Haandbryggeriet Dobbel Dose

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

Why did I drop 10 bucks on this? - was I that desperate for a rating? - anyway - pours a hazy glowing orange, with a substantial, foamy head - quite an herbal aroma, with a lot of tangy citrus, hops, grassy character, floral notes - quite potent bitterness, but there is even a little bit of tartness that compliments the grapefruit character imparted by the hops - a lot of orange zest - a bit of honey sweetness underneath adds an orange marmalade quality - ends rather sweet, as the bitterness finally fades - well-masked alcohol - not bad.

Batch 150. Brewed 5/4/08. Best by 5/4/11. Consumed 11/17/08. Pours a dense and cloudy, dusty orange amber body with a small but lasting, frothy, cream colored head. Wet, soapy swaths of lace mostly return to the body, just a random smattering of spots escaping the retreat. The aroma is very citrusy, notes of orange pith, kaffir lime leaves, grapefruit and lemonaid provide bright, bitter hop notes amidst a light toffee malt base and bready yeast. Flavors are modeled the same, lightly sweet up front, with caramel and toffee showing, with a healthy pop of bright citrus notes to follow. Lime is quite prominent, followed closely behind by lemon and grapefruit. Estery fruit notes and bready, sweet yeasts bind everything together. There are some San Diego elements in here, but there’s definitely a European feel overall. Medium-plus in body and lightly carbonated, the mouthfeel is slightl dry, but void of annoying astringency. Pretty solid overall. I liked this a lot more than the regular IPA from Haand.

Bottle. Nice head with good duration. Color is amber. Aroma and taste are hops, flowers and malt. As a double IPA it is slightly disappointing, but still very good. I wouldn’t call it double. More like one and a half.

Bottle (BB Apr/2011). Head is initially small, frothy/fizzy, off-white, fully diminishing. Body is hazy medium amber, bottle conditioned. Aroma is lightly malty (toasted grain), lightly to moderately hoppy (apricot, flowers), lightly yeasty (cobwebs), with a light note of pear syrup. Flavor is moderately sweet, moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, watery/syrupy texture, lively carbonation, lightly to moderately alcoholic. Disappointing...quickly dying head, rather sour (fruit juice-like), watery and rather thin, etc.

Bottle shared with Weepster. Rusty yellow/orange pour with small white head. Decent hop nose but not extremely strong. Sweet notes of honey with a taste of old stale hop. The hop character was a but undercut on this beer even for a European IPA. Finishes with a bite of alcohol burn. Worth a try but nothing to seek out (get the HaandBakk instead).

Bottle from Brugsen. Pours a hazy amber with a very small off-white head. Sweet with mellow hops aromas and caramel backbone. Could easily have had more hops. More cereal aromas towards the finish. Dry finish with a surprisingly strong touch of alcohol. Kinda disappointing.

Bottle. Pours a rather murky rusty orange with a small white head. Aroma of citrus and flowery hops. Flavor is super citrusy, like sucking on a sour orange and grapefruit. Some caramel malt comes through as the beer warms. Mostly sweet with a touch of hops. Nice IIPA.

Bottle. Aroma of citrusy hops and rich malt with toffee, caramel, coffee. Flavor highlights bitter orange juice with those rich, earthy malt tones weaving in. Rides waves of sweet and bitter, alternating and crossing over at the nodes. Upon some warming, more varied tropical fruits come into play as the sweeter notes show off more. Quite tasty through it all.