Beer # 281 Lawrence of Arabica Coffee Orange Porter Amager Bryghus

#281 Lawrence of Arabica Coffee Orange Porter
Collaboration with 18th Street Brewery


Amager Bryghus

Kastrup, Denmark
Independent Microbrewery
Flavoured Porter
7.0 % ABV 32 IBU
500 ml Brown Glass Bottle
$6.30 (Canadian) At the LCBO

Twitter: @18thStreetBrew


It's been a while since I had a beer from Amager in Denmark. They tend to be quite good. However I didn't originally pick this up because it was from Amager, I didn't even know it was a collaboration until I logged in on Untappd. I was initially struck by the artwork on the bottle, and I'm a sucker for good ( read: bad) puns. So basically I bought it because it was punny. Tonight's offering, aside from being the aforementioned collab between Amager Bryghus of Denmark and 18th Street Brewery of Hammond Indiana, Is a coffee and orange peel infused strong porter. 

Onto tonight's tasting...

Pours an inky black/brown with a thin dark chestnut coloured head. Aroma is smoky, slightly tarry, with chocolate, coffee, molasses, and charcoal. First sip is a deeply roasted malt with strains of dark coffee and espresso. A slight charred bitterness, with light hints of citrus and a minute sparkle on the back of the tongue. As the beer warms a nice woodsy whiskey flavour. The orange is more evident at warmer temperatures. Aeration bring out smoky wood, and charcoal campfire coffee, and hints of vanilla.


Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 


Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL
Re-Order:  5/6  PASS
Experience:  5/6 PASS


Final Thoughts:

This is a wonderful beer. very flavourful, aromatic and complex. This sultry smoky deliciousness is exactly what a porter should be. The coffee and the orange are light enough to compliment the dark roasted malts, and not too heavy as to hijack the taste profile. Well balanced and worth a try.


CJT


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The 2-4 Days of Christmas Day 16: Hornbeer's Viking Chili Stout

Beer # 264 Viking Chili Stout (Megagrisk)
Hornbeer

Valby, Køpbenhaven, Denmark
Independent Microbrewery
Flavoured Stout 10.0 % ABV 
Brown Glass Bottle 500 ml
$8.20 (Canadian) At LCBO 

Twitter: N/A



Tonight's offering is another beer from Denmark. This Chili Stout, that was awarded Best new beer of 2013, is produced by a small brewery in a suburb of Copenhagen. Formed in 2008, Hornbeer... (I kid you not!) was the brainchild of Gunhild and Jorgen Fogh Rasmussen (I think they are married... not sure). Jorgen was a farmer and a home brewer and decided to take his hobby to a commercial level. Only able to brew 300 L at a time the brewery did very well at first. Their Caribbean Rum Stout won best new beer in Denmark in 2008. However before that first year let out the brewery burnt to the ground. Undaunted, Gunhild and Jorgen rebuilt a much larger space able to produce 2000 HL per year. And more importantly... They made a commitment to brew a greener beer. The new brewery is powered by solar panels and the beer is cooled using geothermal power. They are committed to brewing a CO2 neutral beer. 

So how does a greener beer taste? Let's find out...

Pours a deep dark brown with a perfect tan coloured head made up of small bubbles. The  beer is the same colouration of a Doberman Pinscher. The aroma is heavily roasted barley malt with hints of cocoa, chili powder, and vanilla. First sip gives us the last ingredient of the beer, the licorice. while not overpowering the licorice flavour lends a sweet sharp spike to the beginning of the beer. Very smooth and sweet, slightly creamy on the mouthfeel. The licorice gives way to a slightly sugary vanilla cocoa taste, and the peppers hit you on the finish. never more than a mild warming and a tingle on the tongue and the back of the throat. Aeration ramps up the chilis and makes the smoky malt pop. Finish is a nice lingering warmth.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 


Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 5/6 PASS
Re-Order:  6/6  EXCEPTIONAL
Experience:  6/6 EXCEPTIONAL
Christmas Cheer: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL

Final Thoughts:



Of all the beers I have tried this Christmas, This is one of my favourites. It is well balanced, and the additives are balanced and used to achieve an excellent overall product. This beer is smooth silky and delicious and if you can still find a bottle snap it up. I personally would LOVE to make a creme brûlée with this beer; the sweet chocolate and chili heat would pair wonderfully with a creamy custard.


Cheers 

CJT

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The 2-4 Beers of Christmas Day 8: Amager Bryghus Kåååd Spring IPA

Beer # 255 Kåååd Spring IPA


Amager Bryghus

Kastrup, Denmark
Microbrewery
IPA 6.0% ABV 
Brown Glass Bottle 650 ml
$6.95 (Canadian) At LCBO

Twitter: N/A

Tonight's offering for the 2-4 Beers of Christmas is a bottle that I have had in the fridge of fame for quite some time. It is a spring IPA and a seasonal. However it slipped my notice for a while. I checked the best before date and is said it was still good until February 2016. So I thought I would give it a whirl. Kåååd in Danish means "Frisky," which is very appropriate for a spring beer. Even the label is a rather frisky looking, anime inspired, sultry, fox woman in a striped bikini. I've checked into a few other beers by Amager and they all seem to have similar humorous or risqué labels. They even have a whole series dedicated to the 7 sins.

So with fingers crossed the bottle is still good... let's go onto the tasting:

Note: The only defect I could find was that the beer had been slightly over-carbonated. It foamed over when I opened it. I guess there were some residual yeasts that continued to work.

Pours a honey amber colour with a short off-white head made up of small to medium sized bubbles. Aroma is grassy with fresh tropical fruits. First sip is bright, sweet and fruity. Passion fruit dominates, with some hard candy citrus and orange peel. slight after taste of a grassy hop, with a tiny bit of camphor and juniper. Slight hints of caramel and marmalade. Aeration brings out some medicinal qualities of the hops with more camphor and menthol, and hints of curacao.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 


Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 6/6 EXCEPTIONAL
Re-Order:  5/6  PASS
Experience:  5/6 PASS
Christmas Cheer:  5/6 PASS

Final Thoughts:

A delicious IPA.  Light, fruity, slightly piney; all the good things one can ask in a modern IPA. Not exactly a Christmas beer, but I think it would do nicely anytime of year.

CJT


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The 2-4 Beers of Christmas Day 4: Midtfyns Bryghus Chili Triple

Beer # 252 Chili Tripel

Midtfyns Bryghus

Årslev, Denmark
Microbrewery
Flavoured Belgian Tripel Ale 9.2% ABV 
Brown Glass Bottle 500ml
$5.20 (Canadian) At LCBO

Twitter: @MidtfynsBryghus


Back again for the fourth instalment of my Christmas tasting series. Sadly I am a day behind posting this because I was out last night to our work Christmas Party. So I am catching up today with two posts. The first one is an interesting find from a microbrewery in Denmark. The beer is a chili infused Belgian tripel. Clocking in at a skull splitting 9.2% ABV, this beer has been voted the Best New Beer in Denmark ( 2009) and the Best Spiced Beer at the 2012 World Beer Awards. Midtfyns started brewing in 2005 in an old converted butcher shop. Initially they brewed two beers on licence from Scotland. Eventually they built a selection of beers and had to move into a larger facility, the current brewhouse in Årslev. They have received many accolade and are regarded as a driving force in the Danish craft beer scene.

Let's bring the heat...

Pours amber with a short head made of small, light tan bubbles. The nose is sweet and malty. The first sip is very sweet almost cloying. Very candy-like. It is obvious that sugar or malt extract was added to boost the alcohol content. A lot of the sugar is not fermented out leaving the beer tasting almost like a dessert wine. The heat creeps in on the background. It starts off like the burn from ginger beer and doesn't get much hotter. Aeration gives us chili powder, a little more burn in the throat, and some super sweet malt sugars. Lingering clove on the finish.

Impressions: Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional 


Cost: 5/6 PASS
Colour: 5/6 PASS
Beer Style: 4/6 PASS
Re-Order:  3/6  SO-SO
Experience:  4/6 PASS
Christmas Cheer:  5/6 PASS

Final Thoughts:

This beer was distressingly sweet, and not spicy enough for me; especially given how sweet the beer was. There was some nice flavour. Maybe if I was drinking it while eating something it wouldn't be so bad. Definitely worth a try though.

CJT


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Beer # 37 Faxe Extra Strong Beer 10%

Tonight we are looking at a strong lager from Denmark. Faxe is a brewery that has been in existence since 1901. Started by a young couple Nikoline and Conrad Nielsen in the town of Fakse it operated independantly until 1989 when it merged with Bryggerigruppen which eventually changed it's name to "Royal Unibrew."
 Faxe has a number of products, only some of which make it over here to Canada. Most popular seems to be this 10% vodka shot of a beer. Cheap and strong, which seems to go over well with some of our less discerning beer drinkers.

Onto tonight's tasting

Clear gold colour with a bright white head made up of tight bubbles. 10% ABV in a 500ml can. Aroma is alcohol and toasty grain. First sip is a spirited vodka or rum feel residual sugar and a hot nose like taking a straight shot of rum. Flavour is muted, light malt barely perceptable hops. Very smooth, very sugary. Light mineral mettalic, Aeration brings out the alcohol and brandy notes.

Overall results: (Fail, So-so, Pass, Exceptional)

Taste: Pass
Cost: Pass (In Ontario it is $3.20)
Colour: Pass
Beer Style: Pass
Re-order: So-so
Experience: Pass


Final Thoughts: Well this is a "getting drunk beer." Meant to be drunk ice cold there is not a lot of flavour, but there is a good alcoholic "punch." Not to say this beer doesn't have merits; it is not a sip and savour type of drink. One is reminded of the college student on a budget, Friday night wanting to be totally hammered before he hits the bar... Not that I have any experience in that department....
If anyone tells you different... it wasn't me!

Cheers
CJT