Left Hand SmokeJumper

OK, this is a really, really hard one for me to rate. This beer is awesome, f’n delicious in every way. Nice and creamy, great soft texture and creamy mouthfeel. Looks great, pours a nice, even dark brown. Smells like smoked meat and candy. So, why is it so hard to rate? Well, I thought the smoke was almost lacking. For me, this one is a little too balanced. I expected big time smokiness. I expected big time meat flavor. I expected Goosinator on Crack, but this is a totally different beer. Smokejumper relies more on the malt backbone and shows off its deep flavor instead of letting the smoke become the flavor. Weaker on smoke, but a homerun on balance and flavor complexity.

The only thing I love more than a good encased meat, is thickly encased meat. And the only thing I love more than Smoke on the Water, is smoke in my round, jubilant belly. I just want to wear this beer. My son Mitchell tells me if I have a few more of these I will be wearing it! Amazing! This beer was salty, chewy, and reeked of the kind of raw tobacco that Cuban women roll on their legs the good old-fashioned way. Smells just like my grandpa after a long day in the fields and/or mines. It’s what America is all about. Hard work, salt, and Cuban women. God, I love this beer.

750 ml bottle shared at BCTC 2008. Poured a deep dark brown with a medium sized frothy light beige head. Aroma of smoke, roasted malts, chocolate and some anise. Palate on this one was simply awesome, thick, chewy with an oily base and average carbonation, NICE!!! Flavor has lots of smoke on the aftertaste but starts off with some notes of toast and chocolate. This was one great beer and I’m kicking myself for not picking some up when I saw it around.

Pours black with topping creamy head. Smokey aroma with licorice. Above average mouthfeel, even thick in the mouth. A very good example of its style. Good roasted chocolate malt, salty. Drinkable with lunch yet it does overwhelm tastes.A man’s beer.