HaandBryggeriet - Odin's Tripple

The heftiest of beers in our HaandBryggeriet special offer of 500mL bottled releases, Odin’s Tipple was a must-include for us from the start: upper-echelon levels of flavor and potency, almost an amalgam of imperial stout and barley wine qualities, and still: so nice and smooth.

This feels massive, especially even after just a few minutes of being allowed to warm up to a more appropriate temperature. Odin’s Tipple feels like the perfect endpoint for a tour of the HaandBryggeriet line: it's exceedingly generous like the others, maybe even a touch more so; this stays exceptionally drinkable and crisp; and there seems to be no end to the layers as it’s allowed to warm. This is perfect for beside a bonfire, celebrating naval victory or a new job.

The aromatics here, at least the core chocolate- and roast-led ones, bring to mind Anchor’s Porter: still easily one of the most well put together porters in the country. There's a rich and almost velvety aspect to the nose: perfectly ripe red fruit mix with plum, dark chocolate, and even a bit of edginess that seems like anise. Licorice, for sure. Remarkably dense, super dark and plush, with just major amounts of fruits and chocolate swirling about in those aromatics.

This feels silky smooth, with the carbonation poking through as tiny, enlivening bubbles. At the front arrives plenty of fruit: ripe cherries, fruit leather, maybe even some blackberry. The darkness soon follows: effortless levels of caramel, milk and bitter chocolate, and what we'd be inclined to describe as Norwegian fudge: just huge, deep pockets of chocolate and dark, roasted notes and hints of char and licorice. This expands as it warms, and there seem to be no lack of layers to explore as this Dark Norse Ale opens up into additional intricacies. We found toasted marshmallow, baker’s chocolate, vanilla…plus stuff we had no names for.

You should feel just fine setting down some bottles of Odin’s Tipple to see how this beer develops, and the ABV and initial focus of this release suggest this should be interesting for quite some time to come. Just be sure to pop a bottle at least every six months or so to keep an eye on how things are going. The red fruits and chocolate here seem to position this one perfectly for alongside heartier fare like grilled steaks, roasted pork—those sorts of loveliness.