Haandbryggeriet: Haandbic - Flavorful, aromatic and daring

Haandbic is Haandbryggeriet’s daring shot at making a lambic-styled beer, in this case an unblended (I suppose) fruit lambic. Haandbic, however, is not quite a lambic per se insofar as it is not produced through spontaneous fermentation. As Beer Chef Blog points out, Haandbic is instead a “wild” ale, “which means the brewers have intentionally introduced [italics my own] rogue bacteria into the beer…” – most likely from yeasts like Saccharomyces, Brettanomyces, Pediococcus, and/or Lactobacillus.

Haandbic’s unique flavors clearly come from being aged in oak barrels for nearly 18 months and being brewed with red currents and lingonberry (otherwise known as cowberry). These berries impart a rather tart taste, which blends well with the sourness that comes from wild yeasts. Overall, Haandbryggeriet’s Haandbic is a relatively flavorful and aromatic wild ale, although cellaring it for a few more years would probably give it a better balance and greater complexity.

Hailing from Drammen, Norway – about a half-hour drive to the south of Oslo, Haandbryggeriet is run by four guys that, according to their website, are “enthusiastic about beer”. Indeed, they have to be: Their brewery is essentially run in their spare time and on a volunteer basis. This enthusiasm shows in the rather long list of 24 different brews they make. While some of their products have not been big hits with me personally, Haandbryggeriet demonstrates a tremendous interest in experimentation, as exemplified by Haandbic’s daring side.

Haandbic starts off with a rather timid head in that it had virtually none – a characteristic that is not necessarily a bad thing for unblended lambics or wild ales. Hence, it should be no surprise when finding the side of the glass almost completely devoid of lacing. With a translucent reddish-orange color in the context of a dimly lit room, Haandbic’s body to me did not look fundamentally different than red wine.

The aroma is potent and relatively complex, characterized by the predominance of oak accompanied by the smells of berries, vinegar, and a touch of vanilla perhaps. When compared to all the other qualities had by Haandbic, the aroma is definitely the most enjoyable, although the berry note was not as prominent as what I would have expected from a fruit lambic. While we differ a bit on the various smells, Beer Chef Blog’s description is very thorough: “The aroma reminds me of a hospital…autoclaved this and that mixed with some antiseptic and rubbery notes all swirled into [the] smells of peaches, wet wood, damp forest and black peppercorn spiciness”. Well said!

The aroma accurately predicts the taste. It starts off with a strong, but brief semi-sweet berry flavor that quickly descends into the more familiar wild ale flavors. However, the strong oak and smoky flavors seem to moderate the sourness a bit. Vinegar notes are present, along with the tell-tale funk from the Brettanomyces yeast. Again, flavors from the berries – which should have been a feature flavor – were a bit weak on my palate at least. The finish is relatively tart and dry, and the mouthfeel is medium with little to no carbonation – again, it feels a bit like wine really.

All in all, I expected more berries on the nose and the palate. That said, the oak note is obvious and interesting when juxtaposed on the tart and moderately funky background. The appearance is nothing exciting, although consistent with what might be expected from some unblended lambics or wild ales. I certainly recommend trying Haandbryggeriet’s Haandbic if for no other reason than to experience its originality and daring side.


Links

Haandbryggeriet Haandbic on Beer Chef Blog

Haandbic at Haandbryggeriet

Haandbryggeriet Haandbic on BeerAdvocate

Haandbryggeriet Haandbic on Ratebeer.com

Image credits

Bernt Rostad
 

Haandbryggeriet: Fyr og Flamme – A nearly perfect resinous and piney IPA

Hailing from Drammen, Norway, about a half-hour drive south of Oslo, Haandbryggeriet brews a very creative line of products, although not all of them have been big hits with me personally. But Fyr og Flamme (to be excited, lit. fire and flame) is an awesome brew – one that captures a lot of the essence of what an IPA should be. For starters, the head nearly explodes out of the glass when pouring Fyr og Flamme, although the head level is totally controllable with a delicate pour (unlike their Nissemor that I recently reviewed). The creamy white head quickly settles to a drinkable level, leaving a beautiful lacing matrix and a translucent amber body topped by a well retained white cap. Overall, the appearance predicts a top-notch, highly refreshing IPA.

The aroma is all business, mostly hops, and totally awesome: Smells of pine and resin dominate, but are also accompanied by a grapefruit-like context. Malt references are present, but difficult to discern, which perhaps detracts just a bit from Fyr og Flamme’s overall appeal, at least for me. It’s also perhaps a bit less florally when compared to other IPAs, but bouquet notes are definitely present. The aroma accurately predicts the taste: The assertive piney and resinous taste is supported by a lighter citrusy background and some spicy notes. Again, malt references are difficult to pin down. The finish is sufficiently bitter and somewhat dry. The mouthfeel is medium-bodied, with generous amounts of carbonation. 

Overall, Fyr og Flamme does a remarkable job when presenting itself. It’s a near perfect representation of what a resinous and piney IPA should be like and exemplifies Haandbryggeriet’s capacity to turnout some amazingly complex and well-balanced brews. If you like IPAs, I can promise you that Fyr og Flamme will not disappoint you.

Links

Ratebeer: http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/haandbryggeriet-fyr-og-flamme/130379/1/1/

Image credits

Bernt Rostad

Beer bLoNg's Early 2012 Beer Line-up

There’s a lot of stuff in the beer cellar right now, and I thought I would share a bit of what will be coming out of there in the next month or two. For starters, there are tons of Christmas beers (almost literally), including many macro-brew varieties that I just never got around to trying during the holiday season. Furthermore, a lot of the beers in this list are not new to me. I’ve had quite a few of them in the past – some of them on numerous occasions, but either failed to take tasting notes or took rather poor ones that are simply not good enough to produce a respectable review. 

So here’s the list, starting with the first row and then moving onto the second (an serious business) row.

Row One

Orval, Belgian Trappist Ale; 6.2 percent; Florenville, Belgium. I’ve had this quite a few times in the past and certainly look forward to tasting it and reviewing it in the coming weeks. Its scores on Ratebeer.com and BeerAdvocate are impressive, and, based on my past samples, I expect my review to be nothing but positive.

Dahls, Juleøl (Christmas beer); 6.5 percent; Oslo, Norway. I’ve never had a Dahls brew, but the company is owned by Ringnes (which is in turn owned by Carlsberg), so I don’t really expect it to taste much different than many of the other macro-brew Christmas beers widely available in Norway. That said, most of these 6.5 percent versions are quite robust and tasty.

Erdinger, Schneeweisse Winterbier; 5.6 percent; Erding, Germany. What can I say? Everything I’ve had from Erdinger has been top-notch, and I expect nothing less from this one. I’m somewhat surprised I never had it before.

Silenrieux, Joseph Bio/Organic; 5 percent; Silenrieux, Belgium. I’ve previously sampled their Sara Buckwheat Ale and really liked it (I took good notes, so expect a review of that one soon). 

Rodenbach: Grand Cru; 6 percent; Roeselare, Belgium. I’ve had this once or twice before and loved its fruity and sour feel. I can’t wait to try it again.

Lancaster Brewing Company, Strawberry Wheat; 4.7 percent; Lancaster, PA, USA. I’ve had this in draft form numerous times at their brewpub and loved each one of them. However, I had a bottle of it over the summer and found it wanting in flavor and appearance. We’ll see how this one goes, but I’m not expecting it to be a top performer.

Berentsens, Stelliger Divum Juleøl; 19 percent; Egersund, Norway. I’ve never had this Christmas beer before, but I’m very much looking forward to it. At 19 percent ABV, it’s either going to be seriously complex or nothing but booze. I’ll be letting this one sit in the cellar for a few months before trying it, so the review will have to wait (assuming I am patient enough to keep away from its lure).

Nøgne Ø, Imperial IPA (#500); 10 percent; Grimstad, Norway. A very outstanding IPA. I’ve had it twice, but my tasting notes are rather rough, and this one deserves a quality rating. So, I’ll try it a third time before giving an official reviewing. But, its damn good, I promise!

Lervigs, Jul; 6.8 percent; Stavanger, Norway. I’ve sampled several of their products – e.g. the Konrad’s Stout, Lucky Jack APA, and White Dog Norwegian Wheat – on several different occasions, and each sample revealed a respectable level of quality. I received this one as a Christmas gift and will probably use it to liven up my February.

Mack, Juleøl; 6.5 percent; Tromsø, Norway. I’m sure I’ve tasted this somewhere along the line, but I can’t really remember it. Mack is one of Norway’s larger brewers, and I don’t expect this one to be much different from the other 6.5 ABV Christmas beers out there (not necessarily a bad thing, really).

Hansa, Juleøl; 6.5 percent; Bergen, Norway. I’ve had it dozens of times, but never gave it an official review. So, I picked one just for that purpose. 

Fredrikstad (Hansa Borg), Juleøl; 6.6 percent; Sarpsborg, Norway. Well, let’s wait and see. I’m not expecting it to be much different than the Hansa Juleøl listed previously. Maybe I should have a drink off between the two of them.

Row Two

Port Brewing, The Lost Abbey, 10 Commandments; 9 percent; San Marcos, CA, USA. This one has been sitting in the cellar for some time now. It’s only half mine, so I’ll have to wait until convening with the other ‘shareholder’ before reviewing it. My expectations are high.

Port Brewing, The Lost Abbey, Judgment Day; 10.5 percent; San Marcos, CA, USA. This one is a Christmas gift, so it’s all mine! Again, my expectations are high.

La Rulles, La Granda 10; 10 percent, Rulles, Belgium. I’ve had this on several occasions, and could just write a review based on my notes. But, this one has been in the cellar for some time now, and I plan on popping it open in the coming weeks. So, I’ll wait with the review.

Haandbryggeriet, Bestefar (Grandfather); 9 percent; Drammen, Norway. Haandbryggeriet makes some really remarkable and somewhat experimental stuff. So, it goes without saying that sometimes experimentation can go awry, resulting in some really weird brews. The ratings for this one are very good, and I’m looking forward to reviewing it myself. 

Paulaner, Hefeweissbier Dunkel ; 5.3 percent; Munich, Germany. I cannot believe I’ve never had this one. It’s not rare or anything, but I just never managed to find the time for it. I drink their Hefeweissbier all the time. I suspect this one will not be much different than the similarly styled Erdinger.

Nøgne Ø, Bitter; 4.5 percent; Grimstad, Norway. I’ve had this probably a scillion times or so, and I could easily write a review for it now. But, I’ll just wait and write one after consuming this particular bottle. 

Haandbryggeriet, Fyr og Flamme (to be excited, lit. fire and flame) IPA; 6.2 percent; Drammen, Norway. As I said before, Haandbryggeriet makes some really remarkable and somewhat experimental products. So, it goes without saying that sometimes experimentation can go awry, resulting in some really weird brews. I have no idea what to expect from this one.

Haandbryggeriet, Røyk Uten Ild (smoke without fire); 8.5 percent; Drammen, Norway. Had it before and loved its smoky profile. I cannot wait to give it a review for this blog.

Herslev, Økologisk Hvedeøl: 5.6 percent; Roskilde, Denmark. I’ve had their crazy, but tasty Pilsner. This one has been in the cellar for quite some time, so I think it’s about ready to sample.

Ægir, Ratatosk, Double IPA; 9 percent, Flåm, Norway. My expectations for this one are high, as they usually are for Ægir’s stuff.  

Mikkeller, Beer Geek Brunch, Weasel; 10.9 percent; Copenhagen, Denmark. I’ve been looking forward to this for a long time. Out of all the beers on this list, Beer Geek Brunch is probably the one I most look forward to. For some reason, I’ve had a hard time finding it. The local bar I frequent - Henrik Ø og Vinstove – carries it, but they were always sold out when I asked for it. So, I patiently waited for it to turn up at the wine monopoly, and finally it did.

Haandbryggeriet: Nissemor – Tasty, but flawed

Scandinavia is home to the origins of Christmas beer, and thankfully, the Vikings that settled in England took that tradition with them. While the origins of “juleøl” are not specifically tied to Christmas, today we associate Christmas beer with darker lagers and stouts, along with the smells and tastes of ginger and cinnamon, to name a few. And there’s just something so cozy about drinking strong, dark Scandinavian beers while in Scandinavia during the holiday season. 

Hailing from Drammen, Norway, about a half-hour drive south of Oslo, Haandbryggeriet brews a very creative line of products, although not all of them have been big hits with me personally. Nissemor (literally mother Santa) indeed captures some of the essence of juleøl and the holiday spirit generally. It also captures some of Haandbryggeriet’s creative side as well some of the flaws that sometime come with experimentation. For starters, it was nearly impossible to pour Nissemor without an explosion of foam breaching the rim of the glass. Needless to say, the beige and brown-edged head almost exceeded the boundaries of the “finger” measuring system – certainly a sight to see. It took about five minutes of settling before it was fit to drink. The color is very dark brown. The lacing is as sticky, just as it should be, especially considering the amount of head this thing produces.

The aroma is largely roasted malts accompanied by some yeast references and some Christmassy spices. However, roasted malts seem to be the predominant aroma to the point where some of the underlying nuances of the brew (like the dark fruit additives) are largely masked. As far as the taste is concerned, I found Nissemor to be particularly unbalanced even after it warms up. Again, roasted malts seem to dominate to a fault. It took forever to find any hints of the dark fruit additives to the point where I began to wonder if my brain was just filling in some of the flavors that should have been there. At the same time, some of the dry ginger spiciness comes through in the finish, which really helped to balance out the Nissemor to some extent. The mouth feel is thick with medium carbonation and a distinctively dry finish that really complements the ginger aftertaste. 

Overall, Nissemor is a very unbalanced and overly active brew. That said, I did thoroughly enjoy drinking it largely because I love the taste of roasted malts and ginger. The finish was particular enjoyable. Unfortunately, it is difficult for me to recommend this, given the price and the lack of balance. 

Links

Haandbryggeriet, Nissemor: http://haandbryggeriet.net/Nissemor.html

Image credits

Kjempetorsken: http://kjempetorsken.com/