Odin's Tipple (Barrel Aged)
HaandBryggeriet

 

So this is a sour stout. Not my first one and I really liked the others I had. But in this case I really don't know if this is how it was supposed to turn out or if it was infected by some bacteria. Anyway, the end result is not that great. I enjoyed the regular version more.

 

 

 

A: Black with a brown ring of head.

S: Nose is a bit faint (in three glasses, we get three different noses), with nose of oak, roasted malt, anise, molasses and dark chocolate.

T: Cabernet, zinfandel, chardonnay, dry gewurztraminier, anise, lemon, chocolate, a touch of coffee.

M: Medium-full bodied, smooth enough.

O: Not at all what I was expecting, but it works. I'd still say Scotch and Bourbon barrels work better with the imperial stout style than Akevitt barrels, but it's good. It's a bit tart, the taste is not what one would expect from an imperial stout, but those flavors still linger in the background.

Poured from half-litre bottle into a wine glass. Brewed 26 April 2012. Bottled on 6 February 2013.

A: Black and viscous with no head.

S: I poured three glasses of this, and they all smell completely different. Mine smells vaguely sour -- bright fruit (cherries, raspberries) -- with hints of roasted malt. The next smells of Worcestershire sauce. The last, perhaps the most normal of them all, smells of chocolate and dry roasted malt. All are good(ish).

T/M: Quite sour; very tart. Musty. I had been warned by a friend that his batch was 'infected'. But I'm wondering...was it? We all just assumed 'aged on oak barrels' meant whisky or bourbon, but why not wine? That's what it tastes like to me. A Russian River-esque wine-barrel-aged stout. In that like, it's not only good, but also interesting. Astringent-sour grape and cherry hit first, followed by hints of wood and chocolate. Chocolate-covered cherry cordials. Musky. The aftertaste is bitter and lingering.

O: An odd, interesting, engaging beer. Maybe it's infected, maybe it's just a sour/wine(d) stout. Either way, I enjoyed it. That's what matters, yeah?

P.S. Consensus seems to be that it was aged in second-use acquavit barrels, perhaps even the same ones that held the barrel-aged porter.

 

This thickly poured a deep black inky hue that displayed a dense fizzy brown head that was quickly fleeting.

The aroma is dry chocolate with a sour cherry, this is unusual. There is a phenolic sense to the scent.

The flavor is smoky, with hints of dry chocolate but there is a sour taste that is quite shocking. Barrel aging seems to have not added the oak, bourbon, vanilla or coconut but instead a cherry tart and sour.

The feel is sour, at times bitter, but very full.

I absolutely love Odin's Tipple and was extremely excited by this but found it to be very disappointing. There is none of the typical or style like qualities that this should possess and for that this suffers.

 

 

 

 

500ml bottle served in my ST stem. Beautiful pour - pitch black and opaque with a dense, voluminous, 2.5 inch, mocha-colored head honeycombed below the cap. Strands of lacing are revealed as the brew recedes. Nose expresses sour, skinned fruit (perhaps cherries), lactose and a hint of cocoa on dark, slightly roasted malts. I get no hint of the barrel here, but I'm guessing this is a soured stout (not at all what I was expecting). Taste is vinous on a malty backbone with cocoa, char and a slightly medicinal character at the back. Mouthfeel is medium-light in body with a slightly oily texture, as well as a tart/astringent quality that leaves a bit of an acidic burn at the back of the throat between quaffs. Overall - quite a disappointment. I really enjoyed Odin's Tipple so was hoping for just an enhancement of the base beer, but this brew fell apart. Not sure if the sourness is due to an infection or intentional; however, a major let down - particularly at the pricepoint.

500 mL bottle poured into a snifter.

Appearance - Black body. Small khaki head. Medium thick collar.

Smell - Smells sour. Slight acetic aroma. Roasty malts.

Taste - Sharp sourness up front. Roasted malts. Coffee. But it's infected.

Mouthfeel - Medium low body. Well carbonated. Sour.

Overall - Infected! ARGH.

 

 

 

Bottle to tulip

A: Dark black, very thick. A finger brown head that quickly retreats to a brown rim and blotchy film. A viscous layer that is amber brown when glass is swirled.

S: Dark roasted malts, dry grapes and cherries. Oak. Moderate aroma. Slightly sour smell.

T: Dark roasted malts. Wine. Tart. Slightly sweet in the form of fruit and oak. Moderate oak presence. Very well balanced (oak/tart/sweet/fruits/malts).

M: A very thick ale with low-moderate carbonation. heavy body. Fairly smooth.

O: A very nice sour stout. Defiantly worth the price tag. I would love to cellar one of these beasts for a few years. I highly recommend this ale to any fans of sours and stouts. The sour must come from the aging. Its totally different than the base. This is on spot.

Pours black, wall to wall, with a dark brown head. This is a very dark beer. Happy memories of the original version are coming back to me from that walnut-dark chocolate mocha head. Just a bit of lacing but pretty good retention for a big barrel-aged stout. I imagine the brett helps.

The aroma has a whole bunch of dark chocolate and roast, and it's shot through with a blackberry fruitiness. There's a mild oak presence, sweet, gooey caramel, and a well-blended vanilla note that grows rather strong as the beer warms. There's also red wine, molasses, cherry, raspberry, raisin, plum, cocoa, coffee and a touch of vinegar. And it all works beautifully together.

The taste starts with sweet caramel before roast and dark chocolate start to kick up. The blackberry-red wine-cherry fruitiness quickly peeks its head up and announces that this is no normal imperial stout. There's a sour twang to beer, but it just enhances the rest of the flavors and tastes very little like an unintentionally soured stout. It's reminds me of a fancy raspberry and dark chocolate truffle. Mild roast and wood bitterness in the finish.

The mouthfeel is a bit thinned out by the the barrel, but there's still plenty of body, and the flavor is full and rich. Very little booze.

For me, HaandBryggeriet's best work is Odin's Tipple, and this beer is a worthy twist on its base. Personally, I like the subtle approach, but it's worth noting that it's not all that different from the normal stuff. There's a bit more vanilla and maybe a bit more fruit at this point in its age, but nothing really screams barrel-aged. That said, why mess with excellence? This is a big sipper of a beer with oodles of complexity to chew through.