This traditional Norwegian smoked ale with juniper twigs and berries garnered some Ooh’s and Aah’s when the “pretty autumn color” poured into everyone’s taster glass. Then some frowns cropped up when the subtle charcoal smoky smells were breathed in. I’ve got quite a list of quotes here from The Ministry, although I am skeptical that anyone will be able to take any direction from them, “Red woody, sour but goody”, “Juniper”, “Autumn color”, “Julie Anne Moore hair color”, “Shatner LewisCK”, “Nutty”, “Great aroma, great color, good.” What matters the most is the taste; and those scores came out on the high end in Overall Happiness: 5.5 out of 7 Smokestacks.
| Brewer | Haand Bryggeriet |
| Beer Name | ‘norwegian wood’ |
| Brewer’s Description | Once every farm was required to brew its own ale (and many still do), all of that ale had a natural smoky taste from kilning the malt over open fire, and most of it was spiced with juniper twigs and berries. Made from smoked malt, munich malt, crystal and chocolate malt. |
| Food Pairings | Barbecue, Monterey Jack, Cheddar, Beef, Smoked Meat, Game, Grilled Meat, Salmon |
| Brewer Location | Brammen, Norway |
| Alcohol content by volume | 6.5% |
| IBU (International Bitterness Units) | 35 |
| Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark) | 4 |
| Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns) | 4 |
| Sausage detection? Y or N | N |
| Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks | 4 |
| Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high) | 5.5 |
They’re on Facebook, that’s all I could gather from their website:
SmokeBeerMinistry 