North East Beer Review

A beer review of a Session IPA from a pioneering craft brewery based in Norway. Endelig Fredag is a 4.5% brew which translates to “finally friday”. The brewery in question is Haandbryggeriet which has roots back to 2000. Marketed as juicy and easy drinking, how did this fare up in this review? To find out I will cover the history of this beer and brewery, the pour, the taste and aroma and finally my verdict.

From homebrew to craft brew pioneers

Haand (Haand Bryggeriet) is one of Norway’s most famous craft beer pioneers. Its origins stretch back to 2000, when a group of homebrewers formed the Drammens Ølbryggelag (DØL) homebrewing club in Drammen. Four members shared a vision of transforming a former textile factory into a commercial brewery, and in spring 2005 they brewed their first commercial batch.

From the beginning, Haandbryggeriet focused on traditional, unfiltered and unpasteurised craft beer, helping to drive the growth of Norway’s modern craft beer movement. The brewery quickly earned a reputation for innovative ales, barrel-aged beers, sour beers and experimental brewing techniques. In 2014, Haandbryggeriet invested in a new brewing system that allowed greater production capacity and expansion into lager styles while maintaining its core range of ales. The brewery later established a dedicated sour beer facility and continues to be recognised as one of Norway’s most influential independent breweries. 

Endelig Fredag, translates to “finally friday” was first brewed around 2022 and was designed to be easy drinking session hazy IPA which was designed for social situations. The beer was developed in collaboration with the Norwegian marketing company Prege and was created to celebrate the feeling of reaching the end of the working week. With an ABV of 4.5%, Endelig Fredag was brewed to be approachable and refreshing rather than aggressively bitter. Haandbryggeriet describes it as a clean and flavourful beer with inviting hop aromas featuring citrus and tropical fruit notes. The brewery specifically highlights its suitability for Norway’s popular Friday taco tradition (“fredagstaco”), making it a beer designed for relaxed weekend gatherings.

Hazy with an orange edge

Endelig Fredag pours a hazy golden to yellow colour with a gentle orange tint. This unfiltered appearance presents a juicy and modern appeal. A bright white head forms immediately on the pour, showing good retention and leaving a light lacing around the glass as the beer is consumed. The haze is consistent with the beer’s Session IPA character, while the lively carbonation adds to its fresh and refreshing presentation. Overall, it is an attractive beer that looks as approachable and easy drinking as its name suggests.

A bright citrusy aroma

Aroma

The aroma opens with bright citrus notes of grapefruit, orange zest and lemon, supported by tropical fruit characters such as mango and pineapple. A light floral hop presence adds freshness, while subtle malt sweetness in the background provides balance. The overall aroma is clean, inviting and approachable, offering plenty of hop character without becoming overpowering.

Taste

Endelig Fredag delivers a bright and refreshing citrus and tropical flavour with notes of grapefruit, orange, mango and pineapple dominating. Mid Palate, a gentle malt sweetness accompanies this hop character. The bitterness is moderate and controlled. Its Session IPA profile focuses on balance rather than intensity, allowing the fruity hop flavours to shine while maintaining a crisp, clean finish that encourages another sip. Although, I feel in this instance the flavour may be sacrificed.

Time for my verdict

Overall, was this easy drinking? Yes, did I enjoy Endelig Fredag? Yes. Only issue I had was it felt it was pretty basic and offered you a fruity session IPA but lacked anything particularly more than that. Don’t get me wrong, I would still absolutely smash a couple of these but it would need more hop forward notes in order to become one of my favourites. I must say the citrus notes were very refreshing and this brew was visually appealing too. Overall, I rate this a 3.5 out of 5.

Where did I purchase this beer?

I bought this beer from Beer52.

Thanks for reading my review. If you enjoyed my review, you will love my review of another brew purchased from Beer52 called Birra Baladin L’IPPA.