Skjálfti - Ölvisholt Brugghús

liamt07

Ontario (Canada)

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

Bottle from the LCBO, best before April 1, 2012. Into a tulip.

Pours a golden orange, with a creamy offwhite head. Good retention and some lace. Nose has some distinct grassiness, fairly leafy. Taste has more of the grassiness in it, bitterness is evident but not overpowering. Again, leafy with some pine notes as well. Moderate malt base, some breadiness but subdued. A bit of butter. Finish lingers a bit, but overall a decent beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2011 15:37:01 | More by liamt07

TheBeeraholic

Ontario (Canada)

3.25/5  rDev -12.2%

06-16-2013 13:28:54 | More by TheBeeraholic

cfalovo97

Ontario (Canada)

3/5  rDev -18.9%

11-15-2012 02:30:55 | More by cfalovo97

Molson2000

Ontario (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev +1.4%

09-20-2012 22:37:13 | More by Molson2000

thehyperduck

Ontario (Canada)

4.03/5  rDev +8.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

500 mL bottle from the LCBO; best before. This is the first time I've ever had a steam beer - and while I'm glad to tick off another style, it also means that anyone who bothers to read this review should probably take it with a larger grain of salt than usual.

Pours a lovely golden-amber colour, completely translucent and highly effervescent. Topped with slightly more than one finger of puffy, white head that lasts a few minutes before dissipating into a thin, creamy cap. Enjoyable aroma of biscuity malts, caramel and some floral citrus notes - good, but kind of weak in intensity.

The flavour is pleasant, and well-balanced. The bready, biscuity malt and slight honey sweetness work well together with the floral, vaguely herbal elements of the hops. There are also hints of orangepeel and appleskin, so the overall profile has a nice fruity character to it. Dry, citrusy finish with lingering bitterness. Light-bodied, with good, crisp carbonation that is neither too powerful nor too weak. Easy to drink like your typical lager/pale ale, and the balanced flavours would make this a pretty good session option.

Final Grade: 4.03, an A-. This is the second Icelandic beer I've had - both from this brewery - and I've been quite impressed with each of them. I've been meaning to try a steam beer for a while now, and although Skjalfti doesn't exactly have the brand recognition of Anchor Steam, I still think this made an excellent introduction to the style. It's a little pricy to be a realistic session option in these parts, but easily worth a try, and I will probably pick it up again some time.

Serving type: bottle

07-21-2012 05:09:12 | More by thehyperduck

Rijtjeshuis

Ontario (Canada)

4.05/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Look (3.5/5) ~ Pours a deep gold, which is a bit light for the style. Clarity is fairly good, but not ‘brilliant.’ Head is good: cream coloured; raises well of an average pour; falls at a normal pace with no real lacing; and comes to a cap that lasts quite a while.

Smell (3.5/5) ~ A decent malt-hop balance. Hops have a good helping of pine and a bit of floral to them. The malt is caramel-like and nutty. Fairly crisp finish. I think that the aroma hops are not present enough for the style, although the smell is nice and balanced.

Taste (4.5/5) ~ A great balance of malt and hop bitterness. The malt is bread-crust and caramel, with a hint of melanoidin fruitiness (almost grape-like). The hops are of the same character on the palate as on the nose with a bit more of an herbal note, though I would characterize the hop flavor as medium-low. Hop bitterness is assertive and sets of the malt extremely well: the finish fades into a nice mix of lighter malt notes and hop bitterness. Finish is average-dry.

Feel (3.5/5) ~ Medium body and medium-low carbonation. There is a bit of an oily, mouth-coating feel from the hop oils, which compliments the long finish nicely by giving you something to chew on.

Generally, I’m not that big of a fan of brews where the hop bitterness outweighs the hop flavour (but that’s a personal preference and I’ll have to dial it in with a few more steam beers to see what’s good for the style) Anyway, I found that the style was really well balanced and delicious. A good one!

Serving type: bottle

07-17-2012 23:25:54 | More by Rijtjeshuis

MDDMD

Pennsylvania

3.88/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A-medium amber color with a decent white head and some lacing

S-malt, citrus, some grassy notes

T-malt, light citrus, mild bitter grassy hop flavor and slight sweetness

F-medium body with moderate carbonation, slight crispness

O-a decent beer in this style, reasonable session beer

Serving type: bottle

07-14-2012 23:25:59 | More by MDDMD

mintjellie

Ontario (Canada)

3.88/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Clear copper body and a pile of off-white head. Decent retention and patch lace. Bready and floral aromas predominate, with lesser notes of citrus and sulfur. Toasted malt and tangerine hop flavour, with balancing bitterness in the finish. Not big and bold by any means, just a good balanced profile. Light-bodied but not thin, low carbonation, smooth. Nice session lager.

Serving type: bottle

05-30-2012 19:19:03 | More by mintjellie

WeissBoy

Ontario (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev +1.4%

05-15-2012 04:33:25 | More by WeissBoy

Long813

Nova Scotia (Canada)

3.58/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours a hazy gold body with two fingers of white bubbly head. Retention is decent with little lacing.

S: Mild aroma's of hops, biscuits and malt.

T: Very hoppy, dry hops. Not so much malt or other flavours to it.

M: Medium bodied, water like textue, leaves a sticky bitter hop finish.

O: Decent IPA, it was good to try, but I found it way to one dimensional.

Serving type: bottle

05-14-2012 19:39:14 | More by Long813

hotsudge

Ontario (Canada)

2.5/5  rDev -32.4%

04-22-2012 18:29:03 | More by hotsudge

Niklas

4/5  rDev +8.1%

04-22-2012 16:11:15 | More by Niklas

andrenaline

Ontario (Canada)

3.83/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

From notes... Another random I picked up at my local LCBO. I quite enjoyed their last offering, so curious to see what this one brings to the table.

A - Pours a light golden colour, finger of head with some retention, and no real lacing.

S - Light on the nose, biscuit and grainy malt, touch of sweet corn and metallic notes.

T - Toasted bread, butter notes, grainy and leafy hops, hints of honey and wheat.

M - Medium, though a tad prickly, and finishes wet.

O - Given the style, the flavour profile was quite loaded. Worth a try, but nothing mind blowing.

Serving type: bottle

04-21-2012 00:33:59 | More by andrenaline

ThinkAgain

Ontario (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -5.4%

04-11-2012 23:52:25 | More by ThinkAgain

traumaqueen

3.75/5  rDev +1.4%

04-03-2012 04:33:17 | More by traumaqueen

RedAleMan

Ontario (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev +1.4%

04-01-2012 03:19:32 | More by RedAleMan

jsnoek

Ontario (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -5.4%

01-11-2012 02:02:47 | More by jsnoek

crossovert

Wisconsin

3.7/5  rDev 0%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

500ml bottle.

It pours a deep gold with a fizzy white head.

The smell is malty. There is a hint of citrus and pine.

The flavor is nice and malty, a tiny bit of hops on the back end. It really reminds me of a good helles lager mixed with a steam beer and an icelandic touch.

Pretty decent stuff.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2011 02:51:35 | More by crossovert

kelvarnsen

Ontario (Canada)

3.5/5  rDev -5.4%

11-30-2011 20:50:24 | More by kelvarnsen

marty21

Manitoba (Canada)

3.6/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Pours a nice clear copper colour with 1 finger worth of off white fluffy head. Eventually goes down to nothing and didn’t leave much for lacing. The colour of this beer is what was responsible for most of the points for appearance.

S: Bready malt, caramel, some grassy hops and a bit of sweet citrus on the finish.

T: Grassy hops and sweet citrus but is then taken over by a malty grainy taste.

M: Light carbonation with a light body.

O: Nothing crazy about this beer. I could easily turn this into a session beer but might get a little bored after awhile.

Serving type: bottle

10-25-2011 19:17:59 | More by marty21

Roke87

Ontario (Canada)

3.73/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

500 mL bottle, chilled and poured into a pilsner glass.
Best before: 04.01.2012

Appearance- Pours a dark copper colour with three fingers of billowing fluffy off white almost tan head that takes a while to dwindle down to a nice thick bubbly top that never really leaves, leaving tonnes of lacing throughout the glass right till the finish.

Smell- The nose on this one is very sweet, right off the bat I am hit with an intense aroma of caramel/toffee malts, some mild grassy hops in there as well but not overpowering in anyway, the aromas actually really remind me of a doppelbock.

Taste- Is much the same as the smells, the taste comes through with a dominant sweet caramel/toffee malt flavour mixed with a nice grassy hop flavour, I detect a very mild touch of citrusy fruits in there as well.

Mouthfeel- Medium bodied with very good carbonation, this is a very smooth and easy drinking beer, it does finish a little on the dry side though.

Overall- This is a very interesting beer, right away this kind of reminded me of a doppelbock from the smells and even initially on the tastes as well. I did really enjoy this one although I kind of had low expectations, which I am quickly finding out that these Scandinavian offerings are a little more above average than I initially thought. Great balance although there is not a whole lot going on in this beer, but I do like the ice sweet caramel bread malts mixed with the mild hop presence and an even more mild citrusy fruit presence in there as well. All in all I wish I would have picked up a few more of this one because I actually liked it!

Serving type: bottle

06-18-2011 05:47:37 | More by Roke87

Kartoffeln

Ontario (Canada)

3.85/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: Pours a hazy, coppery orange with a large, foamy, cream-coloured head. Diminishes to a foamy cap.

S: Sweet bready and toffee malts with floral, slightly spicy hops. Just a hint of citrus.

T: Toffee malts up front with roasted notes and smooth, understated wheat malts. A fruity character comes out in the hops, a bit of orange zest, along with an enduring earthy, floral finish.

M: Very smooth and medium-bodied, nearly no bite from the carbonation. It drinks a bit heavy as a result, but the lasting citric and earthy bitterness in the finish keeps it refreshing.

D: This is actually the first steam beer I've had, so I've little to compare it to. That said, it's a refreshing and pleasant middle-ground between ale and lager well worth trying.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2011 00:10:24 | More by Kartoffeln

Digimaika2

Ontario (Canada)

3.53/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: Rich copper with a nice two-finger thick head with white bubbles. Dissipates to a foamy blanket. Very nice.

S: Funky grassy and earthy hops, faint malts, and a bit of citrus.

T: Light tasting, but nicely balanced between grassy hops and sweet malts. Picking up some pronounced grapefruit and orange tastes.

M: Rather nice and oily mouthfeel.

D: Pretty easy to drink and refreshing brew, but I wouldn't likely seek this one out again.

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2011 02:36:03 | More by Digimaika2

Stocean1

Ontario (Canada)

3.9/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - poured from a bottle into a tall wine glass -nice pillowy two finger head - good retention eventually settling to a thin foamy layer of tiny bubbles - neat lacing - very thin film that slowly slides down the side of the glass like cream - colour - amber/copper like an IPA

S - grassy hops and orange peel and a little earthy

T - grass and a hint of citrus up front with a pleasant bitter after taste

M - medium body and carbonation - pleasant tingling on the tongue from the well balanced hops

O - refreshing lager picked up from the LCBO - somehow tastes very similar to Grand River Curmudgeon IPA - I will definitely pick this up again - easy to drink and sessionable - my go to iceland beer!

Serving type: bottle

05-06-2011 02:29:05 | More by Stocean1

4/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours brillaint copper with a nice tall head that recedes quickly and leaves decent lacing. Very clear.
The aroma is dominated by light citrus and spicy and hops over subtle malt sweetness.
The flavour is lightly roasty with medium malt sweetness and a refreshing bitter finish. Flavourful and drinkable lager not unlike Anchor Steam.

Serving type: bottle

04-22-2011 11:39:19 | More by