Sinebrychoff Krouvi
Sinebrychoff Ab

This is an odd one… “A traditional unfiltered red Finnish multi-grain beer with malted oats, wheat, rye and barley”.

The liquid is cloudy and red-orange-brown. The large foam slowly sinks down to a finger-thick uneven head, leaving lots of lacing.

The smell is very much like a Belgian witbier; sour, sweet with spicy notes. There are also some notes of roasted meat, citric fruits and hints of smoke.

The taste is… Complex. The first notes come from sweet-sour fruity wheat, and then a mild alcoholic note of rye crisp bread emerges. There is a genuine spicy flavour (that don’t seem to come from spices) of nutmeg, coriander, basilica, and bitter oranges. The aftertaste is malty with dry notes of wheat beer, lager, English bitter and a somewhat smoked touch of meat and yeast (dough). There is practically no bitterness at all.

The carbonation is medium strong with small, soft bubbles.

I didn’t know that the Finns were capable of doing anything like this. Especially not Koff, the Carlsberg-owned gigant in Finland.

I still have no idea of how to categorize this brew: If it would have notes of juniper and more smoked flavours, I would not hesitate to put it in “Santhi”. But now… It is unlike any other beers that I have come across. It resembles the Belgian multi-grain triple ales. But at just 5.2%? Oh… Meanwhile I will put it under “Santhi”.