Hello again everyone.  For today’s craft beer review I’m going to be trying the Haand Bryggeriet Røyk Uten Ild (Smoke Without Fire) produced by the Haand Bryggeriet Brewery located in Drammen, Norway.

The label stated that this was batch #426, which had 2160 total bottles.

Let’s get to the website, haandbryggeriet.net, and see what it has to say about this brew.

Røyk Uten Ild (smoke without fire) is our smoky beer, here we have tried to make a beer as smoky as we can using our smoked malt from Weiermann.  We have made a fairly dark and flavourful beer.  Apart from the special malt the rest of the malt bill (86%) is smoked malt.  You could also say that this is a smoked wheat beer, because we have used our wheat beer yeast here. The beer is not scary but actually very nice even for those that aren’t smoke beer fanatics….try it and you will see.

That sounds very intriguing.  Let’s get it in a glass and see how it is, shall we?

The beer had an 8.0% ABV and it came in a 16.9 oz. bottle.

It poured a deep brown color with shimmers of ruby showing through when held toward a light source.  The crown was light tan, relatively smooth and creamy.  It was sized well, the retention time was ok and the lacing looked alright too.  Not bad to begin with I must say.

The aroma released a nice and sturdy waft of smoke.  Hints of bacon grease and smoked ham along with some toasted breads, worn leather and charred wood.  I didn’t really find any of the wheat characteristics that the description spoke of, but that was fine by me because this beer smelled very good nonetheless.  It seemed a little one dimensional, however when sampling a smoked beer I don’t want complex…  I want smoke.

The taste was more of the same.  Savors of smokey bacon and pork fat.  A taste or two of burnt toast and wood as well as a very light relish of alcohol.  I will say that I did kind of pick up on some yeast as the beer warmed a bit.  It may have just been my mind playing tricks on me though since I was searching for it.  Again, a very nice and enjoyable flavor.

The mouthfeel was medium to full bodied.  Dry, chewy and smooth.  The carbonation was of medium strength with a light feeling of warmth.  An excellent shot of flavor was left behind on the palate after each sip too.

Overall, I found this to be a great smoked beer.  In my opinion, one of the better smoked beers on the market.  I really, really like this style of brew, although my intake is usually limited to just one bottle.  I tend to get a bit overwhelmed if I have more than that.  With that being said, I definitely think the Haand Bryggeriet Røyk Uten Ild (Smoke Without Fire) is worth a try and it would totally hit the spot on a cool Winter’s night.  Like I mentioned before, this smoked beer is a bit one dimensional, but that shouldn’t deter you from giving it a go if you happen to see a bottle at your bottle shop.  Be sure to leave a comment and tell me all about your experience if you have tried this beer.  I love to hear a second take.  

Thanks for reading everyone.  I really appreciate it.

Until next time.  Cheers.

Score:  4.05 out of 5
Grade:  A-