Stone Circle
HammerHeart Brewing Company

 

This is back to what HammerHeart was great at in beer. Rich and unapologetically smokey. Malty with bakers chocolate. Dry and slightly bitter. Excellent body and expertly carbonated. This is the antithesis of today's beer market. I hope we get to see more beers like this of this quality in the future not only from the new HammerHeart but from others brave enough to venture away from hazy and pastry.

 

This beer looks somewhat thick while pouring. It is pitch black pouring. The head is quite thick - 3 finger, and it is brown. The head retention is quite long lasting for a 10% beer, and there's a good deal of lacing on the glass.
The nose is malty, chocolate, and smoke.
The flavor is malty up front. It then turns to smoke. Chocolate then hits next, with coffee. The flavor then finishes off smoke again.
Thick and full bodied. Very smooth, and no burn. Slightly creamy feeling.
This is one heck of a beer. Delicious!

16oz can. No dating information found.
Black colored body. Tan head. Leaves minor strings of lacing.
Aroma is lovely smoke from campfire grilled meat, the brightness from juniper bough, and a bit of cacao.
Taste is medieval, with smoked and roasted dark malts. The juniper brings a clarity to the mix, along with a very dark cacao flavor. Smoky and some evergreen in the aftertaste.
Thicker than medium mouth feel. Seems dry. Alcohol is well hidden. Supportive carbonation.
Quite a unique beer that ends the show for Hammerheart in Lino Lakes MN. Certainly lives up to its description as a brew offered during a Viking funeral. A tidy mix of smoke, dark malt, crisp evergreen, and a bit of dark cacao. An honorable beer.

Opaque black body under a ⅓ inch dark khaki head. The head recedes moderately quickly, leaving short sheets of lacing as it settles into a thin bubbly cap and thick ring.

The aroma is campfire smoke which is brightened a bit by evergreen fragrance and perhaps slight citrus.

At first, the taste is dominated by smoked and roasted malts. The initial sip has a smooth character, which by the middle is supplanted with a char and bitterness from the roasted malts. Subsequent sips bring the evergreen and citrus more to the fore to provide a nice balance to the roast/smoke/char. By the third or fourth sip, these flavors intermingle very well. The finish and aftertaste retain a well-appreciated smoky evergreen balance in my mouth. For such a high ABV, there is no indication of the alcohol in either the aroma or the taste. Also, no warming in the aftertaste.

The mouth feel is substantial. Some carbonation is present, along with the brightening of the evergreen and citrus.

Overall, a worthy final beer from Lino Lakes.

From a 16oz can:

Appearance: Black, good head.

Smell: Ashy, hint of pine.

Taste: Mild sweetness, molasses, pine, earth, smoke. Long smoky finish.

Overall: The last beer from Hammerheart's Lino Lakes location. A great example of what has made them such a great addition to the Minnesota beer scene. While countless other breweries chase the hops train with constant variations on IPAs, Hammerheart went their own way and explored the world of smoked beers. Different woods for smoking, different brewing techniques, showing the world a panopoly of northern European beer styles! I look forward to their next chapter once they reopen in Ely.

 

This the last beer to be brewed per label at the Lino Lakes location. (So sad )Pours a Dark copper / mahogany color with a tan head . Smell has campfire smoked malts ,citrus ,juniper and spice , Taste follows nose smokey malts citrus ,pine herbal berries and cedar mint . Mouth feel is full and has medium carbonation mild bitterness and nice smoke , delicious with ABV no where in sight or taste.