Haandbryggeriet is a small brewery from Norway run by four friends who, after traveling around Europe tasting all the delectable beers available, decided to try to brew beer in their spare time. The name, as I’ve been told, roughly translates to “the Hand Brewery” but don’t ask me for a pronunciation! I’ve heard the name said several different ways and was once scolded at a bar for saying it wrong. Among many different traditional Norwegian styles of beer, Haandbryggeriet has several American style beers included Dobbel Dram, their version of an American Double IPA.

Poured from a slender 16oz bottle, Dobbel Dram has a golden, light amber color that is slightly translucent. Upon first smell, this beer shows its divergence from the typical DIPA, emphasizing a floral hop smell with a malt backbone that doesn’t over power your nose. First sip picks up where our nose left off with a strong malt sweetness balancing out the flavors of the hops. In this DIPA, the hops are not biting or citrus and never dominate the palate and only offer a quick hint of grapefruit bite. Instead, this beer is very sweet, almost too sweet at times, with light touches of floral hop flavor to round out the taste. After a few sips a lingering sweetness remains that never cloys.

Haandbryggeriet is one of my favorite imports at this juncture. They make a ton of interesting beers including an incredible imperial double wheat stout called Dark Force, a traditional smoked ale cleverly named Norwegian Wood and an interesting Akevitt barrel aged porter just to name a few. If you’re interested in trying these great beers, they’re offered on draft around the city from time to time but are easily found at craft take-out shops like the Foodery, Capone’s or Whole Foods in Plymouth Meeting, where I purchased the bottle used for this review.

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