Bottled Up: Nils Oscar Rokporter

It's the Nils Oscar beer that got away. The smoked porter couldn't find a course to accompany during my Swedish feast, so it's been a wallflower in the cellar until now. With the autumn weather calling for a robust beer, the Rokporter gets its opportunity tonight.


Smoked beers make me nervy. I'm a huge fan of Islay whiskies so I have no problem with smoke in the water. It's the feeling that you don't really know what you're letting yourself in for. Massive chokey-smoke? A rauchbier singed pig? Or a smoke that's more low tar and gauze filtered?

With the other Nils Oscar beers offering a smooth feel and rounded flavours, I hoped this porter wouldn't be too harsh. And what a pleasure it was - a certain smokiness but more of a well-roasted coffee feel. Fat, plummy fruits in here as well. It feels more all the time like a flashback to a pavement cafe in winter; the last crumbs of a raisin-studded slice, the last crema mouthful in the espresso cup, a waft of smoke from the next table where an elegant blonde in a fur-lined floor-length coat is, er, eating a smoked pork sausage. With her fingers.

Subtle fruits, subtle smoke. And a superb, soft, sultry feel - I don't know what they put into the water but these Nils beers are so smooth they just caress their way down your throat. Smoke echoes as a sublime creaminess leaves coffee in its wake.

Nils Oscar Rokporter is that rare beast - a restrained smoked beer, one that has the reassurance of its quality to carry off the marriage of flavours without feeling the need to go overboard either way. It's a smoked you can drink on its own - something I'd struggle to do with many rauchbiers. One to reach for in these colder winter months when that sausage casserole needs a beer to lift it higher.

Thanks to Phil at beermerchants.com for the bottle.