was the „liquid bread“ that got the monks in the old days to survive the Lent happily. Carried by the theme of bread, this beer is rich in rye malt.
The English Mastiff is a big dog, who is in no hurry. It is hard to come by to see him just running around. Barleywine with aristocratic roots also needs time, time for both the maturity and the enjoyment. A decent Barleywine is completed in many years, if not in decades. To enjoy this wine, it is enough if you can find one free night, a glass of port wine and a nice fireplace with fire.
Big fat Mastiff is an English Barleywine, which actual nature is born over the years. This beer, brewed in 2014, is matured for one year only and, therefore, the master brewer believes that the best days lie ahead. At the age of one, just a tiny part of the whole brew will reach the stores; the majority will remain in a safe place to wait for a better time.
These four words belong to our ancestors who came here, to the windy shores of Baltic sea, more than 10 000 years ago. From these time to today there is there is the uninterrupted chain of days. Today we have our own country, and we are free. Our road to next 10 000 years happens the same way. Day after day, each day filled with our actions.
“Mägi Eile Saar Must” is Bourbon barrel aged barleywine brewed to celebrate a hundred years of the Republic of Estonia
