Brewery: BrewDog (Scotland)
Beer: Abstrakt AB:06 , 11.2% ABV, 375ml bottle
Listed Ingredients: N/A
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Rating: 4.33/5
Reviews on BeerAdvocate
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Bottled on 16.05.2011.
Bottle 5329 of 8973.

BrewDog: Abstrakt AB:06

Appearance: Black, but not fully opaque. Pours almost no head, wine-like. Visible sediment in the bottle. 4/5

Aroma: Alcohol, caramel, aromatic hops. Molasses, hint of cardamom. Intriguing! 4/5

Taste: Licorice and spices. Hops are not overwhelming, but introduce a herb-like flavour. Alcohol is obviously present, but very much in the background. Warming, but goes down easy. 4.5/5

Mouthfeel: Soupy but smooth, almost no carbonation. The body is lighter than you might expect though, especially for this type of beer. 4/5

Overall: BrewDog describes this as a Triple Dry Hopped Imperial Black IPA. The beer takes the high alcohol content extremely well, a feat by itself. It’s not as mind blowing as I might have hoped, but certainly an interesting soup of flavours and aromas. Not bad for the winter season, given the spices and warmth. It’s supposedly an imperial IPA and BrewDog claims it to be bitter and savage, but the hops don’t dominate at all in my opinion, and it’s pleasant to drink; no full-blown hop bitterness here. I should also note that it was rather difficult to open the bottle, the artificial champagne-type cork was very tight. 4/5

This is sadly only my first contact with BrewDog’s limited Abstrakt series. I would’ve been more interested in some of the previous offerings, especially AB:03 and AB:04, but I’m pleased to have gotten my hands on this one anyway! I found this at the flagship Alko store in Helsinki, for 17€…

Brewery: Haanbryggeriet (Norway)
Beer: Norse Porter , 11.0% ABV, 500ml bottle
Listed Ingredients: N/A
Style: Russian Imperial Stout
Rating: 4.48/5
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HaandBryggeriet: Odin’s Tipple

Batch 376.

Appearance: Pitch black. Hardly pours a head at all, but you can see that it’s not supposed to: it’s oily and soupy, maybe the thickest beer I’ve seen. What does remain of the head is a brownish layer of foam. 4/5

Aroma: Rich, leathery, malty. Strong alcohol, wood smoke, burnt coffee, licorice. Heavy stuff, no doubt about it! 4.5/5

Taste: This is packed with burnt toast, espresso, raw chocolate, and malt. You can’t hide the alcohol in a beer like this, but it’s not overwhelming by any means, it’s well supported by the robust body. 4.5/5

Mouthfeel: Velvet! Heavy body, but so smooth. Oily. No carbonation. 4.5/5

Overall: I wasn’t really in the mood for this beer when I drank it, but it did convert me. It’s an impressive concoction, not to be taken lightly. Beer of gods, no less! Make sure to read the story at the HaandBryggeriet website. 4.5/5

Brewery: Peak Organic (Portland, ME, USA)
Beer: King Crimson , 9.0% ABV (website lists 9.5%), 90 IBU, 650ml bottle
Listed Ingredients: Simcoe Hops
Style: Imperial Red Ale
Rating: 4.73/5
Reviews on BeerAdvocate
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I have to say that they named and themed this beer to my liking! King Crimson is an old love of mine; I’ve seen them live once in Finland. Of course, given that this is a Red Ale, something from the album Red by King Crimson is appropriate. It happens to be one of my favourite King Crimson albums too. However, instead of the title track, I give you ‘One More Red Nightmare’:

Peak Organic: King Crimson

Appearance: Ruby, lovely! Pours an awesome, dense and persisting head, it sits beautifully! 5/5

Aroma: Rich caramel malt, oak, sweet toffee. No bitterness, just a delicate mixture of sweet woody aromas; maple syrup. Absolute delight! 5/5

Taste: Much more bitter than you’d expect from the aroma, although the malty sweetness is still definitely there. First hint of strong ABV here, but it’s well supported. The hops do kick in as well, the bright citrus of the Simcoe is evident. The beer has a feel of an old ale to it, and I think it would age superbly. Warming due to the alcohol. 4.5/5

Taste: Smooth and rich, medium bodied. 4.5/5

Overall: I do feel that this beer could’ve been even better at around 7.0% ABV, but there isn’t much to improve on apart from that, it’s delicious! This is probably the highest mark I’ve given to any beer so far. It’s not the best beer I’ve ever had, but I feel it’s almost perfect for its style. It was pleasure to sip this while listening to Red. Peak Organic delivers once again! I’ve previously reviewed their Maple Collaboration, and I’ve pretty much fallen in love with all of their brews that I’ve tried. 5/5

Brewery: Great Divide Brewing (Denver, CO, USA)
Beer: Old Ruffian, 10.2% ABV, 90 IBU, 650ml bottle
Listed Ingredients: None specified.
Style: Barley Wine
Rating: 4.15/5
Reviews on BeerAdvocate
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Great Divide: Old Ruffian

Appearance: Amber/ruby. Pours a massive, dense white head, with a slight hint of amber. Beautiful and persistent head, the beer behaves very nicely! 5/5

Aroma: Deep malt, nutty. Alcohol is present but not overwhelming. Yeast, dried fruit, a little bit of honey perhaps. Very delicate and complex. 4.5/5

Taste: Hoppier than the aroma would suggest, even bitter. The sweetness of the aroma is gone, but there is certainly heavy malt and some dried apricot. Alcohol quite strong in the aftertaste, warming. A tiny disappointment given the delicious appearance and aroma, but tasty enough. 4/5

Mouthfeel: Medium to full bodied, lingers at the back of the throat; hop attack in the cheeks! 4/5

Overall: I feel that the beer is a bit too strong for its own good, but it’s a good barley wine. Very rich on the hops. I would’ve preferred if the tender malt and sweetness that I got from the aroma would’ve been more present, but they’re now overwhelmed by the strong hops. A good beer though, no doubt about it. 4/5