Heavyweight Jåkeldrickå

Formerly brewed at Heavyweight Brewing Company
Style: Traditional Ale
Ocean Township, New Jersey USA

Tasted alongside gotlandsdricke in a horizontal sampling. Pours reddish brown and mostly still. Smells of smoke, citrus, some cherries, some minor sourness. Tastes citrussy with hints of juniper. The gin like qualities are there, but this is more rounded and the tartness balances it out nicely. A nice attempt, but quite a departure from the version from Gotland. Palate is not nearly as heavy on this one.

Bottle: Dirty amber, very thick, cloudy and hazy, large foamy light beige head, fairly nice lacing.   Nose of Icy/Hot, totally!   Slight menthol, eucalyptus, ben gay, wintergreen chew.   WTF!   Not as strong on the tongue, thankfully, but its quite noticeable.   This is like nothing else... some cheap plastic like bandaid as well.   My stomach can’t take any more of this.   Thanks Paul for the beer, and specifically for a new label!

Sampled on 7/15/06 at the RBSG ’06 Grand Tasting: Pours a murky orange brown with little to no head. Strange, complex tart and very smoky juniper aroma. Body starts with a pleasant sweet viscous maltiness and some tart, light fruity notes with a touch of salty smoke, some clover honey and good complexity. Finishes bittersweet, warming and with a touch of black pepper. A very unique and enjoyable brew.

Honey-brown color with an interesting cloudiness & absolutely no head. Interesting woody aroma that has some stronger spices, plus a hickory-smoked essence. Taste is just a bit sweet and maybe a bit sour. Smoky-wood tastes mix well with this strange brew. This is one of the few beers that I can’t seem to make heads or tails of........its good, though thin bodied. Wow - too bad Heavyweight isn’t around anymore to create such interesting stuff.

750mL bottle from Dorwart, shared with Olivier on 1/26/07
Immediate lack of carbonation is noted by the barely perceptible "pffft" when opening the bottle. The liquid, then, is still, viscous-looking and produces no head or lacing (though some light legs are left on the glass). Unfiltered, of course, but leaving the sediment behind, the clarity is medium to medium-high and a strong bronze-copper with golden raisin hues.
The bog myrtle and birch bark practically leap from the glass! Just kidding, I have no idea what the hell those smell like. Seriously though, strong juniper, anise and vanilla can be discerned immediately, and the rest is anyone’s guess. It also smells like rosemary, a bit of ginger and white pepper (I realize none of these are actually in there). So ya, it’s spicy/herbal. Behind the spicing is a strong, rather sluggish sour note of over-ripe peaches, nectarines and blood oranges. That must be the "sour malt" and bread yeast. Certainly some residual sugars are felt from the pale malt, but it’s not overly sweet by any means (the sourness and spicing taking care of that). It ends rather snappy and astringent, on a strong herbal note with the sourness never releasing its hold on the aroma. Ok. So now that I’ve described it, how does it fit together? While I enjoy the sour malt/bread yeast, I think the one-two combo of the heavy spicing and sourness makes for a bit too much dominance of some of the more subtle ingredients that I think would be interesting to smell (rye, wheat, hops, smoke). I really don’t get much smoke at all in the nose, just a touch of light singed wood. The malts are big and round, but rather sluggish at the same time, seeming to get a bit too jumbled. The strength of the aroma is very high, however, or as high as expected without any carbonation to release it. No alcohol noted in the nose.
Wow. What a crazy flavor. Sweet and sour collide as sweet pale malts clash with the sour lactic and/or acetic notes imparted from the yeast. Herbs come on pretty moderately, surprisingly, with juniper drying things out nicely and giving a bit of a sting. Not sure what is responsible for it, but all the while, there is a big, fat, round, juiciness that no doubt comes from a mixture of acids, sour malts and pale sugars, but it seems very fruity as well. Sour peaches, I guess. It adds a pleasant dryness and complexity that transitions in to a somewhat darker, moderately spicy rye flavor. The more I drink, the more distinct the spicy rye becomes. Finally, on the very finish, I taste a bit of woodsmoke. Reminds me of the nutty, almost singed flavor of the dark wheats found in Bells Wheat 6 and 8.
The texture is nearly flat, of course, and has a strong viscosity, though I would not call it syrupy. I know the lack of carbonation is intentional, and authentic, but I think if the Vikings had a chance, they would have liked some carbonation. Or maybe not...but I’d like some anyways. It would certainly help separate some of the flavors and lighten the thick mouthfeel.
Regardless, it’s ridiculously well-made/recreated beer. The juniper, smoked malt, rye, wheat, bread yeast and wood barrel aging are all true-to-style. Though did they use pale malts at that time? Regardless it’s a great beer. I can’t say I loved it, and it’s probably one of the top 3 most challenging beers I’ve ever drunk, but I bet it would grow on you. I’ll have to get more while I can. Thanks Jason!

Bottle from Secret Santa! Golden amber body with white head. Aroma was slightly oaky with a subtle sweetness. Flavor much sweeter... tasting of honey and cinnamon with a little ginger and oak. Points for originality although I think it just missed being fantastic.

Bottle shared by ohiodad at CT4. Aroma was really weird. I noticed some juniper and some other woodiness. Flavor was pretty sweet and sticky with very little bitterness and hops. Also had a little bit of smoke coming through. This was definitely a weird beer.

Pours a murky bronzish, deep amber with no head. The aroma is ginger, cinnamon, slight lemon tartness and tobacco. The flavor is unique, with an herbal oakeyness. Underlying lemony tartness, woodchip character and an earthy, slightly tart finish.