Schwarzer Rauch
Live Oak Brewing Company

Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Live Oak Brewing Company
 
Texas, United States
Style:
Rauchbier
Ranked #50
ABV:
4.5%
Score:
86
Ranked #19,557
Avg:
3.79 | pDev: 9.76%
Reviews:
6
Ratings:
37
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jan 13, 2024
Added:
Mar 16, 2014
Wants:
  4
Gots:
  4
Schwarzer Rauch, or Black Smoke, is a smoked black lager. With balanced roasted malt flavor, this beer prominently features a beechwood smoke. This smokiness mingles with layers of darker malt flavors, braced by Noble hop character. Fermented cold and clean with our German lager yeast, this beer highlights the complexity that smoke adds to traditional dark lagers.

OG: 12ºP
IBU: 30
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by jheezee:
Photo of jheezee
Rated by jheezee from Texas

4/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

May 22, 2016
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.08 by uncleotis from Illinois

Jan 13, 2024
Photo of Bluerabbitbell
Reviewed by Bluerabbitbell from Pennsylvania

3.82/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
3/28/23 On tap at Live Oak Brewing, Austin TX.

Clear, brown in appearance. Slight lacing work minimal head.

Malty, caramel smokey in aroma. Fresh roasted coffee. Brown sugar. Maybe a hint of molasses. Lots going on.

Flavors follow much of the aromas. Not thick and over bearing at all. Bitter finish.

Like walking into a smokehouse....a good thing!
Mar 28, 2023
 
Rated: 4.58 by Ristaccia from Nebraska

Dec 11, 2022
 
Rated: 4.12 by o29 from Texas

Jan 23, 2022
Photo of Hooded
Reviewed by Hooded from Texas

4.01/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
Notes from 2/25/2020.
On tap at the Draft House in Austin and served in a pint glass.
The body is dark brown with a little white foam. 3.75
The aroma is light and of malt, a little hops, and some smoke. 4.00
The taste is medium in strength and is of malt, some hops, and some smoke which is balanced by the bitterness which is medium-low. The smokiness becomes stronger near the bottom of the glass. 4.00
The mouth feel is just below medium, creamy, and a little dry. 4.25
Overall, it's well balanced and refreshing. It smells smokier than it tastes. it's a nice beer. 4.00
Mar 04, 2020
 
Rated: 4.1 by mothmanscott from Georgia

Jan 14, 2020
 
Rated: 3.99 by kkarimi from Texas

May 22, 2019
 
Rated: 4 by WillieThreebiers from Connecticut

Mar 18, 2019
 
Rated: 3.75 by Karibourgeois from Texas

Feb 19, 2019
 
Rated: 3.89 by BirdsandHops from Oregon

Sep 15, 2018
Photo of StonedTrippin
Reviewed by StonedTrippin from Colorado

3.75/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75
another unique smoked beer from these guys, really well done overall but a little heavier than some of the others i had in here. this one is deep amber, mahogany colored with some darker malts obvious. its a lager which i think is pretty cool, but cant really appreciate until the very end when it starts to crisp up a little bit. the malt is sturdy, sweet, and has a strong mineral profile, along with some caramel and some roast, not too deep, but this is pretty dense as they go. the smoke element is mid spectrum, not too intense but certainly a leading agent along with the sweeter crystal and munich types in here. smoke courses all the way through it, notes of raisin and even cherry too, a hefe type yeast element rather than a lager one, but bready and drying up towards the finish. carbonation is a shade below where id like it to be, but overall this is really well refined. a unique recipe for sure, a cool integration of smoke into a classic style, live oak seems to do a lot of that. i had a blast in here!
Jul 04, 2018
 
Rated: 4 by denver10 from New Mexico

Apr 30, 2018
Photo of GreesyFizeek
Reviewed by GreesyFizeek from New York

4.37/5  rDev +15.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
On tap at Bangers in Austin, TX.

This one pours a fairly dark brown, with a small white foamy head, with a little bit of sticky lacing.

This smells like sweet and earthy campfire smoke, milk chocolate, pumpernickel, brown bread, and light spice.

This is really quite nice. The smoke level is moderate, and doesn’t contain that gross bandaid/plastic that poorly handled smoked beers can have. It’s got a nice chocolate, bready, and slightly roasty base, with a bit of spice that’s kinda reminiscent of either rye or pumpernickel bread. This is just perfectly reminiscent of a warm campfire.

This is medium bodied, pretty creamy, with a soft level of carbonation.

Live Oak is definitely constantly pumping out bangers.
Mar 16, 2018
Photo of stephens101
Reviewed by stephens101 from Oklahoma

3.92/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
From notes taken at the brewery.

Dark brown with deep red hues at the light. Leaves a streaky tan froth down the side of the glass after a slow fade. Has a smokey sweet aroma. Taste involves grain, slight notes of dark fruit as well as other notes of faint wood and smoke that become more prominent as the beer warms. Lighter in body that expected.

A damn good outing by a damn good brewery (who generally has the German styles down pat) but could use a bit more flavor. Then again I'm a bit biased toward the real thing.
Jul 12, 2017
 
Rated: 4.24 by Kurmaraja from California

Apr 10, 2016
 
Rated: 3 by NeverSettle from Texas

Mar 13, 2016
 
Rated: 3.25 by zbooks from Texas

Mar 13, 2016
 
Rated: 3.95 by dasotelo50 from Texas

Mar 06, 2016
 
Rated: 3.43 by cgrunin from Texas

Mar 03, 2016
Schwarzer Rauch from Live Oak Brewing Company
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 37 ratings