North Bridge Extreme
Nørrebro Bryghus

 

 

 

 

 

The incredible push to higher and higher ranges of alcohol and hops yields an ale of strong bitterness and Pacific Northwest hops but with a strong balance of malt. But IPA's should be balanced, should they?

A glimpse of that balance starts with a much darker than expected pour. Its rich mahogany hue is decorated with the signature dry-hop haze. A sturdy ivory cap of foam tops the beer like meringue as the foam settles and endures the session. Every sip casts a ring of lace against the glass to continue its deliverance of quality.

Strong aromatics of brown sugar and toffee align on the nose while a counterbalance of citrus and pine close in quickly. Balanced thereafter, the ale explores high spice in ethanol, nut and rum influences heading into taste.

Hearty sweet flavors resonate with the early palate as the malt sweetness of toffee, brown sugar and rum saturates the taste buds. Its middle dissolves much of the malt sweetness and introduces the taste of hops: grapefruit, orange peels and fresh cut grass all enter the mix while a finish of fading sweetness and growing resinous bitterness stems from a pine taste and gives the ale a lush and hoppy closure.

Full bodied, this is the tale-tell part of the beer;s recipe. Until now, I could have been talked into an IPA base. But because of the malty-rich balance- this ale is just as big on malt as it is on hops, which makes its taste much more aligned with American Barleywines as it does of traditional ale.

This North Bridge Extreme is a strongly fortified ale but it is much better served as an American Barleywine more than an American Imperial IPA.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hoppy, malty aroma has a strong yeasty overtone, not what I expect in an IPA. It pours a somewhat hazy cola brown with a fairly thick pale tan head that leaves substantial lacing. Hoppy flavor has subtle notes of caramel and grapefruit, and a whisper of fruity sweetness that offsets the bitter and sour tastes. Smooth flavor has decent body and a fair amount of fizz and life, leaving a hoppy and caramel undertone. Extreme? Maybe not, but recommended to IPA lovers.

 

 

North Bridge Extreme opens with a potent nose so full of hops and fruity sugars that it's hard to imagine more being crammed in. The overall effect is that of concentrated fruit and hop extracts, the beer heady with pink grapefruit and grapefruit rind, vinous plant stems, rose hips, berries, orange liqueurs, apricot, nectarine, pear, and plum. A good vanilla and hint-of-anise base helps ground the sugars, as well as notes of French baguette and floury toast crust. The nose is, overall, slightly too heavy on the sugars--the other flavors so outclassed that they're actually difficult to find--but the effect is still lovely.

On the tongue, the beer opens with a far darker flavor profile than the nose spoke of. Here the fruit esters tend towards raisins, dates, prunes, and plums, and the vanilla-and-light-anise notes come through much more strongly, joined by a kola nut backing, and touches of roasted pecans and toffee. Hops do bring heavy bitterness, burning the tongue and soft palate, but come across more vinous and resiny than sugary, though some rose hips and grapefruit rind still wind their way through. Marble rye breads and sourdough bread crusts add extra grounding, and the beer also boasts peppery touches of what seems like rye or fennel. The aftertaste is a fading remnant of the bitter and resiny hop flavors, as well as toast crust. Mouthfeel is medium (though it comes across as watery, given the potency of the flavors), and carbonation is medium.

Overall, the flavors in here are good, though far darker than I would have expected, coming across in many ways more like an aged port or a raisin wine than a beer. A slight alcohol kick does mar the edges somewhat, but not enough to be distracting. As a whole, I thought the beer excellent, and worth trying again.

 

Pours a lovely, thick red colour, very deep for an IPA, with a crackling and extremely effervescent head of sandy white. Lace is spectacular, leaving alien forms on the inside of the glass. Body is actually a little lighter than I expected for the ABV, but it looks good.

Nose is big and boozy, with a sharp, hot astringency that puts me in mind of an Old Ale or a big barleywine. There is a touch of the citric hops to it, but the roaring fire of the booze is more dominant. Very sweet and heavy, twanged with metallic bite and not really enough hops for the style.

Taste is a little better, perhaps because it's much lighter than I expected. There's still a chewiness to the palate, and a good deal of malt, but the hops do get a look in here, giving a slight acidic bite that leavens the palate, and sends up characters of green sultanas and dried apricot. Smooth port characters linger. Feel is very good—extremely smooth, which counteracts some of the lightness in the flavour.

It's still not a classic IPA—it genuinely doesn't even have the bitterness for that—but it's a tasty brew, and an interesting one.

This brew pours a burnt mahogany hue with beautiful carbonation that leaves behind a very frothy two finger head that stays and leaves heaps of lacing everywhere,the aromas are gingerbread,toasty malts and carmelized white fruits,it has a nice sticky above medium well carbonated mouthfeel and leaves tastes of caramelized pears,sticky date pudding,bready malts and finishes with a soft toffee,apricot finish and overall for me its a very easy drop to drink more than the one of with the ABV being very well hidden.

Pours a hazy orange golden with a decent head. Smells sweet and malty, but with a citrus bite. The taste has a nice balance of pine and citrus in the hop profile, and thankfully the hops are more forward than they were in the aroma. The malt is still there, but it takes a back seat to the luscious hops. Big and bold in the mouth, but not hot. Very nice.