Nørrebro North Bridge Extreme

Brewed by Nørrebro Bryghus
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
København, Denmark

20.4oz bottle, no date. Clear copper dark orange with a 1finger creamy light beige head, wonderful retention that leaves an unbroken sheet of lace behind on my glass. This couldn’t look better. Smells bitter. Bitter tangerine rinds, earthy hopa, some grassy notes, and dirty scorched caramel are what I pick up on first (and too cold!). As it warms up, piney hops are more evident. As I suspected, this one is pretty bitter. Lots of pine and earthy hops up front. The earthy scorched caramel does show up, but not really enough balance due to the bitterness. Soft grassiness acts as a buffer and melds with the pine so it isn’t such a kick in the face. The bitterness peaks at a 7 and lingers until the next sip. The alcohol is quite perceptible, but doesn’t have the heat of a mediocre 9.6% brew. Full body with creamy moderate carbonation. This was a very good beer, and, looking at my marks, is pretty much spot on. However, off the top of my head I would think of this being a 3.5 or slightly better beer. The appearance and palate helped it out quite a bit. I would probably rather have a few other beers I’ve rated 3.9 before this one. (Rating 200)

In short: Excellent IIPA with rich caramelized malt backbone and foresty hops.
How: Tasting session at brother’s place. 660ml bottle, fresh.
The look: Clear dark amber body with a medium off-white head
In long: I wasn’t expecting much from this one. A 10% or so IIPA with “Extreme” as in the name sounds scarily try-too-hard Weyerbacher-ish to me. Nice surprise. This is an IIPA that didn’t overlook the malt character. Plenty of toasted malts, rich caramel, red fruits, earthy notes, orange sweetness and pretty much everything you want from a solid malt backbone. A ton of hops with an expressive pine needles and tree bark character with a citrus twist. Overall rather foresty. Alcohol well concealed. The problem is the $17/bottle!!! When I was young, I thought money was the most important thing in life. Now that I’m old, I know it is.

Pours a fairly clear rust amber color with a medium, well-retained off white head. Smells of big, juicy, grapefruit hops. Light malt presence is noticeable as well. Good citrus presence. Fresh smelling. The flavor has a big hoppy sweetness to it. Mild bitterness most of the way through, although not as much in the finish as you would think. The hops are definitely the most prfound character as expected. Good dose of some floral citrus fruits in there too to give it some balance. The alcohol is noticeable, but not overbearing in any way. Fantastic double IPA.

600ml bottle; First USA release; Sampled November 2007
The beer is quite well carbonated and forms an initially almost four-finger thick, full tan colored head that leaves quite a bit of layered lacing as it slowly recedes. When held up to the light the beer shows a very pretty, brilliantly clear, ruby hue, otherwise it is a dark reddish amber color. A rich mix of malt and hop aromatics greet my nose upon the first draught of the aroma. Sticky, caramel coated citrus aromas, notes of toffee, a rich berry aroma, lots of toasty malt, caramelized bread crust notes and perhaps a touch of butterscotch like diacetyl. The hop character in the nose here has been coated with a rich, caramelized malt character; this tends to make the hop aromatics smell more like a dense, sweet, holiday spice cake that has been heavily spiced by a mix of grapefruit, tangelo and Curacao orange peels as well as a touch of lychee and peach aromatics. There is also a touch of sharper hop notes here in the nose, I get touches of pine, a light menthol note and at times a woody, herbal note. Compared to the typical American example, this has a really rich malt backbone to it that is actually quite nice; it makes for a much more balanced aroma than one usually finds.

Sweet malt flavors, rich caramelized malt notes that stick to the mouth, and some warming, almost hot, alcohol notes are what I immediately notice about the first sip. Those notes were noticed not because the hop character in this beer is slight, but because the malt contribution is once again much bigger than one usually sees in American examples of the style. The hop flavors are of course here, once again coated in a sweet, sticky malt character, they evoke thoughts of candied orange peel, sweetened Earl Grey tea with a super kick of bergamot, fresh spruce tips, candied-freshly picked - young pine tips, . Once the sweet malt character fades from the finish, a concentrated citrus oil character, menthol, distinct pine notes, a spicy - turpene driven - green hop flavor, and a slightly astringent, solid bitterness tends to linger on the tongue for a very long, extended finish. This really helps to dry the sweet malt out, making one ready to take another sip of this brew. The texture of this brew is exquisite, perfectly suited for the cooler months; chewy, slightly sticky, soft and velvety (despite the prickly carbonation); yet in the end it is dried out just enough by the lingering hop character and warming alcohol notes. Somehow the mix of warming alcohol and the hop / malt interaction of berry driven flavors evoke a certain brandy like quality to this brew.

As an American, oft-times, hop head, this really does not seem like a double IPA to me. It really seems to me like a hop focused Winter Warmer; the rich malt focus, tempered by an exuberant, fresh hoppiness. The perfect beer for curling up with a good book in front of the warming embers of a fire on a cold winter’s night. I really like this beer, I was disappointed at first that it was not my idea of a super hoppy, west coast style double IPA, but the malt character is so rich, adds such a great complexity, that one really doesn’t miss that one dimensional hop focus. Having said that, this beer could easily be changed into a super hopped up Double IPA, it certainly has a substantial malt base that could easily stand up to a two fold, if not three fold, or even more increase in the amount of dry hops used (an unlikely circumstance given the worldwide hop shortage that we are / will experience for the next few years). In the end, the fact that this is note what I think of as a double IPA, only makes this beer better; it combines a flavorful, complex, layered hop character with a rich, deeply varied, unifying malt character. Interestingly enough, through the first quarter of this beer (& even my expectations going into this beer), I thought this was a good beer, but not necessarily great; somewhere though in the last half to quarter though, I have found a really deep appreciation for, and enjoyment of this brew. Don’t approach this beer as a typical American Double IPA, it is a very different animal, but an incredibly complex mix of hop and malt.

Clear reddish with a thick off-white head. Aroma is sweet and floral but muted. Taste has light caramel with a slight metallic flavor. What is all the hype about? This is neither extreme nor deserving of its reputation in any way. I feel stupid for paying $4/20.3 oz of this product.

My first rating in my new home! Dark copper/reddish color with a medium head that collapses quickly into nothing. Strong aroma of caramel and toasted malts with a huge citrus blast. Something almost vegetal. Tastes much the same way, but the citrus turns into more of a pure alpha acid burn. Strong herbal/vegetal finish. Good middle-of-the-road IIPA.

Reddish amber color with a fairly large off-white head. Aroma is earthy, herbal, and smells kind of like a forest with alcohol. Flavor is an interesting herbal-floral hop mix with a breadyish malt and some alcohol - a tad medicinal. Mouthfeel is ok, but I don’t get how this can be so highly rated, and I love almost every 95th and up percentile DIPA I’ve tried. I think the Danes are capable of better, but this is expensive for an average DIPA.

Glassy appearance of a firey red hue; thin skin of beige remains throughout, leaving patchy bits of lacing here and there. Reserved aroma of toffee, orange, alcohol, pineapple, sagebrush; ordinary and leaving a tepid impression, fading into a cooling touch of spearmint. Flavor of bold, crisp bitterness, all spruce tips and wet pine needles; the interaction with the high alcohol never degenerates into any aerosol tendency. Hints of pear skin, banana, and melon rind enliven this fairly standard expression with a kind of quiet sophistication, though certainly not extending itself too bravely. Fried olive oil bread and a wink of salt. The polite disposition the fruit and alcohol relationship keeps is, again, a nice surprise. Lightly carbonated, medium bodied palate that wicks a little dry and heavily resinous. Green tea and basil leaves finish with a spicy, vegetal pulse. Nothing stunning or unique, but it’s certainly well executed. Thanks Zac!