Nøgne Ø Andhrímnir Barley Wine Ale

While this lovely was brewed at Nøgne Ø's Grimstad HQ, it wasn't brewed by Kjetil Jikiun but rather by Gahr Smith-Gahrsen, who won (last year's?) Norwegian national homebrewing championships with this concoction. As the label notes, "Andhrímnir is the chef of the Æsir and einherjat in Norse mythology. Every day in Valhalla, he slaughters the beast Sæhrímnir and cooks it in Eldhrímnir, his cauldron." Named his cauldron, did he? Well, apparently the economy hasn't much improved since Valhalla days, as poor Andhrímnir also had a second job, brewing mead from the milk of exactly one goat, Heiðrún. Tough going all around.

And things don't appear to start so well here. Fleeting head, murky brown, dark and impenetrable, rather fierce-looking. Earthy sweet nose of roots, hops, sarsparilla, and date cakes. But things take a surprising turn - notably viscous, yet, strangely, paradoxically, light, a touch of sweetness well-balanced by a dry, acidic bitterness, dusty bitter cocoa, and light spice touches, pumpkin and orange peel. Very tasty and easy to drink, the 10% abv pretty well disguised (also 26.8° Plato, 65 IBUs.) By Odin's wing, might this be skáldskapar mjaða?!