Haandbukk
HaandBryggeriet

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From:
HaandBryggeriet
 
Norway
Style:
Doppelbock
Ranked #105
ABV:
8%
Score:
85
Ranked #20,808
Avg:
3.71 | pDev: 5.39%
Reviews:
8
Ratings:
16
Status:
Active
Rated:
May 11, 2022
Added:
Mar 22, 2018
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
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Ratings by chicagoish:
Photo of chicagoish
Rated by chicagoish from Pennsylvania

3.38/5  rDev -8.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Jul 01, 2018
More User Ratings:
Photo of Sigmund
Reviewed by Sigmund from Norway

3.55/5  rDev -4.3%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
500 ml bottle, from the brewery. ABV is 8%. Dark reddish brown colour, moderate off-white to beige head. Nice aroma of malts, brown bread, caramel and bakery. Fairly sweet flavour, notes of caramel, molasses, slightly roast malts, moderate hops. Good beer.
May 11, 2022
Photo of TerryW
Reviewed by TerryW from Canada (ON)

3.74/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
Dark walnut under a moderate head. Short head that dissipates quickly. Sweet, treacle on the nose, oaky. Same taste profile. Sweet treacle, burned caramel. Earthiness. Not killer sweet, works for the style. Nicely done.
Oct 04, 2019
Photo of spinrsx
Rated by spinrsx from Canada (ON)

3.5/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Bottle from lcbo
May 13, 2019
 
Rated: 3.85 by irishkyle21 from Canada (ON)

Jan 21, 2019
Photo of BGDrock
Reviewed by BGDrock from Canada (ON)

3.62/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Brown body, ruby red through the light; fine, sand coloured head has a couple minutes retention.
Aroma is mild, has some prune and raisin to it.
Aggressively sweet! In a cloying, syrupy way that is tough to take, like maple syrup blended with dates. Whispers of chocolate are present, some dark roast coffee. There are some hops in the finish attempting to provide balance, but it's a struggle not being won, even if it does manage to subdue the sugary notes a tad over time.

This might do better when accompanying dessert, in small quantities, at close to room temperature on a cold night. In general it's too sweet to really enjoy, despite hints of complexity.
Jul 21, 2018
Photo of thehyperduck
Reviewed by thehyperduck from Canada (ON)

4.06/5  rDev +9.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
500 mL bottle from the LCBO; best before Dec 12 2019 and served at cellar temperature. Never met a Norwegian beer I didn't like.

Pours a dark, ruddy chestnut-brown colour with brilliant red highlights; its body/complexion is barely translucent , which is likely related to the fairly copious amount of sediment visible within. One finger of soapy, beige-coloured head lasts for 90 seconds or so, quickly disintegrating into a frothy, decent-sized collar surrounding a gossamer-thin film. Looks good enough, but the aroma is where my interest is finally roused - it has a pleasant, malty sweetness with a fair bit of dark fruit character, a trait it shares with some of my favourite German doppelbocks. Notes of raisin, fig, caramel, treacle and red licorice candy integrate nicely with the bready malt base, as does a light hint of mushy banana.

Ooh, this right here is my kind of bock; rich dark malt flavours abound right from the start, and persist well past the finish. Treacle and brown sugar sweetness combine with a bready, biscuit-like note; these are bolstered mid-sip by dark-fruity flavours of raisin and fig. Hints of licorice root, burnt grain and herbal spiciness show up towards the back end, which also features a fair bit of alcohol heat - this does integrate well with the malty profile IMO, but may also be potent enough to repel a few folks, as all of these flavours linger on into the aftertaste. Medium-bodied, with mild carbonation that gently agitates the palate, resulting in a soft, smooth mouthfeel that I rather enjoy. I won't have any issues polishing off the rest of my bottle, but its strength is enough to dull my desire for seconds.

Final Grade: 4.06, an A-. Haandbukk is a quality brew that I am glad I picked up while I had the chance. I wouldn't say it rises to the level of the top-tier German doppelbocks (e.g. Celebrator), but it's still sitting comfortably on the next tier down. Reminds me of Doppel-Hirsch, actually - this one is a little less sweet and a little more boozy, but delicious either way. I'd buy more if I could... but since its stock is now long gone from my area, I'll just have to hope that more HaandBryggeriet products find their way to Ontario in the future.
Jul 19, 2018
 
Rated: 3.25 by Jotora from Canada (ON)

Jul 14, 2018
 
Rated: 3.75 by kwjd from Canada (ON)

May 17, 2018
 
Rated: 3.69 by Sammy from Canada (ON)

May 06, 2018
Photo of patre_tim
Reviewed by patre_tim from Thailand

3.79/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75
Dark brown with a ruby tinge, slightly hazy, with a half finger of beige head.

Smells of bananas and brown sugar, with slightly toasted toast notes.

Tastes slightly sweet with brown sugar, toasted notes and a hint of banana.

Medium to thick, syrupy body, with little carbonation.

Got at LCBO, drinking this spring day on Lake Muskoka, May 2nd, 2018.
May 03, 2018
 
Rated: 3.75 by GoHabsGo from Canada (ON)

Apr 28, 2018
 
Rated: 3.9 by yancot from Canada (ON)

Apr 18, 2018
Photo of Perry_W
Reviewed by Perry_W from Canada (ON)

3.83/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Looks great. Flavours are pretty whacky....sweet molasses, a bit raisiny....bitter black licorice maybe as well? Definitely a bit of a hop backbone

Can't say I overly enjoy this beer because it's a bit of a funhouse beer (tastes strange for strangeness sake) but it certainly isn't boring. I love bocks but this is defintely a freakshow version of a bock.

Would likely be good paired with some cured meats
Apr 16, 2018
Photo of taxandbeerguy
Reviewed by taxandbeerguy from Canada (ON)

3.82/5  rDev +3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
500 ml bottle from the LCBO for $6 CDN. Served fairly cold into a weizen glass. A Norwegian take on a German Classic.

Appearance - dark brown with honey brown hues from the bottle. Pours a decadent finger of dense fluffy tan head. Great retention and lots of sticky lacing.

Smell - Malt. Molasses. Kind of a sticky rice pudding like aroma too. Some fig. Lots of aromas, not the most pungent when cold. Nose isn't that much bigger as it warms.

Taste - Grainy initially with lots of molasses and fig. Some leafy and earthy hops mixed in making this a little more bitter than most in the style. Pretty good and sticky.

Mouthfeel - Dense, well carbonated and very substantial body. A true sipper. Finishes a little drier than you might expect.

Overall - an enjoyable take on a hoppier than usual doppelbock. Nice beer and despite the steep price, one I'm very glad I tried because how often is a Norwegian doppelbock available?
Apr 07, 2018
Photo of ludachris
Reviewed by ludachris from Canada (ON)

3.94/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
It's deep mahogany hue is on the darker end of the style. The off-white head on top is light on its feet and recedes quickly.

There's a wet copper note that I couldn't kick until it warmed. Once it does, gooey caramel and prunes show up alongside semi-sweet dark chocolate, amber honey and toasted bread. Everything is rich but neat and far from cloying. Ethanol comes through lively and sweet and is tucked away nicely.

Smoothed over toasted bread and dark honey sets the tone. Fresh Cinnabon comes to mind. There's weight and chew to its dark fruit character, largely comprised of prunes and plums. Dark chocolate adds both a sweetness and a dryness to the finish.

The body is clean and sanded down. Much of its weight seems to come from dextrins. Sticky on the lips. Its alcohol character comes across more in its warming sensation and dryness in the finish than it does in aroma and flavor.

A heartier, more dextrin forward dopplebock in comparison to the originals of the style. It's still trimmed and tidy and checks all the boxes of a malty lager.
Apr 05, 2018
Haandbukk from HaandBryggeriet
Beer rating: 85 out of 100 with 16 ratings