365 different beers from 365 different breweries in 365 days with random musings on beer, food, music, sports, dogs and anything else interesting along the way
But you didn't come here for the music, you came for the beer. Today's beer is HaandBryggeriet'sOdin's Tipple, a dark Norse ale. This particular one is one of only 3,500 bottles in Batch 507. I'm not sure how Odin's Tipple came to be in my house, but I'm glad it did.
It poured an almost black, brown shade with a rosy and deep cocoa color head. The color on this beer's head was remarkable. It smelled of cherry, wood and cola. The flavor is bright with a lingering hoppy aftertaste. It's a combination of fruity and roast coffee. I would also say that it was one of the most challenging beers I've had since starting Blog Named Brew. There was a lot going on with the flavor and the velvety texture definitely turned it into an extended, sipping experience.
Day #703 Odin's Tipple / HaandBryggeriet, Drammen, Norway
Previously from this brewery:
The surprisingly cold weather today made me reflect upon the fact that I have very few talents. However, one on the incredibly short list is my ability to make chili. Honestly, it's fantastic. With the winter apparently now upon us, chili may be upon us soon.
Isn't that the truth?
With winter upon us, I reach into my bag of tricks and give you an old pour, a bottle of Odin's Tipple from HaandBryggereit in Norway. This was a birthday gift, and allow me to remind you that beer makes the perfect gift. In the the glass, this beer has a dark brown hue, and when you inhale you find coffee. Uh oh...
Upon taking a sip, you find burnt, toasted, and roasted. Um, not words I'm usually looking for in my beer. There's malt and chocolate in there somewhere, if I think about it hard enough, but probably not enough. This one probably belongs in a coffee mug, or at least drank in the middle of a massive snow storm. Brace yourself... they're coming.
Hammer of the Gods
Hops don't really grow in Norway, but they do use many local ingredients in their brews. The brewery opened in 2005, and Norway seems like an awesome place to go visit. Add it to the list...
Thing to Think About Today:
Tempted to put some The Jayhawks in here, as I've been listening to a lot of their music lately (and I do love some alt-country), tempted to put some some New Pornographers in here and play some Hey Snow White, due to me talking about snow. However, I'll keep my alt-country and hipster motif in motion while combining an element of the brewery name and present you with Wilco and Handshake Drugs. Off to eat. Night all.
Life did not win today, so I feel good that I held my own. Tomorrow, life will once again throw wild haymakers aimed directly for my face. Sadly, my mild winning streak did not translate to the basketball court, where I was as useful as a screen door on a submarine in our not-that-close loss. Time to put all of that behind us and focus on the task at hand: drinking beer.
Tonight's offering is Tiger Tripel from Nøgne Ø, a groundbreaking brewery in Norway. This Belgian tripel pours a hazy dark gold in the glass, and has a foamy white head. The first aroma to greet you is a light fruit and honey mix. The taste is a well balanced mix of yeast, citrus, pepper, with hop bitterness along the way. A relatively potent beer at 9% ABV, for those keeping score at home. If you drink this from the bottle, you'll see the sentence "It is very difficult to brew a complex and balanced Belgian-style tripel ale, but we have made an attempt at brewing one anyway!" on the label. Seriously guys, knock it off with the low self esteem. This beer is great, and you should definitely try one when presented with the chance.
Tiger with sunglasses? Check.
Now, prepare to have knowledge dropped on you. The name Nøgne Ø translates to "naked island," a poetic term used by writer Henrik Ibsen to describe the barren rock outcroppings in the North Sea off of Norway's coast. This brewery was started by a pilot for Scandinavian Airlines, who would ferry home brew supplies back on his return flights from the U.S. With better planning, I would have saved this beer for May 17, which is of course Norwegian Constitution Day. This holiday celebrates the date in 1814 when Norway declared their sovereignty from Sweden. We don't do religion in our household, but you can damn well bet your ass we celebrate Norwegian Constitution Day. The last bit of Norwegian science for the day: advertisements for alcohol are banned in Norway. Now you know.
Thing to Think About Today: Soooo many ways to go to get you thinking today. Norway. Tigers. Constitution Day. Let's instead draw some inspiration from the 89th beer on this 365 day beer journey, and let rock legends R.E.M. take it from here with Pop Song 89. We had the pleasure of seeing them on their last tour before they broke up in 2011, and for a band with 30+ years on the odometer, they still absolutely kicked ass. As this is Marci's favorite band of all time, I can't even fathom how much we'll shell out for VIP seats at their reunion tour somewhere down the road. Enough typing. Let's think about 89:
Beer #76 Farewell Ale / Haand Bryggeriet, Drammen, Norway
The blogger's life is a glamorous one, indeed. Take for example my Friday evening:
1. Get movie from Redbox
2. Get dinner from McDonald's
3. Eat dinner
4. Watch movie.
THE CLUB CAN'T EVEN HANDLE ME RIGHT NOW!
To combat my lack of Friday night excitement, I'll trot out an interesting beer to get tonight moving. I'm going with a Norwegian beer, the Farewell Ale from Haand. The beer pours with a foamy tan head. The aroma isn't overly powerful, but the taste has a warm and smoky roasted malt flavor and some earthy, peppery notes. There's a thin mouthfeel, and overall the beer reminds me of a porter.
Now, I'll be the first to admit this beer probably isn't my style. However, it's well done because the flavors don't overwhelm you, but rather pull you in slowly. Is this an every day beer for me? No, because I'd sooner drink a saison or an IPA, but this was a good beer. Also, I'm glad I finally had the opportunity to cross Haand off my list; Teresa's Next Door has been pouring a variety of their winter beers, but every one I've tried (including the one Marci sampled last month) have been way, way, way too smoky or roasted or burnt. Maybe the arrival of spring is mellowing them out? I also wanted to try this beer after reading the story on the inspiration for its creation. I'll let this blurb from Haand's website tell the tale:
Farewell Ale is our interpretation of an old traditional Norwegian custom. Beer has always been an important part of the Norwegian culture and beer was always part of the important occasions in life. This was also the case when a person passed away. It was customary on all farms to have some malt at hand in case of a sudden death. Nobody was buried before the beer was ready and they could be toasted off to a good afterlife. This beer was called Gravøl (funeral ale). Our Farewell ale is a dark and flavourful beer, with lots of spicy flavours, but still easy to drink with a special flavour not often found in beer.
I love the concept: in case of death, brew beer!!! I had a picture of this beer all shiny and new in my glass, but my awesome phone didn't save it. Awesome.
Thing to Think About Today:
I guess I should have planned this better and offered up some Philadelphia 76ers highlights to coordinate with our 76th beer, but seeing how you've already been introduced to the Doctor and Darryl Dawkins, I should probably give that topic a break.
Ah, screw it.... sort of.
We'll dip our toe in the water of the Sixers by suggesting you think about a local Philly guy, G-Love, who manages to pay homage to both his favorite basketball franchise and the decrepit road systems we're forced to use when navigating to and from the City of Brotherly Love. HIT IT, G!
I'm not sure if you all care what I have to say on the topics of the life and work of Joe Paterno, but I plan to put together some thoughts. I'm just not ready yet.
Instead I shall share some knowledge that Gary dropped on me today.
(I Got It Made by Special Ed plays in the background)
Me: Is this a Tribe Called Quest?
Gary: No, it's Special Ed.
Me: The VJ from MTV? Yo MTV Raps?
Gary: No, you're thinking of Ed Lover.
Me: Who was the other guy who worked with Ed Lover?
Gary: Dr. Dre.
Me: (silence)
Gary: (curious look on his face)
Me: Dr. Dre was a VJ!
Gary: No, there are two Dr. Dres.
Me: (silence while processing this information) What! There are two Dr. Dres!?!
Gary: Yes.
So there you have it. I've been living in this world for 29 years and had NO IDEA I was sharing it with two Dr. Dres. Fascinating.
Photographic evidence:
Dr. Dre photo courtesy of askmen.com
Dr. Dre (right) courtesy of VH1.com
Obviously any writing that involves Yo MTV Raps! must contain a little Ed Lover dance. Enjoy!
Today I'm drinking Nøgne ø #100 out of Norway. It is a barley-wine style ale. I poured it into my trusty tulip glass and it was a deep, dark brown. If I managed to get the light to hit it just right, there are maroon highlights. The scent of this one was interesting. Molasses, earthy sweetness, woody. The light tan head dissipated rather quickly.
The taste is not at all what I expected. Roasted malt. Vanilla. Maybe cocoa? It drank thick and finished with some bitterness.
Sidebar: Remember when Keystone Beer advertised against bitter beer face? Bitter isn't always bad.
In fact, the brewery describes #100 as having massive hop bitterness. This is where my taste for beer gets very interesting. Low hop flavor = good. Medium to big hop flavor = bad. Massive hop overload = back in my good graces.
With that, I am off to put one of my favorite Christmas presents of all time to good use - my orange immersion blender. A snowy January Sunday demands soup. And I demand to use my immersion blender!
I'm looking at 2012 as the year that I try new things and really force myself out of my comfort zone. I promised myself I would say yes more and take more chances. With that in mind, I bought tickets to a dance party / photography exhibit opening which is happening this weekend. I like photography but I don't dance. Ok, I dance after enough drinks to make me forget I have no rhythm. I cannot imagine what that looks like other than AWESOME. My dance party / exhibit opening has a surprise guest DJ and because I live in a very fun world in my head, that guest DJ is ?uestlove from The Roots. I'll let you know on Sunday how that all plays out.
I've also been harboring a desire to start a little event planning business on the side. Well, today I had a truly unbelievable opportunity drop into my lap. On one hand it could kick my event planning gig into high gear; on the other, it is going to involve a hell of a lot of work and a giant leap of faith in myself. So do I have what it takes to say yes to a new adventure? I like to think yes. Yes, I do.
***
Lancaster Brewing Co.'s Milk Stout
Tonight's beer is from Lancaster Brewing and it is their foray into the world of milk stouts. Like the other stouts I've sampled this week, it pours dark as night. It has a light tan head that quickly disappears. The smell is sweet caramel and roasted. The flavor is strong on chocolate, coffee and milk flavors. The roasted flavor is upfront and is balanced by the sweet coffee and milk flavors. It is incredibly tasty.
When visiting the Lancaster Brewing Company establishment this past June, I ordered their beer sampler. Above and beyond the insane number of samples provided, there was an opportunity to mix the milk stout with their strawberry wheat beer to create what I can only describe as a super beer. It was true awesomeness in my teeny tiny sample glass. God bless you, Lancaster Brewing Company. God bless.
OK. So this is the second time in 30-odd days that I've managed to forget that I've already drank a brewery. &^$*@(&!!! I even wrote about the goddamned sampler in my other post. So much for the beer doesn't kill brain cells theory.
New brewery. Tonight's real beer is from Norway. It's Haand Bryggeriet's Nissefar. Bryggeriet = Brewery. Nissefar = Father Christmas. This beer is for happy gnomes. Whatever. I've had a bunch of beer tonight.
Anyway this isn't a stout so my milk stout series has gone completely awry. This one is an "old ale" but presents like a stout (at least to me). It is almost opaque in my glass and dark, dark brown. I get lots of roasted malts and a hint of coffee...maybe some caramel. It is surprisingly smooth and light given it's appearance. It finishes dry and almost reminds me of rye bread.
Cheers, folks! It's the weekend and I'm going to watch a scary movie and try to figure out when exactly my memory gave out.
