OK, the first thing I thought when I picked this up is "What the heck is Julebryg?" Well, the internet has all the answers. It means Christmas Beer, which would explain the ginger, cloves and the high alcohol content.
Norrebros Jylebryg has a hazy, deep walnut color and pours smoothly with a very short, tan head, which recedes to a ring in a short time. Even when while pouring and holding the glass and bottle a good foot away, I was able to smell the sweet hints raisins and gingerbread cookies. OK, I know there are no gingerbread cookies in the beer, but the ginger and the sweet tones blend to produce something that can only be described as gingerbread cookies. Going in for a closer smell, tells me that raisins and ginger are the predominant notes. There are some faint hints of cloves and hops, but they take a backseat...no, wait, they take the last seat in the bus.
The taste is just fantastic, though it is not quite what I expected. I was expecting a lot of ginger and sweet flavours, like the ones I got from the aroma, but what I got was a bold tasting, slightly bitter, malty, little hoppy beer with a very, very, very nice hints of ginger, cloves and raisins. The finish is a little dry and hoppy, warm with more of the spices. The high alcohol content is not noticeable at all in the taste, but can be easily felt. Overall, this is one of the best spiced winter beers I have had and will definitely buy it again for $7.50.
Scores:
Cost - $7.50 for a 600 mL bottle
Taste - 8.8/10
ABV - 7%
Overall - 8.8/10...fantastic spiced beer, recommended
woah! i had my first bottle of this on friday!
ReplyDeleteit definitely takes a little bit of getting used to. but it's a great winter beer, kept me warm anyway. love the blog
Always looking to expand my horizons. Neat stuff.
ReplyDeleteAlso, high alcohol content for Christmas? The brewers must have a family like mine.