Haandbryggeriet / Närke Unionöl

Brewed by Haandbryggeriet (Norway)
Style: Traditional Ale
Drammen, Norway

Serve in Dimpled mug, English pint, Stein, Yard

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0.5l bottle. This is a clear dark brown one, really hard to get a head on this one, so after pushing it I end up with a transparent thin bubbly quickly sidesticking thing. Does not look all that to be honest. The aroma is definitely different and smoky. Peated salty leather and wild bushes with childhood memories of wet days out in the forest burning a campfire. Not sure what to say other than it’s really different. It has no carbonation this, unfortunately, and the mouthfeel in general is quite disappointing and actually sometimes unpleasant. I have to admit that that goes for the taste also. Smoky campfire with old salt- and licorice infused roap that has been lying in the cellar for decades on top of a honey beehive. Well, it has character though. Dusty with a bit of sour acidity as well. Could it be on its path to an infection also perhaps? I don’t know, but I can safely say that this has to be one of the weirdest and unfortunately not-best tasting beer I’ve had in some time. 20.09.2012

Tap. Pours clear dark red with a lasting frothy beige medium head. Aroma is intense honey, intense smoke, toasted malt, juniper, red berries, wood and tart berries. The honey and smoke actually blends quite nice. Taste is medium+ sweet, light bitter and light acidic. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. Finish is smokey, sweet with honey and light astringent. Quite odd, but very interesting beer, I’ll want to try this again.

On tap at Mikkeller Bar, pours a deep dark amber brown with a medium tan head. Aroma of lightly smoked malt, floral hops, and peat. Flavour of peat malt, floral hops, and smoke. Very smoky and peaty, full of way too much of the stuff to me for my palate. Not so impressive.

Tap @ Mikkeller.
Pours dark hazy mahogany color with a small head. Aroma of malts, some ripe fruits and caramel. Flavour of wood, malts, ripe fruits and some whisky notes. A bit disappointing.
4325

Draught @ Mikkeller Bar, Copenhagen. Pours a murky brown, amber colour with a creamy head. Aroma of caramel, berries and wet earth. Flavour of caramel malts, smoke, hay, tar and some licorice. Medium bodied, slick mouthfeel and creamy mouthfeel. Finishes peaty and smoky. Enjoyable.

Draught @ Mikkeller Bar, Copenhagen

Pours dark brown with a smooth head. Aroma of berries, yeast, farmyard and spices. Taste is a bit weird with notes of spices, farmyard, licorice, berries, malts and yeast. Finish is smooth and malty with some notes of berries. A bit untypical.

Bottle from De Molen online. Dark brown body with thin tan head. Nose is spicy, herbal and grassy. Taste is sweet, malty, caramel, more spices. Lots and lots of honey. Not really my thing. And I oh so wanted to like this beer as I adore Haand and Narke. Pity this.

Draught (Göteborg Ölmässa 2013) - Dark brown in colour. Fruity aroma with marzipan, smoked malt and raisins detected. Fruity taste with notes of cranberries, raisins, honey and malt standing out.

Bottle @ Triple Rock Sour Sunday, Triple Rock, Berkeley, CA. Pours a reddish brown color with a small off-white head. Has a malty slightly smoky berry aroma with hints of caramel. Fruity malty smoky berry juniper flavor. Has a fruity malty smoky berry finish.

(Draught at Akkurat, Stockholm) Dark brown colour with hints of ruby. Frothy, beige head. Malty, slightly smoky nose with notes of honey, peat and juniper wood. Malty taste with hints of smoke, peat, honey, juniper berries, mountain bog and tart hints of lingonberries (it’s not cranberries). Almost full body, with a certain sweetness and some bitterness. Quite complex, and quite nice.