Prykmestar Savu
Vakka-Suomen Panimo

$ 6.35 (Including tax)/500 mL bottle ($ 0.376/oz) from Shangy’s, Emmaus, PA. Reviewed 8/17/19.
A short series of numbers are stamped in white ink on the side of the label, too smeared to be legible. On shelf in store. Stored at 42 degrees and served at 48 degrees in a hand-washed and dried Jester King snifter.
Appearance – 3.5.
First pour – Light amber, clear.
Body – Dark brown/black, opaque. When held to the light, the top centimeter is brownish and translucent.
Head – Large (Maximum 6.3 cm, aggressive center pour), light tan, medium density, short duration, diminishing to a three mm crown and a thin partial cap. A couple of prominences of foam remain.
Lacing – Good. Wide partial ring of tiny to small bubbles, connecting to the prominences mentioned above.
Aroma – 4 – Smoke.
Flavor – 4 – Smoke with a bit of sweetness followed by some gastric warming. A bit of spiciness in the aftertaste. No alcohol (9% ABV) flavor or aroma, no dimethylsulfide, no diacetyl.
Palate – 3 – Medium, just short of creamy, lively carbonation.
Final impression and summation – 4 – More body than the average rauchbier (except for stouts) with smokiness on par with Schlenkerla Marzen. Very pleasing.

Pours a dark brown body with busy tan head that quickly dies. Aroma is basically like being outdoors b/c the juniper and woodiness is strong although there is a smokiness in the aroma as well. Medium body with touch of sticky sweetness as there are touches of sweet malts like caramel. Woody spiciness adds a little depth and borderline meatiness hides the ABV and it's an enjoyable beer.

 

A: The beer is very dark brownish red in color. It poured with a quarter finger high dark beige head that died down, leaving a thick collar around the edge of the glass.
S: Moderate aromas of smoked meats are present in the nose.
T: The taste follows the smell and is very smoky and has notes of iodine. The smokiness lingers into the aftertaste.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: If you don't like iodine flavors, this isn't probably a beer that you would like.

Serving type: bottle

 

Picked this up at random in a Helsinki supermarket.

A: Very dark mahogany body verging on black. It's beige head dissipates very quickly.

S: Mocha and smokey porter smell.

T: Halfway between a very smokey stout and a barley wine. Sweeter than your average impy stout, but drier than your average barley wine. Pretty medicinal – to elaborate, it has that cough syrupy quality. Port wine in the finish as well. It's very complex actually. Not picking up on any fruit.

O: Pretty good. Think it's underrated on here.

Black color, beautiful light brown colored foam. Good appearance.
Quite intense smoked smell, very pleasant. Alight roast in the back.
A bit less intense in the mouth, but very well balanced.
The the smokiness comes back intense in the aftertaste.
Well done and pleasant.

A: Dark brown small head that disappears quite fast.

S: Some smells of tar, soy and smoked ham. You can sense the smell of a Finnish Sauna here.

T: Coffee, salt and asphalt. Still hints of soy and tar, but not to the same extent as in the nose.

M: Not to much carbonation, small bubbles and slips down the throat quite easily.

Not the best smoke beer I have had, but still drinkable. I won't recommend it, but I will at the same time not dissuade people from drinking it.

Bottle@home

A: Brown with a beige head. Some lacing.

S: Smoke, Sweet malt, Bacon.

T: Smoke, Hint of metal, Roasted malt, Hint of chocolate.

M: Body is quite thin with lots of carbonation. Nice bitterness for a smoked beer.

An average smoked beer. Could have used some more body and a little bit more sweetness to balance it out.