So far I’ve really enjoyed the few brews that I’ve tried from Haand Bryggeriet, but I’ve yet to try anything from Närke therefore, I’m pretty excited about tasting this brew.
I couldn’t find any info on the website, haandbryggeriet.net, nor Närke’s website, kulturbryggeri.se, so let’s just see for ourselves what this beer has to offer.
Time for a pour.
This beer came in a 16.9 oz. bottle and it had an ABV of 8.5%.
It poured a very dark brown color with an aesthetically pleasing purple hue when held toward a light source. The crown was off white, sized very well, smooth, but slightly fizzy. The retention time was decent, yet the lacing was a bit thin. A slight skim of alcohol was left clinging to the sides of the snifter when I tilted the liquid from side to side. It looked decent enough.
The nose was very odd smelling. I gathered hints of plastic and rubber. A very deep smoke and only a very light waft of wood. That is, honestly, all I could pick out. It didn’t smell all that pleasurable to tell the truth. The overwhelming plastic and rubber aroma was a bit of a turn off.
The taste wasn’t much better. Again, burnt plastic and rubber with a woody/smokey undertone. A very, very strong earthy/dirt savor was discovered and quite off putting. I struggled with it.
The mouthfeel was medium bodied. Smooth, dry and a tad creamy. The carbonation was on the lower side and, surprisingly, I didn’t get any warmth from the relatively high ABV. A lot of flavor was left on the palate after the sip, although I’m not so sure that was a good thing in this regard.
Well…. I didn’t much care for this beer. I couldn’t finish it. That’s not to say that others may not like it. By all means, give it a try. It wasn’t “rotten” or anything, but, to me it was just too hard to drink and it possessed characteristics that I wasn’t extremely fond of. It was just a bit too weird and maybe too advanced for me. Have you guys ever tried the Haand Bryggeriet/Närke Unionöl? What was your opinion? I’d love to hear about it.
Thanks for reading and commenting everyone. I really appreciate it.
Until next time. Cheers.
Score: 1.8 out of 5
Grade: D-
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