Track These Smoked Brews Down For Your Cellar!
By jason on Apr 3, 2008 in Bocks, IPA's, and More, Featured, Recommendations
Looking for a good smoked brew? They’re a bit of an elusive breed, to be honest. In your typical US beverage store you’ll find stacks and stacks of lagers, row after row of pale ales, but not very many smoke flavored beers. It’s a simple fact that if you find yourself in the mood for some smoke, you’re going to need to poke around a bit.
If a good German-style Rauchbier (The traditional German smoked beer style) is what you’re after, the ones you’re most likely to encounter will be from the German brewer Aecht Schlenkerla. These guys have been brewing smoked beers for centuries, so you can bet they know what they’re doing. There are three varieties that are widely distributed here in the states - a Marzen, a Urbock (highest rated of the three both on ratebeer.com and beeradvocate.com), and an unfiltered Wheat beer.
I was able to track down the Urbock and the Wheat beer myself, and I’ll be posting my tasting notes in a day or two.
Not too many American brewers make smoked beers as part of there regular lineup, and even fewer turn towards traditional Rauchbier. Rouge brewery’s Smoke Ale is a Rauchbier with a twist - it’s intensely hopped and much fruiter from the use of top-fermenting yeast. Smoked Porters seem to be the most common type of smoked brew here in the US. Prime examples of widely distributed smoked porters include the Alaskan Smoked Porter (the link goes to my tasting notes) as well as Stone Brewing’s Smoked Porter. You might also be able to find a recent entry in New Glarus Brewing’s Unplugged series, Smoke on the Porter.
If huge smoke flavor isn’t quite your thing, you still may be in luck. Check out some Scotch Ales, many of which are lightly accented with smoke flavor through the use of peat-smoked malt (Smuttynose’s Scotch Ale being a good example). Also keep an eye out for brews aged in charred barrels, which can also bring some smoke flavor to the party.
Jason
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