Norwegian Wood - HaandBryggeriet

dgallina

Georgia

4.28/5  rDev +8.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

1 pint, 9 fluid ounce brown bottle with added label marked bottled in March 2007 and best-before March 2010.

Pours a slightly-murky deep red / brown with an inch of tan foam that dissolves slowly. Leaves a finger-wide collar and plenty of lacing. The bottle was cellared upright and poured carefully to avoid too much yeast & sediment in the glass. Smells of dry wood smoke with a medicinal undercurrent from the juniper berries. Quite different from the strong, rounded meaty smokiness that's normally associated with the Franconian (German) smoke beers. The flavor is a surprise as well. Medium-dry wood smoke blends with deeply-toasted malts to create strong dry coffee and leather notes. These are somewhat balanced by cool minty & sour overtones from the juniper berries. Finishes dry with medicinal after-tones, inviting another sip. Body is light-to-medium, very crisp and quite clean for an ale. The juniper berries make this a bit of an acquired taste, but the beer is nicely balanced and worth a try for smoke beer fans.

Serving type: bottle

08-31-2007 02:17:35 | More by dgallina

TurdFurgison

Ohio

4.13/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from a 1pt .9oz bottle ($7.99 at Whole Foods in Columbus). This looked like a substantial beer, dark red copper and hazy, with a thick 3D-ish tan head. The aroma was dark fruits (maybe juniper berries as described on the bottle) and rauchbier smoke. The flavor is dominated by the smoky malts, and the after-taste held a slightly bittersweet tang. Very tasty and long-lasting flavor, maybe it felt thick and coating due to lots of yeasties in the beer. Outstanding beer, very pricy, my first beer from Norway (to my knowledge).

Serving type: bottle

07-26-2007 00:23:44 | More by TurdFurgison

Sigmund

Norway

3.53/5  rDev -10.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

500 ml bottle, bottle conditioned. Brewed with juniper and smoked malts. Dark brown colour, creamy head. The aroma is dominated by smoke (beechwood?) and oak. The flavour is very smokey and woody, with notes of hickory and tar. Dry finish. Smoked beer fans will probably be more excited than I was.

Serving type: bottle

06-17-2007 21:39:13 | More by Sigmund