From Kastrup, Denmark, comes a brew I simply could not resist when I encountered it on the shelves of De Molen's Beershop.
Amager has a whole series of brews in the theme of the seven deadly sins, each as cutely packaged as this one. Each is entirely different, but focusing on what, to the Amager crew, the sin would be when committed to beer.
I only got to take one, but I've my heart set on trying them all someday. But until that day, here's to Gluttony.
Impossibly clear pour, pale and golden and just...wow! A bit of sediment at the bottom turns the beer just a wee bit hazy, and I fully recommened pouring the beer entirely, as the residue further uplifts anything I'll say from here on downward. But seeing as how I don't have a glass capable of holding 500ml of quality booze, I drank the first bit like that: clean and clear.
A modest, pillowy off-white head cushions the hops in the nose.
What a nose it is: chock full of fruity, grapey fragrances, decadently rich without becoming forced or overpowering. There's white grapes, a whiff of passionfruit, and that caramelly undertow so typical of (D)IPAs. The Simcoe is definitely there, and the Centennial/Amarillo duet too. Hercules I'm not familiar with at all, but from what the Yinternet reveals, I'm guessing it's responsible for that crisp bitterness at the back of the palate. Always nice to encounter new or uncommon hops, and I'll be looking out for this one when next I order me some hops again.
Citra I'm not picking up at all, and the Sorachi Ace is so well hidden as to be nearly absent. Which is a good thing, as both have the tendency to overwhelm other hops when added in anything other than modest doses. The beer has a hint of woodsy, tannin-like astrigency which I'm guessing is coming from the Sorachi Ace, but I could be mistaken.
Also: kudos to the marketing crew for naming and shaming all those hops, as well as the other ingredients (pilsner malt, Maris Otter and Munich, and an American Ale yeast). Far too few breweries bother with putting anything on the label besides the obnoxiously patronising "quality malts and carefully selected hops".
A mildly weird dusty fragrance all the way at the back, reminiscent of an empty grain silo.
As the beer relaxes, I'm picking up hints of cantaloupe, sweet tangerine, toffee and caramel.
Once sipped, the beer explodes in the mouth with a crisp, tart and slightly puckering bitterness.
Amazing how the bitter aromas tumble and swirl all across the palate, bouncing off the tongue, across the hard and soft palate, to the back of the throat, leaving the senses reeling in its wake.
Whereas most IPAs focus on hop flavours, backed by sweet malty chewiness, this one's more suited for bitter lovers. That backbone is there alright, but its sweetness is masked by lingering hoppy bitterness. A nice touch to a genre which sometimes doesn't focus enough on bitter. Looooong bitter, fruity aftertaste. Not unlike what you get when you've btiten through a grapefruit's skin.
Make no mistake: this is a beer for hop heads, but also for bitter geeks.
Underneath this bitter main chord, a myriad of delicate flavours play hide and seek. Orange rinds and marmelade, and sweet soft caramel candy, and tropical fruits. It's really quite hard to stay focused when the beer starts rolling around in the mouth, and in the end, the main impression is one of bewilderment. Of befuddled WTF-ness. Here's a beer going out of its way to defy description.
A firm, almost chewy mouthfeel, rendered deceptively drier by the alpha acids, makes the beer incredibly smoothly drinkable in spite of the high EBUs. Not bingeable at all, this is a sip-and-smack beer alright.
From the packaging and the imaginative label's design, to the concept, to the execution, all the way to the ridiculously decadent and lingering experience of actually drinking it, this is a beer hitting all the right spots, ticking all the right boxes, making me happy happy beer geek indeed. What Amager's done here is turned exaggeration into an art form. Or as they themselves admit, sin into virtue.
Comparions, for the heck of it.This reminded me of 8-Wired's Tall Poppy and Hop Wired, amalgamated into one beer. If you like either (or both), then I'll eat a hop plug if you don't like this one.
Amager crew, mere kudos will not suffice. Granting absolution lies beyond my jurisdiction, so my verdict is: keep sinning. For the love of Saint Ambrosius, keep sinning!
Beer: Gluttony
Brewery: Amager Bryghus
Style: DIPA
ABV: 9.4%
EBU: -
EBC: -
Served: 500ml bottle
Greetz
Jo
 |
| A fat fellow, munching hops with his belly. Irresistible to beer geeks. |
I only got to take one, but I've my heart set on trying them all someday. But until that day, here's to Gluttony.
 |
| From left to right: yeast, beer, sin. |
A modest, pillowy off-white head cushions the hops in the nose.
Gluttony is all about indulgence, and what better way to indulge a beer (or the geek drinking it) than by massively hopping it?
What a nose it is: chock full of fruity, grapey fragrances, decadently rich without becoming forced or overpowering. There's white grapes, a whiff of passionfruit, and that caramelly undertow so typical of (D)IPAs. The Simcoe is definitely there, and the Centennial/Amarillo duet too. Hercules I'm not familiar with at all, but from what the Yinternet reveals, I'm guessing it's responsible for that crisp bitterness at the back of the palate. Always nice to encounter new or uncommon hops, and I'll be looking out for this one when next I order me some hops again.
Citra I'm not picking up at all, and the Sorachi Ace is so well hidden as to be nearly absent. Which is a good thing, as both have the tendency to overwhelm other hops when added in anything other than modest doses. The beer has a hint of woodsy, tannin-like astrigency which I'm guessing is coming from the Sorachi Ace, but I could be mistaken.
Also: kudos to the marketing crew for naming and shaming all those hops, as well as the other ingredients (pilsner malt, Maris Otter and Munich, and an American Ale yeast). Far too few breweries bother with putting anything on the label besides the obnoxiously patronising "quality malts and carefully selected hops".
A mildly weird dusty fragrance all the way at the back, reminiscent of an empty grain silo.
.jpg) |
| Minus the truck. |
Once sipped, the beer explodes in the mouth with a crisp, tart and slightly puckering bitterness.
Amazing how the bitter aromas tumble and swirl all across the palate, bouncing off the tongue, across the hard and soft palate, to the back of the throat, leaving the senses reeling in its wake.
Whereas most IPAs focus on hop flavours, backed by sweet malty chewiness, this one's more suited for bitter lovers. That backbone is there alright, but its sweetness is masked by lingering hoppy bitterness. A nice touch to a genre which sometimes doesn't focus enough on bitter. Looooong bitter, fruity aftertaste. Not unlike what you get when you've btiten through a grapefruit's skin.
Make no mistake: this is a beer for hop heads, but also for bitter geeks.
 |
| Not bitter geeks. Bitter-geeks. |
A firm, almost chewy mouthfeel, rendered deceptively drier by the alpha acids, makes the beer incredibly smoothly drinkable in spite of the high EBUs. Not bingeable at all, this is a sip-and-smack beer alright.
From the packaging and the imaginative label's design, to the concept, to the execution, all the way to the ridiculously decadent and lingering experience of actually drinking it, this is a beer hitting all the right spots, ticking all the right boxes, making me happy happy beer geek indeed. What Amager's done here is turned exaggeration into an art form. Or as they themselves admit, sin into virtue.
Comparions, for the heck of it.This reminded me of 8-Wired's Tall Poppy and Hop Wired, amalgamated into one beer. If you like either (or both), then I'll eat a hop plug if you don't like this one.
Amager crew, mere kudos will not suffice. Granting absolution lies beyond my jurisdiction, so my verdict is: keep sinning. For the love of Saint Ambrosius, keep sinning!
Beer: Gluttony
Brewery: Amager Bryghus
Style: DIPA
ABV: 9.4%
EBU: -
EBC: -
Served: 500ml bottle
Greetz
Jo
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