2 O'Clock Tasting: 
Evil Twin Brewing

Updated on April 05, 2016

Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø is one of our favorite people in Brooklyn. We love his bar, TØRST, and we love the madcap beers he brews under the Evil Twin moniker. Just yesterday we announced a collaboration Beer Making Kit with the brewery - their Bikini Beer, scaled down to the kitchen!

Jeppe, the founder and man behind Evil Twin Brewing, was a physics and English teacher in his native Denmark before starting Copenhagen's Ølbutikken, a highly regarded beer store. He founded Evil Twin in 2010 as a nomadic brewery, then moved it to Brooklyn in 2012 when he relocated there with his family, opening the beer bar TØRST the same year.

The creativity behind Evil Twin's beers is evident in the spectrum of colors present in the five Evil Twin beers we sampled. Those beers were: Justin Blåbær, a Berliner Weiss; Ryan and the Beaster Bunny, a Farmhouse Saison; The Cowboy, a Smoked Porter; Even More Denmark, a Chocolate Stout, and Imperial Donut Break, an Imperial Porter (What other brewer would make a beer with actual glazed donuts and have it taste incredible?). Read on for our tasting notes and be sure to add your own in the comments if you've tried these Evil Twin beers!

1. Justin Blåbær

   4.5% ABV

   The creation of this Berliner Weiss-style beer brewed with blueberries was a tad unusual. It was conceived as a vehicle to use the amusingly embarrassing picture of Jeppe featured on the bottle. Despite the novelty origin story, its delightful brew and completely justifies its existence. Pouring an almost cotton candy color, this grapefruit pink ale had a very fine white head and a tart aroma similar to cranberry juice. In the mouth, the beer had a tart blueberry yogurt taste, with Cheerios on the back.

2. Ryan and the Beaster Bunny

   7.0% ABV

   Rather traditional, for an Evil Twin beer, Ryan and the Beaster Bunny is a very clear farmhouse-style saison with a pillowy long-lasting head and fine bead carbonation. A malty, grassy bubblegum aroma dominated the nose while the tongue detected hoppy mint flavors that recalled cold yerba mate tea.

3. The Cowboy

   5.5% ABV

   We're big fans of smoked beers (we visited three breweries that made them for our second book, Make Some Beer), so we were excited to try this one. The Cowboy was the color of movie theater butter and had a nice smooth smoke aroma that was present, but did not overwhelm, the beer. The light and pleasant smoke flavor was similar to that of a smoked biscuit or charred Nilla Waffers.

4. Even More Denmark

   5.2% ABV

   A collaboration with fellow Dane Fritz Knipschildt, who runs the Connecticut chocolatier Chocopologie, Even More Denmark is brewed with chocolate and smoked chestnuts. An impenetrable espresso black with brown head, Even More Denmark had a slightly smokey aroma that was very similar to a mild and smooth scotch, or Japanese whiskey. Bitter chocolate flavors were prevalent on the tongue and the overall effect was similar to a boozy, carbonated chocolate milk.

5. Imperial Doughnut Break

   11.5% ABV

   An "Imperial Porter", this is the beer we were all most eager to try. A twist on Evil Twin's popular Imperial Biscotti Break, an Imperial Stout brewed with coffee beans, Imperial Doughnut Break is made with almonds and bags full of glazed doughnuts dumped into the boil. It's the sort of beer that gives Jeppe his reputation and it was completely delicious. A dark espresso color with slight red notes, we detected marzipan and oxidized coffee on the nose. Appropriately, the brew smelled similar to a doughnut shop - a good sign! The mouthfeel was unique - it felt like your mouth was coated with doughnut glazing and the beer tasted like a doughnut. Which is to say, delicious!

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