Henry Deltoid's Beer Review: Amager Hr. Frederiksen

Until I tasted Hr. Frederiksen, a jet black, velvety, chewy, goopy, chocolatey Russian Imperial Stout by Amager Bryghus out of the Copenhagen suburb of Kastrup I believed Denmark had virtually nothing to offer via the beer exporting industry to my American homeland. The only beer selection from Germany’s northern neighbor to which I was exposed consisted of several offerings of over-priced, flavorless junk by Mikkeller. And if you haven’t yet been bitch-slapped with my scathing opinion of that clown outfit, read my review of their coffee IPA. Since Amager is so close to the home base of Mikkeller (Copenhagen), I am of the opinion that they should take Mikkeller under their wing and show them how beer should be made based on this one brew alone.

Quick clarification about the bottle and categorization of this beer: the label on this brew states “Danish Imperial Stout”, but there is no such thing. That label is only to clarify that this is an imperial stout made in Denmark. I categorize it as a Russian Imperial due to its high IBU as well as its sweet fruit profiles. According to the BJCP, the Russian imperial is the only stout with an IBU north of 75.

Hr. Frederiksen is midnight black with a maple colored, creamy head. It introduces a strong aroma of chocolate, blueberries and blackberries to the nose before you get real close to it. Amager put 8 types of malt into this beer, which surprises me considering it did not take me through a complex journey of various flavor profiles. But what it does contain is so dick-strokingly wonderful I conclude the mixture of malts is absolutely necessary to achieve the flavors.

Upfront the flavor blasts chocolate, malt, dark roasted coffee, and a pinch of dark and sweet berries. It’s that simple. The finish doesn’t introduce anything besides a slight spicy burn to the sinuses from booze, which provides a pleasant jolt like an unexpected nipple nibble from a bed-mate during foreplay. The oily, gunky liquid complements the creamy carbonation within and leaves a greasy, velvety coating of foam around the glass for an intensely resilient lacing. There isn’t a lot of hop character at all, and the bitterness doesn’t make a play until the aftertaste. Typically I don’t prefer the bitterness without the flavor of the hops, but in this case the sweet, milk chocolatey aftertaste is so pronounced and uplifting that it balances fantastically with the bitterness. Their partnership is like peanut butter and jelly.

There is a chance Oscar Blues 10 Fidy has been respectfully dethroned by this beer as my favorite Russian Imperial Stout. I drank Hr. Frederiksen when I was out of town in Vermont so I unfortunately was not afforded the opportunity to drink them side by side and make a solid comparison, nor was I established enough in my intellectual wherewithal to make the obvious decision to purchase two more bottles of Frederiksen (one to drink alongside of Ten Fidy right then and there, and one to save for aging). What the fuck was going through my brain? It should have been perfectly acceptable to all to have been tardy for that wedding. My cousin would have understood if I staggered into her ceremony at its halfway mark with one bottle of Hr. Frederiksen in each hand, waving them triumphantly and hiccupping my way to my seat. Regardless, there is no doubt this is a 10/10 stout.

“Hr.” is Danish for “Mr.”, and I’m not sure who Mr. Frederiksen is but from what I gather he is a dear friend to Amager, and in some way has been instrumental to their success so they named this Russian Imperial Stout to honor him. I can only assume, since this perfect beer was named after him he is hung like a banana slug (their penises are the same size as their bodies; feel free to look it up).

Amager Bryghus “Hr. Frederiksen“

Danish Imperial Stout

ABV: 10.5%

IBU: 81 (I think)

Style: 10/10

Overall: 10/10

The Deltoid has spoken.

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