Hokansons Ol
HammerHeart Brewing Company

750ml bottle. Capped and waxed. Bottled in 'Feb. 2018'.
Dark brown colored body, looks clear when back lit. One finger of tan, fizzy tan head settles back to bubble fed islands and ring. Any lacing slides back down into the body.
Aroma of chocolate malt, dark tart berries, liquor oak barrel with caraway and a touch of dill. Slight smoke.
Taste is smoky roasted malts, followed by the slightly tart berries, and then mixing in is the aquavit spice and herb. Rising up through it all is coffee and cocoa, and then finally the oak barrel. The aftertaste is tart fruit, coffee, and cocoa.
Not more than medium mouth feel, with supportive carbonation.
The story here is the complexity of the taste profile and the more subtle smell profile. There is a lot going on with this beer, and all aspects work well together. From one moment to another the taste changes slightly to reveal the differing components. I cannot recall having another beer aged in aquavit barrels, but it certainly works with this brew. The aromatics are really another treat here.

 

 

Bottle. Tan head. Dark brown color.

A very odd beer. There is a tangy fruit flavor and what I believe to be a whole mess of aquavit. Licorice/anice. Dark fruits, molasses. Big barrels and some abv showing. Smokey/peat notes.

Not sure what to think about this one.

Imperial Brown Ale.

Pours a very dark brown colour. Smells like oak, aquavit, cardamom, dill, and a little boozy. Tastes lighter than expected, very quick molasses notes up front, a big boozy bite, smoke throughout, a little juicy berry (probably the lingonberry), tanic bitterness, astringent, hissop, and cardamom. Very complex and lots of layers.

this might be my favorite hammerheart beer to date, which is really saying something, as these guys kill it and i love everything they do. this one is an imperial brown ale, aged in aquavit barrels with wild lingonberries, and its as good as it sounds like it should be! inky black from the tap and sporting a full inch of lasting airy caramel brown head, delicate on top of the abyssal base. aroma is mellow wood smoke, like a long a slow burning hardwood fire just wafting up slowly, nice with the very dark roasted barley in here, the coffee character that contributes, and the slightly astringent yet also jammy and concentrated lingonberry here. yum! the flavor is predictably hearty and complex, with the berries kind of pushed to the back, well behind the smoke and the roast. i get some rye breadiness, possibly a caraway vibe from the unique aquavit barrels, it marries in perfectly to the dark grain, and the woodiness this has seems to carry both the smoke and the coffee essene all the way through. i like the berries contributing a little sweetness and a little tartness at the same time, it serves to cut the body and the bitter of all this dark grain down, and it makes a more drinkable and complete beer. enormous complexity here, i get fresh culinary herbs, dark raw cocoa, freshly lit cigar, and even some toffee and molasses sweetness in the middle. glorious beer, unique recipe and really cool barrel treatment. this is one of a kind and something to be treasured. hammerheart is easily one of the most unsung amazing breweries in the country!