Steve Koenemann

The Denmark Connection

Recently I was fortunate enough to be involved in a rather unique beer tasting event held at the Three Penny Taproom in downtown Montpelier, Vermont. Shaun Hill, an acclaimed local brewer, was there to introduce a small group of beer aficionados to six very limited-run, barrel-aged beers from Denmark. Due to their limited production, these beers will probably never be distributed or sold here in the US. I have included a short video at the end of this article of Shaun discussing one of these beers before the group.

Shaun E. Hill, Brewer

A quick look at Shaun Hill would tell you that he is not very old (30 something), is confident but not arrrogant, has a good sense of humor and has that mischievous sparkle in his eye that tells you that “trouble” may not be too far away. Talk to him for just a little while though and you uncover a sharp mind, a good memory and a strong conviction for things that he believes in; brewing great beer in particular. Shaun’s young age effectively masks a wealth of both brewing and life experiences accumulated in a very short amount of time. Previously a brewer at The Shed Restaurant & Brewery and Trout River Brewing here in Vermont, Shaun has spent much of the last 2 years (20 months) as a guest brewer for Anders Kissmeyers at the Nørrebro Bryghus brewery in Copenhagen, Denmark. During his time at Nørrebro Bryghus, Shaun not only assisted in brewing their normal slate of brews, but also used his own experience as an American brewer to help create new and unique brews for this excellent Danish brewer. For his next adventure, Shaun is about midway through the process of starting his own brewery, the Hill Farmstead Brewery, on his family’s land in Greensboro, Vermont. Shaun’s family dates back to about 1788 in this rural area and his three-times great grandfather ran a tavern (Aaron Hill’s Tavern) in Greensboro in the early 1800′s.

The Beers

The six beers that were included in the tasting session, were all developed by Shaun along with his friends and fellow brewers at Nørrebro Bryghus. These beers are representative of just some of Shaun’s considerable brewing talents. All of these beers are barrel-aged and bottle-conditioned.

• Saison Lambic Pinot Noir
  While I have had a number of other blended beers before, never before have I had a blend of a Saison and a Lambic. I have to say that this marriage of the two sour-style beers works extremely well. The flavors of the Saison portion work to provide some distraction from the more potent sourness that the Lambic portion brings to the mix. Although aged in a French oak Pinot Noir barrel for 4 months, I did not find that the oaky flavor that one would expect was strong and, indeed, it ended up just being one of many flavors present in this surprisingly complex beer. Shaun talked about the Lambic that he selected for blending in with this beer, one of the legendary Drie Fonteinen Lambics, and how he would miss this particular brewer’s beers now that they have stopped producing. For me, this beer was one of the real highlights of the evening and someday (tomorrow?) I will wish that I could sample some more of this truly excellent beer.
• SEVEN Imperial Stout (Niepoort Barrel)
  The second beer in the tasting series was an Imperial stout that had been aged in a port wine barrel. Niepoort is, in fact, a Portuguese Port wine producer that provided the aging barrel. The recipe for this beer was the collaborative effort of 7 Danish brewers (including Shaun). Shaun told us that combining the 7 recipes proved challenging and produced a collective grain bill of 17 different malts and a host of hops as well as portions of more “exotic” ingredients like coffee, fig puree and cocoa nibs. After fermentation, the beer was aged for 7 months in the Port barrel. Although the quality of this beer was not in question and I enjoyed it immensely, it had several characteristics (harshness for one) of an Imperial stout that had not yet reached its pinnacle and could use some additional time to age and mellow. Very complexly flavored, no doubt a result of the large number of ingredients and the Port barrel aging. I also found the alcohol (12% ABV) made it a bit too boozy.
• SEVEN Imperial Stout (Bordeaux Barrel)
  Like the beer above, this was an Imperial stout which was a collaborative effort of the 7 brewers, but this one was aged in an American oak Bordeaux wine barrel for 7 months. Again, no question of the quality, but this was my least favorite of the beers in the tasting flight. The intense flavor character of the American oak coupled with the heavy Bordeaux wine flavors was just simply too overpowering and masked nearly all of the flavors of the fine Imperial stout that lied underneath in this flavor behemoth.
• Viking Oud Bruin
  Shaun explained that the basis of this beer was a Belgian brown brewed by a Master Brewer class at the Scandinavian School of Brewing. After brewing, the beer was then aged in an oak Spanish Tempranillo wine barrel for 10 months with the addition of some Brettanomyces and Lactobacillus. I have to agree with Shaun’s assessment that, if not for the fact that this beer was produced in Denmark, it could easily be labeled as an “American wild” style of beer; a style that I happen to like. The beer was a complex mix of flavors which included mild oak, red wine and berries as well as a background hint of the roasted malts in the Belgian brown. The sourness was a bit unique (to me) in that it seemed hit you right on the back of the tongue. Crisp, very clean finishing and quite enjoyable.
• Little Korkny Ale (Niepoort Barrel)
  For me and many others at this tasting event, this beer was the “best of show”. At its inception, this beer was a hefty barley wine and probably a decent brew in its own right. But you take this good barley wine and you age it for 9 months in a stainless tank and then another 12 months in a Niepoort Port wine barrel and what you end up with is pure heaven in a glass. A clear reddish brown in color with a thick/oily palate and malty sweet aromas to begin, the beer then exhibits a great variety of flavors and aromas as it warms. Roasted malts, dark fruits, caramel/toffee, nuts, oak, vanilla and chocolate are but a few of the flavors that you might uncover in this very complex brew. Near the end of the sample, when the beer had nearly warmed to ambient temperature, the beer (to me) took on an almost tawny port character that was extremely satisfying and left me wishing that I had my own private stock of this beer that I could tap into and savor for the next 10 years or so.
  I am not sure if Shaun could reproduce this beer here in the States, but in my humble opinion, it would worth it to give it a go, as it is one of the best beers that I have ever tasted.
• Little Korkny Ale (Cognac Barrel)
  Like the beer above, this rendition of Little Korkny began its life as a barley wine that was aged for 9 months in a stainless tank. From there it was placed into an oak Cognac barrel to age for 12 months. While producing an excellent beer, this Cognac-barrel process did not (in my opinion) produce a beer of nearly the quality and stature that the Niepoort-barrel process did. Although quite a few of the same flavors of the Niepoort-barrel brew are present (roasted malts, dark fruits, caramel/toffee and nuts), in a fashion similar to the SEVEN/Bordeaux-barrel beer described earlier, the Cognac effectively masked many of the flavor characteristics of the barley wine underneath; which is unfortunate given the obvious quality of this barley wine base.

As a brewer and in spite of his already impressive CV of brewing experiences, Shaun is really just beginning what will undoubtedly be a brewing career filled with many more high points; and some lows too, I suspect. I truly look forward to following Shaun as he picks his way through the brewing world of the future. Shaun plans to have his Hill Farmstead Brewery producing beer for sale by Memorial Day this year and I can hardly wait to make the short trek to Greensboro to see his operation and sample some of what I fully expect to be some excellent brews. Good Luck Shaun!!

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