Nøgne Ø Andhrímnir Barley Wine

Brewed by Nøgne Ø
Style: Barley Wine
Grimstad, Norway

Bottle from KnutAlbert at Pigs Ear BF 09. Hazy red brown colour. Sweet, fruit, lots of stingy hop on finish. Decent strong crystallised fruit.

Bottled@Pikkulintu, Helsinki. Ambery red colour, small beige head. Aroma is caramel, alcohol, dark fruits and some slight notes of herbs. Flavour is the same with some rather bready notes as well. Balanced Barley Wine, that’s very drinkable.

bottle. viscous pours. murky reddish brown with a small off-white head. aroma is a mix of cherry, caramel, citrus hops. spices, a bit of alcohol warmth, caramel, toast, purple grapes. medium body. nothing particularly outstanding. not as tasty as the appearance would lead.

Bottle. Caramel coloured with an off white head. Malty aroma with notes of iron and sweetness along with bron sugar and fruit. Some sweetness in flavour, brown sugar, fruit, a good burnt bitterness form the toasted malts. Not my kind of barley wine as the dark fruits isn’t as apparent as I prefer.

Bottle ordered from the brewery. Pours a slightly hazy dark ruby with a solid tan head. Certainly looks yummy. Aroma is fairly subtle, even as it warms. Mostly fruity, prunes and figs, but also quite a lot of caramel and sugar, along with a mineral like and earthy hop profile with some alcohol heat. Fairly thick and sweet in the mouth, it finishes with a slight hop bite and a warming alcohol heat. Nice. Carbonation is there, but mellow enough to not disturb anything. Looking forward to see how this develops with age.

Bottle. I think this would be a nice beer to have as rating #5000, in the spirit of the craft beer Ratebeer.com celebrates. It’s brewed by a brewery started by homebrewers, as the prize for the winner of the Norwegian homebrewer championship 2009, which I have been so lucky to try as well. And Gahr, the winner, is a damn fine guy too. So are the guys at Nøgne Ø, and just everyone else I’ve met in the business, from drinkers to brewers and pub-owners. Cheers to everyone.

I’ve been holding my rating for this beer, as I think it was a bit rough on the edges when it was launched. It will probably mellow even more in some time, at least the homebrew did, but I can always re-rate it later on. It pours a deep orange to brown body, almost oily, quite hazy and with some slurry in the bottom of the bottle. The head is quite small, beige in color, and leaving some lacings. Caramel and raisins, alcohol and fortified wine, some faint licorice, meaty notes and spicy hops all blend in the aroma. It’s full-bodied and warming, rather sweet, but with enough alcohol to cope with the sugars. Caramel, dried fruits and some hops in the flavor. Pleasant bitterness joining the alcohol to combat the sweetness in the end. The flavor and warmth lasts for a really long time, just as a beer like this should. I really look forward to more of this in the future. A good book and some strong cheese makes a nice companion for it. Cheers Gahr! 090821

Bottle 50 cl. Pours a slightly hazy dark amber golden with a rough off-white head. Nose is full of fat sweet caramel, overripe fruit and alcohol. Quite full-bodied, lots of caramel, nuts and overripe fruit. Warming alcohol in the finish with some aromatic hops. Solid. 251109

Name: Andhrimnir Barley Wine
Date: December 07, 2009
Mode: Bottle
Source: Hop City, Atlanta
Appearance: muddy dark amber, fine beige head
Aroma: sweet and fruity aroma, light earthyness
Flavor: rich malt flavor, lots of fruity sweetness, well balanced earthyness, light bitter finish
Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.3/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **+ /4