This beer smells like bacon, which is a good sign. In response to my order, the bartender at 101 Beer Kitchen of Columbus, OH said, “Are you sure? It’s REALLY smoky.” I replied that I could handle it given that I’m here for The Arnold Classic. 101 Beer Kitchen is a swanky, properly dimly lit, upper scale place with a rustic vibe going on in there, which appears to encourage more drinking. After a few campfiresque beechwood smoked chugs in, faint memories almost made their way to my frontal lobes, but they didn’t. And it was at that moment that I realized the smokepower was fading from my palate. The high acidity in beers seems to punish my palate to the point of washing away my ability to taste the second half of beers sometimes, and this is one of those times. Other things began to move in, including musty tastes and dry sensations. But there’s nothing yellow about this beer. It’s bold. It even won an award; silver in 2013. And I’m giving it an overall smokestack rating of 5.8 smokestacks (out of 7).
| Brewer | Yellow Springs Brewery |
| Beer Name | Smokin’ Handsome |
| Brewer’s Description | A beech wood smoked version of our Handsome American Brown Ale. Silver Medal winner at the Great American Beer Festival 2013. |
| Food Pairings | Jail House food |
| Brewery Location | Yellow Springs, OH |
| Alcohol content by volume | 5.5% |
| IBU (International Bitterness Units) | few |
| Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark) | 5 |
| Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns) | 6 |
| Sausage detection? Y or N | Y (and bacon) |
| Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks | 6 |
| Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil) | 5 |
| Overall Happiness: 1 – 7 (sad – happy) | 5.8 |
They online:
SmokeBeerMinistry 