Haandbryggeriet Odin’s Tipple

Brewed by Haandbryggeriet (Norway)
Style: Imperial Stout
Drammen, Norway

Bottle, brewed 1/20/09, batch 210, my last brew of 2009 (it was a fairly good year). Poured very deep brown with a well-retained head that nearly matched its depth.. looked great in the glass! The aroma picked up dry-roasted baker’s and darker chocolates with a touch of sweeter vanilla and caramel (mostly vanilla).. rich and welcoming. The flavor found darker chocolates all the way through with some soy and licorice influence.. cocoa bitterness joined vanilla and peppery alcohol on the edges.. just a little sharper than I’d like, but it remained solid.. finished with more booze-laden chocolate. Medium-plus bodied and warm overall on the palate.. slick at times and very sharp at others.. warms you to the core when it approaches room temp. I could see myself drinking this again.

500 ml bottle. Batch 195. Pitch black. No head. Acidic roasted malts. Rather sharp and unsophisticated aroma. Flat, but not liveless, mouthfeel. Very sharp roasted malt flavours. Little carbonation. Body is light for a beer this strong. Bitterness mainly from roasted dark malts. Unbalanced and sourish. Did not like this one at all. Have heard that batch 207 is much better. Will try to get hold of one of those.

Bottle from Knightly Spirits. This pours a dark, syrupy liquid that looks menacingly potent. The head is dark brown and frothy before it dies down to a ring of toffee-colored bubbles. The aroma is huge with dark fruits, lots of chocolate, blatant alcohol, and vanilla. The flavor is quite roasty with multiple layers of flavor: vanilla, oak, chocolate, cognac, coffee, molasses, soy sauce, and alcohol. Huge body and soft carbonation. Definitely a winter warmer here as the brew warms the throat when swallowed. A deep and intense stout for sure.

Dark black pour with a medium chocolate brown head, minimal lacing and short-lived retention that leads to a thin ring along the insides of the glass. Aroma consist of anise, coffee, slightly earthy with subtle dark chocolate. On the tongue it’s heavy cloying sweetness, very lightly bitter, with flavors of maple syrup, coffee, dark chocolate and light smoke. Palate is full bodied, oily feel, soft carbonation, with long semi-bitter finish. Moderate warmth from the ABV. A nice Impy Stout, but could be improved in the appearance dept. and by being a little more aggressive with the hop schedule.

På flasken står det at det er en ale, men jeg synes da at "nesten-porter" er en mer korrekt betegnelse. Fargen er veldig mørk, prosentsatsen på hele 11 %, og den har en god porsjon sjokolade-malt. Jeg har jo en ekstra liten kjærlighet for porter, men denne syntes jeg liksom er noe midt i mellom. Den er for tung for å være en ale, men den er for klein til å være en porter. Uansett så var den sånn passe hyggelig allikevel. Jeg syntes kanskje den var litt for søt, men den har en grei smak og hyggelig varme. Det ble et flott skum i glasset, men det forsvant litt for fort.

Pour is as black as any I have had and the head is dark brown almost reddish purple. Looks ominous and awesome. Viscous, but not as much as I though it might be. Aroma is roasted malt, light coffee, milk chocolate, chocolate dipped graham cracker, and a faint hop crispness. Flavor is huge and smooth. Up front, a bit of alcohol and light a light peaty flavor intermixed with large roasted malt flavor. Also a faint smokiness and lots of milk chocolate. This beer is very smooth and very tasty. Really well done.

Black colored brew. Aroma is malty, coffee, chocolate. Flavor is malty, espresso, chocolate, some fruits. Very nice bitterness.

Bottle. Pours motor oil black with a small brown head. Aroma of chocolate, coffee, dark fruit, caramel and alcohol. Flavor was dark bitter chocolate, dark roasted malts, black coffee, faint licorice and had a touch of smokiness with a thick and oily mouthfeel and had a dry slightly bitter warming finish. Awesome brew