April 6th, 2025 - Crushing Some Finnish Olut Lagers to the Beat of a Ragged Drum

 

Hey there hellions and craft brew freaks!  Happy Sunday!  Your heavy metal drinking pal, the Meista here with another great pairing for you... "Rankarumpu", the wonderful 12th album by Finnish folk metal band Korpiklaani and a tasty and unique Finnish Olut Lager from Kiitos Brewing Company!  Hell yeah!

Album Info: 

• Artist: Korpiklaani
• Title: "Rankarumpu"
• Recorded: Late 2023 through early 2024 at Sound Supreme Studios in Hämeenlinna, Finland
• Release date: April 5th, 2024 (12th studio album from Korpiklaani)
• Record company: Nuclear Blast Records
• Production: Janne Saksa
• Album cover art: Jan Yrlund (artwork and layout)
• Personnel: Jarkko Aaltonen (bass and backing vocals), Jonne Järvelä (lead vocals and acoustic guitars), Samuli Mikkonen (drums), Sami Perttula (accordion), Kalle Savijärvi (guitars and backing vocals), and Olli Vänskä (violin)
• Musical style: Melodic folk metal, Sámi folk music
• Sound: Upbeat and high-energy, the tracks on "Rankarumpu" will get you moving!  Korpiklaani perfectly and respectfully blends the folk music of their brethren with a sonic metal attack to create 12 tracks of musical ambition and joy!
• Major themes: With lyrics all in Finnish, themes on the album include mythology, paganism, Finnish folklore, nature, the woods, sauna, music, life, death, evil, revelry, etc.
• Tracks: 
1. "Kotomaa"
2. "Tapa Sen Kun Kerkeet"
3. "Aita"
4. "Saunaan"
5. "Mettään"
6. "Kalmisto"
7. "Rankarumpu"
8. "No Perkele"
9. "Viikatelintu"
10. "Nouse"
11. "Oraakkelit"
12. "Harhainen Höyhen"

Brew Info:

• Brewery: Kiitos Brewing Company (Salt Lake City, Utah)
• Website: http://kiitosbrewing.com/
• Brew: Finnish Olut Lager
• Style: Finnish-style Winter Lager
• Serving: 16 ounce can
• ABV: 5.0% 
• Pour: The Finnish Olut Lager pours a clear, deep golden honey hue with a frothy 1+ finger, off-white head that slowly dissipates to a thin ring with sticky, soapy lacing.
• Nose: The nose is bready, malty, and slightly sweet.  There are aromas of freshly baked loaves of honey wheat bread, cereal grains, floral hops, and soft caramel.
• Taste: The taste of the Finnish Olut Lager is bready, malty, grainy, and sweet.  There are notes of doughy bread, cracked wheat, cereal grains, a hint of lemon zest, earthy honey, and light caramel.
• Mouthfeel: Light to medium-bodied with moderate carbonation, the mouthfeel is very crisp with a clean finish.

Overall pairing: The Kiitos Finnish Olut Lager is delightfully flavorful, easy-drinking, and very crushable brew... perfect for the well-balanced melodic folk metal stylings of Korpiklaani on their killer album "Rankarumpu"!  Those sweeter malt notes go great with the soaring guitars, accordion, and violin while the grainy flavors are great for the more aggressive vocal approach!  I recently was fortunate enough to see Korpiklaani play live.  If you get the chance, I highly recommend that you do so! 'Nuff said!

Hails!!  Skål... Helan går!