Barley Brothers

This beer really surprised me the first time I tasted it.  It is a German style Pilsner from Iceland.  The brewery is Borg Brugghus, which translates to City Brewery.  Not going to lie, I wasn’t expecting much from it considering the style and where it was coming from.  I am all about big flavours, so there aren’t a lot of Pilsners out there that grab me like this one did.  It pours a nice hazy golden colour with a think white head that sticks around through most of the beer.  Every single sip gets you a distinct line of lacing.  Lots of lemon on the nose, followed by toasted malts and oats.  There is a decent piney, grassy hop that you would expect from a proper German Pilsner, but it is balanced by a nice fruitiness.  A lot of bread and cereal comes across, without being yeasty.  It ends with a pretty big citrus note.  I’m thinking lemon more so than orange or mandarin.  

This is a good rendition of a German Pilsner coming from outside of Germany, which there aren’t a ton of.  I would, and have definitely put a few of these back.  Below is a little about it.

THE STORY OF BRIO

Brio was the first beer developed by Borg Brugghus, launched in May 2010. The brewmasters Sturlaugur Jon Bjornsson and Gudmundur Mar Magnusson developed it with the owners of the popular Reykjavik pub, Olstofa Kormaks & Skjaldar. The aim was to produce a premium German-style Pilsener that would please the local hipsters and bohemians. Out came this fresh, pale but cheerful pilsner with a bitter lemony taste, followed by a dry crisp finish.

THE NAME BRIO

One of the locals that used to visit Olstofan was an artist called Steingrimur Eyfjord. He was always very vigorous and energetic and because of that he was called Brio, which is an old Italian word for liveliness or vigor. Sadly, Brio past away and it was decided to name the beer after him.

Today we are going to be talking about Mosaic American Pale Ale from Sound Brewery. Sound Brewery is found in a small town of about 10,000 people an hour or so north west of Seattle. First of all, there is very little put out from this brewery that I don’t like. I am a fan! From the Mosaic, to Bevrijder, Humulo Nimbus, and Monks Indiscretion.

This craft beer is named after the prominent, hop they use. It pours clear and golden, almost a light copper but a very vibrant colour. The head is thick and white. It sticks to the glass with every sip, leaving great lacing. Right away you get a big whiff of tropical fruits. Melon, pineapple, mango, lots of mango. There is a little under lying pinyness, that makes me think that there is Simcoe hops in there as well. Is “pinyness” a word, and if it is, I’m not sure how to spell it, but neither does my spell check, which makes me think it’s not a word but you get it.

As you put this beautiful nectar in your face, there is a good deal of earthiness that compliments the fruit. On top of all the fruit notes I mentioned about, when I taste it, I get a lot of raspberries, and stone fruit. I can’t tell if it’s peaches, or maybe nectarines? There is a little caramel malt flavour lingering in there as well. The pine, resin hop flavour is there, but is a backseat flavour to all the wonderful fruit.There’s a citrus flavour, I think lime, or maybe grapefruit that’s cuts through as well.

This is a great north western American Pale ale. A good amount of hop backbone, with a great fruity, floral aroma. I’m pretty sure I know what I’m drinking after work today.