Haandbryggeriet Porter

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

Batch 78 brewed 5-07. Right out of the bull pen this one froths up like a rabid Angus with a permahead. Finally reducing this brew has a fluffy canopy that lingers. The color is very dark and masculine for a Porter. Aromas are mild with Belgian offerings, a defined roast, and leather. Full nectar with ample carbonation. The texture is expansive on the palate and has a very soft overall feel. This is a big, roasted porter with a true classic souring component. It’s dry as a bone and has a moderate hop profile that bitters promptly with a slightly aggressive disposition. Flavors of heavily roasted coffee bean, cocoa, tar, leather, and earth. The finish is bittered better than average and leaves a nice classic soured leather twig. Overall: this is a dense, mouthwatering Porter true to style.

Bottle: Huge pour ... pure blackness with a massive bodied foam comforter of tan on top. The aroma is full of sweet chocolate and cream. With a silky mouthfeel, this drinks with a well rounded but not overwhelming blend of dark chocolate, mocha and whipped cream. I could seriously drink this for breakfast ... I think it is outstanding. (#3257, 12/20/2007)

Bottle from batch #78, brewed in May ’07:Pours an opaque dark black with a long-lasting, large, airy dark tan head that leaves big clumps of sticky lace behind as it subsides. Lightly sweet earthy dark caramel and chocolate nose has nice roasted malt notes and a hint of tartness. Body is a little thinner and perhaps over-attenuated with some roasty earthy chocolate notes and a touch of sweetness and more of a (possibly unintended) light fruity tartness as it warms. Finishes drier and bittersweet with lingering dark chocolate and roast. Due to the excess carbonation and tartness levels, I don’t think this is gonna get any better with age.

The beer departs the 500ml bottle an deep brown, some ruby highlights, the head portly and a creamy light chocolate, upon its demise the lace forms a solid sheet upon the glass. Nose has a rich sweet toasted grain aroma, hints of coffee and bittersweet chocolate, quite appealing. Start is richly malted, sweet and a touch of burnt grain bitterness at the back, top is moderate in its feel. Finish has a customary acidity, the hops personable; semi sweet dry aftertaste finishes this good drinking porter, well worth the sample.

Batch No. 78: Penetrable ebony. Deep-beige rocky head is very persistent in its retention. Rustic aromas of airy and peppery phenols, dusty yeast, soil, marzipan and salted licorice please the nose. Subdued fruitiness as well as molasses. Feisty but soft carbonation rapidly expands as it hits the palate. Firmly bodied. Quite light on its feet, early on, with a salty, airy and roasty entry which is swiftly trailed by a bright and vivid undertow of silky milk chocolate and fudge flavors. Spicy phenols lift the sweetness as a supple smack of raisins pillars the core. Dark malts are deeply smoky and earthy. Port- and molasses-soaked prunes lend a fruity twang which clings to the palate and enhances the silky milk chocolate. Intriguing medley of dusty and waxlike yeast and brisk minerals further deepens the cleanly extracted malts. Chocolate malt delivers an extremely soft and velvety profile. Light dusting of cocoa balances the sweetness and amplifies the bitter earthiness and slightly chalky accents. Molasses-drenched core remains powerful and beautifully echoes the smokiness. Finishes dustily yeasty, dry and smoky with a clean yet complex fusion of earthen maltiness amid lingering notes of tobacco, black licorice and smoky molasses. Very traditional in that it’s unfiltered, bottle conditioned, earthily malty and highly characterful in its yeastiness. Another fine and unique creation from this charming little brewery.

Pours a vary dark, dense mahogany that appears black on first glance. A massive, foaming khaki head displays excellent retention, sticking around from the first sip until the last. Sudsy lacing mostly rejoins the body, but a few spots remain isolated. The aroma shows dry cocoa beans, roasted coffee, anise and some dried dark fruits. The flavor is very roasty, with coffee moving to the forefront and baker’s chocolate following closely behind. Earthy, woodsy hops are present, adding further bitterness. The mouthfeel is overly lively and less substantial than I expected, which was a bit of a letdown. Finishes dry, roasty and chalky. Pretty solid brew.

Considering the style, Scores ranging from 1 to 5, 5 being the most intense
Appearance:
Body:   Clear(1)->Murky(5) : 4     Light Brown(1)->Pitch Black(5) : 4     Still(1)->Sparkling(5) : 3
Head:   None(1)->Large(5) : 3   Off-White(1)->Dark Brown(5) : 2   Lasting: 4   Lacing : 3   Nitro : XX
Aroma:
Intensity : 3  
Yeast : 2   Bread : 2   Apple : XX   Tropical Fruits : XX   Ink : XX   Tar : XX   Olives : XX   DMS : XX
Malt : 3   Biscuity : 2   Burnt Toast : 1   Caramel : XX   Nuts : 2   Pumpernickel : XX   Cereals : XX   Coffee : XX   Dark Chocolate : 2   Vanilla : 1   Grapes : 2   Blackberries : 1   Cherries : XX
Hops : 2   Noble(1)->American(5) : 2   Leafy : XX   Floral : 1   Lemon/Lime : XX   Grapefruit : XX Orange : XX   Herbal : XX   Pine/Spruce/Resin : XX
Notes :   Earth : 2   Wood : 3   Mint : XX   Smoke : 2   Soy : XX   Bourbon : XX   Anise : 1
Flavor:
Initial Flavor : Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 3   Finish Dry(1)->Sweet(5) : 3   Sourness : XX   Lactic : XX   Bitterness : 2   Complex : XX   Length : XX
Palate:
Light(1)->Full(5) : 3   Flat(1)->Fizzy(5) : 2   Clean : XX   Sharp : XX   Watery : XX   Oily : 2   Chalk : XX   Astringent : XX   Alcohol : XX   Mineral : XX   Oxidation : XX   Metallic : XX

Comments: Woodsy, smoky, fruity, chocolatey and solid all-around porter.

Rerate Less chocolaty flavor this time around with a decidedly sour bent to it. Original 4.1 Savannah, Ga. - Habersham Beverage Warehouse - 500 ml bottle - Batch No. 78. Black as coal pour, mocha colored head, light lacing. Cocoa-like aroma, some roasted marshmallow. Flavor presents some dark baker’s chocolate, potting soil, some smokiness, faint fruitiness in the finish. Good chalky mouthfeel. Excellent porter. Will keep my eye out for this brewer.