3 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 12/20 valpoaj (392) - Valparaiso, Indiana, USA - JAN 24, 2008
Delayed entry from Tasting at Holiday Beerfest in Omaha: Not 100% sure this is the right beer listing, but the representative from Empyrean told me this was their only smoked beer as he poured it for me from what looked like a moonshine jug! Amber pour...no head to speak of, but that could have been due to the pour. Two words describe the aroma...Smoked Ham! Flavor is very similar...there’s a healthy amount of smoke in this one...I’m not a fan of smoked beers, but this wasn’t half-bad!
2.6 AROMA 5/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 5/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 10/20 eboats (1067) - Omaha, Nebraska, USA - DEC 6, 2006
On tap at Lazlos Omaha. Poured amber with a white head. Served freezing cold and had little aroma or flavor. After letting it warm I could the smoke aroma was present, but still weak. Also some weak carmel and dirty earth malts in the aroma. Flavor was lightly smokey kinda like a campfire smells. Overall it lacked the smoked character my palate is used to. I had my parents try it and they thought it tasted like an ash tray. Ah well.
3.5 AROMA 7/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 15/20 SledgeJr (3577) - Omaha, Nebraska, USA - NOV 23, 2006
UPDATED: JAN 11, 2007 At the GESU housing fundraiser Beer Sampling in the Huber Haus. Dark brown with a very thin white head. Very faint roasted aroma, but not so much smokiness. Good roasted flavor with a bit of chocolate, but the body remains too thin for this style. UPDATE: On tap at Thunderhead. Chestnut color with a dark beige large head. Aroma of a ham sandwich. The flavor is much better than I had thought before. Clear smokiness, good malt. Meaty and nice.
3.2 AROMA 6/10 APPEARANCE 3/5 TASTE 7/10 PALATE 3/5 OVERALL 13/20 mdi (573) - Nebraska, USA - JAN 7, 2005
UPDATED: JAN 10, 2006 Tap. Brown beer with no head. Served ice cold, that may be why I didn’t detect much aroma. Laura thought it smelled like bacon, I got only a hint of that...Drinks something like a Dunkel, with a very subdued smokey character. Not much else to say, I had hoped it would be a little more robust...suffers from a watery like body, as many of their beers do. OK, but not as nice as say the Fort Collins Z Lager. Original #s of:5,3,6,2,12.
Jan. 2006 batch...better in all regards. Still subtle on the smoke, but the base beer was better. Reminds me of Spezial a bit, although the smoke may be even more subtle than that. A very enjoyable beer that I’d like to see more of from Empyrean...
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