New Albanian Bonfire of the Valkyries

Brewed by New Albanian Brewing Company
Style: Smoked
New Albany, Indiana USA

On tap at the 2007 GTMW - Port barrel cask aged 9 months: Pours a murky dark mahogany with a thin-lacing light tan head. Aroma boasts a lot of nicely-smoked caramel malt and doughy light fruity complexity. Body starts with a full, barely-carbonated viscosity of sweet rauchmalz and bready oaky yeasty port flavor toward a balanced, smooth complex finish. Very enjoyable and unique.

Growler. Smoked meat malt aroma. Dark black-brown color with small head. Smoked ham and malt flavor with a light than expected body. A very nice smoked beer - would do Bamberg proud.

Growler shared by Jason. The aroma is really smoked. Meaty, bacon and sausage meets black malt and lager yeasts. The beer tastes pretty smoky too. Tart black malt and Schwartz-like beer components. Well balanced. The beer is a dark cola colored body with minimal head. The palate is smoked, tart, medium bodied, and refreshing. Quite a delight!

Growler, shared by Teege from Redlight Redlight. Pours a dark and brooding chestnut brown color with a slightly transparent edge. A creamy, frothy, mocha colored head leaves sudsy, spotty lacing on the glass. The aroma shows a dry cocoa and darkly toasted caramel malt base, with heaps of peaty smoke and meaty, salty overtones. There’s a beef jerky sort of feel to the nose, but still plenty of mocha caramel sweetness. Flavors follow suit, though they are perhaps a bit more chocolaty and coffee forward. Gone is some of the meaty saltiness, though the smoke still comes through plenty strong. Earthy hops lend nice bitterness. Great balance overall. Medium-full bodied and silky on the palate, the mouthfeel matches the style perfectly. This is a damn good beer, and instantly one of my favorites in the smoked genre.

Draft: Deep garnet. Tiny-bubbled head of light tan slowly settles but holds well. Glorious smoked bread aromatics link up with plump raisins, plums, and chalky hints of charred malt (burnt cookies). Softly carbonated. Early twinge of acidity is driven away by a lush surge of silky smoke and gritty roast which accentuates the chewy bready malts. Fresh tobacco contributes moistness to the body which keeps the graininess at bay while seemingly prolonging the nuanced layers of smoke. Faint cola sweetness is present, but its well attenuated. Miniscule level of esters allows the malts to shine. Malt foundation is quite clean and bouncy throughout. Finishes well-integrated with smoke, tobacco, and crisp black malt which slices its way through the unsweetened chocolate and slightly-sticky residual sweetness. Smoke and plums eternally linger. Fine work here, as it’s expressively aromatic in the malt department, and delightfully unfiltered and chewy in the body.

Pours mostly black with reddish hues and a fully receding tan head. Aroma of charcoal, smoked sausage. Taste is intense smoked malt, with some background notes of toffee and roasted malt. Mouthfeel is full bodied, lightly resinous with lively carbonation. Not much subtlety to this one.

thanks to Teege from redlight redlight for bringing this back! Chocolate malts with some smooth smokey notes on the nose. Pours black with a brown head. Mildly smokey, creamy chocolate malts, hints of burnt coffee, very smooth with hints of vanilla. A great schwartz bier meets a great rauch bier, really the best of both worlds!! And excellent session beer!!

Thanks to Teege for bringing this back from Indy. Reddish black pour and has a huge smoked malt, campfire and chocolate malt aroma. Taste is smooth and smoky, with little hints of chocolate and coffee. Very nice.