Akevitt Porter (Barrel-Aged Porter) - HaandBryggeriet

brentk56

North Carolina

4/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Batch 288, bottled 7/23/10

Appearance: Pours a pitch black color capped by an inch of mocha foam that leaves a few strands behind

Smell: Chocolate mocha, with black licorice and vague herbal elements (more dill than caraway)

Taste: Chocolate, up front, with a developing mocha and licorice character that builds in the middle; interesting herbal flavors greet the swallow, with dill being most prominent; the dill continues into the finish, though the sweeter elements remain quite pronounced

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with low to moderate carbonation

Overall: Aquavit is distilled with spices, principally caraway or dill; if I wasn't looking for either of these elements, I probably wouldn't have picked it up, but the dill can definitely be found; overall, the brew is a somewhat sweet porter with an herbal twist

Thanks, mrmiles, for the opportunity

Serving type: bottle

07-22-2012 00:30:06 | More by brentk56

Kmat10

Alberta (Canada)

3.75/5  rDev -6.5%

05-20-2013 04:47:17 | More by Kmat10

JohnQVD

New York

4.5/5  rDev +12.2%

04-15-2013 22:26:17 | More by JohnQVD

GRG1313

California

4.25/5  rDev +6%

04-13-2013 17:47:05 | More by GRG1313

Lucho

Florida

4.3/5  rDev +7.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Appearance: Pours an almost black but not translucent dark brown with a half inch head that slow dissipates to a nice thin creamy brown mocha.

Smell: Barrels, coffee, spices, a little bit of alcohol on the nose. There is some dark chocolate and some wood also.

Taste: It comes out with the dark chocolate with a little sweetness from likely the barrels. I am getting the coffee as well at the end but not like you would expect. leaves the mouth slightly dry but finishes smooth. Lets see how it warms up. I might be getting some hops in there that is what might be leaving my tongue slightly dry. Now there is some vanilla coming out. After further google investigation, the Aquavit Barrels were used to age a liquor that was fermented with spices and herbs. They said Dill and also Caraway seeds, and now it does have some slight dill character.

Mouthfeel: Medium to thick body with nice carbonation on the tongue.

Overall: This is a very interesting beer with very slight nuances that set it aside from other BA porters. The Aquavit Barrels have added that slight twist and make it perfect style for Norway and there drinking culture. Thanks Norway for my first Euro BA beer. Yummy.

Serving type: bottle

03-21-2013 12:15:06 | More by Lucho

JonIrabagon

New York

4.25/5  rDev +6%

03-18-2013 11:12:17 | More by JonIrabagon

Resuin

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +6%

02-23-2013 20:07:54 | More by Resuin

Bonis

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev -12.7%

02-01-2013 16:51:29 | More by Bonis

MSandahl23

Indiana

4.5/5  rDev +12.2%

01-30-2013 06:16:29 | More by MSandahl23

Angryzen

Illinois

4.75/5  rDev +18.5%

01-29-2013 02:39:26 | More by Angryzen

microzoa

3.63/5  rDev -9.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.75

Batch: 446
Serving Type: Bottle

A - Dark Chocolate brown

S - Nutty, Chocolate with a hint of warmth

T - Initial sweet Chocolate, nut, spice and dark fruits

M - Thin bodied

O - Stumbled across this by accident - it's a very decent beer that I would taste again if presented with the opportunity.

Serving type: bottle

01-22-2013 05:48:33 | More by microzoa

westcoastbeerlvr

California

3.75/5  rDev -6.5%

01-10-2013 00:49:52 | More by westcoastbeerlvr

Pelican5

California

4.25/5  rDev +6%

01-09-2013 00:07:03 | More by Pelican5

schnarr84

Alberta (Canada)

3.25/5  rDev -19%

01-02-2013 02:33:27 | More by schnarr84

Gatch

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev -6.5%

12-21-2012 23:07:17 | More by Gatch

BrownNut

Florida

4.15/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Bottle to tulip, served cool. Dated Sep 2009, drunk Dec 2012.

A - 3.75 - Opaque black, fizzy tan head that dissipates in seconds. It keeps popping in little tiny bubbles at the surface. You can feel it on the tip of your nose as you sniff closely. Some enduring head would be nice. The guy before me got good retention somehow.

S - 4.25 - I don't know what I'm smelling here. It's almost like a musty leather booth in somebody's basement with a hint of malt... but not in a bad way. A little coffee. A hint of something borderline sweet or syrupy, almost like a barely sweetened chocolate syrup if that were possible. Later something vaguely fruity, but sort of that fruity smell that booze can have. Later a little sherry. The smell grew on me throughout the glass. Interesting.

T - 4.25 - I don't know what aquavit tastes like so I can't really identify those components from amongst the rest, but certainly there is a mature taste. Wood, leather, a little coffee, and a mild level of barely sweetened chocolate. I'm left with a dry woody dusty aftertaste with that chocolate mild bitterness. I'm not getting the same alcohol heat others have mentioned, but then mine is 3 years old. Although I am feeling pretty good and warm after my pint. Interesting.

M - 4.0 - Medium bodied with a moderate amount of carbonation sting, though of a tiny variety.

O - 4.0 - Well what an interesting beer. These are the kind of random buys I like, the kind that turn out to be interesting in a way you haven't experienced before. It always pays to buy at least one random beer per trip that you've never heard of, and increasingly for me it keeps paying off to buy Norwegian. Overall this is a very well balanced and well crafted beer that kind of keeps you guessing as to what you're tasting, but that process is enjoyable. It's not too sweet and the mature notes please the discerning palate. Somebody upstream commented that this was definitely a porter and not a stout but, traditional arguments about the difference between the two styles aside, I say this could pass for anybody else's stout.

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2012 23:50:15 | More by BrownNut

dgilks

Australia

4.23/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Inky black colour with a creamy, tan head. Great head retention. Quite pretty.

Chocolatey with a distinct coffee note. Quite a bit of fusel alcohol. A little earthy. Interesting.

Alcoholic, sweet and fruity. There is a ton of malt here with the lightly spicy, alcohol note of the akevitt. Nice chocolate note. Definitely a porter rather than stout. I like the esters too. A complex and tasty beer as long as you can get past the alcohol.

Medium-full body with moderate carbonation. Good.

A wonderful beer from a great brewery. I had this the first time at Josie Bones in Melbourne and it was great. Having it again is a treat and now I see why. Phenominal chocolate malt, great fruit and complex alcohol. Very good.

Serving type: bottle

12-09-2012 06:13:46 | More by dgilks

girlmeetsbeer16

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev -0.2%

11-29-2012 02:12:17 | More by girlmeetsbeer16

cosmonick

Indiana

4.5/5  rDev +12.2%

11-23-2012 01:26:41 | More by cosmonick

quirkzoo

Colorado

4.33/5  rDev +8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a dark, dark brown with 1 finger of brown head that sticks around for a long time.

Lots of chocolate on the aroma with a little bit of roasted malts, molasses and a definite herbal aquavit background

Very well balanced on the palate, the barrel treatment is present but doesn't beat you over the head.

The mouthfeel was smooth with a good level of carbonation on the high side for a barrel aged porter but it works in this beer.

Overall I get the aquavit the most in the aftertaste. It is an interesting beer, worth checking out if you like gin.

Serving type: bottle

10-12-2012 22:23:06 | More by quirkzoo

t0rin0

California

4/5  rDev -0.2%

10-09-2012 02:37:53 | More by t0rin0

vissai

California

3.5/5  rDev -12.7%

09-20-2012 17:05:10 | More by vissai

kirkse

Massachusetts

4.25/5  rDev +6%

09-07-2012 23:23:51 | More by kirkse

bum732

Maryland

4/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

S: Roasty wood, very herbal, bready chocolate.

L: Dark black, tan creamy head with ok retention and solid lacing.

T: Very bold maltiness with a prominent roast element. Big chocolate bread notes. Low bitterness with very subtle spices. Some mint as well. Quite sweet throughout, finishing quite sweet with some mint chocolate.

M: Medium full body, medium low carbonation, a little slick on the palate.

Pretty solid, aquavit comes through more in the nose that taste, quite sweet.

Serving type: bottle

09-05-2012 02:27:00 | More by bum732

cfh64

Texas

4/5  rDev -0.2%

08-20-2012 21:50:50 | More by cfh64