Style: Smoked beer
Brewery: Stigbergets
Origin: Sweden
Size: 44cl
Alcohol: 5%
Price: 29kr
Systembolaget: 11842
Based in Gothenburg, Stigbergets has become synonymous with the craft brewing scene in Sweden and known for consistently great beers. One thing they aren’t very good at though is sharing information about their beers. In fact, it’s pretty hard finding any information about their beers at all except whatever is written on the can, which is a shame as it’s always nice knowing a little more about what you’re drinking. I’ve always had a bit of a soft spot for smoked beers, so when I found this Christmas smoked beer I grabbed the cans straight away. Smoked beers have been around for thousands of years, with open fires used to dry the malt and keep it dry during wet winter months. Today, Bamberg in Germany is considered one of the main locations for traditionally made smoked beer production in the world. Although it’s hard to match the excellence of Bamburg smoked beers, this held it’s own well.
This had a lovely shiny mahogany brown colour with a thick cream head that held well. The smoke came through well upon the first sniff, with bacon, campfires and a brown sugar undertone that all worked delightfully well together. The smoke again came through in the taste, but more of an ashen note than was expected. A charred wood note clung to the palate after swallowing, with the meat notes also present for a long time. The body was medium and smooth on the tongue. One minus was that it seemed to go flat quite quickly, and for once I would have preferred a slightly higher carbonation in a beer!
This is the second smoked beer I’ve tried from Stigbergets in the past year, and they really do know how to do the style justice. Clean and easy to drink, this would be a great beer with ribs or BBQ, and I can’t wait to try them together. Very nice indeed!