The days are shorter, and the temperature in the FreshChoice
meat department seems warmer. This can
only mean one thing: winter’s here. Darker days call for darker beers, so you get
some comforting warmth from dark malt-driven beers that pack slightly more
alcoholic warmth.
Two
of the nicest winter blanket beers I’ve had come from a couple of Danish
brothers who call themselves To Øl. Pronounced “toe ool” (Danish for
two beers), they started brewing in Denmark after they felt a need to taste
modern beer styles instead of the centuries-old traditional beers with the same-
old same-old. To Øl don’t
push the boundaries of beer styles as their beer styles have no boundaries to
push. They brew beers you do not forget
(unless you’ve had too many). Since
their conception in 2005, To Øl
have risen to ninth most popular brewery on the 2015 Ratebeer rating.
Anywho,
back to the winter blanket beers!
Goliat Imperial Stout at 10.1% is a goliath of a stout. Brewed with oats, it results in a buttery smoothness with the mouth feel of melted
chocolate. Infused with fancy French
coffee that enriches the layers of delicious malt flavours with no over-roasted
acrid bitterness. It’s on the sweetish
side and tastes a lot like you ain’t going to work tomorrow.
Liquid Confidence Imperial Stout. Even though it’s brewed with three different
kinds of chillies it’s not a chilli stout but rather a stout brewed with
chillies. She starts hot but simmers
towards the end as the taste buds get numbed from the 12.2% ABV. And it’s not your mouth burning only smoke
from the Chipotle chillies. It’s all
good as these chillies counter the malt’s sweetness. The chilli kick will give you the backbone to
tell the missus you’re not going to her mother’s 80th birthday!
And finally, for a taste of autumn there is ‘Releaf Me Lime
Leaf Blonde’ 5.8%. - lime, ruby grapefruit and tart rhubarb flavours make this
brew the perfect accompaniment to any Asian food.
To Øl, for flavour as bold
as Steven Adams’s moustache.
Denis “the shark is back with one in black” Cooper