New Albanian Bonfire of the Valkyries

On tap at richos. Poured black with light white head. Roasted smokey malt armo with a flavor of malt and smoke. overall it is mile but it is overall my favorite beer from NABC now if only they would bonfire or conesmoker on tap at all times

From a port cask at GTMW. Ironic that I had to travel to Madison, WI to try this beer from my backyard, but after trying this, it was worth the drive. Pours a deep dark black with a thin tan head. Not much in carbonation. Lord knows how much smoked malt they used in this, but it comes through strong in the nose and the flavor. I was expecting a thicker beer, but this must be where the Schwarzbier comes through in the body. The flavor was smoky with just a hint of the sweetness from the port cask coming through. Awesome smoked beer.

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. Medium density black body with crimson hues looks a little thicker than a typical schwarzbier. A thin, light beige head nearly fully recedes. Light reflects off this beer like it’s an oil slick on freshly paved blacktop. The aroma is hugely smoky, truly encompassing the full southern breakfast buffet spectrum. This smells insanely appetizing, it’s absurdly mouthwatering. The smoked malt resembles not only bacon, but smoked ham, maybe even turkey, eggs benedict and a pound of sausage frizzling away in a skillet. Just incredible. The quantity of malt in the nose is arresting, I’m surprised the beer didn’t glug out like tar, considering the way the nose feels. Lager yeast is apparent, as well as plenty of roasted malt and a chocolate backnote. Alcohol is a non-factor. The flavor is just as rewarding: additions of fat plums, rich dark chocolate as well as waxy white chocolate proceed forward upon first sip. Molasses notes rise from the smoke, along with hints of perique tobacco - it almost seems like the smoke is generating sugary mirages. A touch of tartness sets in near the end of each sip (totally unintrusive). The finish is full and moderately roasty, but mostly lightly smoky. Great length and a relaxing slow fade to just a hint of campfire. The mouthfeel is wonderfully velvety and is kept lively and intriguing by ample, tight carbonation. Medium to medium-full bodied with a perfect unfiltered graininess that gently fills the corners of the mouth. Delicious. I feel very lucky to have acquired a growler of this extremely rare beer. A great achievement for this brewpub. I’m sticking by my rating numbers because I can’t see justifying an increase in any particular category; the final tally does not reflect the level of enjoyment that the experience of drinking this brought me.

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.