Smoke hits you upfront in an unusual way. Really good, well balanced beer. The aroma is burnt wood, smoke, chocolate. Flavor is much of the same, again, great balance. Some notes of caramel malted sweetness.

Batch #70 ~ 2007 Vintage

10/07/2008: Haandbryggeriet Norwegian Wood is briming with good, woody smokiness with a hint of smoked meat in the aroma paired with some subtle milky, chocolate, and yeasty notes. This beer is heavy carbonated at this point as evidenced by the loud sound the cap made when I popped it off, the continuous rush of bubbles from the bottom of the glass to the top, and the very large, foamy beige head that loiters on the top. The color of this beer is a hazy, deep red with honey-colored highlights. The flavor is actually somewhat unexpected. It is mostly chocolate with some roasty and char. I don’t really get any of the meaty smoke or even regular smoke that I was expecting. It is pretty much char and semi-sweet and dark chocolates. It becomes more dry with a slightly overbearing yeast flavor as it warms (I prefer the flavor when it is a bit more cold). There is also a slight sour/tartness that must be from the juniper berries. The finish is dry, roasty, and has a mild bitterness to it. There is thick, puffy lacing on the glass and even though the carbonation appears to be higher, the medium-full body of this beer prevents it from coming across as overcarbonated or fizzy. Overall, this beer is very good. At first I wished that it had more of the meaty smokiness to it. However, this isn’t supposed to be a smoked beer. Therefore, I believe that the deep, roasted malt and char characteristics are more in line with the intentions of this brew. The smoke is more subtle resulting in a very balanced beer and a delightful drinking experience.

1 pt. 6 fl oz bottle (6.5% Alc/Vol, Brewed: Mar. 07, Best Bef: Mar 10, $7.49+tax) from River’s Bend Wine and Spirits in Maineville, Ohio. Rating #288 for this beer...

2008 Bottle - Pours a murky reddish with a large off-white head that lingers...aroma is burnt wood, bitters, flavour is somewhere between campfire and old sponge...nice smoke and interesting palate, but there is something that almost gives off a mushroomy fungal note, fun beer but better to share...

pours a hazy reddish brown with a large lasting tan head. Aroma is light camp fire smoke and some tart fruitiness, light roasted malt as well. Flavour is sweet malt, some chocolate tones and some semi-tart fruitiness. A pronounced lingering smokey finish. I thought that this was pleasantly balanced between the smokiness and the other flavours. Most times I find rauchbiers to be way too smokey for my taste. So the fact that this one is a ’traditional ale’ and has toned it down a bit while still allowing the smoke to play a major part is good by me.

a thick woody aroma. lots of burnt woods, and roasted burnt malt. loads of burnt wood flavour, and more burnt malt, this is super malty, and is dominated by wood. interesting, but quite one dimensional.