Now With More Syringol: NightCall by Karben4 Brewing

I just looked and it has been over 8 years since Karben4 opened for business on Madison's northeast side. Tempus fugit! I am a bit surprised that they're still there in the same location. Karben4 took the space over from Ale Asylum after they rode the success of Hopalicious to shiny new and larger digs just a couple of miles away. With Fantasy Factory being the hip new IPA in town, I thought they'd soon be looking for more space while the nondescript building on Kinsman Boulevard would become an incubator for breweries.

Karben4 had a soft opening just after Christmas back in 2012. I suppose we were all breathing a collective sigh of relief after the cataclysms predicted by the Mayan calendar to have started the previous week did not, in fact, come to fruition. New Age grifters were looking for a new con while a bunch of us were packed into Karben4. NightCall, their smoked porter, was on tap that very first night and I thought it was quite tasty as smoked beers are like the opposite of Kryptonite for me. I wrote of tasting it that at the brewery's opening: "NightCall was tasty as well. The smoke flavor didn't dominate like a Schlenkerla but rather accented the roasted malt flavor."

At that time and for years afterwards, NightCall was made year-round. It was odd and also very wonderful to have a local smoked beer available all the year long. At some point, however, it became a fall seasonal. I guess there were too many Fantasy Factory variations and other IPAs that needed space. Also, at some point they started using quite a lot more smoked malt so that the smoke taste was front and center instead of simply being an accent.

I am beginning to wonder if 2020's batch has such a prominent smoky flavor simply by accident as the Karben4 webpage still says "This brew provides a subtle smoke profile…" I am not complaining, though, because at least it is still around instead of having been discarded in favor of another fruity-hoppy brew.

NightCall is a very deep reddish brown. Really, it looks like motor oil until your glass is nearly drained and its true color comes shining through. Plus, you can also see that it is clear. I managed only a small tan head but this may very well have been the result of poor pouring skills on my part. It went away fairly quickly.

The beer's smell was quite something. There was the expected smoky smell from those delightful syringols and guaiacols and phenols and whatever else makes smoked foods smell so effin' good. In addition, I caught some roastiness (this beer looked positively Stygian, after all), a touch of malty/honey sweetness, and an astringency/boozy scent. Lastly there was a fruity element too – like cherry/stonefruit. This made me wonder if cherry wood was used to smoke the malt.

A rich smoke flavor caressed my tongue upon tasting the brew. Beneath it were the hallmarks of the porter, those piquant dark/bitter chocolate and coffee tastes. A smidgen of plum sweetness and moderate carbonation were also to be had. Mild spicy hoppiness and bitterness finished things.

Hopefully this new smoke intensive edition of NightCall will remain as I really adore it. It's full and flavorful and is a wonderful accompaniment to falling leaves and falling temperatures. Plus, it still tastes great during the winter. Folks less enamored of smoky flavors may not be so thrilled, however. The old recipe was delicious as well and I think there's a place for a brew that goes easier on the smoked malt on Madison store shelves. Hopefully someone will step up to fill the void if this year's batch proves not to have been a fluke.