Haandbryggeriet Norwegian Wood

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

16.9 oz. bottle. Pours a slightly hazy reddish brown color with a large foamy beige head diminishing to a persistent 5mm blanket of suds. The aroma is moderately spicy, hints of fruit, caramel malt, chocolate, and smoke. The flavor opens with a heavy dose of smoke, but it is wonderful. The malt presence is noticable, but not as sweet as the aroma would lead you to believe. There is a mild hop bitterness to the finish. Overall this is a surprisingly excellent brew. Medium bodied, smooth mouthfeel.

(500 ml bottle (Batch 70, brewed 3/07) from <A HREF=http://www.ratebeer.com/Place/maine/portland/ target=blank>Downeast Beverage Co.) Pours darkish caramel brown, looks a little cloudy. A big four finger, somewhat foamy biege head arises with each pour. Eventually settles to a thin somewhat globby covering. Aroma is sweet - kind of like dark rum, maybe brown sugar and wood, juniper perhaps - kind of hard to decipher the aroma. Mouthfeel is somewhat thin, lightly syrupy and a bit fizzy. Flavor is fairly heavy smokey wood with light malt sweetness and I suppose juniper berries (although I’m not real familiar with their taste). Light-medium bitter. Quite smokey - this could easily be called a smoked beer - kind of a combo between a smoked and a spiced. Not sure I really like the juniper however.

Via trade with emacgee. Lightly hazy amber in color,with a small tan head. Aroma is heavily smoky- campfire, wood, caramel, light yeast and earth. Taste is very smoky, with alot of campfire, cedar, light notes of fruit, sweet caramel. Body is medium, finishes off with smoke, wood, and earth. Thanks Ethan!

Bottle from Utobeer. It pours a murky brown with quite a thick head. Smoke dominates the aroma, quite like German rauchbier smoke, but maybe a little more ashy, also quite yeasty. Thick in the mouth and surprisingly sweet, yeasty, of course lots of smoke quite a green, piney finish. Very enjoyable.

Lightly hazed bronze color with a hint of red when held to the light. Diminished light tan head. Somewhat fizzy in feel. Smoked herb aromas. This has a real traditional flavor to me. I seem to catch coke (the solid carbonaceous material derived from destructive distillation of low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal) dried malt in the flavor. Also a mild grass and herbal hops component. Perhaps a bit of pine. Quite bitter in the finish and a long linger. This is the type of brew I like to spend an afternoon with as I’m smoking meat. I catch a light HotD Adam in this one, which is always a plus in my book.

Bottle. Pours a cloudy ruby red, with tons of fluffy white head. Lacing is as thick as syrup and refuses to budge. Smells of loquacious smoke, berries, cider, and a general campfire feel. But muted. Flavors of smoke, grapefruit, and some nutty malts. Smooth with a bitter bite. Roof of the mouth is unaffected. Easy drinking if you enjoy this kinda taste.

Batch 70 March 2007. Pours a lovely chesnut brown with an everlasting tan head. Huge smoke aroma, dominates all else. Flavor starts promising, but the band-aid like phenols are really overwhelming in this one. Very still carbonation.

whatever size, bottle, pours a nice deep dark mahogany this has the initial taste of some pine, then transitions into roasy smokiness that is refreshing from the over powering bitterness or roast commonly found in beers, nice drinking this one.