Haandbryggeriet Norwegian Wood

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

16.9oz bottle. Top knotch stuff. Thick chocolately opaque brown color. Full bodied all out smoke flavor. Rich and satisfying. The juniper gives the beer a nice spicy touch, which leaves a pleasant herbal aftertaste. Expensive at 7.99+ a bottle in the store, but well worth trying if you a fan of the rauch.

Cloudy, nearly muddy, amber hue with a moderately sized, light tan, foamy head that quickly diminishes. Smells...amazing. Smoke -- like snuffed candles -- peaches and bananas, perhaps as saltwater taffy candies. In the background lurks some rusty, oxide aromas. From there it gets really strange, flush with smoked salmon, brined olives, pine needles and cedar. What a rush. The flavour begins moderately sweet with elements of tangerine, cedar and taffy. Some notes of pine and peach shine through as acidity along with some tart berries. Around mid-palate the smoke jumps in, tinged with sea salt and oranges. The finish is mostly dry with a little Meyer lemon sweetness. Also present, some more saltiness, light smoke and berry skins...never tannic though. Medium bodied, and the texture is divinely velvety. Carbonation is lively and crisp, like biting into a firm apple. Expertly crafted, intriguing...must have more! 50cl bottle at Gastropub Praha.

there are times i am so completely sick of myself that i have a hard time leaving the house for fear of inflicting myself on others. so i sit at home, and rot, generally downloading crap and listening to music that makes normal people want to jump off a cliff. so i did that for the last who knows how many hours, finally was able to turn on a light, put the razor blade away take a shower and clean this hole up. maybe soon i’ll e able to eat. dare to dream. so i’m in my place that is now not smelling of my sweat and pity, with the cool breeze blowing in the windowws, just got back from having a few beers in public, and now i’m ready, lets see what this beer is all about.looks really dark, but i’m in an unlit room, held to the window it has a bit of copper marron filtered through. nice fluffy head with big ol’ bubbles. a sweet smoke nose that makes me smile, smells like cedar and applewood. very inviting and makes my mouth water a bit while my jaws clench in anticipation. this is shockingly good. the smoke is there, with that smoke flavor that i taste from good cold smoked salmon, with a great wheaty banana and apple flavor, a great sweet malt body that holds perfesctly against the smoke. i must pick up some salty goat cheese and a bit of salmon to try with this. the bitter smoke finish is bringing so much at me i can’t take it all in. meatyt, fruit juice(pear, apple)n light roast, sugared sugar puffs(you white trash brethren know what i mean) maple and with each taste something new, but always good. rich with a nice thick body. this is the opposite of a passage i read in a novel recently-" i was thankful for her giving me access to the solid, bland world she lived in"- emily jenkins from mr. posterior and the genius child. good book, good beer. 5 10 8 4 19

This poured a brown color with a beige head. The aroma contains some herbal notes along with nutmeg, alcohol, raisins, and cherries. The flavor is rather sweet with a smokey presence. Do I taste BACON! Also some dark fruit and caramel showing. Overall this was an excellent beer.

They call it traditional, I call it very tasty. Nice bittersweet smoke flavor, not too astringent/acrid. Color is not black, distinctly brown. Nice woody/smokey flavor. Obvious aromatic wood smoke, Excellent beer, if ony it were a bit cheaper...

Pours reddish brown with orange highlights and a beige head with large, fast-fading bubbles. Aroma is outlandishly appetizing with prominent smoke, glazed ham, wood, caramel, slight gin notes when colder but those fade, caramel, nuts. Tastes malty and smokey with wood, caramel, smoked meats (ham, jerky, sausage), wood, caramel, butterscotch, toffee, and slight spice (juniper?). Finishes dry, woody, smokey like a faraway cookout, and earthy buttery hops. Medium bodied, easy to drink, big bubbly carbonation. This is at once subtle and totally exciting and captivating. I love smoke beers and this certainly fits that category as well as traditional ale. I’ve fallen in love!

Bottle courtesy of Ross. Pours brown and opaque with a nice fizzy white head. Smells of juniper berries, hints of campfires, lots of gin like qualities, some underlying sweet malt. Tastes of smoked malt, pepper, juniper berries, lots of bitterness. Some chocolatey touches are also present. Mouthfeel is full. Finish is lightly smoky and bitter. Very interesting in a good way!

Batch 100. Brewed Okt. 07. Best before Okt. 09.<P>Beer is cloudy, moderately dark brown. Head is huge, frothy/rocky, off-white. Lazily diminishes, mostly lasts.<P>I’m blown away. I haven’t been this excited by a beer in a while.<P>Aroma is rich, textured, smoky, savory, balanced. Malty with moderate notes of roasted grain, toasted bread crust; Hoppy with a light, unobtrusive supporting note of noble herbal; Yeasty with a trace of cellar, hint of blue-veined cheese tartness; Trace of juniper flickers in and out with a sparkle, moderately cloak in a gorgeous note of savory, cleansing smoke. <P>The flavor is lightly sweet, moderately acidic (dry), lightly bitter with a long, lightly acidic (juicy), lightly bitter finish.<P>The body is light, the texture is watery, the carbonation is lively/fluffy.<P>Devastating.