The Big Smoke
8 Wired Brewing in Warkworth, Auckland, New Zealand 🇳🇿
Porter - Smoked Regular|
Score
7.14
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Now what is this? A smoked beer?? It really isn’t as crazy as it sounds. 250 years ago virtually all beers were smoked (it’s true, Google it!), but with the dawning of the industrial revolution most of the smoke lifted. However, in the German town of Bamberg the flame has quite literally been kept alive and to this day the town’s brewers produce world renowned beers brewed with their own special rauchmalz (beechwood smoked malt).
We’ve taken our best porter recipe and added a good measure of that same Bamberg Rauchmalz. The smoke mingles beautifully with the rich, dark roasted chocolate flavours of the porter without being overpowering. Although it pairs extremely well with smoked seafood, barbeques, strong cheeses and hearty stews, its food friendliness isn’t limited to savouries; chocolate and caramel based deserts are great companions too! Trust us; it really isn’t as crazy as it sounds.
We’ve taken our best porter recipe and added a good measure of that same Bamberg Rauchmalz. The smoke mingles beautifully with the rich, dark roasted chocolate flavours of the porter without being overpowering. Although it pairs extremely well with smoked seafood, barbeques, strong cheeses and hearty stews, its food friendliness isn’t limited to savouries; chocolate and caramel based deserts are great companions too! Trust us; it really isn’t as crazy as it sounds.
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7.9/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
At a tasting, thanks, stiff light brown creamy head, aroma is a melange of smoke, charred ans peaty notes, flavor of smoke, wood ans some caramel, light lingering bitterness. Nice and mellow, highly enjoyable.
Tried
on 27 Dec 2015
at 08:37
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle sample at a tasting at Alexey’s place. Thanks Alexey, Black with a tan head. Nice smoky aroma with wood, meaty notes, caramel, roast, a bit of chocolate. Great sweet flavor, malty, smoky, with some roast, caramel, chocolate, and some bitterness. Rounded mouthfeel. Really good stuff.
Tried
from Bottle
on 24 Dec 2015
at 05:30
7.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7
Würzig malziger, deutlich rauchiger Antrunk. Leicht erhöhte Karbonisierung, dabei aber feinperlig, vollmundig. Deutliche Noten von Schokolade, neben dem Rauch noch süßlich. Sehr gelungen! 12/11/12/12/10/12
Tried
on 21 Dec 2015
at 12:48
7.5/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle, bought ages ago, from Beer Central, Sheffield. Clear, dark, cola brown. Bubbly, cola like head, too, that settles to a film of tan. The smoke is on the wood ash side of things, as opposed to savoury, though there’s a hint of smoked cheese. Some tangy, dried, vine fruits. Some mineral. Some summer fruit, right at the end. Taste is light dry, with a bonfire toffee sweetness on the lips. Smooth palate. Enough body to match the aroma and taste. Ashy dry finish, with a little bitterness creeping in at the end. Lovely.
Tried
from Bottle
on 12 Jun 2015
at 18:52
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
500ml bottle from Brewdog online store. Black brown colour, beige foam head leaving lacing and aroma of smokey bacon, peated malty. Taste is smoked meaty roasted malts with some dark fruity, toffee, brown sugar, caramel notes, bittersweet. Smooth mouthfeel, medium bodied, softish carbonation, smokey malty finish. Very drinkable.
Tried
from Bottle
on 13 Mar 2015
at 15:27
7.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle thanks to allmyvinyl. Appearance - close to opaque black with a lovely fawn head. Nose - smoke and chocolate. Taste -more of the same. Well intermingled. Palate - close to medium bodied with a dry smoky texture and a dry smoky finish. Overall - lovely complex beer.
Tried
from Bottle
on 13 Feb 2015
at 10:04
7.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
500ml bottle from Brewdog Online shop. Pours dark brown, near black, thin tan head. Aromas of chocolate and smoke, bacon. Taste is bacon, dark chocolate, smoke. Light sweetness at the back. Interesting.
Tried
from Bottle
on 13 Feb 2015
at 09:58
8/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
500ml bottle from New World Fendalton, Christchurch. Pours dark brown, a bit like Coke. Lively head, hints of smoke in the nose. And the smoke is also clearly defined in the taste, next to typical porter notes: Liquorice, caramel, a bit burnt. Well balanced though, a beer experiment well done indeed.
Tried
from Bottle
on 05 Feb 2015
at 18:39
7.5/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
Bottle. Black, brownish head. Aroma of smoke, ash, coffee and dark cacao. Taste of coffee, licorice, bit of rauchmalt. Quite nice.
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 Jan 2015
at 14:03
6.5/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 7
Imported from my RateBeer account as 8 Wired The Big Smoke (by 8 Wired Brewing):
Aroma: 7/10, Appearance: 3/5, Taste: 6/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 14/20, MyTotalScore: 3.3/5
7/XI/14 - 50cl bottle from Geers (Oostakker) @ home - BB: n/a (2014-1297)
Dark brown to black beer, irregular beige head, unstable, bit adhesive. Aroma: bit smoky, caramel, mocha. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: mocha, coffee, bitter, soft smokiness, hoppy. Aftertaste: dark chocolate, roasted, little smoky, bit watery, bit sour, hop bitterness, cocoa powder.
Aroma: 7/10, Appearance: 3/5, Taste: 6/10, Palate: 3/5, Overall: 14/20, MyTotalScore: 3.3/5
7/XI/14 - 50cl bottle from Geers (Oostakker) @ home - BB: n/a (2014-1297)
Dark brown to black beer, irregular beige head, unstable, bit adhesive. Aroma: bit smoky, caramel, mocha. MF: ok carbon, medium body. Taste: mocha, coffee, bitter, soft smokiness, hoppy. Aftertaste: dark chocolate, roasted, little smoky, bit watery, bit sour, hop bitterness, cocoa powder.
Tried
from Bottle
on 07 Nov 2014
at 13:05