Nøgne Ø Sunturnbrew

Brewed by Nøgne Ø
Style: Smoked
Grimstad, Norway

Serve in Dimpled mug, Lager glass, Stein

In the middle of winter the four of us were cruising through rural Flanders on a ridiculous & highly expensive beer run, the trunk of the car as well as a part of the backseat were stashed to the brim with goodies as we were driving towards Alvinne brewery. After a couple of stops we were carrying two crates of Hanssens, an assortment of lambics, De Molen, Mikkeller, The Bruery, Jester King, Nøgne Ø,… beers, totalling probably close to 150 bottles, so you get the picture, you have probably been involved in a very similar situation. Around us were nothing but fields, some trees & a half-frozen river when suddenly our front wheel sunk into a huge, gigantic hole in the middle of the freaking road which we didn’t see, the car bounced up and down with huge brisk absurdity as we saw our wheel cap flying across the road & heard the loudest clunk of glass crashing against glass & simultaneously all of us though “OH MY GOD, WE JUST BROKE ALL OF OUR BEER”, completely unconcerned for the car, so you know where our priorities lie. Immediately Dave pulled up to the side of the street, as Man-ki got out to retrieve our wheel cap, a process during which he inexplicably managed to loose only his left glove and oddly not his right one. Michiel and I proceeded to check our bottles one by one (because once again priorities) with an unpleasant feeling because once we open our trunk we were greeted by the smell of beer soaking into the carpeting & our bags. Luckily (although I am still missing 1 bottle, Dave did you take one of my beers by accident?) we discovered only 1 bottle did get damaged, one of our bottles of Sunturnbrew of which the cap had partially open spraying beer all over the trunk during the crash, oddly this is the second time I have had this happen with a Nøgne Ø. The bottle being still 60 – 70 % full we decided (or at least I did) on the spot in one of our Hanssens geuze glasses because well yeah… Which led to the following scenery of four guys standing besides a car parked besides a small rural roads amidst fields next to some barren trees growing on the sides of a half-frozen river with huge chunks of ice flowing in it in the freezing winter with an open truck filled to the brim with beer drinking a Norwegian smoked barley wine from a geuze glass, a sight not extremely common in rural Belgium no matter what you might think although definitely not one I am involved in for the first time. The beer was served into inappropriate glassware at the incorrect temperature on the account of it being minus 10 °C outside. The beer poured a dark brown with a creamy head on the account of it being heavily shaken not only moments before but during the whole trip, the bottom of the bottle contained a layer of foam as thick & creamy as whipped cream which I poured upon the grounds as an offering to the gods for saving our beer, our car & us, in that order & preference. With completely frozen hands, I proceeded to drinking the beer, after appropriately appreciating its bouquet first. Passing it around, we hummed all in agreement, this is a pretty damn good beer. Delicious aroma of smoke, with a touch of campfire to it, very meaty, crisp bacon dark malts,… Taste follows in suit, creamy smoke, campfire, very meaty, crisp bacon, lots of heavy dark malts, wood, hint of liquorish, tad coffee, cocoa, caramel, dark fruits, bbq, delicious, thick, creamy body, slightly chunky feel to it, maybe because we shook up the sediment, who knows? Little carbonation 50 cl. bottle – batch 474 – 2009 vintage – Afterwards in an act of uncontrolled madness (only on my behalf) I gave the bottle a Viking funeral. Redunclous, probably the official moment where I took the “beergeek” thing way too far.

Brasserie 4:20 (500ml bottle). Grazie Francesco per questa fantastica bottiglia! Bruna, intensa, limpida, parecchi sedimenti in sospensione, schiuma praticamente assente. Aroma intenso di malti, inizialmente dolciastro con finale affumicato, luppolo bene in evidenza. In bocca è dolciastra, caramellata, con un lunghissimo finale affumicato. Corpo pieno, un po’ catramosa, discreta carbonazione. Una sassata.

Bottle at home. Brewed 21.12.2010. Pours deep red brown colour, slightly hazy. A light beige thick, almost creamy, coffee-like head on top. Looks fantastic! Aromas of smoke naturaly, but also more towards bacon, a real campfire going on here. Combined with sweet malt it reminds me of pancakes with bacon. Also hints of leather, oak and perfume towards alcohol. The barbeque continues in the mouth, actually I taste barbeque sauce here. But not to forget the burned and smoky flavours. Leather and also a hint of alcohol, but surprisingly little compared to the ABV on 11%. Fullbodied with a creamy and slightly sliky mouthfeel. Medium bitterness. This is an amazing beer! So much taste in every sip.

Pours dark brown with a large, creamy head. Nose shows peat, caramel and campfire. Very syrup-like smelling. Flavours follow along the same lines; peat, caramel. Very sweet, earthy characters. Some faint smoke. Very approachable, especially considering the alcohol content. Nice thick, syrupy body. A bit too rich though.

This intriguing smoked barley wine smells very sour and smokey on the nose. The appearance is black with minimal carbonation. The flavour mirrors the smell, sour and smokey. Maybe it’s just because I don’t love smoke beer but I feel like the smokiness overpowers an otherwise delicious barley wine. Still very interesting and yet another enjoyable nogne-o

Bottle, 50 cl - Deep red brown with a small brown head. Aroma is malty with notes of smoke peat, raisins, dates and wood. Flavor is malty with notes of licorice, nuts, raisins and alcohol. Odd, interesting and very good.

500ml bottle. There is a good deep even layer of foam on this one, light beige like the foam left behind from a crashing wave. The strong wood fire smoke is apparent straight away but it is not so intense it overpowers you, unlike some other smoked beers. The beer is thick in the mouth and you immediately know you have a high alcohol beer as the warmth starts in the mouth and spreads through the body. Smooth, silky and full in the mouth. Smoked meat flavour is dominant.

Sampled at an esbls tasting. Mi broughtbit. Dark brown and unique looking. Chunks. A smoky nose with meat. It tastes like cough medicine. Unpleasant. Smoky and meaty, again. No!