Bouteille 33cl, BB 25.08.2016, batch#173. Brune, col crémeux beige. Arôme au nez plaisant offrant de belles notes fumées, léger houblonné noble en rétro-nasal - petit citronné. Un bouquet fruité sec avec des pointes d’herbacé se fait ressentir. Palais est léger, mettant bien l’accent sur le malt fumé avec un rétro de cara pâle, le tout est accompagné d’un profil fruité noir oscillant entre date et cerise noire. Fini est sec, finement citronné et avec encore une touche herbacée. L’aspect fumé reste correcte sans être surfait ni sans être trop timide. A environ 5.5%, reste facile à boire, dans une lignée des consœurs de Bamberg.

I first heard about this new Estonian craft brewery at the BeerTemple in Amsterdam and got quite curious about it; this is their first beer I found, a smoked porter (in the current 5.4% ABV version, though the label states ’robust’ porter, which I tend to associate with a higher alcohol content, but anyway). Regular, medium thick, creamy, pale yellowish beige head thinning in the middle but retaining well on the edge; very dark mahogany brown colour, blackish in general appearance as expected, but still translucent on the edges. Classic but very appealing smoked porter aroma: smoked herring, roasted walnut but sweeter hazelnut as well, pipe tobacco, charcoal, burnt toast, leather, coffee grounds, biltong, beef stock, fainter hints of balsamico, dried fig, black pepper, dried flowers, vague salmiak, haemoglobin. Very little sweetness in the onset: instead I get a mixture of umami and (very softly) sourish, with impressions of olive, dried seaweed, elderberry and only after that, a very vague dried banana sweetishness pops up only to vanish again shortly after. Carbonation remains soft but still vivid enough to add body. Very thoroughly toasted malt bitterness in the middle, with that basic sourishness of roasted barley increasing towards the end, deeply bittering as in cold black coffee - in fact, this is going in a direction more reminiscent of a dry stout than any kind of porter. Then the smokiness is added, blending in well with the roasted bitterness and releasing some retronasal smoked herring aromas, along with late, spicy hop bitterness which dries the finish further - and still a juicy, nutty malt flavour creeps through, although the roasted and hoppy bitterness dominate and stick to the throat for a long time after swallowing. Alcohol remains completely hidden, as it should be in a beer of this ABV. Classic, juicy, well-made and flawless interpretation of this relatively young hybrid craft beer style - in any case promising and motivating to find out more about this brewery’s range.

33cl bottle. Pours near black with a thick off white head. Smoky, ashy, woody and with some lactose sweetness. Bit light overall but balanced and tasty.

3a cata RateBeer Cimmeria Oviedo 26..10..2015. (r89). Lote 096 hasta 26..08..2015. Sabores Maltas tostadas y ahumadas. Ligeros caramelos tostados. Cuerpo medio 5.4 vol que no se notan mucho. sabores maltosos tostados ahumados ligeros chocolates poco amargo seco al final. Buena.

Botella, @3º Cata Ratebeer Asturias.. 26/10/2015. BBD:26/08/15 Color negro, aromas ahumados, sabor ahumado, maltosa, ligera.

Black brown colour, beige head. Aroma of smoke, bacon, roasted malts, light ash. Smoky flavour, ash, quite sweet. Bit thin. Finish bacon.
(from bottle @ RBESG ’14 London Grand Tasting, Moncada tasting room)

Bottle from trade with Douberd, many thanks! Sehr dunkelbraune Farbe, große beige Schaumkrone. Geruch schokoladig, röstmalzig, dezent rauchig. Geschmack sehr röstmalzig, Schokolade, dezent rauchig, Karamell, gut!

Bottle. Almost black, with a non-defective beige foam. Similar taste and aroma: smoked and roasted malts, a little sour and wine, and other shades.

Bottle 33 cl. Pours an opaque black with a dense and creamy. Heavy roast aroma. Medium body, roasty and ashy, some sweet vanilla. Not bad, but the ashes are a bit harsh. 270315

Sampled from a 0.33l bottle @ RBNG 2014. Not to much smoke in the aroma on this to be honest. Having problems finding any smoke at all really. It has more of a hoppy bite on the nose really. Some soft roasted tones and a little bit of chocolate. Lots of flavor. It's mild only in the mouth and small prickling on the below average carbonation level. Drying chocolate, some more smoke nuances in the taste compared to the aroma at least. Coffee sour minerallish finish. Not bad tasting at all actually. 15.02.2014