Holy Smoke

Bottle - Roasted malts, peat and some chocolate. Jet black with a thin white head. Wow, all sweet peat, some smoke and some nice chocolaty malts. Although this is a peat BOMB, it is nicely balanced and doesn’t taste like I am sucking a barrel. I am a fan.

NIce pitch black body with modest beige head on top. Aroma is all heated shoe leather and peat, lots of peat like a scotch. Flavour is animal hair with all that peat coming through with a peaty finish. Did I mention the peat yet? This is a common problem I find with the "smoked" style, way too much smoked without enough other nuances showing through. That said, it’s still a decent beer and highly drinkable.

Bouteille 650ml. De couleur brune très foncée et quasi-opaque. Nez de malt rôti, terreux et fumé (cigarette, tourbe), léger de chocolat noir avec des notes de fruits (petits fruits rouges), de caramel et de café. Moyennement ronde en bouche avec un pétillement moyen-doux ainsi qu’une texture aux notes crémeuses. Léger goût fruité (petits fruits rouges et foncés légèrement acides) avec des notes de chocolat (petites notes lactiques) lors de l’entrée en bouche auquel s’enchaîne rapidement un goût de malt moyennement rôti et fumé (tourbe, traces de cigarette) avec un léger goût de caramel terreux puis en finale l’on retrouve des notes de café et de houblon herbeux. Post-goût moyen-long, légèrement amer de rôti, légèrement fumé avec des notes de chocolat ainsi que des traces de houblon herbeux et de fruits (petits fruits).

(650mL bottle from LCBO) Poured dark slightly reddish brown with a mid-sized off-white head. Aroma of peat, smoke, earth, wood, leather and a bit of oxidization. Flavour contains most of the characters from the aroma with a sweet caramel malt core to balance a fair bit of bitterness, smoke mostly held in check but becomes a bit heavy when the beer is warm near the end of the glass. Mouthfeel is fairly thin, overly carbonated. A lot going on but a bit unbalanced, still a nice glass in cool weather.

Draught at Barhop, Toronto
Dark mahogany color, not penetrated by light, with red hue; small sized creamy head. Nice aroma of peat and some oxidisation. The flavor seems to be affected more by the oxidisation; dark caramel too; correct bitterness. Pleasant but a bit messy.

Originally rated December 2004. Sampled at Vineyards in Ottawa. Poured a very dark red colour and had some lacing. The aromas were roasted and very intriguing. Hard to find the right scent. Some dried raisins and other fruits. Taste was smoked and bitter with a medium-full mouthfeel.

Church key putting more batteries into the operation. This one smells smokey and tastes like flamed leather. Black pour and roasty malts give it lots of substance. on tap at volos.

Glass, 5-ounce, draught at Volo, savoured on September 15 2009; eye: black with ruby reflections, light effervescence, tiny ring of beige head, no lacing; nose: roasted malt, smoked, light peat, cocoa, dark chocolate, strong coffee; mouth: roasted malt, smoked, light peat, cocoa, dark chocolate, lightly acidic and acrid, finale in roasted malt, lightly lactic, medium-full body, not much carbonation; overall: quite likable FRANÇAIS Verre, 5 onces, en fût, bue chez Volo, savourée le 15 septembre 2009; oeil : noire avec des reflets rubis, légère effervescence, petit anneau de mousse beige, pas de dentelle; nez : malt torréfié, fumé, léger tourbe, cacao, chocolat noir, café fort; bouche : malt torréfié, fumé, léger tourbe, cacao, chocolat noir, café fort, légère acidité et âcreté, finale en malt torréfié, légèrement lactique, corps moyen-corsé, peu carbonatée; en résumé : bien aimé

A deep red beer with a slight haze under a thin brown head. The aroma is sweet malty with primery notes of caramel. The flavor is sweet malty with notes of caramel as well as lighter notes of burnt malt and smoke, leading to a dry end.

(Bottle 34,1 cl) Clear mahogany with a reddish hue and a beige head. Lightly burned, ashy nose. Medium body with both burned and smoked accents. Dry and lightly hoppy finish. The smokiness is only discreet and pleasant. 161206