Of course being a dream long time coming, it is FINALLY time to get to try this spectacularly rarity. Being one of the most sought after beers in the world (if not THE most sought after), it was difficult enough to get hold of one (Thx Aaron!) meaning that the joy of finally getting to taste it is even greater. And as if that wasn’t enough, a friend had gotten hold of the previous year’s edition. How crazy wouldn’t it be to taste’em besides eachother? Let’s do it!

KBBS 2019

So thick in the glass… Oily as f@!%, leaving more than just wine legs. As a matter of fact, more like a whole wall of thick, oily layers… this is just floating chocolate.

Nose: Incredible coffee, followed by bourbon, caramel and chocolate. Outstanding, unrealisticly strong maple coating, with a hint of bacon in the back… longest lasting taste- EVER! Violentry raging maple on palate with time. On the other side of the ring, we find heavy caramel, draped in a layer of sirupy burnt wood/oak.

Still, velvety finish, playing all instruments of the whole goddamn spectre! In other words: An oral orchestra.

KBBS (2020)

A little less developed body? Without a doubt, the same delicious base… Out-of-this-world! Not as thick as it’s predecessor, but still Super oily. North is distinct caramel, lots of sweetness. Cleaner, in a sense…  if that description can be applied. Absolutely wonderful and astonishing!

Less heavy bodied, with just purity in aboundance, pure caramel. Delicious velvety maple syrup here too, as expected. Slight note of coffee in the bottom, albeit no alcohol traces as such. Just overwhelmingly smooth caramel & chocolate pralines of the most exclusive sort. Out-of-body experience! Drinkable confectionery.

I’d do this again any day… if luck/fate/the-powers-be would direct another chance in my direction.

Photo: M.K. Burheim

Every time I crack a bottle of this kind, I must admit it fills me with a great deal of excitement. Having had several of Anchorage’s stunning brews before, I do know that the bar is placed high- and tonight‘s thick’n oily beverage is about to prove that it is no exception.

Clocking in on a massive 15.5 ABV, it sure holds a powerful body enough for a huge complexity. Nose is BIG, with features of figs, overripe dark fruit, leather, burnt wood, hints of tobacco, all backed by a veil of delicious chocolate. So, more importantly: What does it taste like?

Sweet, chocolaty, nutty. Spice (cinnamon?) Lots of nuts! Sooo amazing! Silky smooth veils uncovers fruity layers in the middle section, before it slowly fades over in Bourbon notes, Ona foundation of warmth underneath. A light acidity is then defeated by the sweet sword of cocoa, laying any opposing elements to eternal rest. Absolutely superb, top noch, sublime… No wonder that many an adjective comes to mind in order to justify this work of art.

Photo: M.K. Burheim

Gosh… for a moment there, I thought I’d never see this one in my life. (Thx Andreas!) Super-limited edition from back in the days when craft beer had quite a different position than today, this is quite something.

I’ve been excited about this one for ages, and today is the day… For those who have tried  the regular Tokyo: This is quite something else.

First off: Incredible that this beautiful beast is 12 years old! Lots of aromas, highly intact. Massive oakbarrel nose, soaked in whisky. Supreme carbonisation, full and suiting body. I can best describe this experience like this: lightly subtle sweet introduction, followed by the main ingredient being smokey flavour, which overlaps back & forth with sour mash whiskey.

At the same time: Heavy body, without providing any kind of disturbance to the close-to-perfect balance. Delicious & fullbodied with lots of smooth sweetness that evolves into an exciting acidity. To round things off, this masterpiece is superseded by a megasmoked outro. This 12year old is quite simply astonishing.

Been looking forward to trying this. A part of the funny gaming-concept «Green city», a series of beers that Other half has launched, this one comes in funny packaging w/box set. What we’ve got at hand today is the funny-named lvl. 2 installment.

Looking as you’d want a hop-juice to do, this is pouring a great creamy layer on top of the yellow sea in the glass. Nose reveals massive fruityness, pineapple & citric fruits in play. Elegantly hopped. Fruityness is furthermore altered in the actual taste, all the while fronted by a stingy hopflirt underneath. There’s also a foresty, earthy (perhaps lightly nutty?) touch to it.

Superb degree of bubbles gives the presentation on the palate a fresh and still smooth impression of this medium bodies Triple IPA. Coated smoothly with interesting twists & turns, it’s definetely a smooth beer. Rounds off with an ever-increasing bitterness, fading slowly.

Photo: M.K. Burheim

I remember this one from the early days of discovering craft beer- and it still holds the standard. Dark. Black as a Wintery night, great carbonated and pouring  a nice creamy head.  Subtle nose reminiscent of coffee. Taste is lightly molasses, coffee and bitterness. Light bodied with ABV well hidden, somewhat a bit thin. A tad bitter aftertaste. Still awesome.

Salikatt is a Norwegian brewery that seems to really have taken off the last two years. Having recently moved location and increased their capacity, they are now able to unprepared to serve a hungry Norwegian market. As with the most popular brews, their new ones now sell out quickly, leaving many thirsty beer enthusiasts. I’ve tried several, and they really are undisputed kings of the scene nowadays in Norway.

Their latest offering, “Cold Fusion” is no exception. So, what are we faced with here is another super-haze: Deep yellow, murky pouring a great head. Nose being distinctly citra notes from the hops, and very subtle fruityness apart from that. In other words, seemingly a very clean beer. And tastewise?

Super carbonization. Fresh as hell, just overall sooo clean taste. So easy to drink! Subtle vanilla notes and creamy medium body. Delicious juicy, fruity mid-section of orange and citrus, before a great adjusted touch of tasty hoppy bitterness gets into play. Eventually the suitable hopburn provides an longlasting aftertaste, tickling & tingling the tongue. Another superb work, which maintains their position. I’d have this all days next summer, please.

Photo: M.K. Burheim

As a fan of many of their brews, Haand does create a bit of excitement for me. Having explored most of their styles, I’m well aware what tricks these guys can pull and the magic they can cook up in them kettles. At hand tonight we have a bold pastry stout clocking in on a quite powerful ABV, something that might be promising for this kind of beer.

Visuals are black and thick, still producing a beautiful head when pouring. Nose is highly complex- not just the coffee roast and choc one would expect, but also with fruity notes, especially of raspberries. But also other berries and green summery fields are detectable, besides the great chocolaty coating. Smooth and balanced, this is a beer I could drink several times. Freshly carbonated at first, developing taste layers throughout and a bittersweet aftertaste rounds off this heavy-bodied beautiful beast.

Haand: 5 points to you!

Black and mystical visually, quite fruity nose with clear references to roasted coffee beans. Almost like your morning coffee actually. It ain’t until the first swag that you’ll go furter into this dark matter and find the next level.

Great carbonisation, distinct coffee hits you first, enhanced with bourbon, nuts and oaky layers, before a very bitter finish- and a suitable heat stemming from the alcohol. There is sooo much coffee taste in here that it is incredible! Unholy goodness. And not unlike the regular KBS version, the smooth mouth-coating feel is great, even though the bitterness clearly cuts through here.

Another great beer from these masters of black brews.

Photo: M. K. Burheim

After a good 14 days (and then some), the bearded gent Westum himself, decided to “celebrate”… Or shall we say, mark that day and occation. With the entire world being quarantened up, I suppose it would be a great time to brew a beer, keeping several imprisoned souls happy. The time has come to finally taste it…

Presented in a highly stylish can with fitting label concept, the beers actual colour is light yellow, pouring small head. Hazy and murky indeed. Nose is highly priomising, with light citrusy elements such as lemony hints, pineapple and deep down, tempting distinguishable orange. One will hold back no more.

Perfectly carbonated, light appearance with remarkable bitterness that stings for a good while. As for taste elements, it’s overall hoppy, more so emphazizing bitterness than the more typhical-in-haze, fruityness that defuses the “hop-attack”, enhances by pine needles. It’s still containing those fruity elements in a developed scale, with crescendo in the aftertaste, blending orange and bitter hops perfectly. Stunning. I for one, will not complain as long as beverages like this in my hand now, is within reach.

Photo: M. K. Burheim

As one would with such a hyped item, this beer has been looked forward to consuming a long time. Being one of the pretty difficult ones to get hold off out there, expectations are high when pouring this deep murky yellow perfection in the gloss. Aromas of citric fruits, piney notes and mango strikes the nose instantly, all the way from can into glass. Powerful indeed!

Murky-looking, perfectly carbonated, fresh albeit broad and bold, this masterpiece first teases the palate with a swift sweet brush, before all hell breaks loose- cause that is indeed what happens here. I mean sure, yeah- it’s an incredible double IPA, but the grip that the stingy hop has on the tastebuds cannot be described along anything else than stormy, yet still evolving. It’s one of the best examples of how this style’s mastery can be: Complex, all over the place, multi-dimensional and violent to the palate… Completely insane.

Looong after the swig, it keeps on stinging the back of my tongue, like a swarm of miniature hop-bees, ravaging. And several minutes after, it’s slowly fading out, with a sweet fruity  touch closing. This was actually worth the wait. Supreme.

Photo: M. K. Burheim