Haandbryggeriet Norwegian Wood

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

Bottle purchased and shared at Liars Club in Alpine Ca. Nice roasty aromas and a nice tan head. Lots of smokiness in the flavor and a little tartness from the fruit. Very nice.

Bottled on 08/07. Hazy deep amber brown beer with a thick beige head. Quite sticky and long lasting. Aroma is fairly spicy with a prominent juniper berry character. Lightly oaky woody aroma with just a hint of smoke. Lots of grainy spiciness up front as well. Flavour is initially quite smoky and piney, with lots of juniper fruitiness and a lingering smokiness. Surprisingly tart and juicy with a lingering woody bitterness across the back. The palate seems a bit thin and the bitterness is pretty assertive because of that. Warming intensifies the piny character as well as the smoke. It’s not bad, but it could be better.

Pours a dark brown with a nice ruby color around the edges. Very nice half inch head forms on the pour.
Smell has a some well done smokiness in it. Taste is campfire smoke. There is just a hint of spice coming through. I am mostly getting smoke in the taste. Well carbonated and crisp on the mouthfeel. It’s not a dominating smoke flavor, it’s subtle and compliments well.

Bottle again via Sloth/Slob the three toed Cretin. Thats my pet name for him....please feel free to use it freely. Berts a great guy and always hooks me up. This time aint no joke either. Pours a murky fuzzy brown in the chimay goblet. Batch 72. The head ahs been going for well over an hour and had phased thru a dense tan to a lilly pad in the center of the glass, waned to a steady thinner tan layer and is seemingly unphased by me drinking it. Lovely. The balance on this smoked beer is astonishing. No real bite that overshadows. The tart berries are at the tip of the tounge and ebb and flow with the smoked malts. A new plateau of eveness has been reached. The Smoked beers from Aecht are much more in your face and meaty than this. Many thanks to the Three Toed Cretin (TTC) from Ceciltucky.

Decent traditional ale. These are hit or miss with me. This was in the middle. Aroma was nice...smokey, woody and a soapy smell I’ve never noticed in a beer before. Pour was a beautiful murky medium brown with a huge 2 finger tan head. Taste was a little soapy (is that the juniper berries) with an underlying smokiness and floral notes. Aftertaste was very woody and fruity. This is a very complex beer.

Translucent butterscotch in color with a lasting layer of permafrost on top. Aroma catapults dynamism. The juniper is there with rosy cotton and mulberry, ignited by a flickering of unbridled burnt oak to boot. Rose hips and spearmint keep the herbaceous floral arrangement in aromatic alignment while smoky applewood goes the extra mile. Flavor produces similar sentiments, seemingly lighter at first until the applewood and juniper combination smoke out the other flavors. Cherry blossoms and discernable fatty acids are kept even keel by the livelihood professed by the juniper, substituting in large part for the herbal and bitter hop bouquet. Medium bodied at first sip, then laying in heavier as the smoke goes full circle. Juniper, sugar capped mulberry, burnt toffee brittle and abundant smoky oak provide a finale much worth remembering.

Poured dark brown with a small off white head. Aroma of berries and smoke. Really good smell. I wish I could say that about the rest. The flavors didn’t really mix well. Alcohol finish.

Pre Tasting 08 PP Belgian Fest w/ my girlfriend Cyn, Bartzilla and Galtscat. Bottle from Galtscat. Pours caramel with a tan head. Nose is huge and smokey. Taste is smokey and meaty and nice, very good beer.