Bottle shared by awaisenen at Dr. Bill’s get-together on 3/22/07.
At the risk of sounding controversial (which I’m not trying to, as I love heavyweight and brett beers), I was rather unimpressed by this. Foamy, rocky and large white head right away signals the huge carbonation. And it really shows in the flavor, even after some breathing. Just too much of it, breaking up the smooth malt consistency. One of the best things about Orval is its nearly creamy texture and fantastic bottle-conditioning. Other than that, this one starts out lopsidedly sweet and very fruity, but some heavy paperiness/graininess seems to assert iteslf quickly, really making it difficult to focus on the brett. I kept getting cherries and light caramel, with a very unrefined wild yeast character and very juicy, but not very fresh golding hop notes. Just seems muddled to me.
The aroma was markedly better, the brett doing a better job of concentrating itself and producing a very botanical, mildly fruity and somewhat tart nose. Decent strength, and no flaws, no alcohol. Really a shame about the flabby mouthfeel and muddled flavors. That’s how it seemed to me, anyways. I’m sure I’ll try it again and rerate it.

Orangish amber coloured body with a non-existant head. Aroma of super-smoked malt, toffee and figs - the smoke was by far the strongest scent. Medium-bodied; Strong smoked flavours with alcohol in this one. Figs and even more smoked peat were picked up afterwards. The aftertaste showed strong and potent flavours - alcohol, bittering hops and of course, smoke. Overall, an interesting smoked beer - definitely good to try - get it if you can still find it! I sampled this twelve ounce bottle purchased from Chevy Chase Wine & Liquors in Washington D.C. a year or so ago, on 10-March-2007.

2004 12 oz bottle courtesy of Boboski. Poured with lots of carbonation in a dull copper color with thin tan head. Good size aroma of melanoidin malt (as indicated on the label), fruity dates, cherries and raisins. Behind that is a faint caramel. The above average carbonation amps up the flavor with sweet caramelized malts and melanoidin malts. Beyond that are some very tasty dark fruit notes that mix well with the malts. Just like the aroma I find some caramel way back in the background.

2005 vintage, bottle from goldtwins. Murky sediment-laden dark brown-orange body, thick tan head, with overflowing carbonation. Massive bourbon aroma- huge oak and vanilla leaving a small corner of the maltbox for apple cider, toast, and caramels. Massive sweet, sweet, sweet body. Big brown sugars and toast, bubblegum, and tropical fruits go 8 rounds with the vanilla and coconut bourbon flavors...and eventually win. A rich, decadent beer, with the massive sugary, plummy notes becoming cloying. Sticky. Very good, but extreme.

750 ml bottle. Wee Whale is heavily endowed with big malts, sugar and fruit — and they all come through in the aroma and flavor. The body is dark brown with a light brown, tight-bubbled head. Molasses, caramel, raisin, plum, toasted malts, brown sugar and nuts all present themselves in the aroma. The taste is very sweet with a light to moderate bitter finish. Creamy mouthfeel in a medium to full body. The alcohol is detectible in the warmth of the finish, too. The major drawback were notes of paper in the flavor which may have been because of the age of the beer.

3rd beer of my "Stay @ Home b/c of Snow Rating-Extravaganza." Bottle has been sitting around for a while, not sure how long though. Pours with a medium but quickly dissipating head. Color is a beautiful orange, a very thick looking beer but lots of clarity. Aroma is strong with ripe malty sweet fruits thats accented with smoke. Taste is similarly sweet but the smoke is faint. Altogether it just adds up to an overall melting sweetness. Its not smoke heavy but the smoke is definitely present, in the aroma at least. When I have had this beer earlier it was too bland on the other aspects and similar on the smoke . It seems time has brought out the flavors from the malt. Leaves a sweet bookended faint smoked aftertaste. Low on bitterness, slight lowered carbonation, and a slightly heavy body.

Bottled. A slightly hazy deep red beer with a thin orange head. The aroma is very special with a mixture of cinnamon, violet, cloves, berries, and alcohol. The flavor is slightly acidic with strong notes of berries and spices as well as lighter notes of alcohol, wood, and metal. The acidity is very bret like.

750mL bottle from Dorwart, shared with Olivier on 1/26/07
Immediate lack of carbonation is noted by the barely perceptible "pffft" when opening the bottle. The liquid, then, is still, viscous-looking and produces no head or lacing (though some light legs are left on the glass). Unfiltered, of course, but leaving the sediment behind, the clarity is medium to medium-high and a strong bronze-copper with golden raisin hues.
The bog myrtle and birch bark practically leap from the glass! Just kidding, I have no idea what the hell those smell like. Seriously though, strong juniper, anise and vanilla can be discerned immediately, and the rest is anyone’s guess. It also smells like rosemary, a bit of ginger and white pepper (I realize none of these are actually in there). So ya, it’s spicy/herbal. Behind the spicing is a strong, rather sluggish sour note of over-ripe peaches, nectarines and blood oranges. That must be the "sour malt" and bread yeast. Certainly some residual sugars are felt from the pale malt, but it’s not overly sweet by any means (the sourness and spicing taking care of that). It ends rather snappy and astringent, on a strong herbal note with the sourness never releasing its hold on the aroma. Ok. So now that I’ve described it, how does it fit together? While I enjoy the sour malt/bread yeast, I think the one-two combo of the heavy spicing and sourness makes for a bit too much dominance of some of the more subtle ingredients that I think would be interesting to smell (rye, wheat, hops, smoke). I really don’t get much smoke at all in the nose, just a touch of light singed wood. The malts are big and round, but rather sluggish at the same time, seeming to get a bit too jumbled. The strength of the aroma is very high, however, or as high as expected without any carbonation to release it. No alcohol noted in the nose.
Wow. What a crazy flavor. Sweet and sour collide as sweet pale malts clash with the sour lactic and/or acetic notes imparted from the yeast. Herbs come on pretty moderately, surprisingly, with juniper drying things out nicely and giving a bit of a sting. Not sure what is responsible for it, but all the while, there is a big, fat, round, juiciness that no doubt comes from a mixture of acids, sour malts and pale sugars, but it seems very fruity as well. Sour peaches, I guess. It adds a pleasant dryness and complexity that transitions in to a somewhat darker, moderately spicy rye flavor. The more I drink, the more distinct the spicy rye becomes. Finally, on the very finish, I taste a bit of woodsmoke. Reminds me of the nutty, almost singed flavor of the dark wheats found in Bells Wheat 6 and 8.
The texture is nearly flat, of course, and has a strong viscosity, though I would not call it syrupy. I know the lack of carbonation is intentional, and authentic, but I think if the Vikings had a chance, they would have liked some carbonation. Or maybe not...but I’d like some anyways. It would certainly help separate some of the flavors and lighten the thick mouthfeel.
Regardless, it’s ridiculously well-made/recreated beer. The juniper, smoked malt, rye, wheat, bread yeast and wood barrel aging are all true-to-style. Though did they use pale malts at that time? Regardless it’s a great beer. I can’t say I loved it, and it’s probably one of the top 3 most challenging beers I’ve ever drunk, but I bet it would grow on you. I’ll have to get more while I can. Thanks Jason!

Thanks to kp? for bringing this one to share at the pre Cask Ale tasting. This retired Heavyweight pours a dark clear brown with a thin head. Toasty malt aroma. Some diacetyl and a touch of tartness are perhaps signs that this is getting past it’s prime, but it is still a very smooth and drinkable beer at this point, though perhaps the flavor changes that occurred with the sample I had have shifted this away from what I look for in a good representative of the Schwarzbier style.