10.8% ABV. Hammerheart Brewing, Lino Lakes, MN.
A few weeks back, I shared with you what I said was my last can from Hammerheart. Can, yes, but I still had this bottle. I had been holding off because I wasn’t sure if I’d had it before. Ive reviewed Olaf, when I had it on tap at the Blue Nile, so long ago...but that one wasn’t Barrel aged. So, here come the notes.
Strictly Stygian, completely opaque, under a rich tan head.
In the nose: cocoa and smoke. Coffee and smoke. Vanilla and smoke. Char and smoke. A smorgasbord of smoke and malt.
In the mouth: remarkably smooth, at first. Then, the flavors unspool, the chocolate, espresso, the oak and the barrel. Chock full of Barrel-y, malty goodness. Deep, decadent, delicious. Hangs hard into the division between bitter and sweet, staying on the side of bitter....and dark...rich....unique and uncompromising.
This, to me, is Hammerheart. I can’t wait until they return.
Named for King Olaf II of Norway, an Imperial rye stout aged in bourbon barrels, as black as his hearty and as bitter as his reign. Charcoal art by Tanner Anderson.
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