I like the hickory smoke rauchbiers not the sooty ones so this was pleasing to me. +++ Sampled from a 12 oz brown bottle this beer poured a dark caramel color with a large foamy orange-beige head that left a bit of lacing. The aroma was faint hickory, nut, sweetish malts, honey and a off sour vegetal presence underneath. The flavor was malty sweetish caramel with faint hickory, smoke and oak and undertones of nut and zucchini bread. The finish was long, malty and nutty and turned a bit dry with lingering hickory. Medium body. Solid.

Pour is a dark copper with a large tan head. Aroma is pleasantly smoky with some roasted nuts in the backround. Flavor is a little more pronounced smoke but nothing over the top. This is a nice sipping smoked beer with the smoke flavor there but not in a bacon bomb sorta way. Kinda just right, for me at least. One of Sam Adams’s better one offs.