Icelandic Arctic Berry Ale
Einstök Ölgerð (Einstök Beer Company)

Smakawhat from Maryland

3.99/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from the can into a Hoegaarden witbier glass.

Very clear, with a deep neon yellow color and a good amount of pin-head sized streams of carbonation. Light white in colored head, but small. The head manages to reach about a finger then settles to a thin puck and bowled collar.

Aroma is berries indeed. Fruity sensing, with a bit of cereal grains behind it giving off a little bit of .. Well breakfast cereal sweetness but surprisingly not heavy. Hits sort of like strawberries on the nose, a little faint touch of herbs in there but it's really tiny. Solid and kind of a neat aroma.

Palate takes the beer into a nice place. Gone is a suspected sweet rush, but a nice light tartness of berried fruit and a good sharp bitterness as well. Fruity mid palate with a biting hop and almost twiggy/pine bitterness. Finishes a little empty, but aftertaste continues a nice berry and mixing mineral water like flavor. Lends to a bit of gaseous flavor but not terribly.

Pretty neat tasting beer, and quite unique.

Oct 01, 2020

BeerAndGasMasks from Virginia

3.65/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

From the can, it pours a clear golden color with a large thick white head that lasts and leaves lacing. In the nose, it is initially berry scented, followed up by a little grain scent. In the mouth, it is light with a bilberry flavor base. Interesting.

Aug 18, 2020

Claude-Irishman from New Jersey

3.77/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Pours super clear with a white foamy head, which recedes quickly.Smell in very muted,mild earthy smell. Taste is very light with a background of an unfamiliar berry. Feels well carbonated, finishes dry and juicy. Overall this would work well with a cooler of these out in the summer. Very refreshing.

Jul 10, 2019

metter98 from New York

3.62/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: The beer is clear yellow in color and has a moderate amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a half finger high off white head that settled down, consistently leaving a short, dense head covering the surface and some lacing down the sides of the glass.
S: Light aromas of bilberries are present in the nose.
T: The taste follows the smell but has stronger flavors of bilberries, which seem to taste like a less sweeter version of a boysenberry.
M: It feels a bit more than light-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer is very easy to drink and has a good amount of berry flavors in the taste. The berries aren't sweet so I wouldn't consider this to be really that refreshing, but it is light and easy to drink.

Serving type: can

Jun 09, 2019

EMV from Pennsylvania

3.33/5  rDev -10%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

Poured from a 12 oz can into a Dogfish Head tulip

L: Clear light golden pour with big fluffy white head. Great lacing.

S: Grains and fruit/berry.

T/F: Light wheat beer backbone. Crackery grains/wheat. Strong mixed berry kind of fruit flavor on top of that. Modest sweetness. A little grassy. Simple... easy drinking and well carbonated.

O: A fairly nondescript berry wheat type beer. Easy drinking pool fare... nothing exciting, but nothing offensive either.

Feb 08, 2019

tigg924 from Massachusetts

3.48/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Pours clear, gold in color with one inch head. Taste is a nice mix between cranberry and fresh blueberry flavors over a pilsner malt. Light bodied, sweet, with moderate carbonation. Makes for an interesting fruity refreshing beer.

Jan 13, 2019

Bouleboubier from New Jersey

3.71/5  rDev +0.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

(12 oz can, canned on 19.02.18, BF 19/FEB/2019 - - so it's got a bit of age on it ... poured into a snifter)

L: crystal-clear, pale amber liquid; dense, sticky white foam... after a few sips (notes detailed below), poured in last 2 oz of can and with it a healthy dose of speckled sediment hazed things up... no lacing

S: the berry aroma to me certainly smells similar to blueberry; not getting any 'wit' aromas, aside perhaps from a Belgian yeast spice... kind of a Jiffy blueberry muffin scent dominates; background seems dry

T: dry malt foundation; definitely tasting wheat, first in the finish, then throughout each sip; berry flavor is rather prominent, but more as an extract/essence rather than a syrup

F: light-bodied, smooth, relatively dry and clipped on back end, but with a mild blanket-soft texture flushing through the finish... alcohol slightly apparent in delicate warmth after first few sips

O: so, probably picked up a can past its prime, but the basic elements are all present, flavors still have a bit of vibrancy... perhaps they brewed a white ale malt bill with Wit yeast and just with berries instead of coriander and orange? - - it doesn't taste like a Wit, but it kind of does too... not bad; at least it's not sweet

Oct 31, 2018

Dacoco13 from Tennessee

4.53/5  rDev +22.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.75

Delightfully refreshing beer. Summertime wonder-I have never tasted bilberry before but what a great addition. Super aftertaste just enough of an adult sourness-with a light sweetness.
This beer appears to be lovingly prepared. Best seasonal surprise.

Sep 09, 2018

Gmoney34 from Alabama

2.29/5  rDev -38.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 1.25 | overall: 2.5

This beer had so much promise. Great aromatic fragrance of the bilberries, nice color. The taste was less than desired. If this is what bilberries taste like, I pray that I never have to eat them unless it will be in a survival situation.

Jun 03, 2018

Jugs_McGhee from Louisiana

3.28/5  rDev -11.4%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Impression from a can:

"White ale brewed with bilberries." "Icelandic Arctic berry ale." 5.0% ABV. "Witbier flavored with tasty bilberries."

Low B- (3.28) / WORTHY

Sep 30, 2017

secondtooth from Indiana

4.1/5  rDev +10.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance: Cloudy golden, with a big white head and lovely lace.

Aroma: Berries! A wee tart but faithful and very appealing.

Taste: Tart berries up front, with a nicely smooth body. Fruit is up front here but not over the top or artificial. Really a tasty ale and one I’d gladly pick up again. Another winner from a top-notch Icelandic brewery. Skal!

Sep 21, 2017

josanguapo from Spain

3.01/5  rDev -18.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 3.25

From Saveur Biere. In hotel small tubular glass. Watching Spiderman. 7 months after bb date. No trace of wit profile. Light berry notes that are pleasant but dont save it from boredom. Highly carbonated feel

Aug 01, 2017

erk0607 from Colorado

3.47/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Look: Thick, foamy head, lots of fine bubbles. Peachy yellow, clear.
Smell: Like a ever so slightly malty gummy bear or worm. Kind of strawberry, kind of raspberry. Sweet.
Taste: Very light on the palate, malt presence dominates what flavor there is with hints of strawberry.
Feel: Light, slick, very easily drinkable
Overall: Interesting beer, especially for a mindless summer day just enjoying something cold and refreshing, but nothing otherwise special

Jul 06, 2017

VoxRationis from New York

2.72/5  rDev -26.5%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.75

Decanted into conical pint glass; best before 03/Feb/2018.
A: Pours a hazy straw color with a slightly pink cast and displaying a very exuberant head (> 2 inches).
S: Sour aroma with berries noticeable, almost like a Berliner Weiss or Gose.
T: Bland malts with a slight berry flavor. A little salty.
M: Medium bodied; strong effervescence.
O: Not really much like a Wit; fairly bland. If it had been a Berliner Weiss, the aroma/flavor palate might make more sense. Unbalanced with fruit not quite fitting in to overall taste.

May 29, 2017

singletary from Mississippi

3.54/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

It pours a lite hazy yellow with a mild berry smell to it. The taste is also a mild mixed berry flavor but not overly sweet and somewhat tart on the back end. The mouthful is a bit light with some carbonation to it. Overall a interesting flavor, must be the bilberries.

May 17, 2017

jeffreed61 from Indiana

3.64/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

3/18/16 can, so possible flavors may have muted over the last 9 months. My first exposure to bilberries - sorta blueberry-esqe. An easy sipping fruited wit, with flavors intensifying as it warms.

Jan 12, 2017

TX-Badger from Texas

2/5  rDev -45.9%
look: 2 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2

Pours a clear yellow golden color with white head. Artificial berry fruit, just smells a little plastic as well; cereal and berry on the palate. Light bodied. Finishes with more weird berry aftertaste.

Jan 04, 2017

NeroFiddled from Pennsylvania

4.14/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Einstök Ölgerð "Arctic Berry Ale"
330 ml can, "BF 18/MAR/2017" and sampled on 30/SEPT/2016
$2 @ Wegmans, King Of Prussia, PA

I noticed as I opened the can that it's made with Bilberries, which I'd never even head of before. As I poured it I smelled what I thought was a little like "Boo Berry Cereal", and, upon tasting it, it is a bit like blueberry, but also slightly different - it's almost like it's got a bit of strawberry-cream to it, and then just a flicker of something darker and tarter like black currant. The beer is sweetish, but not too much so, and oddly not right up front. Perhaps that's because there's a subtle tartness to it; or perhaps it's the mild spiciness, although I don't really find any actual spice, it's more like the spiciness of Saazer hops. It's wheaty, and softly cereal-like, which bolsters the fruitiness a bit, but then that spiciness returns in the finish. To me it becomes sweetish across the middle, most likely because it's warming a bit at that point; but it's also interesting to me that it actually tastes like a beer beneath the fruit (not strongly, but I think fairly clearly), whereas in the United States we tend to kind of put that aside when brewing a fruit beer because it's really more about the fruit. If I hold the glass to the light I can see visible particulate in supension within the hazy light-straw colored body, and to be honest, I don't think there's any extract involved, I think it's all real fruit. The head retention is also surprisingly good, and it maintained a solid surface covering throughout at least the first half of the glass. Medium bodied and crisp with a fine-bubbled, standard carbonation level. I am pleasantly surprised! For me at least, the berry flavor is unique, and I find that it's really well-balanced. There's enough berry flavor that it's definitely a "fruit beer", but not so much that I'd be on fruit-overload if I had a second one. Very nicely done!

Sep 30, 2016

superspak from Ohio

3.8/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

330 ml can into pint glass, canned on 4/6/2016. Pours hazy pale golden yellow color with a 2 finger dense and rocky white head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings down the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of lightly tart blueberry, blackberry, lemon, orange zest, pear, apple, coriander, light clove, wheat, white bread, herbal, grass, and yeast earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of berries, spice, fruity/earthy yeast, and light-moderate pale malt notes; with good strength. Taste of lightly tart blueberry, blackberry, lemon, orange zest, pear, apple, coriander, light clove, wheat, white bread, herbal, grass, and yeast earthiness. Light herbal bitterness and yeast spice on the finish; with lingering notes of blueberry, blackberry, lemon, orange zest, pear, apple, coriander, wheat, white bread, herbal, grass, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a short bit. Nice complexity, balance, and solid robustness of berries, spice, fruity/earthy yeast, and light-moderate pale malt flavors; with a nice malt/bitter/spiciness balance, and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Light-moderate dryness as well. Medium carbonation and light-medium body; with a very smooth, fairly crisp, and creamy/grainy mouthfeel that is nice. Zero warming alcohol as expected of 5%. Overall this is a very good fruited witbier. All around good complexity, balance, and solid robustness of berries, spice, fruity/earthy yeast, and light-moderate pale malt flavors; very smooth, crisp, and refreshing to drink. Wish the berry flavors were as strong as the aromas, but it was still very enjoyable.

Sep 01, 2016

Tsar_Riga from Indiana

3.98/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

A - Pale yellow body, hazy, with short white head. Lots of fine lacing.

S - Strong tart berry nose, a bit like sweet tarts.

T - Powerful tart fruit, mild sour grains and acidity, and the flavor closes with sweet tart.

M- Very bright carbonation, a bit of chalkiness.

O - I like the strong berry flavor here. Decent.

Aug 14, 2016

drtth from Pennsylvania

3.68/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

The beer pours out into a Duvel glass a clear golden amber color with a 1 1/2" fluffy white head that recedes slowly to a thin layer and leaves arches and pillars of lacing clinging to the sides of the glass. Sipping creates scattered small patches of lacing.

The berry aroma is noticeable as soon as the can is opened and grows stronger as the beer is poured. In the background there is some wheat and malt..

The flavors follow the nose with the tinged with a slight earthy character up front being supported by the malt sweetness. No hops other than a slight earthy bitterness are noticeable..

The mouth feel is on the light side of medium bodied and slightly creamy with the light gentle carbonation. The finish begins as the beery slowly fade away to a bit of berry tinged sweetness that slowly disappears without any particular dry sensation or any associated bitterness remaining.

Overall this beer fits the bill, it is a light flavored summer ale that is fairly refreshing. But that said I'll not be having another since I like my summer beers to finish with a bit of that bitter dryness that invites another sip. With this beer the fade to light sweetness is just not for me.

Jul 28, 2016

Zorro from California

3.36/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5

Cloudy very pale yellow with a medium sized white colored head.

Smells strongly of berries. Mild coriander and lots of pepper. Smells a bit sweet.

Starts out very dry with a strong berry taste. Soda cracker malt flavor. Faint fruit sour taste. Flavor of hard water. The taste is almost the same as berry flavored seltzer water.

Mouthfeel is is light and highly carbonated.

Overall a tasty and dry ale, this makes a good lawnmower beer.

Jul 23, 2016

PA-hunter from Pennsylvania

4.29/5  rDev +15.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Poured 11.2oz can into snifter glass. 5.0% abv

Appearance- Pours a dark yellow with large head with good retention. Very hazy

Smell- Wheat malt, grains, blueberry aroma.

Taste- Grainy malty aroma with wheat and oatmeal making up the base, followed by a fresh bash of blueberry flavor. (Guessing bilberries are blueberries or very similar). The heavy malt presence combined with the blueberry makes this beer taste very much like a blueberry muffin. Beer finishes sweet, yet dry with a touch of berries and wheat.

Mouthfeel- Thin-medium in body with lively carbonation.

Overall- This was one impressive fruit beer. Excellent Summer beer. The malt profile is complex and flavorful, while the bilberry addition was fresh and plentiful, yet not overbearing or overpowering. Highly recommended for the fruit beer lovers.

Jun 27, 2016

Act25 from New Jersey

3.84/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Arctic Berry Ale is alive, active, and well - mine brewed 2-11-16, consumed 6-11-16, and too good until Feb 2017.

Authentic and original, my first Icelandic, I rank this higher than BAs. '

- White ale brewed with bilberries and crowberry juice. can.

a) Cloudy lemon coloring with bright effervesce. Ice white head, sudsy, one inch high with a low retention. Lots of soapy spotty lace.

s) As nice as any fruit wit beer. Nose of sweet bilberry muffin, cidery tart with wheat with a light lemon, flower shop atmosphere. Fruit taut with dryness. Good.A real apertif. Must life perfumey beer to like. Original. Occasional.

t) Flavor follows nose but is not as interesting... It is bilberry muffin, tart lemon, flowers, and wheat. Cidery white grape. Again a good appetizer, first beer. UNLIKE MOST FRUIT BEERS DOES NOT TASTE ARTIFICIAL.

f): White wheat, fruit and lemon muffin, crisp bite, tart, astringent, refreshing.

o) Must try 1. Original. Well done. Want to try everything from this brewer. My first Icelandic beer.

Jun 12, 2016

NilocRellim from Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev +1.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Beer pours a light, cloudy apricot colour. Fruity, quite juicy and sweet, sticky aroma of blueberry/bilberry. Tastes like it smells but lighters; a light fruity beer that's clean, a bit of bilberry and a hint of hop at the finish. Like a shandy/radler style beer with a slightly dry finish. Light, crisp, and refreshing, great for a summer day.

Jun 10, 2016