Haandbryggeriet Dobbel Dose

Brewed by Haandbryggeriet (Norway)
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Drammen, Norway

Batch 153, Brewed April 2008; Sampled February 2009
A solid, but careful pour produces, three-fingers of pale tan colored froth in my 25cl tulip glass. The beer is an orange tinged, honey color that shows an incredible carbonation and an orange-gold color when held up to the light. The aroma is quite hop focused, but seems to have lots of sweet malt character that accentuates fruity hop aromatics. Notes of candied orange-zest, concentrated tangelo, orange cream candies, essential citrus oil and a touch of herbal character are concentrated at the front of the aroma, while the back end adds notes of toasty, biscuit-like malt and some dusty grain notes.

Not as sweet as I was expecting, though this does have a light sweetness to it. Flavors of alcohol tend to dry this beer out a bit and it has an ample carbonic bite to it as well. The citrus character that was so prominent in the aroma is not nearly as noticeable in the flavor; this is lightly accented by notes of bergamot, a touch of lychee and some orange juice flavors. The bitterness is fairly soft for your Typical double IPA, but does provide a lingering bitterness to this beer. The alcohol also accentuates a grassy, herbal hop character just a bit, with a bit of green, vegetal astringency in the finish. This vegetal note seems to grow as the beer warms up. The body of this brew is definitely on the light side for a 9% abv beer, which is right in line with how I like my Double IPAs.

The flavor is surprisingly un-hoppy considering the aroma of this beer, or perhaps it is better put that the hop character is the most dominant part of the flavor but it comes off as weak and flabby somehow. This is definitely one of those beers that did not live up to the promise of its aroma.

Bottle. Tanakaya. Faint smell. Murky colour. Hops hidden somewhere in the taste...but certainly not very forthcoming. (Ahh--now is see...these are UK hops, not US hops....) bottle tipped for second pour...sediment...lots of it. Floaters. Doesn’t seem like a DIPA. Doesn’t taste like a DIPA. Bum bottle? Have enjoyed previous brews by this brewer, this one did not connect with me.

Bottle. Pours hazy orange with an off-white head. Flowery hop nose with frit too. Sweet flavour with orange, malt ahops. Medium to fll bodied. Plesant bitter finish. A very enjoyable brew.

Unclear light orange color with a full, long lasting foam. Nose is vibrant, with a lush malt character and fruit cocktail-like hops, although it’s clearly lacking in hop aromas, probably due to that long boat trip across the Atlantic. Malt character is very nice, revealing a lovely softness, with notes of biscuit, caramel and toffee. Flavor hops balance very nicely, but don’t have much character. Not a Double IPA at all, maybe due to the age, but it probably never was. It’s a malt accented ale, but a very nice one. Haand rocks.

(500ml bottle, labeled Dobbel Dram, Batch 153, Brewed 17.04.08, BB 17.04.11) Pours a cloudy amber body with a small off-white head. Aroma of grapefruit, orange pulp, pine, and caramel. Flavor of hops (orange, florals) and caramel malt with moderate bitterness.

Bottle thanks to bu11zeye. Pours a dull hazy toffee color. Nose is booze, apple brandy, fruit, and citrus. Taste is grapefruit cubes with sugar, and the finish is astringent and medicinal. Weak mouthfeel.

Bottle labeled Haandbryggeriet Dobbel Dram Batch 153. Bottle thanks to bu11zeye. Pours with a hazy golden body and a huge foamy white head. Aroma is lightly grapefruit with toffee and a slight yeast note. Taste is tons of strong citrus and floral hops with a caramel backbone. Light bubbles and a water like mouthfeel.

bottle thanks to bu11zeye. label of dobbel dram. amber pour with a head that dissipates quite fast. aroma of hops, grapefruit and yeast. good on the palate with a very yeasty flavor and some nice grapefruit hops.