Crosling (1854), Loveland, Colorado, USA
| 4.5 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 5/5 | 9/10 | 5/5 | 18/20 | Aug 11, 2009 Holy hell. Complex. So much going on. Smokey, richly malty, with intense sweet dark fruit (acai, blackberry, blueberry,) chocolate, toffee, caramel. This beer is a damn meal. It has the dark fruitiness of a Belgian, the roast and chocolaty richness of a stout and the malt complexity of a good English Old Ale, with a touch of smoke, hops and a long, lingering finish. Its a prime candidate for 2-3 years of cellaring.
mjs (1500), Helsinki, Finland
| 4 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 9/10 | 4/5 | 15/20 | Dec 6, 2009 (Bottle at Pikkulintu) Poured dark brown and hazy with small white head. Aroma contained malts and tar. Palate was full bodied and bit stingy with medium carbonation. Flavours were malts, smoke, tar, sweetness, bitterness and lightly chocolate. Aftertaste was smoky and malty. TBone (6790), Pori, Finland
| 3.8 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 3/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 15/20 | Dec 5, 2009 Bottled (Pikkulintu, batch #400, brewed 211208)
Dark ruby color, small vanishing brown head. Sweetish caramelly nose with some vanilla, peat and smoke. Liquerish palate. Intensive mix of smoke, wood, alcohol, some caramel (adding some context, beer itself is not sweet). Long smokey and alcoholic aftertaste. Full body. Well-brewed smoke barley wine. pantanap (1354), Chicago, Illinois, USA
| 3.2 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 3/5 | 6/10 | 3/5 | 13/20 | Dec 4, 2009 500ml Bottle from Wlv... Pours a semi-dark caramel brown with off-white head... Peaty and smokiness make up the aroma with cocoa and caramel malt... Smoke upfront with a sweetness through the middle.
Finishes somewhat abrasiveness and astringent. That’s enough drewbeerme (2282), Chicago, Illinois, USA
| 3.3 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 3/5 | 6/10 | 3/5 | 14/20 | Dec 4, 2009 500ml bottle, pours dark reddish brown very small white head. Nose of smoked rye, peat, and caramel. Flavors are peaty, smoke, dried dar fruit, caramel. Thin body. This just didn’t come together well, too sweet and odd for the peat and mild smoke thing going on. ¾ (4999), Colorado, USA
| 3.7 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 4/5 | 7/10 | 4/5 | 15/20 | Dec 3, 2009 bottle. dense and viscous pour develops a small and slow tan ring of carbonation. opaque and murky, the rich caramel malt nose lacks the expected smoke but thankfully doesn’t present any unwelcome aromatic hops. caramel, maple syrup and overripe plum develop as the beer opens up, still without any true smoke presence. perhaps a little bit of charred wood, some sort of scorched barrel character, something like that, but that 30% smoked malt is either drowned out by the sugar or it’s faded so quickly that it’s nearly unnoticeable. and rye? i guess i can see that but i succumb easy to suggestion. speaking of sugar, that’s what this one delivers - obvious from the viscous and thick pour, the caramel and pipe tobacco sweetness is high but not overdone - it works as a slow sipper much like sweet brandy or port. dense, chewy and viscous on the palate, the finish tends not to stray from the caramel, maple, molasses and light char that exists in the nose and up front on the approach. no real complaints, other than expecting something a little different. it’s certainly something that performs best when matched with proper set and setting. Maria (6265), Thisted, Denmark
| 3.6 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 7/10 | 3/5 | 14/20 | Dec 2, 2009 It’s hazy brown-black with a red hue and a small, creamy head. The aroma has notes of roasted malt, caramel, raisin, light smoke, alcohol and berries. The flavor is sweet with notes of raisin, alcohol, roasted malt, caramel, citrus, licorice, very light smoke and berries. It’s a well made beer, but IMO the alcohol notes are a bit too strong. Pipper (249), Ohio, USA
| 3.9 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 3/5 | 9/10 | 4/5 | 15/20 | Nov 29, 2009 Bottle shared with thelizard @ the Beer Engine. Poured into tulip black with small tan head. Dark fruits and vanilla on the nose and flavor. I’m wondering if the guy on the front is Simo Hayha which would be sweet even though he’s Finnish and not Norwegian. Ibrew2or3 (2761), Safety Harbor, Florida, USA
| 3.9 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 15/20 | Nov 27, 2009 Courtesy of Blazer06. Pours clear amber with thin off white head. The aroma has sweet malts, caramel chewiness, a bit of cherry and then moving toward smoke and a bit of band-aid. The taste begins with chewy thick sweet malts, smokiness and peat all coming together with semi smooth harmony. By midway the mild smokiness backs off to little more than a memory leaving tasty thick maltiness and a hint of dark fruit. Very cool interpretation of the style.
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