Haandbryggeriet Odin's Tipple Dark Norse Ale

Sometimes a variety of factors (low light, elapsed time, my own shocking lack of care) combine to mean a beer's mugshot ends up some distance from what it actually looks like in, you know, reality.

In this case though what you see is genuinely what you get - it's a massive 11% imperial stout that glugs like an oil spill with an almost studious evasion of any carbonation whatsoever.  

My notes for the nose on this one include the phrase 'complex Christmas chocolate' along with shortbread and other assorted biscuitry. On the palate though it's a mixture of complex and straightforward that takes a bit of time to understand. The label certainly confirms it's a beer they've tried to keep very simple recipe-wise (think stacks of choc malt), but the sheer bulk of it coupled with their use of wild yeast gives it a thoughtful sort of quality too. I got a fair bit of alc coming through on this, not all of it pleasant.

Our local bottle-o informs us that each time they get a batch of this, one particular customer turns up and purchases almost all of it right away, so it's certainly got some fans. For me, an interesting experiment but not one I'll be searching out again in the near future. 7.0