Haandbryggeriet Norwegian Wood

Brewed by Haandbryggeriet (Norway)
Style: Traditional Ale
Drammen, Norway

Poured from a 500ml bottle (Batch 86, Brewed: Aug. ’07) and served in an English pint glass. This beer poured a hazy copper brown with a lasting head of tight, tan foam. Some nice lacing was left behind. The aroma of the beer was made up of burnt wood, smoke, toasted caramel, spicy and fragrent juniper, and also some earthy yeast. The flavor included smoked meats, campfire, dark fruits, burnt caramel, and a solid dose of lasting juniper at the finish. Definately interesting. The mouthfeel was medium-bodied with mild carbonation. Despite the strong smoke presence, the juniper really shines through. Tasty and unique, but not something I would drink all the time.

bottle from knightly spirits...and from Eric Sanchez, thanks RICO! Brown pour with a tan head. smell is balanced between malt and smoke. Flavor is smokey and malty. Hops at end. Reminds me of a jerky beer. Interesting and pretty good for a smoked beer!

Perhaps the first (as far as I know) commercial beer in Norway after the reinheitsgebot disappeared that has utilized the old Norwegian tradition of spicing beer with juniper as was common before hops found their way to Norway. Slightly hazy, colour ranges from amber’ish brown to niqoutine yellow. Nice foamy cream white head (reminds me of something in between a stout and a Belgian dubbel, which tells me there might be some candi in there..). Sweet malty caramel’ish, piny, resinous aroma with a touch of smoke and a fruity hoppy hint. Nice acidic, slightly vinous attack on the palate. Discreet bitterness Pretty dry & medium bodied. Slightly short aftertaste. The taste is vinous (red, think zinfandel/shiraz) on the attack as well with a bit of caramelly malt, but the smoke (although not too strong) takes too much attencion. A pity, since i know that there are some juniper berries there as well as a nice malt profile that gets lost in the smoke. Overall a nice beer though, but i hope they’ll amplify the juniper and cut down on the smoke on next batch. Batch 148, by the way.

Bottle, batch 142. I heard of this beer during a visit to the brwery a couple of years ago, it was a pleasure to taste it today.

Bottle Batch 100. Aroma was smokey and sweet spices on the nose. Brown body with big head that eventually settles down to normal. Smokey wood in the flavor along with some sweet malts. Texure was thick and a filling beer put me to sleep.

Hazy brown with large beige head. Sweet aroma with roasted malt and caramel. Flavor likewise with a sweet esmoky end.

Bottle from Whole Foods in Chandler, marked "Batch 100." Poured a murky amber with a frothy head of straw-colored head. Smells like a struck match with notes of alcohol in the nose. Plenty of smoke in the flavor, much like a rauch beer, with faint caramel and juniper. Thick, malty body with mld carbonation. Hot alcohol finish. Noticeable sediment.

0,5l. Poors a large offwhite head which stays for a long while. Dark brownish appearance, slighty foggy looking. Aroma of smoked malt, fruits and coffee. Tastes of fruit, burnt smoked malt, coffee, long slighlty bitter and alcohol filled finish. Almost no carbonation. Overrall a nice beer. The only downer I can point my finger on is the slightly misplaced use of flames on the label.