Oh heavenly, gorgeous bloodred beverage- what holdst thou in store? Being vaguely familiar with Baghaven through some of their works from before, I’m definetely exited for this one. A vanilla kriek? Sounds terrific to me, love those tastes. And besides the lushious burgundy looks, the nose reveals distinct cherry notes herein. But clearly also sweet, kind vanilla caresses the nostrils, together with subtle, exotic spices. So: What does it taste?

Oh divine, vineous, easygoing smooth beverage! Thou hast me enchanted! High levels of carbonisation, thin/mediumbodied presentation, sweet-teasing intro. Then a superb acidic middle of sour berries follows. Long-lasting, dramatic deliciousness. No alcohol traces at all, just a lot of fruityness going on, culminating in a very subtle cinnamon ending.

Absolutely stunning beer- a must-taste for kriek lovers.

Photo: M. K. Burheim

Why not make it a fully fledged run? Up for grabs is the last version for the eve. For those whom have followed the previous blogs of mine this month, will know that I’m prone to like such beers as this. Still- whether the different characteristics comes into play in a mantionworthy way, is yet to be discovered…

Nose is clearly Bourbon-dominated, with a very, very slight twist of burnt coffee. As for taste, it’s just too smooth to believe. Where one would think that the most boozy of them all (and the most bourbon-ish one of them) would be the the roughest when it comes to edgyness, it’d just not so. Pure silk, little carbonisation (nitro), long sweet taste, with coffee entering midway, but only mildly so. The sour mash bourbon taste is distinctly there, albeit not accompanied by the heat.  It’s just unbelivably smooth.

Incredible. Only my personal note here (I won’t allow my self to rate it lower than the previous two: I prefer them, but they’re all superior. If you get a chance to try either one: Go for it!

Photo: M. K. Burheim

Another one to go from these Bourbon barrel-aged series from Modern Times. Whilst we already know that their stouts prolly are heavy, complex and amazing (not the first time I try one of theirs), I’m exited about this, contrary to the vanilla & coffee version.

Nose is  still vanilla, and less Bourbon than it’s precedessor. And more coffee features.

First off: It’s sweet- even though not as much as the previously mentioned one. A tad more bitter, with massive presence of coffee this time around. Super balanced, and with a suitable, mildly sweet introduction (much emphazised by the almonds), extremely silky smooth coating. Then, striking heat entering after a long break, like 7-8 seconds in. Very dry finish. Stunning as expected.

The aftertaste is mainly coffee and heat, whilst the almonds are still there. Wow. I can’t find the foundation to critizise it/rate it lower than the vanilla one- this sinply a stunningly good imperial stout, yet once again flawless.

Photo: M. K. Burheim

OMG. These guys. Not only am I familiar with them, but when I visited their San Diego venue approx. a month ago, I close to OD’d on their awesome brews… Despite that particular beer-infused eve, the associations that comes to mind are positively dominated: They know stouts. (And hazy IPA’s, for that matter)

On the table today is one of their Devil’s teeth-series. A rather strange coloured can, reminiscing more of one of Paris Hilton’s purses than a hardcore stout, to be honest. Wolf in sheep clothes? I bet. Let’s find out!

Visuals: Black tar-like. Nose is heavily boozy, Bourbon-fronted. Smell is smooth. Diving in…

With X-mas time just around the corner, there’s the Season for some heavy-weight’ers, including some motor-oil stouts like this one. And even in good company, I must say it keeps up; Carbonisation still there, lurking subtly in the back. Distinct supersmooth, oaky whisky-notes, draped in chocolaty layers that dances teasingly around on the palate. Subtle coffee-notes comes in midway here. Fullbodied. Long lasting heat drives this one, all the way to and throughout the aftertaste. Exceptional and phenomenal beer. Goddamnit. Modern Times knows my weak spots, it seems.

I can’t find nothing that pulls it down here. Superb!

Photo: M.K. Burheim

Already on the roll, why not have another one? This time, their Mettle-series. More correctly, the Heavy one. With a nice, light head topping the golden-yellow beverage, I explore the nose here. Quite subtle, but there’s some light sweet sommerly fruity notes here.

With regards to taste, it must be said that the carbonization provides great amount of freshness to it. At first, a hoppy sting attaches to the palate. Then sweet, very subtle caramelish hint emerges, before blossoming in a furthermore sweet fruit middle, all the while underlined by a distinct hoppy sting.

The bitterness becomes full circle in the aftertaste, like a deadly scorpio clinging on till your final breath. Almost too much, I feel all numb now… RIP, dear palate. You’ve served me well throughout the years.

Photo: M. K. Burheim

Always exciting to try a new from these guys, although it might be hit & miss sometimes. And rightly so: This one seems very promising from start. Deep yellow colour and puré’ish consistency, this hop-juice promises a lot, and then some…

Fragrancy is first and foremost fruity notes of mango, mixed with sweet hints of vanilla, but also exciting piny hints. So present, it hits the nose from far away. As for taste, the layers are even more distinct, overlapping each other in what sums up in an explosive, creamy palate-fest. It starts off with citra fruit, before taking a turn to a honey’ish sweet layer, before concluding on a high note of bitter hops, that escalates & lingers into the aftertaste. Loooong lasting.

Stunningly delicious, the bunch @ Trillium does it again, whipping up a top-notch DIPA next to very few, if none.

In all fairness: Having just been through “Triple Nelson Daydream” from Other Half, which was a very very good beer, expectations could’ve been lower, mildly put (almost unfair to not mention: I’d give it the same rating as this one… but already consumed).

Word on the street is huge. Having been around a couple of them now (and then some), I am awakened by the incredibly fruity nose here. It’s indeed summery. Peach, mango and mandarines… and moreover, vanilla comes to mind. The presence is stunningly beautiful like a good hazy NEIPA should be, the head is creamy and depth colour-wise. Enough chit chat- what does it taste like, this thing?

First associations is freshness. There’s good carbonation going on, vibrant but subtle fruity, hoppy notes. But midway a sweet layer, but what really makes this one strong is that clean, bitter sting before rounding off with a fruity end. Slowly fading into nothingness, after a lengthy aftertaste. There’s very little to improve here, that’s for sure.

Very f’ing good.

Photo: (*TheEvenMoreDelicious) M.K. Burheim

According to the name this is pretty misleading I’d say. Pretty freaking far from green, but very murky. Hazy. Mild aroma of hops & yeast. But can it live up to the hype? That’s the question, Hamlet.

First off: good carbonation going on. Refreshing first impression. But, having tasted so many hazy IPAs lately, expectations are skyhigh for this one… and of course it’s good. Just can’t beat the last couple of Trillium’s I’ve had… subtle all the way. Sweet’ish fruitiness, with a nice stingy hop-feature in there, really culminating at the end. I mean, not bad at all would be an understatement I’m quite unfair… This is good scheisse, folks.

(Photo: M.K. Burheim)

Excitement levels rise to the max here… just buy the visuals on this bottle you know that you’re in store for something really special. As Espen Westum- whom together with wife and myself are to withness this beauty tonight, are all equally exited about this piece of delish. Being acquainted with several of their previous brews, I know this is something good.

First off: Nose is sooo distinct of cinnamon. Ridiculously distinct, straight forward superlicious! Aromatic spices, sweet chocolate vibes… it’s all in here baby. The holy diver of 2019 after that marsmallow handjee of theirs! Can wait no longer…

Christmas pastry doesn’t cover it, although it comes close. It is such clear cinnamon taste that you feel that you’re in the middle of the bakery, hints coffee, broken by traces of ginger and chocolate. Just pure and simple as only these guys at 3 Floyds can stout. Fucking masters. Dumbstruck I am! And grateful.

Incredible balance is needless to say, but even more strange is the fact that carbonation is intact in such a powerful beer. It’s just… perfect. Nothing is to be picked on. Everlasting taste & aftertaste. Live & love in a bottle is what this is.

Photo: M. K. Burheim

Oh my Lord… this yellow mushy refreshment, dressed in a beautiful white head, seems so inviting.

First off: the nose is nothing but extraordinary. Full of fruitiness, mango, oranges, piny/forest-like notes of late summer- let the bells of pleasure chime. On the palate, it works even much different ways. The refreshing elements are of course there, even almost milky intro. Then delish bitterness accompanied by freshness of carbonation transforms, as it entangles with the fruity tastes, before a throwback into absolute bitterness again. A massive angry fruit punch!

The aftertaste is also really bitter, slowly fading. It just goes to show, that some of these Tree House brews are far from overrated, but rather fantastic representatives of the current hip hazy-trend. I for one’ll let myself be led into these seductive vibes… I won’t fight it! Not at all.

Photo: M. K. Burheim