Oppigårds Winter Ale - Oppigårds Bryggeri AB

BeerResearcher

Massachusetts

3.8/5  rDev +3%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

16.9oz light brown bottle. No freshness date.
Served in a nonic tumbler.
It pours a teaky brown color with a fast-fading off-white head.
A sweet caramel and honey smell rises at once. A light citrusy and pear smell peeks through. A background smell of wood and distant flowers fades in.
A substantial honey-sweet malt is direct and forward. Mixed fruit cup with sweet grapefruit lie beneath.
The body is slick and almost oily. Goes down real easy and smooth. Could use a bit more alcoholic punch as a winter offering.

Serving type: bottle

08-16-2011 21:48:05 | More by BeerResearcher

AlkaholTester

Nevada

3.25/5  rDev -11.9%

04-23-2013 04:09:49 | More by AlkaholTester

chinchill

South Carolina

3.85/5  rDev +4.3%
look: 4.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Poured from a 16.9 oz bottle into a Unibroue snifter.

A: This great looking beer is a deep red-orange-brown color, with a large off-white head that is exceptionally durable and leaves the glass well coated.

Aroma: medium malts and a nice splash of hops, with hints of vanilla and light spices.

T: The taste starts out malty and lightly sweet, with some caramel and brown sugar. The hops presence then kicks in creating a fairly well balanced mix. The after-taste is slightly bitter, bready, spicy and hoppy.

M: Quite smooth; medium body; medium carbonation sufficient to render the beer a bit lively.

O: A fine hoppy brown ale that will function as a Christmas Ale.

Serving type: bottle

03-27-2013 23:25:50 | More by chinchill

TheSixthRing

California

3.56/5  rDev -3.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Appearance - Pours a hazy burnt orange color with an off-white, rust tinged head that sits just under 2 fingers thick. Fair retention. Leaves a thin layer of microbubbles on the surface. Solid lacing around the glass with good stick.

Smell - Mild sourness at first. Fades as the beer warms, giving way to moderate cocoa notes and a healthy amount of ester fruitiness.

Taste - Moderate cocoa and hints of caramel character from start to finish, complimented by both sweet and mildly sour fruity esters; red apple and slight grain mid-taste while touches of Eureka lemon can be found near and into the finish.

Mouthfeel - Medium in body with a fair amount of soft carbonation. Near creamy. Goes down well.

Overall - A solid winter ale. That said, I dont feel I'd be missing much if I never had it again. If it were even just a bit more roasty, maybe I'd be thinking otherwise.

Serving type: bottle

03-24-2013 03:59:01 | More by TheSixthRing

UCLABrewN84

California

3.6/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Pours a murky dark orange-brown with a foamy khaki head that settles to a partial film on top of the beer. Foamy patches of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of toasted malt, caramel, toffee, and some earthy and herbal hop aromas. Taste is much the same with citrus zest and malty flavors on the finish. There is a very mild amount of hop and roasty bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer with some nice barleywine-like aromas but the flavor is a bit unrefined in my opinion.

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2013 03:33:12 | More by UCLABrewN84

kojevergas

California

2.51/5  rDev -32%
look: 2.75 | smell: 2.75 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

1 pint .9 fl oz brown glass bottle with okay label and green branded pressure cap acquired at Total Wine Redondo Beach for $2.00 and served into a conical Samuel Smith's pint glass in me gaff in low altitude Los Angeles, California. Reviewed live. Expectations are high. Self-identifies as a "Swedish Farmhouse." Imported by the Shelton Bastards.

Served straight from the fridge. Side-poured with standard vigor as no carbonation issues are anticipated. This is my first beer from this brewery.

Upon opening, beer quickly surged out of the bottle and spilled on my desk. This definitely seems overcarbonated.

A: Pours a three finger beige colour head of light cream, decent thickness, and pretty good (6+ minute) retention for the average ABV. Body colour is a dull murky dark copper-amber. No yeast particles are visible. No bubble show. Translucent. No lacing as the head recedes. A mediocre appearance.

Sm: Earthy. Light floral hops. Biscuit malt. Caramel malt. A very light aroma; my broken nose can hardly pick up on anything. No alcohol is detectable. Maybe yeast character is detectable; I just can't smell hardly anything.

T: Bland overly sweet caramel malt. Stale floral hops. Stale biscuit malt. Tastes pretty crappy; there's no balance here at all. Lacks complexity and subtlety. A bit earthy, which isn't working for it. Why brew this? I'm not liking this one hardly at all. Too bitter. Lacks cohesion and focus. Messy. Tastes like run of the mill homebrew. It just misses the mark entirely. No yeast character or alcohol comes through. Some light toffee/English style malt is a highlight, but feels completely out of place in the flavour profile.

Mf: Smooth and wet. Horrid presence on the palate. Body is okay. Thickness is far from ideal. Doesn't suit the flavour profile well at all.

Dr: Drinkable but pretty crappy. Not sure what they were going for with this one, but they missed the mark. I definitely wouldn't get it again, decently priced though it may be. Hides its average ABV decently. Mediocre. I'm going to be hesitant about trying other beers from this brewery going forward.

Low C-

Serving type: bottle

03-14-2013 05:01:25 | More by kojevergas

Mattias

Sweden

3.75/5  rDev +1.6%

02-09-2013 20:14:25 | More by Mattias

tbryan5

Louisiana

3.5/5  rDev -5.1%

02-07-2013 01:43:24 | More by tbryan5

DrinkSlurm

Connecticut

4.05/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from 0.5L bottle into tulip. I actually had this on tap in Brooklyn somewhere back in February and enjoyed it then, but had after a de dolle stile nacht, so my taste buds were a bit warped. This review is from bottle purchased at Total Wine in Palm Beach Gardens, FL - $1.99 on winter seasonal rack...nice.
Pours a deep amber brown with a finger of head and choppy spotty lacing...
Nice sweetish malts, with a bit of chocolate and spice - maybe rye?
Taste is sweet malts, a bit of chocolate, some pine or spruce??? a maybe a bit of rye sharpness...really complex. Its actually really easy to drink - but it is 5.3% abv so no surprises. Overall, an excellent brew...really complex and lots of flavor. Nice brew...wish I saw it more.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2013 06:03:15 | More by DrinkSlurm

Amalak

New York

4.25/5  rDev +15.2%

02-03-2013 06:02:05 | More by Amalak

RickS95

Indiana

3.66/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

A thinnish, fairly clear ruby brown pour. The head is pretty stellar, but can't make up for the watery look from the pour. Lots of carbonation leaves a huge head, several fingers thick...offwhite color, the sides fall in before the center. Lots of sticky lace.

Not much scent, it's Earthy and biscuity. A slight spice profile, but you really have to have your nose in it to pick it up. Caramel malts?

There's nothing to indicate this is a winter beer. There's a faint spice character, but little else. Very malty with caramel and pilsner malts providing both some sweet soda flavor and a balancing bitterness. Tiniest bit of cinnamon taste in the finish.

It's got layers of complexity with some sweet, some spicy and some bitter, all at different points. Medium bodied despite the water look upon pour. Lots of carbonation in the pour, but nothing in the way of feel. The savory bitterness and faint spicy feel lasts in to the swallow.

Fairly good beer. Not much in the way of a winter warmer as it lacks any warming alcohol or thick spiciness, but a good beer overall. Goes down easy with good taste and better complex feel.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2013 05:08:58 | More by RickS95

Mebuzzard

Colorado

3.36/5  rDev -8.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25

Well, a winter warmer this is not. It lacks the abv and spices. So, points are lost, but...

this beer looks really nice. Deep chestnut clear body. Head is foamy and while it doesn't last long the lacing is crystal-like.

Aroma is semi sweet caramel and bread. Perhaps a touch of yeasty spice, some golden apples.

Flavor is nice, but a bit thin. It just seems hollow at the end when the caramel and bread have gone. Not much of a hop profile here. The flavors are not bad, just a touch weak. Which makes this quite a quaffable beer. Almost like an English mild, but not.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2013 09:53:41 | More by Mebuzzard

madzanta

4/5  rDev +8.4%

01-11-2013 09:57:47 | More by madzanta

Fatehunter

Oregon

3.65/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Two fingers of tan head on a copper colored body.
The smell is candy, wet grain and lemon.
The taste is a moderate bitter and malt mix. A little unbalanced. The sweetness comes through stronger beginning to middle with dry bitter ending.
Moderate carbonation and medium body with a slight sticky feeling.
An enjoyable drink.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2012 04:06:09 | More by Fatehunter

ekegren

Sweden

4.25/5  rDev +15.2%

12-20-2012 20:32:00 | More by ekegren

KCM

3.25/5  rDev -11.9%

12-20-2012 00:49:07 | More by KCM

stereosforgeeks

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev -5.1%

12-17-2012 18:25:54 | More by stereosforgeeks

leokbelo

Florida

3.65/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Pours a clear copper into a pint glass. 1 inch frothy head dissipates quickly into a 1/2 inch lacing.
Pine scent, with a hint of caramel. Yeast also present.
Spicy and piney on the palate, medium bitterness, nice hop feel.
A nice brew, would recommend.
Gott öl från Dalarna!
Good beer from Dalarna (northern Sweden).

Serving type: bottle

12-15-2012 22:39:40 | More by leokbelo

Boone757

Maryland

3.5/5  rDev -5.1%

12-02-2012 00:24:33 | More by Boone757

aztraz

Sweden

3.5/5  rDev -5.1%

11-22-2012 20:56:45 | More by aztraz

FunkyFibes

Florida

3.5/5  rDev -5.1%

10-30-2012 11:38:58 | More by FunkyFibes

ohoh

Sweden

2.98/5  rDev -19.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Had on tap at SMÖF 2012.

Pours a very nice dark amber. Some haziness.

Smells a little of alcohol, otherwise quite dull.

The liquid is light, and doesn't leave me with the impression I was looking for. There is, however a satisfying, long lasting bitterness.

Looks nice and is nice to drink, but the taste and aroma leaves me disappointed.

Serving type: on-tap

10-29-2012 16:11:42 | More by ohoh

theformula

Virginia

3.5/5  rDev -5.1%

03-04-2012 01:26:37 | More by theformula

Viciousknishs

Virginia

3.55/5  rDev -3.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Very English tasting and smelling brew with caramel malt and herbal English hops. Medium body with good carbonation. Smooth with a touch yeast as well. Solid brew with subtle blended flavor. Not something that is going to. Low your mind but more than drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

03-02-2012 02:30:21 | More by Viciousknishs

gopens44

Virginia

3.35/5  rDev -9.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

I thought this would be love at first sight. Deep amber color with a nice thick foamy beige head, reduced to a nice layer of foam constantly repopulated by the generous lacing. Then the aroma. Nice hoppy bite mellowed by toasted molasses and a hint of spice. Much to my surprise, the taste went to a fairly pedestrian or, run of the mill, bitterness that didn't carry anything truly distinctive. Especially when compared to what the aroma carried. Please understand that the taste is not at all bad, but it just doesn't set itself apart from what I believe would be a typical black ale. The only sign of defiance from a black ale was upon the finish where a hint of tartness is apparent. The carbonation tends to take away from the body, so it comes across as being lighter than it was probably intended. If given the choice between this and lesser labels, there wouldn't be a hesitation. But - i would pass this by for either a more balanced winter warmer or a more vibrant black ale.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2012 04:13:34 | More by gopens44