 CharlesDarwin (1376), State College, Pennsylvania, USA
Jul 12, 2008
500mL Bottle. Wow. That is some dense smoke in the nose. That goes beyond the light pig fats and campfires to complete smoky delight arising from porcinis, lake trout belly fat, burning pine sap, and charred aspen logs. Develops into a real spicy, floral smoke character that can be as perfumed as many musky incenses and resins. A complete delight. Pours in a clear deep red-tinted brown, with a good rim of off-white. Flavor retains this smoke density, balanced it exquisitely with rich sugars and alcohol. The malt nestles a smoke of burning walnut shells, juniper bush, and weed fires with caramels, smoked meats and candied dark fruits. Delicious! Yet dry and palatable. A crisp cut of hops and hickory sweat give balance with a back end kick of bitterness. Alcohols helps bring all these flavors up and alive. In the end, the smoke wasn’t as expressive or deep as I wanted it to be, but it’s all rich, delicious and balanced. A fantastic smoked beer.
Stew41 (860), Caulfield, Australia
Aug 21, 2008 Very cola-like in appearance; dark brown with next to no head. Nose shows a rich smoked cherry character (no surprises here), and has good presence. Dry roast and smoked wood drives the flavour profile. Almost porter-like with the dry roasted malts. Palate weight is bit light to get truly interesting.
Imaena (218), Portland, Maine, USA
Aug 20, 2008 Bottle 08 from Whole Foods. Pour is deep brown/red. The nose on it is WOW. Beef jerkey, salt water, BBQ, wet coals. It would go nicely with BBQ or smoked salmon. Really interesting beer for a 1 time gig.
mwelsh13 (124), Maryland, USA
Aug 19, 2008 Bottle poured deep garnet with very little head. But,man the aroma could knock you over, but in a good way. Southern BBQ comes to mind when you smell this brew. That is what a smoked beer should smell like. The sweet malt matches nicely with smokey flavor. Went very nicely with the chipotle pork chops for dinner. Very nicely done! Only a one pint kind of drink, though. Alot going on and could easily become overpowering.
mwa423 (5), , Ohio, USA
does not count  Aug 18, 2008 I think that somehow this brewery has managed to create a beer using water, malt, malt, hops, and bacon.
I cracked the bottle open and poured into a pint glass and it is a ruby red...suspiciously like cooked bacon. It smells of smoke and tastes just like liquified bacon. I passed it around to five other people who immediately agreed with my opinion of it’s bacon flavor. Opened my second bottle this morning and had it with scrambled eggs. Fantastic breakfast.
MrChopin (157), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Aug 18, 2008 Dark ruby with a small, bubbly white head that I coaxed out of it. Nice nose that glides across the room with spicy, meaty smoke, slight fruits, and sweet, tea-like malts. Full bodied. Flavor is more smoke with a strong malt component, sweet and chocolatey, but it’s a little watery. I like it, but it’s not as nuanced as I’d hoped.
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