Ode To A Russian Shipwright - Olvalde Farm & Brewing Company

Tilley4

Tennessee

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

Thanks to thecoder for sending this one south from the Land O' Lakes...

Unusually Belgian aromas coming off of this jet-black brew... Earthy yeast aromas and some roasted dark maltiness blending together... strange but I sorta like it... Maybe a hint of the spruce as I get a little Christmas tree every now and then?

Dark roasted maltiness right up front followed by a little of that Christmas tree... As it warms up some, I'm getting enough of the earthiness that it reminds me of a dark Duvel.. A good thing for sure...I'm digging this a lot..

An unusual beer for sure... Very different in a good way...

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2012 16:15:10 | More by Tilley4

MN_Beerticker

Minnesota

4.5/5  rDev +13.4%

05-23-2013 03:27:22 | More by MN_Beerticker

iHeartMNBeer

Minnesota

3.5/5  rDev -11.8%

05-17-2013 04:29:54 | More by iHeartMNBeer

djschnabel

Minnesota

4.25/5  rDev +7.1%

05-05-2013 03:17:42 | More by djschnabel

JohnSnowNW

Minnesota

4/5  rDev +0.8%

05-03-2013 04:38:25 | More by JohnSnowNW

Tbone

Illinois

1.5/5  rDev -62.2%
look: 3 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 3 | overall: 2

This was an undrinkable drain pour for me and the 3 people I shared it with.

The taste was nothing but bitter astringent pine needles. Really, its like grabbing a handful of pine needles from the forest floor and shoving them into your mouth. I've had many other pine and spruce beers and enjoyed them (the first being a special Anchor Spruce beer they made about 20 years ago). However, this just wasn't pleasant. I often cook with beer and decided that the pine was too intense even to use this as a braising liquid for beef or lamb.

I've enjoyed Olvade's other beers, especially the Rhubarb Saison, so I was dissapointed they would even release this one. Perhaps it was better when first bottled and the 4-5 months it has been since it was bottled allowed the spruce flavors to just overtake the beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-25-2013 15:08:11 | More by Tbone

hardy008

Minnesota

4.13/5  rDev +4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours dark black, with a large 3 + finger head of tan foam, with good retention and beautiful lacing. This beer has a very interesting aroma. Spruce is very up front and noticeable. There is also rye, chocolate, and dark roasted malt.

This might be the most unique tasting American Porter I have tried. There is spruce, rye, chocolate, herbs, spices, dark roasted malt, and dark fruit. This is such an odd combination of flavors for a porter, especially the spruce, that I have nothing to compare this beer to, but I definitely like it.

Medium bodied with soft carbonation. Smooth and easy to drink. I think this beer would also age very nicely. Well done.

Serving type: bottle

03-06-2013 03:15:14 | More by hardy008

RingnesExtra

Minnesota

3.86/5  rDev -2.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

This imperial porter pours rich and dark with an overly carbonated head. The high carbonation is indicative of a product that was put in the market a few months too soon. The large bubbles and appearance remind me of a dark colored soft drink. The appearance aside, I appreciate the concept of this product as it is unique with the spruce tips blending seamlessly into a robust tasting porter. I purchased two 25.4 oz. bottles and will place the second one in my cellar to age for at least six months as I expect the carbonation to subside and produce a smoother tasting product.

Serving type: bottle

02-16-2013 23:54:00 | More by RingnesExtra

sanford_and_son

Washington

3.75/5  rDev -5.5%

02-11-2013 19:57:33 | More by sanford_and_son

doucmehu

Wisconsin

2.75/5  rDev -30.7%

02-07-2013 00:54:08 | More by doucmehu

King_KongDCO93

Minnesota

2.96/5  rDev -25.4%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.25 | overall: 3.75

Beer is about 7.5% ABV. 2012 bottle.

A: Large and more than expected head about 1inch of off white head. It is dark brown and you can't see through it.

S: Malty and has a large hope presence.

T: It has lots of Rye, hopes, and the spruce tips is over powering

M: tangy and citrusy. medium body

O: different and interesting but not my type of beer. I guess I really don't like Spruce.

Serving type: bottle

02-05-2013 00:18:07 | More by King_KongDCO93

jcjerabek

Minnesota

4.75/5  rDev +19.6%

01-23-2013 21:22:28 | More by jcjerabek

UCLABrewN84

California

3.55/5  rDev -10.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Bottle pour for New Brew Thursday's 3rd Anniversary event held at Beachwood BBQ & Brewing in Long Beach, CA.

Pours a murky dark brown with a foamy dark khaki head that settles to a small cap on top of the beer. Foamy streaks of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of dark roasted malt, cocoa, and some herbal hop aromas. Taste is much the same with an herbal flavor on the finish. There is a mild amount of hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer that is drinkable and fairly tasty.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2013 01:00:36 | More by UCLABrewN84

NuclearDolphin

Minnesota

4.33/5  rDev +9.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Poured into a Pint Glass; Bottled in 2011 and got it for $9. Sweet!

Appearance - Pitch black with a fluffy 4 finger head that has very good retention.

Smell - Piney Hops, Chocolate, Spruce, Burnt Malts & Spruce. It's very different in terms of smell, but it's nicely balanced and therefore quite nice.

Taste - Piney Hops, Spruce, Oak, Chocolate and Burnt Malts. This is unlike anything I have ever tasted before. For some reason, the flavor reminds me of my family's cabin in the Northwoods and makes me miss it quite a bit. The flavor is Part Northwoods/Part Christmas.

Mouthfeel - Body is rather heavy and the carbonation is a couple notches above mild, but just enough to add to the flavor.

Overall - This is a very interesting tasting Porter/Stout that manages to be both unique and tasty at the same time, which make it worth checking out. This beer is definitely a sipper, but I won't mind sitting down to have this again because it is different and very good.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2013 04:21:57 | More by NuclearDolphin

NickBus

Minnesota

3.8/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Aroma - The spruce comes out right away in the aroma, but after the beer opens a little the malt character takes over. Medium malt aroma — nutty, roasty and with hints of dark fruits — with medium-light earthy English hop aroma and, of course, spruce.

Appearance - Dark brown, almost black with ruby highlights and a thick, foamy brown head and good retention.

Flavor - Medium-light roastiness with lots of caramel and some nuttiness. Also some kind of dark fruit or maybe even black licorice flavor mixed in somewhere. Tasty overall, but a little too sweet in my opinion. There's also a mint-like flavor that I'm guessing is coming from the spruce tips... Can't say I'm not enjoying it.

Mouthfeel - Smooth and lightly creamy, with just a bit of pop from the medium-high carbonation. Finishes smooth with a light sweetness that lingers on the palate. Surprisingly little alcohol warming for an imperial.

Overall - Very drinkable. Rich and complex, with new flavors coming out the deeper you get into the bottle. Perfect Christmas beer. Good overall, but a little more roast character and a little less sweetness would make this a great beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2013 23:32:44 | More by NickBus

chanokokoro

Illinois

4.1/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 750 ml swingtop bottle into an unbranded snifter/short-stemmed tulip

Pours a dark cola brown with a two finger foamy beige head. Excellent retention and ample splotchy lacing on the glass. The lightest hint of dark fruit, anise, a touch of bakers chocolate, and piney, spruce accents. Dark chocolate, molasses, roasted malt, and black licorice combine for a fairly complex brew. Finishes with smooth, pleasant fresh spruce and a hint of mint. Definitely more porter than stout-- medium body, slick with vibrant carbonation. A really interesting take on an imperial porter. Extremely inventive and a brew that is thoroughly enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

01-03-2013 03:47:40 | More by chanokokoro

yamar68

Minnesota

4.09/5  rDev +3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4

2012 vintage:

Dark and swampy brown body with a massive, creamy pale khaki set of carb that leaves drastic lacing... nice.

Nutty, conifer, caramel candy, licorice, molasses, pine sap, sweet vanilla... the base aromas are reminiscent of Anchor Christmas. No detectable alcohol presence.

Unique. Exquisite mouthfeel... medicinal evergreen qualities, sesame oil, nutty malt notes, not quite as spot-on as I remember last year's batch being, but still quite interesting and tasty. Cola and root beer flavors... ginger.

Probably the best imperial stout porter brewed with spruce tips that I've had. ;)

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2012 01:49:43 | More by yamar68

mwilbur

Minnesota

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

2012 vintage. Poured from 750 mL bottle into snifter.
A: Pours a beautiful pitch black/brown with wondrous 3 inch dark mocha head. Excellent retention and lacing. Quite a beauty.
S: Spice, dark chocolate, roasted caramel malt, grains/rye, and spruce. Very nice.
T: Spice and spruce (just a hint of the spruce) up front. Gives way to spicy rye, roasted caramel malt, and some sharp hops. Honestly, gets a bit jumbled here...lacks definition of the flavor profile. A note of honey emerges with warming...spice and spruce also become more prominent.
M: Light-medium body. Not sure of the ABV since it isn't on the bottle or their website, but I would guess around 9%. Moderately sticky sweet (esp. with warming). Finish is moderately sharp and mildly bitter. Spice lingers decently on the palate.
D: Certainly a solid and interesting brew from a promising new-ish brewery. Worth a go. Serves as a nice winter warmer.

Serving type: bottle

12-23-2012 05:22:43 | More by mwilbur

bluejacket74

Ohio

4.23/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

750 ml swingtop bottle, 2012 vintage. Served in a snifter, the beer pours dark brown/black with a couple inch frothy tan head that stays around for a while. There's also a good amount of lacing. Aroma is nice, the brew smells like molasses, spruce, dark fruit, roasted malt, and a bit of smoke. It tastes like dark fruit, molasses, spruce, roasted malt, and some spice and chocolate. Mouthfeel/body is medium/full, it's coating and creamy with high but soft carbonation. I think it's a good brew, I know I'd like to have this again. Definitely worth trying.

Serving type: bottle

12-20-2012 23:08:48 | More by bluejacket74

tuckerlikesbeer

Minnesota

3.5/5  rDev -11.8%

12-11-2012 22:23:07 | More by tuckerlikesbeer

theHoff77

Minnesota

3.65/5  rDev -8.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a pint glass. Excited to try this as I went to school very close to Rollingstone, MN which is a small town that rests between the bluffs running along the Mississippi River.

A - Deep rich black color and this got a huge head that retains well.

S - The smell of spruce dominates. Also pick notes that are a bit like burnt wood. Has a smokey vibe.

T - Liquid Christmas tree. Also tasting the chocolate and roasted qualities.

M - Medium body and seems highly carbonated. The carbonation creates the feel that I'm drinking something fizzy. The spruce has some bite

O - Starting to realize I have mixed feelings about spruce being used in beer in general. This is a quality beer, but at the same time the spruce in this seems to be overkill. Glad to say I had it, but I wouldn't go for it again. Side note, I had Anchor OSA last night and I think these two are quite similar.

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2012 18:32:49 | More by theHoff77

JJWIGHT

Minnesota

3.5/5  rDev -11.8%

10-30-2012 05:18:02 | More by JJWIGHT

NilocRellim

Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev -5.5%

09-29-2012 04:36:38 | More by NilocRellim

ATK

4/5  rDev +0.8%

08-30-2012 22:05:39 | More by ATK

3Hops

Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev -5.5%

08-02-2012 18:40:28 | More by 3Hops