Bottle 75 cl. Courtesy of Pinball. Pours a pitch black with a creamy and lacing beige head. Distinct smoke in the nose - both peat and Bamberg smoke? Solid body, carbonation is a little low, somewhat rubbery, sweet roast, heavy smoke with a fairly malt bitter finish. Nice alright. 230511

75cl Bottle at Dutch RB Meeting. Deep dark brown to black colour, off white to beige head. Aroma of bacon, light salty, smoke, hard roasted malts, tobacco. Flavour is very sweet, rye, pipe tobacco, chocolate, hard roasted malts, light plastic, sweet smoky and light salty finish. Medium bodied, creamy. Too sweet imo.

Bottle shared by someone @ the Hunahpu release. Pours dark brown with light brown head. Sweet smokey aroma. Roasted malt and smokey flavors with slight coffee and oak. Medium body with minimal carbonation.

Bottle thanks to Ben! Pours black with a grayish white head that dissipates quickly to the edges. Aroma is quite smokey with a bit of bacon and ham as well as a strong roasted malt note. Flavor is full of smoke with plenty of roasted malt and a hint of coffee coming in the finish. Surprisingly smooth.

750 ml bottle shared by Dansting. Pour is a slight haze brown black with hints of ruby and a small film of an off white head. Aroma is peat earth, smoke, and sort of a bright acidity. Taste is the peat right away, moving smoothly to the smoke mid-taste, meat, earth and a mild fruit sweetness at the finish. Overall, big smoke, pretty smooth considering. Palate medium to thick bodied, coats the mouth some, the smoke and peat last through to a long finish. Nice, thanks for sharing Dan I had wanted to try this one.

I enjoyed it. The smoke is quite strong and permeates the beer to a significant degree, so if this isn’t your thing, try something else. It worked for me. Had a draft with a burger at St. Paul’s Happy Gnome. Little to no head. Some chocolate and sweet undertones there (hard to tell under the smoke). Not quite sure it’s worth the expense (I really wish Surly would get serious about bottling this and Darkness in larger quantities so they wouldn’t be so hard to find), but was glad to have the opportunity to give it a try. Complemented the burger well.**Update: 1/14/13: Just had a bottle of this that I’d been saving for a year and I have to say, it tasted pretty awful. Don’t know that this is a beer that will age well, at least based on this example (still have another year-old bottle to try).

22oz bottle pours a watery, opaque black with a thin, off white head. Nose of light smoke, dopplebock fruitiness, toasted bread, malts. Flavor is sweet, malty, smokey, bacon, light coffee, brown sugar, burnt molasses. Medium bodied, smokey finish.

Bottle thanks to billshmeinke. Pours with a tan head and a black body. Aromas of apple, maple, bacon, wood, light citrus notes (?), and brown sugar. Taste is smokey, oaky, vanilla, bbq, chocolate, [cannot read note], and surprisingly dry. Lively bubbles.