Church-Key Holy Smoke

Brewed by Church-Key Brewing
Style: Smoked
Pethericks Corners, Canada

Smokey as all hell. It pours a beautiful dark brown with no head... there’s earth and a definite smoke in this. Definitely more than raftman. Smoked Salmon abounds in this joint. Wow!

Dark brown - black. Good carbonation with a frothy lacy tan head. Aroma of chocolate malt and smoke and some fruity aleness. Slightly sweet flavour with peat smoke and chocolate accented malts. Somewhat scotch ale like with roasted and chocolate malt. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Holy smokey - wasn’t expecting this much character from something from this brewery. Lots of smoke evoking a campfire then a smoke-house and then some earthiness. I guess that’s the peat and the smoked-whisky malt although there didn’t seem to be evidence of this in the flavour.

341 ml bottle - pours a dark clear mahogany with a decent white head. Aroma kind of faint but mainly sweet malt and some smoke of course, along with a subtle sourness. I wasn’t expecting much, but the flavour is quite lovely - not like other smoked beers I’ve had that hit you over the head with their smoked meat flavours, this one is very clean and bears the stamp of actual wood smoke - hickory and peat - an earthiness under a rich malty body. Full-flavoured, delicious and highly quaffable for a smoked. Would be fantastic in autumn.

Draught @ West 50, Mississauga: Had this one a few years ago before I was "in to" beer and had hated it, but I’d been assuming my improved palate might now enjoy it. Truth! Poured copper in colour, very little head on mine but the lacing was incredible. Aroma is earthy and smoky, albeit more muted than the Aecht I had a while ago. I found this one far superior to the Aecht in flavour as well, offering a more subtle flavour than the "punched in the face with corned beef" from the former. This one is well balanced with flourishes of smoke and significant hopping, and just enough whiskey-style maltiness to balance. I’m a convert, I really enjoyed this one!

341ml
6.25% ABV
I tried this beer on January 17, 2008 at "Smokeless Joe’s" in Toronto. The beer is a dark brown colour with a creamy tan coloured head. The aroma is malty, with some caramel and smoke. The mouthfeel was medium-bodied, with a high amount of carbonation. The flavour was smokey malt, and some sourness.

Nice smokey scent, like a nice warm fireplace. Very dark brown red pour with a thin light tan head. Thick mouth. Nice flavour. Reminds me of the Hickory Farms meat stick that you get with their cheeses. Malty aftertaste. A nice beer, I wouldn’t want to session it, one at a time it’s great though.

On Tap At Bow and Arrow. A real one beer at a time drink. Smoky aroma and beautiful blackness. Nice smoky malt flavour that sits on the tongue. A good ale when you’re having just one.