Holy Smoke
Nøgne Ø

Nov. 2011: 500 ml bottle, Cardinal Pub & Bar, Stavanger. Batch #677. ABV is 6%. Very dark brown colour, nearly black. Moderate beige head. Aroma of smoked malts, a hint of roasted malts / coffee in the background. The flavour is fairly smooth, with some mild roasty notes and hints of coffee and chocolate - and plenty of smoke, of course. I am no fan of extremely smoked lagers, but this one is not too extreme. Fairly drinkable, but probably not a beer I’ll buy very often.

Interesting.
I just drank a 4 year old lager and, except for the sediment at the bottom, I could not tell it was well beyond its natural.
Maybe it is the smoke?
Rauchbiers are proving to be so versatile. In addition to the obvious smoked cheese and nuts, rauchibiers go great with spicy foods. And now they even taste great well beyond their natural life.
This one, I had with vanilla ice cream on a hot summer day. What a pairing !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pours an almost opaque super dark brown with a foamy dark khaki head that settles to a puffy island on top of the beer. Small streaks and dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of smoked malt, smoked meat/cheese, and a caramel aroma. Taste is much the same with campfire flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer with a nice smoke flavor but I think it smells slightly better.

Pours deep brown with a huge towering rocky foam head. Holy foam Batman! Tons of sticky globs of foam and lace.

Fighting thru the foam for the nose. Smoky charred sugars. Some molasses. Some rich malt. Best part is that this smoke smells like smoke, not bacon.

Not as deep as a traditional German Rauchbier. The sugars dry out early. Sweetness of the malt is in the background. Some charred malt, dried...dark (?) flavors? Great balance to the bitterness and smoke. This is really becoming very enjoyable as I sip the pint. Friggin gobs of lace as rings down the glass. Beer has a pucker at the end. Dries right out. Not overly bitter, not overdone anywhere. Great balance on the front and back ends.

Well carbonated. A little on the light side (!). Almost...grainy in texture.

Wow. Been staring at this on the shelf for years. What great beer. $12 for the bottle, but absolutely fantastic. Not like the traditional version, or the domestic attempts. Right in the middle in interpretation, and very very well done.