Posted on 01 juli 2010. Tags: Beer review, Nynäshamns Dragets Kanal Dubbel IPA
An American Double IPA
Nynäshamns Ångbryggeri, Nynäshamn, Sweden
7.7% ABV. Systembolaget Article Number: 11752. 23.90 SEK (250ml bottle)
Pours a luminous orange brown with a dense off-white head.
As a self-proclaimed US double IPA I was expecting an eye-watering amount of green pine needle and citrus fruit aromas built on top of a solid foundation of sweet treacly malt. The nose however delivered somewhat muffled smells of orange marmalade, grapefruit and grass and rather innocuous malty tones of rågbröd and molasses. There was also a slightly bitter (but pleasant) smell like lemon pith. Nothing fundamentally wrong mind you, just surprisingly tame.
Again I was expecting an explosion of spiky hops and thick malts but Draget is initially rather dry and strangely sour. It's as though the fresh fruit flavours from the hops have faded away to leave only the tart bitter aftertaste behind. There's certainly some tropical fruit in there but at levels I'd expect in a 'straight' US pale ale rather than this supposedly double-dosed beer. The powerful malt centre needed to carry off this style was also a little lacking, incapable of balancing out the astringent hops, leading to a rather thin mouthfeel particularly considering the 7.7%ABV.
With this level of bitter/sour flavours I'd pair Draget with rich desserts like cheesecake or carrot cake where the sweet/sour combo can work very nicely and the food's rich flavours can make up for the beer's lack of malt muscle.
Nerd note
As you can probably tell I was a little disappointed with this beer. On the face of it Draget is solidly brewed and reasonably balanced (although I wanted more malt) which I've reflected in my score. The problem is it's too tame. I want my DIPA's to make me feel like I've just stuck my head out of the window of a fast moving car. They should insist on your complete and undivided attention. They should be rude, obnoxious and arrogant. Draget is just a little too nice for my liking. Loving the 250ml bottles though!
Posted in Beer Reviews
Posted on 31 maj 2010. Tags: Glissade Golden Bock, Innis & Gunn India Pale Ale, InWit, Nils Oscare Sorachi Blond, Nynäshamns Dragets Kanal Dubbel IPA, releases, Systembolaget
Tomorrow (June 1st) sees the launch of six new beers at the Systembolaget.
This month’s batch is made up of three very interesting Swedish micro beers, an extremely European US bock countered nicely by an extremely US European strong ale and finally an oaky IPA from the UK.
Let’s start as we always try to here at BeerSweden with the Swedish beers first. I’ve already written about Nils Oscar Sorachi Blond so all that’s left to say is go out and buy it. In my opinion this has all the makings of a summer blockbuster but with only 4,200 bottles going on sale you’d better be quick!
The chances of Oppigårds from Dalarna putting out a bad beer these days is about as slim as Zlatan’s chances of playing in the Premier League next season. This time they’ve made things really interesting by inviting the winner of the 2009 Swedish Home Brewing Championships Peter Högström to replicate his gold medal Belgium witbier (white beer).
The resulting Oppigårds InWit seems very promising, with talk of a sparkling citrus and spice beer that sounds just perfect for the start of summer.
Nynäshamns Ångbryggeri continues its series of speciality beers in those pretty 250ml bottles with Nynäshamns Dragets Kanal Dubbel IPA. This 7.7% ABV US-themed Double IPA is packed with five different hops and word is that it delivers a sweet fruity hop slap.
Staying in Europe we moved to Belgium and the artisanal brewery of de Rulles for their spicy ale with flavours of grass and grapefruit from the heavyweight US Amarillo and Warrior hops they use to brew it.
Crossing the Atlantic we travel to the city of Chico, home of the Sierra Nevada brewery, a perennial favourite of mine. This time it’s their Glissade Golden Bock being released and it’s a beer I’m really looking forward to trying. This light (if 6.4% ABV can be considered light) take on a heller bock promises restrained sweetness and a distinctly European feel from herbal and floral German and Slovenian hops.
The last port of call this time round is the UK, or the Belhaven Brewery in Scotland to be precise for their Innis & Gunn India Pale Ale. I will be trying this one with a bit of trepidation having been more than a little unimpressed with the previous I&G releases.
This time the beer has sat in oak barrels for 30 days before a further 47 days of maturation. The result is a beer that apparently displays a distinctive vanilla and wood character with orange and lemon aromas and a smooth finish.
I’ll be aiming to review all these six beers over the next few days on BSTV so check back soon for more details!
Posted in The Beervine
