Haandbryggeriet Norwegian Wood

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

Bottle purchased at Bottleworks Seattle and consumed in Montana. Dirty brown beer with big lasting sand coloured head. Musty light smoke aroma. Flavour starts smoke, then berries and then a big smoke return and finish. The berries fight with the smoke throughout each sip but always succumb to the strong smoke flavour. More drinkable with each sip. A smoke cream ale.

Solid smokey brown ale. Full of tannins, smoke, beef notes - the juniper is very present as well. Pours a very frothy brown with fluffy tan head that recedes quickly. I like this.

Bottled, shared at Sean and Ryans tasting. This beer smells like a barbecue smokehouse. Clear dark brown color with minimal head. Ultra-smoky aroma loaded with ashy wood, sweet caramel and an astringent gin character from the juniper berries. Smoke is less prominent in the flavor and the juniper continues to stand out. Flavor finishes with more ash and some bitter tannins. Thin body with an average palate.

Bottle. Body-ultra dark amber with a foamy eighth inch head. Nose-meaty, smoke, peaty, very food like. Smells like a smoked beer because it is a smoked beer (I don’t know what the fuck that means, I am just transcribing. It made a lot of sense at the time). Taste-light smoke, good spice, white grapes, apple, BBQ, bran, seed oil.

It has a slight malty syrupy quality and some fruit tones which are overshadowed by the roasted smoke flavor. The berries seem to add to a nice bitterness which gives this beer a nice flavor but doesn’t really knock me out in any sense. Palate is dry but kind of thin. Bottle from Cooper’s, Scranton, PA.

(Bottle at Konttori, Tampere, on 2008-03-08) Dark brown and cloudy. Medium sized light brown head. Smoky nose. Taste contains smoke and bitter roasted malts.

Bottle shared with Ronald and Carita in Finland. I’m not a huge smoked beer fan but I have to say this example caught me pleasantly by surprise. Light mahogany colour with an off-white head. Light smoke nose and flavours of more smoke, bacon, meat, salty cheddar and wood. The smoke is nicely in balance with all the other elements, making this a very interesting beer.

Bottle. Smokey to start with a bitter finish and lots of complexity in between. Cloudy, dark copper body with a short off-white head. Malty nose of campfire, toasted grain and cherry. Hints of spiciness and earthiness along with a note of floral hops. The flavor is moderately sweet and lightly bitter, but the bitterness and smoke crank it up a notch in the finish along with the alcohol. Medium body and smooth texture. Moderate carbonation. Nice that the smoke compliments rather than dominates the flavors. Interesting and enjoyable.