Haandbryggeriet Dobbel Dose

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

Pours an ugly sort of murky muddy orange brown color with a thin short-lived off white head. Aroma is floral spicy not huge on the hops. Some malt and a little booze. Flavor is mice. Not terribly hoppy, a little spicy, rinds me a nit of orange blossoms. Smooth palate. Easy to drink but just a bit boozy.

Bottle.Pours amber with an off white head.It has a really nice floral and peach aroma.Some hints of caramel.Flavor is sweet with nice citrus/peach .Finishes bitter with some caramel.A very nice IPA.

Bottle, Batch 150, Pours Coppery with a big off white head. Aroma is light floral hops, and a good bit of malt and caramel. Flavor is sweet, lightly boozy, floral, and a good bit of pine.

Bottle from state line in Elkton, MD. Hazy orange pour with a fluffy off white head and nice lacing. Malty aroma, with hints of caramel and flowers. Big tropical fruit flavor with sufficient malts to back it up

hazy dark orange, very small film head. sweet malty and hoppy aroma, sort of like barley wine. flavor is hoppy, caramelly, sweet malty, flowery. the european hops probably what makes this a bit strange, but it’s still interesting and rather powerfull. three tiered balance between sweet malts, piny hops, and bitterhops. the bitterhops part is a bit dry, the other hops flowery and the malty flavor is sweet. also some spices. experimental and tasty.

Bottle at PIB. Pours a hazy orange with a light white head. Aroma is full of citrus fruits: orange, pineapple, apricot, mango. Light bits of malt backing it up. Flavor full of citrus as well, very refreshing with again that light bit of caramel malt floating in to support it. Very smooth and easy drinking and would love to try this one again.

Moving on down the street from Mikkeller is another fine artisanal European craft brewery, Haandbryggeriet. Don’t ask me to pronounce it properly; that would require a proper introduction by a native Norwegian. Pronunciation aside, I do know one thing: their stellar reputation for amazingly different beers of tasty aptitude. The bottle sitting in front of me today is the Dobbel Dram, a Norwegian Double IPA.

A brilliant hazy orange, she sports a soft tuft of white foam speckled with airy bubbles of all shapes and sizes. No lace, but her head-dress more than makes up for it. The first breath of her nose transports me to a lush, tropical island in the middle of nowhere; surrounded by brilliant blue oceans of crystalline clarity and the freshest array of fruits one could only hope to imagine. Apricots, peaches, pineapple, kiwi, mango, freshly cracked coconuts, and lemonade thrive under a gentle tropical breeze which carries the scent of wild herbs, blooming flowers, and a beehive abuzz with excitement. As I dive deep into her inviting depths, I am carried away on a gentle current of soft effervescence. All around me are bright tropical esters that finish with a playfully tart citric nip. It’s all or nothing with the Dobbel Dram, and some of us like our fruits with the skins; they add a refreshing level of complexity, earthiness, and acidity. Dry herbs and flowers settle comfortably on the middle of my tongue as sun-soaked grass and pine makes a play for my attention. Wet and dry at the same time, there is an amazing interplay of balance playing out before my very tastebuds. Cracked coconut, milk and all, adds a milky sweetness and light mouth-coating consistency, but it doesn’t last long before the riptide of tropical flavors I am basking in. A fine brew from Haandbryggeriet, I can’t help but wonder if they wouldn’t be better off in a more tropical, sunny state brewing their beers for my, er, everyone’s enjoyment.

Grab a Dobbel Dram and selfishly horde it to yourself because once people have tasted it, they will try to suck it dry right before your eyes and your empty glass. This beer goes to show that no matter where you are, who you are, good beer is just one inspired mind away from taking over the world. Or at the very least, your palate.

Bottled. Big thanks to Sigmund! Hazy orange/red colour, with white, normal-sized head. The aroma does not reveal dry-hopping, it might have a bit of shelf life. Bit of sweet oranges and almond paste, the latter a true pointer that you need to dry-hop thoroughly. There is also a clear touch of homebrew smell from phenols, that is a bit un-called for, if you ask me. Flavourwise and mouthfeel-wise it feels a bit too sweet. Due to a low attentuation rate(?), the bitterness does not feel that high, and the almond paste have a bit too much of say so. There are exotic fruits, but they ought to be plenty in a 2IPA, whereas here, the dough speaks a bit too much. The hops seem to be imprisoned by the residual sugars. It is a tasty beer, but surely not the adequate 2IPA. It’s big, it’s sweet, and if I may say so - unbalanced.