Julnarren Special Winter Ale
Hantverksbryggeriet AB

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From:
Hantverksbryggeriet AB
 
Sweden
Style:
Winter Warmer
ABV:
7%
Score:
81
Avg:
3.35 | pDev: 17.61%
Reviews:
9
Ratings:
14
Status:
Active
Rated:
Sep 03, 2017
Added:
Feb 25, 2011
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
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Ratings by Goulash:
Photo of Goulash
Rated by Goulash from Florida

2.5/5  rDev -25.4%

Apr 11, 2012
More User Ratings:
Photo of joaopmgoncalves
Reviewed by joaopmgoncalves from Portugal

3.47/5  rDev +3.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Poured to a teku glass. Best of March 2017. Drank in November 2017.

A: Body pours a coppery hue with a very crystalline profile. Head is beige, having minor retention and no lacing.
S: There's some big tart off flavour, an apple-like touch after a spicy profile. Something seems wrong here.
T: Taste doesn't have that off-flavour profile, having just a big round of spiciness, some roastiness, some toffee that's a bit too strong and tons of alcohol for the end with a bittering accent that doesn't come from hops.
M: Body is medium. Carbonation is good but alcohol is way too powerful.
O: I wasn't expecting such a weird aroma on this beer. But it's still drinkable.
Sep 03, 2017
 
Rated: 3.5 by olradetbalder from Sweden

Dec 01, 2014
Photo of psoriasaurus
Reviewed by psoriasaurus from Thailand

4.5/5  rDev +34.3%
This is how julöl should taste! Many varieties of late are much too sweet/spicy. This beer comes at the style from a different angle. Pouring a murky sewer brown, this öl is jävla funky. At first there is a hint of spice, but then it goes down and good god damn! Think dark, malt-forward belgian ale combined with a wild ale. Great effort overall, pick one up if you can manage to- it is probably a rare find in the USA.

Skål!!
Nov 21, 2014
 
Rated: 3 by Bromine from Florida

Mar 06, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by RochefortChris from North Carolina

Dec 04, 2013
 
Rated: 3 by aztraz from Sweden

Dec 02, 2012
Photo of PorterLambic
Reviewed by PorterLambic from Florida

2.19/5  rDev -34.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 2
Pours a cloudy medium brown with a small off-white head that drops to a thin film pretty quickly. Would have been cloudier if I hadn't left so much yummy yeast in the bottle. No lace left behind to speak of.
Smell is strangely sour with spice, malt and cardboard notes all light compared to the sour. Balance is just decent.
Taste is sour first and continues with toast, light malt, spice and slight whiskey notes. Flavor is mostly sour like the nose, its good, but the balance is off, too heavily weighted.
Medium body at best, light-medium effervescence. Slight drying at the finish with a faint warming aspect as well. Aftertaste is mostly toast. Drinks like an old ale crossed with a sour farmhouse beer, not really on style at all. I hope it is just a mislabeled bottle otherwise, they need to rethink this beer. Not really warming, not enough body, too sour by far. I like Baltic beers but this isn't one I can recommend as is or as a Winter ale.
Jul 23, 2012
Photo of ChainGangGuy
Reviewed by ChainGangGuy from Georgia

3.13/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
Appearance: Pours out a clear, tanned leather hued body with an inch of bubbly beige foam.

Smell: Toasty malts featuring a whiff of dark brown sugar, berry-esque fruit, and a hint of shredded mint leaf.

Taste: Moderately sweet, nutty caramel and brown sugar over deeply toasted malts. A little handful of berries, which left me wondering if there's juniper in here. Some spruce, a sprig of mint and a thin vein of tartness. Fruity, lightly tart, middlingly malty finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. Creamy mouthfeel.

Overall: Just as I'm not sure about these Terrance and Phillip-style labels, I'm just not sure about this beer.
Jan 13, 2012
Photo of OneDropSoup
Reviewed by OneDropSoup from Pennsylvania

3.19/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Poured into a stemmed tulip: Deep garnet body with ruby highlights under about a half-finger of loose, soft head that drops to a thin, yeasty coating. A few strands of lacing.

Smell is a little rough around the edges: brown sugar that turns into a kind of sweet booziness, dark cherry & plum that spills into a moderate acidity, some musty oxidation, even a little pickly. Like a lot of American-made Belgian darks, interesting but a bit of a mess.

Surprisingly, the taste kind of smooths out, with notes of apple butter, a little strawberry, plum, with a nice mild tartness firming up the rear. Pretty pleasant, & without a lot of the weakpoints that were in the smell. A little cocoa emerges later on.

Medium-bodied, but that acidity toward the end kind of thins & dries it out some.

Pretty unremarkable, it was nice that the turn-offs weren't pervasive, but still can't say I'd grab this one again.
Dec 21, 2011
Photo of Cyberkedi
Reviewed by Cyberkedi from Georgia

3.45/5  rDev +3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Malty aroma has hints of cloves and dates and just a touch of molasses. It pours a clear mahogany with a thick, though not persistent, pale tan head that leaves minimal lacing. Flavor has a malty core and clove, ginger, floral and fruity notes with just a hint of caramel. Smooth, rich texture has an average amount of fizz and leaves a fruity, slightly syrupy finish with a subtle tingle that lasts only a little bit. Still, a decent brew.
Dec 12, 2011
Photo of jpro
Reviewed by jpro from Colorado

3.12/5  rDev -6.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Was directed to this "new, weird stuff" from 12 Percent Imports at the local bottle shop and thought I'd give it a whirl...

A: Poured from the stubby, 11.2oz bottle into a Maudite snifter... Murky, Earl Grey Tea - esque; small, almond-colored head recedes quickly, leaving no lace.

S: Dark bread; tobacco; light toast; fennel; a little bit of tart plum in the background. Interesting combo.

T: Lightly roasted malts; a lot of spice; virtually no hop bitterness - maybe some mint; some dark fruit.

M: Medium bodied and medium carbonation.

D: The mix of spice flavors (which are difficult to identify) is a bit odd and takes away from the overall experience with this one.
Mar 21, 2011
Photo of avalon07
Reviewed by avalon07 from South Carolina

4/5  rDev +19.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A: Poured from a bottle to a pint glass. Had a rich amber color and a cloudy texture. There was an inch of foamy, fairly long-lasting head. OK lacing.

S: Smelled of malt, hops, and some mild spices.

T: Tasted of malt, some unidentified spices, and a little bit of hops to top it off. A decent, if slightly odd flavor. Basically falls in line with the Winter Warmer style.

M: A decent amount of carbonation with a smooth finish. Medium-bodied.

D: On the whole, a well made, drinkable beer.
Mar 12, 2011
Photo of John_M
Reviewed by John_M from Washington

3.78/5  rDev +12.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Never heard of this brewery before. On tap at Max's today.

The beer pours fairly dark amber color with good head retention and lacing. OK. The nose on this beer is very, very odd. I get some old wood, ginger, juniper berries, burnt sugar and sandlewood. Really, for all the world this beer smells like a scented soap bar. The flavor profile is a bit better, but this is still one odd tasting beer. The beer is moderately sweet with butter and honey, but with more of that old wood and sandlewood flavor. Kind of intriguing. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a fairly long finish. Drinkabilty is OK, but there's something in this beer that's upsetting my stomach a bit. Certianly the alcohol is well disguised in this winter warmer, so at least there's that. Hmmm...

Well, I like to see brewers pushing the envelope stylistically, and this beer certainly does that. Can't imagine drinking a whole lot of this, but I was glad for the opportunity to try it.
Mar 11, 2011
Julnarren Special Winter Ale from Hantverksbryggeriet AB
Beer rating: 81 out of 100 with 14 ratings