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Rauchbier First Tasting

The Rauchbier has bottle conditioned for three weeks now. I thought it was time to open a bottle and take some notes.

Appearance: Coppery amber colored, clear, white head

Aroma: Bready with some smoky, smoked meat notes.  A little malt sweetness

Taste: The smokiness doesn’t really hit until somewhere in the middle, between it hitting your lips and the aftertaste.  At first, it’s a clean lager – medium mouthfeel, some maltiness, then the bacon-y taste comes in.  Finishes dry and clean with a balanced smoky aftertaste.

Overall Impressions: I really don’t know what to make of this beer. I get the “sitting around the campfire” feeling that Jamil Zainasheff writes about in his book. I have had one Rauchbier before and it’s comparable, but I wonder if it has enough smokiness and if the other elements (primarily the maltiness) are where they should be.

I’ll be entering this beer into a competition, so we shall see what the beer judges say.

Here are some photos.  I got a white background to show off the color.

Rauchbier First Tasting   Homebrewed Rauchbier

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3 Comments

  1. I think we should do a side by side tasting of this with bacon wrapped scallops.

  2. chris

    I’ve been experimenting with smoked malt beers. All i can say is pour yourself a glass and drink it with expensive thin sliced ham such as parma, serrano or speck. Total revelation and now added to my small number of regular brews to brew.

  3. +1 on the white background.

    I’ve only had a smoked porter before, the smokiness was very subtle. I probably should try a true rauchbier, if I like it, maybe I’ll brew one.

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