2016 Advent Beer 3: Laiska Jaako

When I excavated today`s Advent Beer and looked at the label, I didn't exactly have to read the back of the label to know it was Finnish. Coming across such a beer one week to the day after meeting my favourite Finnish musicians felt a bit like kismet.

Laiska Jaako (or Lazy Jack to you and I) is from the Teerenpeli Brewery, one of the oldest in Finland, and (according to the label) brewed using the finest Finnish malts using ecological wood pellet energy.

It pours a deep, rich reddish brown, with a modest head, and the first aromas are characteristics of malt and dark fruit, tantalizingly familiar - black currants, perhaps? Raisin, maybe?

It is the calendar's most malt-fronted beer thus far this year, and the mild tangy breadiness is followed swiftly by the same dark fruits and mild sweetness promised by the scent. A crisp biscuity finish caps of the experience, and the excellent balance accompanied by a low ABV (4.5%) would make this an ideal session ale.

Well done, Finns!