Haandbryggeriet India Pale Ale

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

Bottled, Batch 77, BB 05/10. Poured clear medium orange with a huge cap of beige head. The aroma picked up dry floral, piney, and grassy hoppage over a light toasted caramel base.. some detergent scattered through it.. smelled OK, but really didn’t do it for me. The flavor had light toasted caramel at the core with earthy and pine bitterness surrounding.. the best part of this was a deeply-rooted vinous presence that steadily built as this warmed up.. more bitterness on the finish with a refreshing feel to it. Medium-bodied with too much carbonation on the palate.. nice bitter finish. This was OK.. not much better.

Batch 26? Its was a two year old bottle. Nice aroma off citrus and earthy/grassy hops. There is to little hope flavor for my taste, probably because its a two year old bottle. Dry and bitter on the pallet

Considering the style, Scores ranging from 1 to 5, 5 being the most intense
Appearance:
Body:   Clear(1)->Murky(5) : 4     Pale Yellow(1)->Dark brown(5) : 3     Still(1)->Sparkling(5) : 3
Head:   None(1)->Large(5) : 3   White(1)->Tan(5) : 1   Lasting: 3   Lacing : 3
Aroma:
Intensity : 3  
Yeast : 3   Bread : 2   Apple : XX   Tropical Fruits : XX   Soap : 1   DMS : XX   Diacetyl : XX Sulfur : XX  
Malt : 3   Biscuity : 2   Hay : XX   Toasty : XX   Caramel : 3   Nuts : XX   Honey : XX   Cereals : 2   Grainy : XX
Hops : 3   Noble(1)->American(5) : 3   Leafy : 2   Spicy : XX   Floral : 2   Lemon/Lime : XX   Grapefruit : XX   Orange : 2   Herbal : 2   Grassy : XX   Pine/Spruce/Resin : XX  
Notes :   Peach/Apricot : 2   Earth : 1   Mint : XX   Butterscotch : XX   Smoke : XX
Flavor:
Initial Flavor : Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 4   Finish Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 3   Sourness : XX   Bitterness : 2   Complex : XX   Length : XX
Palate:
Light(1)->Full(5) : 3   Flat(1)->Fizzy(5) : 3   Clean : XX   Sharp : XX   Watery : XX   Oily : 1   Chalk : XX   Astringent : XX   Alcohol : XX   Mineral : 1   Oxidation : XX   Metallic : XX

Comments: A bit too sweet and yeasty, grainy and fruity IPA.

Hazy dark amber color with red shades; the head is really too much (strange). Aroma of English hop. Medium dry mouthfeel, some malt and caramel flavor, quite strong bitterness, later some sweetness comes out too. A bit too much yeast in the end. An English style IPA, just more bitter than the average. Not much aromatic. Pleasant.

This poured a brownish copper body filled with a continual stream of bubbles supporting an annoyingly large ecru head that subsided slowly, leaving heavy chunks of lather on the sides of the glass. The aroma has a trace of caramel malt coming through, but it’s mainly filled with the citric scents of orange peel and tangerine along with a soft floral bouquet. This IPA seems overly carbonated and slightly thin. The taste is dominated by the citric hops with an element of earthiness added in. A week caramel flavor struggles to be recognized. The finish is dry along with a prolonged hoppy bitterness. Not bad, but needs a bit more malt and more bittering hops.

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Bottled (brewed 02/2006, batch #25)
Nutty-orange brown color, not much head. Very dark bread hoppy nose (Finnish dark Easter bread), hints of fruits. In the bottom of this bottle is so much yeast, that I didn’t pour all of them into glass (like I usually do). Bready-hoppy, soft American style IPA. Not very exicting, but well-brewed.

500mL bottle, Batch 77, brewed: May 07, Best Bef: May 10. Hazy orange with a gigantic frothy off white head (overflowed on my desk and was great), fair retention. Aroma of earthy hops, some citrus that has started to go bad, and some caramel malts that have slightly scorched. Perfume (not necessarily hops) up front in the flavor, lots of earth, old citrus tang again, and an earthy bitter (5-6 out of 10) finish. Overcarbonated with a medium body. Disappointing.

Pours a hazy dark amber into a shaker. Fluffy medium sized head craters and chunks as it laces and recedes. Sour earth aromas. Sour, bitter, bubbly dirt.