Teerenpeli

Teerenpeli is a Finnish restaurant chain with their own brewery and distillery. In their bars and restaurants they offer a wide range of their own beers, ciders and whiskies. On my recent holiday in Finland I visited their establishments in two cities, Helsinki and Tampere, and I am collecting my experiences in each of the bars into this one post. Of course each and every one of them has an individual character and flair, but as it's a chain with the same drinks and food, it's perhaps clearer and easier this way. 

This summer I particularly became a fan of their ciders. I mainly drank the lingonberry and blueberry flavoured ciders, which in my opinion can't be compared to any other fruity ciders that I have tasted. They are more on the dry side and the berry taste and the colouring are very intense. 

The beer selection is very good and they should have all the styles that anyone could desire. Some of their bottled beers can be also obtained in Finnish supermarkets.

Their whiskies are so amazing, and I never thought that I could enjoy whisky straight this much, as I have done lately! I am soon going to write a separate tasting post of one Teerenpeli whisky.

The atmosphere in these bars and restaurants is relaxed and the staff is always putting an extra effort in in friendliness and service. This chain and their products are highly recommended by me, so if you'll ever get the chance, pay them a visit or try some of their products!

BrewDog Camden

BrewDog Camden is yet another excellent pub of the BrewDog brewery. It's one of my favourite places to have a chilled Saturday afternoon, after some Camden shopping and street food. At BrewDog Camden you can also enjoy a couple of vegetarian snacks, such as the cheesy chips that I had.

The tasting notes of the beers are lacking in this post, because I spent such a chilled afternoon relaxing there rather than taking notes. So here's just a list of the beers I tasted. All of these beers were pretty spectacular though and I would recommend each and every one.

Dead Pony Pale Ale 3,8 % by BrewDog. I have had this pale ale several times before at home and in other BrewDog bars, and it's a really nice and hoppy beer, yet with a macabre name to a friend of all ponies. It's not too strong for a pub afternoon.

Brew Puppy 5,2 % by the Danish brewers Mikkeller. It's a hoppy American pale ale brewed exclusively for BrewDog bars, as you might guess from the name.

Baby Dogma 4,5 % by BrewDog is a lighter version of Dogma, a scotch ale brewed with Scottish heather honey.

Hop Flood 7,0 % by Evil Twin, another Danish brewery.

Have you been to any BrewDog pubs? What are your experiences? There are many of these pubs in the UK, but also quite a few worldwide, see the locations here. Here are some photos from my latest visit to BrewDog Camden.

My favourite bars in Bruges

Here is a listing of the wonderful drinking holes I went to in Bruges. All of these bars have bags of character and a relaxed atmosphere. The selection of beers is just overwhelming and it's all such great quality. Well, I'll have to admit that I didn't have any of the cherry or strawberry beers, just good honest local beers. These bars are great places to hang out and most of them also offer vegetarian snacks. If nothing else, then local cheese cubes, which are just delightful to be enjoyed with beer.

My favourite beers that I had during this trip included Brugse Zot, Carolus Winter, Steen Brugge, Arabier and Special Brew brewed by De Dolle Brouwers for ’t Brugs Beertje. I might review some of these at a later stage.

’t Brugs Beertje, Kemelstraat 5 – This is a bar with real atmosphere and special beers, a must-visit for every beer lover. De Dolle Brouwers have brewed a special brew exclusively for this bar, which is already reason enough to visit. Here good chats can be had with the staff and locals. I was disappointed to find the bar closed when I returned the next day. It's good to have a good look at the opening times, as at least off season the bars can be closed on several days.

Comptoir des Arts, Vlamingstraat 53 – This bar is also a music and performance cellar. We saw a great open mic night for blues bands there and the standard of the performances was outstanding. What could be better than listening to local talents while drinking tasty beer! We also went on a quieter night without a live act and it was also very nice.

Brouwerij De Halve Maan, Walplein 26 – De Halve Maan is a brewery pub with modern interior and the brewing tanks on the show. We didn't go for a brewery tour this time, but it would've been very interesting. This is a good place for some daytime beer drinking and they seemed to have some vegetarian food options as well.

Le Trappiste, Kuipersstraat 33 – The interior of this bar is a cosy medieval vault and in my mind it's one of the best bar locations of all time. Maybe just the decoration could be more subtle, as there are many beer signs hanging here and there. They have a good selection of beers, some of which are international.

2 be, Wollestraat 53 – 2 be is quite a touristy place given its beer wall and shop at a prime location. However there is a nice canal view from the terrace while drinking outdoors, and it wasn't too cold to sit there even in February.