Sometimes the best way to approach a beer is to just bust a cap and dig in. Most of the time on The Hopry I do a lot of research before reviewing a beer so that I can clearly speak about the experience. But sometimes I like to just say screw it and drink the damn thing. That was the case with this beer: Haandbryggeriet’s Norwegian Wood. Now it’s not like I was insanely intrigued by anything in particular, but it looked like the type of beer that was way out in left field. So that’s why I chose this one for the session. I will say that the only bit of research I did was to find out how to say the name of the brewery, which you can hear in the video review (Hund – Brigg-er-ee-eht). Now, on to the flavor, it’s easy to describe this one because it really tastes exactly like the label suggests – Traditional Smoked Ale Brewed with Juniper Berries. You definitely get the smoke component along with the strong juniper berries. I can’t say this is the best combination, but it definitely smells and tastes like it should, which for me means this would probably be a bit better with food than by itself.
Check out all sessions of The Hopry here.
This beer can be found in these states.
On the iPod: Greg Ruggiero
Brewery: Haandbryggeriet
Beer: Norwegian Wood
Style: Traditional Ale
Location: Drammen, Norway
ABV: 6.5%
Rating: 85/100
Posted by beaverc32 on March 17, 2010 at 4:43 AM
Nice review Mark. I love pairing smoked ales/Rauchbiers with smoked gouda cheese — one of the best beer/cheese pairings I can think of. I might pick up a bottle of this if I can find it locally.