Yggdrasil Juleøl
Captured By Porches Brewing Company

 

500ml bottle

Pours a finger of off white head into my nonic, retention was somewhat poor and faded quickly. Good initial lacing. Body is a very dark brown, with hues of red and orange. Looks like a lot of bubbles coming up from the bottom. Despite the head, it looks good so far.

Rich malts on the nose, toffee, caramel, honey, slightly bready. Smells really nice. Definitely a sweet beer, but I’m not grossed out by it, yet. Noticing a slightly sour off flavor, for that reason it’ll only be a 4.

Flavor is a little chaotic at first. A little boozy and tangy up front, with a small, but noticeable hop presence. Finishes sweet and malty, some dark fruit. Stale/extract grain flavors hit from time to time, but are not consistent. Took me a while to break this sucker down, but it has settled into a decent winter warmer. The alcohol is noticeable, but it’s not a problem. Nice flavor.

Sweet, but sugars only linger for a short period of time. Bitterness is present, but again, only lingers briefly. Pretty well balanced between the sugars and bitterness. Carbonation is on the lower end, but it works fine. Body has some chewiness to it, always welcome. Could be a hair lower in residual sugars, and booze could be slightly less apparent, but both of those are to be expected. Overall a very nice mouthfeel.

Drinkability is pretty darn good for a beer over 9 percent.

The appearance turned out pretty good. Lacing was patchy, but good.

Overall a nice winter warmer. A little rough around the edges, but it has some good depth and is quite tasty. The booze did start to clean up as this guy warmed up a little bit, now finishing very smooth.

Not only does this indicate it is a strong and malty beer, but it looks to fit the bill as well. A syrupy dark amber beer fills the tankard like malt extract. It's dense and muddled reddish body is topped by the thinnest lightly tanned head and leaves just a ring around the glass.

No need to elaborate...spruce, caramel, and dirt. Yet somehow, this aroma is very inviting.

The flavor matches perfectly. It's raw and wonderful. The unique and simple blend of spruce, caramel, and earth scream this is a winter warmer.

Its rich and syrupy body is just right for a bitter cold winter day. It's smooth and balanced. The alcohol is blanketed by its fullness, yet easily warms the insides.

I appreciate this beer very much on this snowy day. I can't say I've had any Scandinavian Holiday Ales before, but I'd imagine this fits the criteria. It's easy to imagine this grog being heavily consumed in the great Viking Halls by a roaring fire. I'd definitely recommend this beer to those who are seeking out something truly unique, and something truly warming this holiday season. Skol!