Gizmo Windjammer
Ørkenoy

Gizmo WindjammerGizmo Windjammer
Beer Geek Stats
From:
Ørkenoy
 
Illinois, United States
Style:
Smoked Beer
ABV:
7.1%
Score:
+6 ratings needed
Avg:
3.92 | pDev: 10.2%
Ratings:
4 | reviews: 4
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jan 26, 2021
Added:
Dec 27, 2020
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  0
Smoked Estonian Koduõlu

Always hiding in fear from the other inhabitants at the bluffs, Gizmo is often found reading under a magnificent rock all about traditional farmhouse ales. They are particularly fond of traditional raw ales made in Estonia. This one is a smoked version of an Estonian raw ale brewed by Paavo Pruul in Hiiumaa.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Photo of smbslt
Reviewed by smbslt from Illinois

4.17/5  rDev +6.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
L - medium gold, with a slight head barely formed and disappeared very quickly never giving lacing a thought. very little carbonation released.
S - Smells of wet burned forest - smoky but with a woody and grassy component.
T - Smoke dominates but with earthiness and a slight sweetness. EDIT - Let half of the can sit (loosely covered) overnight. Smokiness really died down allow the other flavors to come through. Taste is the sensation you get standing in one of the burned areas of Lassen Volcanic NP with low clouds and mist passing by.
F - Medium body, carbonation release on tongue creates a fullness but then smoothes out.
O - Ambitious and more going on than just smoke. I agree with OP that it should be in the sahti category.
Jan 26, 2021
Photo of emerge077
Reviewed by emerge077 from Illinois

4.28/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Bright amber, ample foam and lasting surface coverage. Flecks of spotty seafoam lace. Ongoing rising carb trails ensure there’s no undercarbonation.

Woodsmoke and juniper aromas, rich and intense. Peaty smoke reminiscent of Islay whisky, initial hint of sterile gauze that segues into juniper and sweet woodsmoke soon after.

Taste is intensely smoky and woody, hints of dried citrus and juniper in the periphery.

Medium bodied, substantial malt base, smooth easy going carb level. It finishes dry with an earthy, smoky, herbal aftertaste that is pleasant. The smoke is strong to be sure, and i'm enjoying this quite a bit.

If you’re interested in esoteric farmhouse ales like this one, check out Lars Marius Garshol’s blog and book on the subject. https://www.garshol.priv.no
Jan 10, 2021
Photo of FBarber
Reviewed by FBarber from Illinois

3.26/5  rDev -16.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Pours a dark amber color. Crystal clear and initially effervescent although that stops after a couple moments. Two finger sudsy off-white head dissolves leaving no residual head. The aroma is absolutely dominated with smoked malts. Honestly, I can't get anything else on the nose - its just smoked malts, smoked meat, and a roaring campfire.

Taste follows the nose as the beer is again defined by the smoked malt. Its got lots of smoke up front, smoked meat, campfire, all that jazz, but working my way past that, there is a kind of rustic grainy character along with some juniper and evergreen bitterness on the back end. I want to enjoy more of the flavors, but its essentially liquid smoke and that hinders my ability to get much else out of this one. Feel is light, crisp, with moderate carbonation. Semi-dry to dry on the finish.

Overall I've come a long way towards no only appreciating smoked beers, but actually liking them. That being said, this one was a slog for me ... its just so overpowered by the smoked malts, that I struggled to get much else either in the nose or on the palate. That being said, I do appreciate their efforts to bring attention to this historical beer heritage from Estonia.
Jan 03, 2021
Photo of Beginner2
Reviewed by Beginner2 from Illinois

3.97/5  rDev +1.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Let me explain.
Gizmo is very much outside the style-box, mostly because its almost-heavy smoke. But instead of the Smoked Beer catch-all, I put Gizmo in the Sahti box because Estonia is just across the Baltic Sea from Finland and the Swedish island that produces the similar farmhouse ale, Gotlandsdricka, also is smoked. Orkenoy's brewer called this Koduolo, which is Home Beer, in Estonian. However if anyone wants to call this a Smoked Beer, I do not object.

Gizmo Looks clear for a farmhouse ale (probably I got the beginning of the keg, or at least before the sediment got cloudy.) As consensus, Smells are smoky; possibly they cover a well-constructed ale, but my nose only knows smoke from this one... and it is pleasant. Tastes are balanced, despite the smoke; I sense some spicing from herbs and pine and very modest hops... but again, I'm not sure. Refreshing and a good palate-scrubber for a medium mouth with smoke.

I am a fan of Orkenoy particularly for how they brew for the kitchen. Gizmo went surprisingly OK with a pasta dish with lemon. Because brewing for the kitchen is an art, a not-so-good pairing as I just had can be saved if the brewer brews for the kitchen. All that said, Gizmo's smoke limits its pairings.

3/5/21 Still intrigued by all the smoke, I bought Gizmo again while also picking up dinner. No real change, except I had Gizmo with their food and I can taste why both are the way they are. At any rate, I'm satisfied with the above review and am keeping count over at UnTappd.

4/1/21 Had the second can side-by-side with the master-smoker Schlenkerla. I think I can resolve this debate among the 4 reviews so far: Gizmo is an over-smoked sahti. I'll have this again next winter, but I hope the brewer has a Schlenkerla before then. Maybe Gizmo's fruit will stand out more and we all are happy about moving this to the life of a Sahti.
Jan 01, 2021