Birchwood Smoked Stout
White Birch Brewing

 

Pours dark brown, almost black, into the glass. Small dark tan head, some lacing. Alcohol rating makes me enjoy over two nights. Perhaps it is my tastebuds, but I did not note much smoke in this one. Recheck tomorrow night and possibly revise!

 

22 oz bomber, bottled Jan 2015, batch One (bottle 64 of 576), ABV 11.5%. Consumed at about 50-55°F as suggested on the bottle. Pours black with a smaller-sized brown head. Good retention and good lacing on the glass. Smells of roasted malts and some earthy hops, mild in smell. Tastes is largely roasted malts and smoke. The smoke hits in the middle and lingers, but it isn't as strong as other smoked stouts I've had before. Mouthfeel is rich and coating, wonderful. Carbonation is low. Overall this seems like a good attempt at an imperial smoked stout.

 

 

 

 

This is a great addition to White Birch's growing line of smoked beers.
Pours a very dark black color with a thin tan head.
There is mild smokiness in the nose.
The smokey flavor is not overpowering but combines wonderfully with the richness of the stout.
The mouthfeel is smooth.
All in all a great flavor in this smoked stout will pick up a few more bottles to cellar away and see how it ages

May 2011 batch one

Nice creamy dark colored head fades at a med pace, decent lacing, pitch black thick beer decent legs.

Nose lots of nice smoke, smoking log, smoldering, light roasty almost acrid dark malt, black charred malt, light booze and sweet malt, light earthy spicy hops.

Taste very dark and slightly acrid, tannic char and smoke, lots of smoke, light campfire and smoldering log, creamy dark malt and roasty acrid like with little char and black malts. Lots of tannic smoke and char lead to bitterness, light earthy spicy hops too, and bit of phenolic booze. Finish is little sticky but drier, hint more booze, dark malts and smoke lingering.

Mouth is fuller bod, creamy, decent carb, light warming booze.

Overall not bad, back to the good beers for WB, no more of hte poorly done apprentice series beers, although this is a much older one,but it still held up.

 

 

 

 

 

22oz bottle purchased as a single somewhere localish.

Poured into an imperial pint, formed a 1/4" DARK brown head over the opaque dark brown/black brew. Head fades gradually, with leggy, sheeting down lacing. Aroma is smoke and sweet darkness with an overpowering alcohol presence.

Taste leaves the gates with sweet dark malts, smoke comes on next, a touch of fruitiness, and closes with moderate alcohol warmth. Flavor is more balanced than the aroma. Mouthfeel is velvety smooth, and drinkability is pretty good. This one grew on me, although wish is was more sessionable to better enjoy the flavors.

Damn, how many WB beers had to show up at my birthday tasting?

A - A black beer, looks like a stout, with brown on the edges and a brown head.

S - Wow, this really is a smoked beer. Smells like burning. Okay, really smells like a campfire, too much campfire. There's a bit of burnt rubber in there as well which is kind of unpleasant. I get the feeling a tire has gotten lost somewhere in the WB brewing process.

T - Taste is a bit better than the nose. It's a ton of smoke, but there is some cocoa in there as well. No tire, thankfully. It's so smokey it just gets overpowering after a little bit.

M - Lots of carbonation, heavier side of medium bodied.

O - If you like smoke, this isn't a bad call. Too much for me, but not a horrible beer like a lot of WB stuff. Still, it's not all that good either.

22oz bottle, provided by me as a "good beer" at our Good Beer/Bad Beer tasting (just kidding). Poured into Bell's Tulip.

A - Pours black, mocha-colored head, thin cap.

S - Huge smokey nose...think forrest fire & burning rubber. It's really hard to get much else, perhaps some chocolate notes in there as well along with some roast. The smoke is simply HUGE!

T - Again, more of the same. A crap-load of smoke which dominates just about everything else with some roast and chocolate following behind. Less stout and more smoked beer, no doubt about it.

M - Full body, good carbonation, creamy smoked finish.

O - I think they just poured an entire bottle of "smoked liquid" into this stout, because it's just an overpowering amount of smoke. Holy jeez! That said, it's a smoked beer, and I'd say this follows right in line with the style. If the smoke was dialed down a bit, I'd rate this a bit higher. If you want to pretend you're camping this winter, but it's too cold, just open one of these.

Thanks Sean! Good to see you're finally on-board the White Birch train. Batch 1, consisting of 1152 bottles. Bottled May 2011.

A - Super dark brown foam settles to a thin collar. Body is black with the faintest brown glint at the edges.

S - Smoke, campfire, vulcanized rubber, light alcohol, more smoke, and a touch of permanent marker.

T - The taste actually shows some balance, with a bit of chocolate malt sweetness fighting valiantly against the oppressive smoke and char flavors. Becomes fatiguing pretty quickly.

M - Surprisingly zesty carbonation, medium-full body, sticky and chewy texture, and the standard well-hidden alcohol. Perhaps a bit too bubbly for the style, but not bad.

D - Other than the odd rubbery notes in the aroma this is a passable beer. It's not something I'd want again, but it delivers what it promises, even if it is a tad one-dimensional. If you really like smoked beers you may actually enjoy this a little.