Haandbryggeriet Norwegian Wood

Brewed by Haandbryggeriet (Norway)
Style: Traditional Ale
Drammen, Norway

Bottle, batch NR 72. Pours a cloudy, ruddy brown with beige foam head. Oaky, smoke aroma with some malt and cured meat. Mild flavors of wood, smoke, smoked sausage, and some caramel. Medium-bodied with a smooth mouthfeel. Coffee and cigar finish with a faint hint of juniper.

Batch 100, Best by 10-2009. 500 ml. brown bottle. Poured out a ruddy brown color, a little darker than rust. Aromas are of caramel, oak barrel, smoke. Flavors are smoke, oak chunks, caramel, deeper sugar flavors. Medium mouthfeel, decent body. Finished smokey.

Reddish in color with a nice light white head. Malted smoke in the aroma. In the taste there is maltiness, slight smoke, wood, and some berries.

Batch 100, brewed 10-07, BB 2009. Pours a murky, brownish-crimson color and a full, fluffy, creamy, canvas-colored head; mostly lasting head with minimal lace. Nose is pleasantly not as smokey as I was expecting; notes of light stewed apples, charred beechwood, roasted grain, and subtle smoked wood. Flavor is filled with more woodsy notes and dryer than the nose suggested; filled with smoked and charred woods of maplewood and beechwood, stewed apples, maple, a berryish note which is probably the juniper berries, and a subtle sourish note (maybe from the juniper berries?) Palate is moderately light, lively, dry, and a bit watery. Finishes with smoked woods, maple, and some lingering noble hop bitterness. I normally don’t like smoked beers, but this one had a lot of great complexities to support the smoky notes. One of more interesting beers I’ve tried in a while.

Bottle, batch 72. Brownish red pour with a big off white head - I can already smell it. Much less smoky and much more funky and sour than I expected. There’s some really savory and smoky components in their though: bacon, duck, apples. Considerable fruit character also - really interesting. The flavor is really smoky up front and actually quite clean in the finish, with the juniper berries coming through really well. It’s kind of like drinking a really great beer while sitting around a smoky campfire, which I guess works. Interesting and well crafted.

Batch 72. Cloudy copper coloer with a light tan head. Big smoked meat cheesy aroma with some berries. Decent brown ale taste is lightly sweet with a good dose of smoke flavor. Has a light berry and smoke taste to finish. Enjoyed this one, the smoke and berry combo works well here. 12117

How anyone can rate the appearance less than a 5 is beyond me!!! This is as close to a fiery brew as one can get!!! Placing your nose up to this one will remind you of campfires and summer barbeques; smokey sweetness. Visually stunning!!! This is a roaring red body with intense bubbles flickering toward the surface to create the biggest head you’ve ever seen. Flavor is pulled pork and smoked ham. The taste isn’t quite as aggressive as Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen...which is a good thing in my opinion. Unique and amazing!!! Well done!!!

Bottle. Pours hazy orange brown, off white head. Aroma is smoked pineapple ham, some acidity. Flavor is the same and spicy with various levels of smoky complexity (really no other way for me to describe it).