Thick Black Smoke
Uncle Billy's Brew & Que

Beer Geek Stats
From:
Uncle Billy's Brew & Que
 
Texas, United States
Style:
Rauchbier
ABV:
Not listed
Score:
Needs more ratings
Avg:
4.21 | pDev: 9.26%
Reviews:
9
Ratings:
9
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Feb 29, 2012
Added:
Aug 29, 2008
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews.
Photo of Mora2000
Reviewed by Mora2000 from Texas

4/5  rDev -5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
On tap at the Uncle Billy's location at Lake Travis.

The beer pours a dark brown to black color with a tan head. The aroma is heavy on the chocolate and ash notes, with the chocolate being the most dominant.

The flavor has a few additional notes. I get a lot of charred malt notes, as well as some nice meaty smoke and some milk chocolate. The chocolate and burnt/smoke notes go very well together.

Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.

A very nice smoked beer, one I definitely would like to try again.
Feb 29, 2012
Photo of htomsirveaux
Reviewed by htomsirveaux from Texas

4.15/5  rDev -1.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Tried on tap at uncle billys 17oct 2009.

Small brown head, dark brown, almost black in color. Smells sweet, chocolatey, with a hint of smokiness. Lightly carbonated. Starts sweet, chocolatey, little bit of cinnamon. Medium body, good mouthfeel, lightly creamy. Mocha bitter finish. Lingering mesquite aftertaste. Etoh seems more than 5.5%. Great with BBQ.
Oct 17, 2009
Photo of northaustin
Reviewed by northaustin from Texas

3.3/5  rDev -21.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
poured from the growler to the schnifter. pours like the name says. the mass of brown head billows toward the sky, disappears quickly and leaces almost no lacing. a little too much head.

smells like brisket. mostly smoke, no malts and certainly no hops, no heat. could use something else besides the smokiness.

tastes like brisket as well. a very thin malt bill overdosed with smokiness. not bad but a tad intense.

mouthfeel: blitzes the tastebuds at first but fades quickly and leaves a small bit of the flavor in the back of your throat.feels alright.

drinkability: i could only envision having two pints of this maximum. its just very intense and not in such a good way. it overwhelms the taste buds in a way that i do not find very enjoyable. because it has a low abv and is fairly thin it does have a certain level of drinkability but other than that there isnt much.
Sep 09, 2009
Photo of Onslow
Reviewed by Onslow from Texas

4.44/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
thanks stu for the growler! lots of brownie and smoked malts in the nose... billed originally to me as a schwartzbier, but it is so oh so mo roastier .. . Chocolate and smoke are the players in the flavor gang .. . very good very well made stuff.. i want to drink this with some billys bbq!
Apr 03, 2009
Photo of JDV
Reviewed by JDV from Texas

4.1/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
On tap at Uncle Billys. Pours dark brown , and almost black. Smell is of some smokiness and lightly toasty bready malt. Taste is a hint of lager yeast, some nice rich smokiness, and toasty malt flavor. I'm not a huge lager fan but this is still my favorite smoked beer of the 3 or 4 I've had here. Rich smooth and drinkable with light lingering bitterness. Very nice!
Nov 16, 2008
Photo of DIM
Reviewed by DIM from Pennsylvania

4.42/5  rDev +5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
a: This was a dark, ruddy brown color. It poured with a huge light tan head that faded fairly quickly. Looks great for a well travelled growler.

s: I think this is a smoked porter. I get a nice balance of meaty charcoal-ish smoke and some lightly sour coffee notes. I got a little chocolate as it warmed.

t: Oh man, these guys got this one just right. There is smoke all over the place on this one. Big, meaty, ashy, woody smokiness with intermittent flashes of roasty, slightly sour coffee.

m: Perfect, long lasting, creamy carbonation with the average body of a porter.

d: Assuming this is a smoked porter, this is the fourth I've tried. I'd give the Spring House's a very slight edge, with this being well ahead of the other two. As a side note, I got this from mikesgroove to settle a bet. He got this from some kind soul in Texas before shipping it to me in PA via South Carolina. Got all that? Only on BA! Thanks Mike for this awesome smoke bomb!
Oct 28, 2008
Photo of mikesgroove
Reviewed by mikesgroove from South Carolina

4.6/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
Big thanks goes out to the kind Texas BA that sent this one my way. One of my favorite styles and I knew right away I had to get a taste of this one. Growler was served cold and poured into a pint glass several times over. Consumed on 10/04/2008.

The pour was very nice, and very full looking. This literally came out black as night with a rich inch and a half of tan foam coming across on the top of it. This settled down gradually, producing some nice side glass lacing to go along with the rich and abundant look to it. This was a serious looking beer to say the least.

The aroma was just as rich, huge notes of peat, and smoked malts were just all over this one. I was really shocked by how thick this came across. Some hints of a molasses type sweetness coming through as it warmed, but still, that deep, smoked meat and campfire like smell was really what prevailed here. The flavor then came across with much more of the same. Rich notes of smoke, roasted malts and a touch of molasses and vanilla in the background, just enough to provide a touch of balance to it. But the story here was just on how absurdly thick this one was. Massive full bodied beer, with a luscious carbonation profile that was literally second to none. But at the same time, you would think it was be rough to finish this one, but it was the exact opposite, it was soo delicious and smooth, you had no issue at all with getting this one down, it was really just surprising how good this actually was. The rich, smoked taste just continued on down throughout the finish really just leaving you with that long flavor for what seemed like forever.

Overall I thought this was outstanding. One of, if not the best smoked beer I have ever had. I actually used a few ounces that were left last night in a hickory marinade. This was just a very solid beer no matter how you look at it. I would have no issue a all with getting this one again any day.
Oct 07, 2008
Photo of JonathanL7890
Reviewed by JonathanL7890 from Texas

4.17/5  rDev -1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Has a dark 30 weight consistency.
About 1/2 inch of light brown foam.
Aroma is smokey , ham-like, some chocolate.
Taste is mildly assertive smoke with a creamy mouthfeel. Very well balanced. I was concerned that I would have a hard time finishing this in the hot summer but that was no problem.
I'm surprised that this isn't a regular offering here (at UB's Brew and Que). It pairs perfectly with their brisket plate.

Very solid offering.
Oct 01, 2008
Photo of Beer-Zombie
Reviewed by Beer-Zombie from Oregon

4.7/5  rDev +11.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
pours dark ass brown with a nice big brown head. the nose was chocolatey and smelled of toasted malts. the taste was very smoky, roasted malts. The finish was the same taste as smoked pork sausage! full bodied. Great beer! this is one of my new favorite dark beers.
Aug 29, 2008
Thick Black Smoke from Uncle Billy's Brew & Que
Beer rating: 4.21 out of 5 with 9 ratings