Tap @ Cardinal. More than less a clear, deep golden body under a small, tan head. Strong and distinct aroma of smoke and peat without being too overwhelming. Flavor is quite sweet malt, smoke, peat, cured meat, dry sausage and light bourbon at the end. Fine balanced body and long lasting aftertaste. Surprisingly pleasant after a few sips after the first impression. A solid, and nice sipper.

Tap@Fermentoren, Copenhagen (11/02/2017) - amber pour with off white head. Toasted and smoked malty aroma and taste with notes of caramel, toffee, some charred and smoked notes, bourbon soaked wooden accents into the finish.

Fra fat på Mi2 Cardinal, mai-17: uklar gylden med flott skum som varer. Torvrøyk (men ikke så mye at det blir ubehagelig påtrengende), karamell og gule epler.

From tap at Mi2 at Cardinal 08.05.17. Slightly hazy pale orange. Smoke and whisky in aroma and taste. Good!

On tap at Cardinal Pub & Bar; Stavanger. Orange to brown colour, small white head. Aroma of peat and beechwood smoked malts, also smoked salt (when you know it’s there). Medium dry flavour, distinct notes of said smoked ingredients. Hints of bourbon barrel in the finish. Not really my cup of tea, but drinkable.

On tap at Melkebaren, Sandnes. Pours hazy light amber with white head. Aroma of smoke, medicine, alcohol, bread, whisky, vanilla, caramel. Taste very sweet with smoked saltiness. Some alcoholic warmth.

Appearance: Hazed caramel color with a off white head. Ok lacing.
Aroma: Decent intensity.
Palate: Medium + body. Slightly sweet and a moderate bitterness. Soft carbonation.
Taste: Toffee, bready, ham and some smoke.
Overall impression: Decent mild smoked ale.
Personal stats: On tap at Schouskjelleren in Oslo, Norway

Tap at Rattle had my eye on this awhile but knew I didn’t want whole bottle so glad I could finally get flight sized portion. Hazed brownish yellow small head. Nose is peat and meat. Tastes of meaty ham, peat smoke, vanilla, and slick rubbing alcohol. I love Islay scotch with all my heart but smoke beers just don’t work in general for me but alas knock out the Rauchbiers in case it ever becomes a style here on RB.

Bottle. Frothy white good mostly lasting head. Amber colour. Moderate malty and light hoppy aroma. Moderate bitter fklavor. Some fruity notes along with the smoked notes. Average moderate bitter nice smoked notes. Average moderate bitter finish. oily palate.

Bomber bought online. I am a bit weary about this seen my previous experiences with this brewery and alas: upon removing the wax with a knife, a hissing sound already announced that it was going to be impossible to open this without gushing. Luckily I was well prepared for this and managed to reduce the ’beer loss’ to a minimum. Thin, regular, off-white to very pale beige head retaining well on the edges, hazy amberish orange blonde robe with somewhat pinkish hue. Aroma, as announced on the bottle, is heavily dominated by peat, in the medicinal iodine-like way I still haven’t completely managed to appreciate; underneath this peat bomb, I find hints of smoked bacon, (lightly moldy) orange, light caramel, hay, bourbon, honey, cigarette tobacco, fried egg, bread dough, wet wood but low in vanilla tannins. Sweetish onset, hints of peach, even a bit honeyish, orange freshness well-balanced with deep, gooseberry-like sourishness, medium carbo, supple and smooth malt body (not as heavy as expected from a 8.5% ABV beer), caramelly and pretty straightforward, almost ’Belgian tripel’-like fruitiness continues, while the peated iodine-flavors creep up on you and dominate retronasally, yet I must admit I expected them to be even stronger based on the aroma; they still leave room for ongoing juicy malt (and residual sugar) sweetness, some earthy, spicy hops providing late but effective and lasting bitterness and quite a lot of warming, even slightly astringent, bourbon-like alcohol; woodiness is, as in the aroma, present but very restrained and adds only an accent to the overall palate without drying effect. A ’deep’ sourish flavor lingers as well. I hate gushing to begin with but I must admit I expected worse from the taste; it has a kind of ’lightness’ and drinkability (not to say a rather thin body) paired with fruity, orangey sweetness and bourbon-like alcohol warmth, not that far removed from e.g. Muifel’s Beerskey from the Netherlands. The peat effect is strong in the nose, but remains more or less manageable in the mouth - there is much worse out there when it comes to this particular taste, which admittedly I still haven’t mastered entirely. Underneath it, there is still a somewhat messy arrangement of malt and esters which feels a bit ’Belgian’, and considering the fact that both beers I had from Against the Grain were violent gushers, I don’t think I’ll put my trust in this brewery a third time.