Unionöl
HaandBryggeriet

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From:
HaandBryggeriet
 
Norway
Style:
Old Ale
ABV:
8.5%
Score:
75
Avg:
2.91 | pDev: 32.99%
Reviews:
7
Ratings:
16
Status:
Retired
Rated:
May 28, 2022
Added:
Dec 31, 2012
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  0
Collaboration with Närke Kulturbryggeri
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Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by JAHMUR:
Photo of JAHMUR
Rated by JAHMUR from Connecticut

3.75/5  rDev +28.9%

Jan 23, 2013
More User Ratings:
Photo of Sigmund
Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway

3.02/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.75
Shared 500 ml bottle at hotel room tasting, thanks to OleR. Cloudy dark brown colour. The smoked Gotland malt dominates the aroma completely. Very smokey flavour, but also a hint of "tyttebær" (lingonberries). Lacks hops.
May 28, 2022
Photo of drpimento
Reviewed by drpimento from Wisconsin

3.97/5  rDev +36.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Whoa. I can't recall ever having tasted a beer that seemed so much like tobacco! That's in both aroma and flavor. Not something I'd like to have a lot of, but very interest to try.
Dec 11, 2015
 
Rated: 2 by brandonld23 from Massachusetts

Apr 28, 2014
 
Rated: 2.5 by GRG1313 from California

Mar 04, 2014
 
Rated: 2.5 by nmann08 from Virginia

Nov 07, 2013
 
Rated: 4.75 by CliffBrake from New Hampshire

Jun 29, 2013
 
Rated: 4.25 by KMcG from Virginia

Jun 26, 2013
Photo of GONZALOYANNA
Reviewed by GONZALOYANNA from Spain

2.53/5  rDev -13.1%
look: 2.5 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2.75 | overall: 2.5
500ml bottle. Shaker glass. Enjoyed on mar´13. Pours very dark brown in color. Pour crown, beige in color. Leather, sugar, smoked & toasted notes to the nose. Tire & barnyard as well. Sweet cloying malt flavor & smoky flavor at first. Hints of burnt candies. Full body. Soft carbonation. Dried nut astringency & smoked malts in the midddle. Oily texture & creamy palate. Dry sweet finish.
Jun 22, 2013
Photo of shleepy
Reviewed by shleepy from California

2.89/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.75
Poured from 50cl bottle.

Red-ish brown color, with huge, fluffy, dark head.
Smell has some faint spices and something that reminds me of rust / metal.
Taste is very smoky / toasty, with leather as the immediately dominant flavor. However, that fades away into more pleasant notes - chocolate, dark berries, tea that has been steeped for too long. The finish is lightly herbal, but the smokiness stays in the aftertaste.

A strange and not-altogether-pleasant beer. Will not buy again.
Jun 10, 2013
 
Rated: 1.5 by t0rin0 from California

Jun 06, 2013
 
Rated: 1.5 by westcoastbeerlvr from California

Feb 24, 2013
Photo of vince4953529
Reviewed by vince4953529 from California

1.49/5  rDev -48.8%
look: 4 | smell: 1.25 | taste: 1.25 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.25
Looks decent, very deep burgundy borderline black.

Smells a mixture of bacon & band-aid with a slight sourness tinge to it.

Taste was a strong wave of band-aid and soured bacon. Mouthfeel is surprisingly thing.

Really really tough liquid to swallow down. If drinking fast it would result in vomiting. Too strong and too off-putting. Extremely difficult to imbibe. I drainpoured this abomination just after a few tortured gulps.
Feb 16, 2013
 
Rated: 3.25 by popery from California

Feb 11, 2013
Photo of Jugs_McGhee
Reviewed by Jugs_McGhee from Colorado

3.29/5  rDev +13.1%
look: 1.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Saw that Narke was involved in this collaboration with Haandbryggeriet and got real excited. Didn't hesitate to pick this one up. 8.5% confirmed. Cost was $7.99 at a local SoCal beer store. Expectations are through the roof; Narke produced the best beer I've ever had (Kaggen! Stormaktsporter). 50cl brown glass bottle with standard pressure cap served into a New Belgium stem-goblet in me gaff in low altitude Los Feliz, Los Angeles, California. Reviewed live.

Served cold, consistent with the label, which advises an 8-10 C serving temperature. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated.

Not paired with food.

As I poured, no head at all was developing so I upped the vigor of my pour to extreme.

A: Pours a pathetically thin khaki floater that lasts about 2 minutes. Body colour is an exceptionally dark caramel-brown. Nontransparent and opaque. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show. Carbonation appears underdone. It isn't much to look at, admittedly.

Sm: Whoa. Rich raisin and ultra-developed caramel. Fine aged liquor. Port. Licorice. Sour grape. Must. Very intense. Vinous as hell. Hints of oxidation. Earthiness. Wood. Medicinal/syrupy notes. One of the strangest, most intense, unique aromas I've ever experienced. It both repels and attracts me. It's certainly assertive and distinguished. Moderately strong.

T: Port and oxidation up front, with oxidized liqueur, wood, must, and depleted caramel throughout the body. Heavy vinous character and raisin. Intense, but lacks body so it's a bit more approachable. No alcohol or yeast comes through. Acidic, especially on the finish. This beer would be very easy to hate, especially for newcomers to beer. I'd have difficulty saying I liked it. It's certainly rich and unique, but it's just too vicious. The flavours are bold and overwhelming. Medicinal and earthy. Hints of licorice - which I despise. There's something vile buried in this beer. Still, I don't hate it or even particularly dislike it. It's just strange. I'm more confused than anything else. There are light hints of grape cough syrup, but I mean that in the best possible way. By no means would I call it a balanced beer. It doesn't lack complexity, but it's certainly not subtle.

Mf: Thin and weak. Smooth. Wet. Abysmal palate presence; it hardly has any body at all. I blame the oxidation and severe undercarbonation. Complements the flavour profile somewhat.

Dr: Many will despise this beer. It's very strong in flavour and explores the less popular territory of the style (deliberate use of oxidation; vinous character, etc.). I'm glad to have tried it, but I expected far far better from Narke. Still, I'm glad Narke doesn't blend in with the rest of the bland beer crowd; they always produce unique beers. This isn't one I'd want to have again until my palate has really been stretched; this is a weird one but I can't help but imagine there's some refined mastery going on here. In fact, as it warms and as I get accustomed to it, it's really growing on me. Old Ale is one of the most underappreciated and underbrewed styles out there and I'm glad to have gotten to try this one. That said, I'd currently prefer North Coast's Old Stock Ale any day of the week. Hides its ABV well.

This got considerably better as it warmed. I highly recommend disregarding the label's serving temperature recommendation. Let her warm up like you would a good barleywine.

Low B-
Feb 05, 2013
Photo of thagr81us
Reviewed by thagr81us from South Carolina

3.38/5  rDev +16.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Enjoyed while attending Cantillon Zwanze Day 2012 at Avenue Pub! Big thanks goes out to BRoss242 for sharing this one as a pre-game! Served from bottle into a chalice. Poured a massively dark brown with a minimal light tan head. Maintained decent lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, wood, earth, perfume, vapor rub, musty, and roasted malt. The flavor was of sweet malt, earth, floral, perfume, musty, and medicinal. It had a light feel on the palate with medium carbonation. Overall this was a fairly decent brew. This one was definitely rather weird if I am honest here. BRoss242’s wife actually described the nose on this one as ‘an old man covered in Vick’s Vapor Rub throwing peppermint snowballs’. Interesting to say the least… But this one really was quite strange and medicinal. Despite this fact it was still drinkable to me, but other who had it didn’t like it very much at all. Glad I got the chance to try this one, but doubt I would revisit this one. Tick.
Dec 31, 2012
Unionöl from HaandBryggeriet
Beer rating: 75 out of 100 with 16 ratings