Haandbryggeriet Porter

Brewed by Haandbryggeriet (Norway)
Style: Porter
Drammen, Norway

Bottle (650ml?). Shared with blankboy, garthicus and tupalev, my bottle. Dark brown-black pour, semi-thick looking, average diminishing light brown creamy head. Dry, nutty overroast malt aroma, a hint of peat and leafy hop bitterness - quite malty, light lactose. Taste is a little minerally, roast malt, dry, slight molasses, quick finish, surprisingly bitter. Light body, slightly astringent, nice balanced finish. Another solid one.

Thanks HogtownHarry!! Dark ruby red with a tan frothy head. Milk chocolate aroma some cinnamon and cream. Some sourness in the flavour, light and fluffy with a bitter finish, interesting!

norse porter batch 78 brewed may 2007... held up to the light it’s an opaque black with a creamy monstrous light brown head. lacing left on the glass in big fluffy rings. crazy fruity aroma with chocolate, rich roasted grains, ash and nearly burned caramel. the palate is on the sweet side but the rest of the package makes up for that... dark fruit, wood, roast, light sourness and a coffee like aftertaste. it finishes surprisingly dry and parching. full bodied with a smooth creamy texture. really good but it is missing something to push it over the edge...

Bottle: Dark black, no head, light lacing. Nose of light sweet mocha, dark chocolate, light vanilla. Flavor is dry, plenty of bitter hops and astringent malts. Not that great porter, strong malts and hops but no synergy. Could use some grace.

Brewed June 2007; Sampled March 2008
Very well carbonated, a careful pour yields a four-finger thick, lightly browned head in my 25cl tulip glass. The beer is an opaque, concentrated, dark-chocolate brown to black color, but does in fact show a touch of ruby hues through it if held up directly and at the right angle to the light. The aroma is slightly vinous (earthy notes are mixed in here), with roasty dark malt notes. Substantial toasted grain, browned bread and dark chocolate notes are noticeable towards the end, while up front notes of wine-like berry notes, burnt plums and brown malt plays a prominent role. Wood-like, earthy and almost a mushroom like aromatic notes provide a bit of an edge to a normally clean style of beer (at least from a modern perspective); for some reason it makes me thing of fermented cocoa, but I don’t even know what that really is.

Lightly sweet up front with a burnt plum note. As the beer moves across the tongue it picks up substantial roast grain flavors, but then starts to pick up a funky, vinous, earthy, wild mushroom flavor to it that ultimately dissipates under a bitter, burnt grain character that lingers on in the finish. Soft chocolate flavors and the omnipresent burnt malt flavors are clearly the dominant flavors of this brew, but there is just enough light funk to add some interesting notes to this beer. I am quite impressed with how the vinous, woody, earth notes intermingle with the roast character, but don’t overwhelm or put this beer out of balance. As the beer warms up a bit the texture moves from being a little on the thin side to having enough heft to balance the flavors of this beer. The malt also provides a touch more sweetness and a bit more cocoa flavors than it did before. The roast notes become a touch lest acidic, a bit less bitter and more rounded as the beer warms up to, this really allows the underlying earthiness of the brew to open up.

An interesting brew, the funky notes seem to be just starting to be apparent here. I have a feeling that this isn’t going to be getting much better though as the stronger the funk gets the more it will clash with the dark malt character. My recommendation is to drink it up. It has probably lost a bit of body and malt richness at this point, but the earthy, vinous flavors add some variety and complexity to this brew that would not otherwise be here. I would really like to think that this captures the character of a Porter from the 1800s, fresh porter blended with an old funky version.

Purchased: <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Liquors, Tucson AZ

[1079-20080201] 1pt0.9floz (w/ blankboy, GregClow, jerc, mds). Roasted malt aroma holds a bit of medicinal bandaid. Black brown body with a medium-lasting foamy tan head. Sour roasted malt flavour also hints at cold bitter coffee. Full body. Quite nice.

thanks ucusty. creamy mocha aroma, pretty dark brown body, 6 quick inches of intense head, had to let ’er settle. active carbonation carries through for a thin body. burnt toast and light roasted coffee.

Bottle best before March 2010. . .that’s a bold statement. Pours deep black with a dark tan, massive head. This stuff really is black. The aroma is very sharp with generous walnut shells and a touch of sourness. Ashy, chocolate, dark roasted coffee is also present. The mouthfeel is medium heavy complements the gritty, earthy foundation well. There is a considerable level of sharpness to this and a tart note that I found a little off putting in the beer. Otherwise, the ashy, heavily roasted qualities here are rather appealing. This is an unabashedly roasty beverage.