Rolling into the colder months of the year, Dan felt it was time to sample the Haandbryggeriet Bestefar Winter Ale to warm up a little this season.

Haandbryggeriet Bestefar Winter Ale

Haandbryggeriet Bestefar is a winter ale weighing in at 9% ABV imported from Norway by Shelton Brothers. “Bestefar” is the Norwegian word for “father”, or as in this case refers to “Nisefar” aka Father Christmas. “It might just be the Best By Far.” LOL.

Appearance

Extremely dark brown in color with little to no light coming through with small bubbles.

Aroma

A bit of spice cake mixed with dark fruit, molasses, dates, burnt brown sugar and rum-like notes.

Taste

A little bit of funk, but the ale is an imaginary blend of Belgian styles like a dubbel or a quad.

Mouthfeel

A little lighter on the mouthfeel than expected, but the tight carbonation really rounds out the flavor.

Overall

Dessert-friendly (Cheesecake and Black Forest Cake come to mind), but well-marinated or spiced meats and strongly-flavored cheeses might work. As the ale warms up, the complexity and the different spice notes change or become stronger. If you run across this, I would recommend it to help expand your palate vis a vis a different approach to the winter ale style.
Cheers and remember:
Life’s a tap…drink up ’til it’s dry.
All music on this show came to us from the now defunct Music Alley.
Intro: “Meet Me At The Bar” by The Beer Drinking Fools
Outtro: “Bubblegum and Beer” by The Supersuckers

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