Haandbryggeriet India Pale Ale

Brewed by Haandbryggeriet (Norway)
Style: India Pale Ale (IPA)
Drammen, Norway

Bottle shared by swolf. Funky aroma of hops, alcohol and a wierd bitterness that I cant put my finger on. A fruityness to it as well maybe some figs or apples. Appearance was fine, decent head light orange color. Taste was not to my liking, it had a funky acidy taste in the aftertaste that I didnt like. Bad apples or figs?????? Not that much hops or maybe a hop that I didnt recoginze. I definetly wouldnt get it again. Bad editon of an IPA

Hmmm, a weird one for sure. I did not even guess that this was an IPA. Nose is farmhouse and spice, touch of figs or plum. Pours a hazy ornage. Flavor is much the same as nose: lots of spice, cheese, plums, with just a touch of metallic hops. Some yeast notes as well. Bitter finish. I actually enjoyed this one, but I don’t see how it is an IPA.

Pours a hazy copper-amber color with a moderately small, off-white, fizzy head which is mostly diminishing but leaves a small layer and minimal lace. Nose is odd - almost flemish-like. Notes include overripe apples, light cereal notes, some perfumey and floral hop notes, and some musty yeast notes; complex, weird, but not bad. Flavor is only more odd; medicinal flavors throughout which hinder this flawed beer. Overripe and almost rotting apples and peaches, lots of musty yeast, some herbal attempt at hops, and a sweet brown sugar note in the background. Palate is lively, medium-bodied, and lightly syrupy. Finishes still medicinal with some brown suger hanging around with a bit of bitterness lingering for a while. I don’t know what Haand was trying to do, but this is no IPA; our notes, faint hop and bitter notes and lots of off-putting notes. Nose is okay (not for an IPA) but the rest is fair at best. The wheat and the type of yeast were completely inappropriate for the style. Not the best effort of the brewery.

Bottle, batch 155. Pours clear and somewhat sparkling amber with a small, fizzy, off-white head, somewhat lasting with spare lacing. Aroma is light malt (cereal), average hops (flowers, perfume), average yeast (musty, earth, dust) with notes of pineapple, medicine, and bandaids. Medium bodied, sticky texture, lively carbonation, and a metallic finish. Long duration, light sweetness, moderate acidity and bitterness.

Batch 155. I find is funny that the label states Brewed: APR. 08 - Best Bef: APR. 10,; It’s only good for two days? I jest. Quite hazy bronze to copper liquid. A flimsy, frothy big bubbled off-white head. Quite yeast in scent, with barnyard dough. I am getting some weird stuff out of this one. Some pale malt and wheat, and then some sourdough, near rotting oranges, cedar, tropical fruit and touch of toluene. This certainly is a challenging sniff. that I do not find very inviting, complex, yes, inviting, no. Dry pale malt in the front. Some herbal and floral bitterness in the middle. Quite sharp on the tongue.. I seem to catch the alcohol in this one early. Finish is quite dry with some wheat and mild citrus flavors. I seem to catch some odd fermentation flaws, at least that is what I perceive as they are some of the same flavors I have caught in a few of my own home-brews. A flavor I attributed to having the brew too long in the primary. I don’t know. This brew and I do not seem to be on the same page.

Pours a hazy, dusky, dark orange-amber color. A frothy, off-white head settles slowly to a thin film with a small edge of crystal clear bubbles. Wet, soapy lacing mostly rejoins the body. The aroma shows dusty, dry, aged hop notes, including stale grass and dried orange rinds. A toffee malt base shows hints of butter, and a drop of honey lends a floral sweetness. Dry, estery yeast finishes things off in a distinctly European way. Flavors follow suit, old, musty citrus and grassy hops lending sharp bitterness to the underlying sweet toffee and honey notes. Medium bodied, the palate is dry, bitter, and astringent. This one does not impress. The IIPA seems like a completely different beer, a much better one, I might add.

Bottle (BB Apr/2010). Head is initially average sized, frothy/fizzy, off-white, mostly diminishing. Body is hazy medium amber, bottle conditioned. Aroma is lightly malty (toasted grain), lightly to moderately hoppy (apricot, flowers), lightly yeasty (cobwebs), with notes of dried mango/pineapple and pepper. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly sweet, lightly to moderately acidic, moderately bitter. Medium body, watery texture, lively carbonation, lightly alcoholic. Neat, but rather restrained. The aroma is promising but fairly docile...nice fruity hop character with none of the pungent, resinous stink that I abhor. Acidity is tangy as if from yeast, not citric. Rather watery, though. Decent and in the right direction for my tastes, but a bit short of greatness.

Bottle. Pours an orange body with a white head. Sweet and malty then spine citrus and grassy notes. Decent ipa.