Mad Brewers Scribbly Gum Lager
Malt Shovel Brewery

Mad Brewers Scribbly Gum LagerMad Brewers Scribbly Gum Lager
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From:
Malt Shovel Brewery
 
Australia
Style:
Rauchbier
ABV:
6.5%
Score:
85
Avg:
3.7 | pDev: 10.54%
Reviews:
18
Ratings:
22
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Aug 15, 2012
Added:
Feb 17, 2011
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
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Rated: 3.1 by pin from Australia

Aug 15, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by Taphouse_Traveler from Florida

Feb 05, 2012
Photo of laituegonflable
Reviewed by laituegonflable from Australia

3.25/5  rDev -12.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Pours a shiny, pale golden colour with mild haze. Head is off-white, decently small bubbles but retaining a decent crown of lace. Slow trail of bead; looks OK.

Smells quite sweet with puffy grain notes leaking a hint of bubblegum at first. More decent herbal notes follow with a touch of wood smoke and a hint of cherry-tinged phenol. Not bad, could lessen that initial sweetness though.

Taste starts fairly tangy with some sweet grain and hints of lemon cordial. Develops some nice smokey notes midway with a touch of dry wood, lemon thyme and parsley. More citric on the back, and gets some of that unfortunate bubblegum note which I'd put down to age, if this beer hadn't been brewed locally, and kept in the fridge for as long as I've known. It's not quite as meaty as I'd have liked, and is more sweet than anything else.

Full-bodied for a lager, maybe a touch too much. Could use more fizz to cut through the stickiness.

Not a bad brew, with some interesting elements. Will see how well it goes with my jambalaya.

(Edit: not that well; would have needed more complementary smokiness)
Jan 02, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by MenInVen from Australia

Dec 27, 2011
Photo of vandemonian
Reviewed by vandemonian from Maryland

4.23/5  rDev +14.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Mad Brewers Scribbly Gum Lager is a very unusual rauchbier. There is the usual maltiness along with some subtle smokiness. The real difference here is the eucalyptus flavour in the aftertaste. It is pretty subtle at first., but builds over time until your mouth feels like you just ate toothpaste. That doesn't sound good, but I actually liked it. As the bottle says, they captured an Australian bushfire in a bottle: smoke and gum.

A: Cloudy orange colour and a big 3 cm head that lasts quite well. 4.5

S: Smells malty and smoky. It has that distintive rauchbier bacon aroma. 4

T: Malty with some slight smokiness. The smokiness is not as strong as you find in many of the German rauchbiers, but it still combines with the malt to give the usual bacon flavour. This is a fresher beer than is usual for this style. In the aftertaste, you get some fresh eucalyptus flavours. It's sharp, minty and has a hot kick from the eucalyptus. This is a really bold and interesting interpretation of a rauchbier. It's pleasant and I'll give points for originality. It's so rare in Aussie beer. 4.5

M: Foamy with a eucalyptus kick. 4

O: 4
Dec 27, 2011
 
Rated: 3 by danieelol from Australia

Nov 28, 2011
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Reviewed by PolarBear3 from Australia

3.85/5  rDev +4.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Drank from my Duvel Tulip

A - Poured a pale golden colour with two fingered white foamy head that disappears rather quickly with minimal lacing.

S - Rather sweet with banana and cloves along with a hint of smokiness.

T - Up front a definite smoky bacon flavour with sweet malts coming through then followed with a burnt woody after taste.

M - Medium bodied with medium carbonation

O - A very interesting beer that with its smokiness and sweet malts balances very nicely.
Nov 20, 2011
Photo of dansmcd
Reviewed by dansmcd from Australia

4.01/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
A - One finger of white, fast fading head. Body is a clear, pale golden colour.

S - Bacon, sweet malts, some smokiness. Very pleasant aroma without having the full impact of a Schlenkerla.

T - Roasty, slightly smoky bacon or ham. BBQ sauce. Very tasty.

M - Moderate body, moderate carbonation. The sweet flavours linger on.

O - This does not smell or taste like it looks. A really nice lager, with some rauchbier characteristics. Delicious and seriously drinkable. 6.5% abv is well hidden. Like a watered down Schlenkerla.
Oct 08, 2011
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Reviewed by doktorhops from Australia

3.92/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Another lager!? Yep, this one was going for a steal so yeah, another lager. I have big aspirations for this brew as it comes from the clever chaps at Malt Shovel. The same clever chaps that brewed that insanely good Orchard Ale, which I wish I had reviewed way back when I drank it, liquid gold t'was! So here goes...

Poured from a 640ml bottle into a 500ml Stein.

A: Cloudy bottle-conditioned orange body with a white head and a fair bit of fizz happening. I like my cloudy brews, double tick.

S: Someone funny bastard put bacon in my beer! There's some serious smoked bacon on the nose. Once you get past the smoke there are faint but typical malt grain characters. I'm a vegetarian so I'm not even sure if I should be drinking this, but I checked the bottle and it doesn't list "smoked bacon" as an ingredient, I guess I'll be fine.

T: Interesting flavour for a beer, tastes like a BLT. We have the smokiness of bacon, the sweetness of tomato, the wateriness of lettuce and the bread base. Never before has a beer tasted more like a sandwich (or sub for that matter!). It's bizarre and enticing at the same time. Interesting: no hop bitterness.

M: Creamy, witbier-like mouthfeel. Mid to low carbonation, with a decent body. Quite pleasant actually.

D: What a roller-coaster of a beer! It's worth trying just for the novelty factor however outside of this I couldn't imagine a fridge full of the stuff, it's too weird to be drunk on a regular basis. I know it's been mentioned before but: 6.5% ABV!? Where are they hiding it? I'm officially a Mad Brewers fan, I love when people try something different, there's far too much of the same thing on the beer market we need to have more brewers like these guys (or girls).

Food match: I can't get BLT out of my head now. BLT it is. You could also make one with soy bacon or "fakon" as I like to call it (pronounced "FAY-Con"). Otherwise the bottle says "BBQ fare", ignore that, you know that deep down a BLT would kick ass with this.
Sep 14, 2011
Photo of foles
Reviewed by foles from Australia

3.98/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Quite surprised at how decent this is - nice light rauchmalt in the nose, some cloves, and wheat malt mixing with the phenols from the rauchmalt. Not overwhelming though. Pale colour, slight haze, creamy looking. Dry finish, deceptively strong in ABV. A well brewed lager with carefully balanced dash of wheat and smoke. Got two big bottles for $12 as well - bonus. REaly does suit the aussie theme very well, despite being inspired by German tradition.
Jun 26, 2011
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Reviewed by heygeebee from Australia

3.41/5  rDev -7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Pours a golden yellow colour with a two finger head that hangs around for a good while.

Carbonation good.

Interesting! Aromas of almost smoky bacon crisps (very smoky), and a taste to follow... really hangs together like someone was wafting a packet of crisps around under your nose - or maybe a rind of fatty bacon - and you were drinking a Euro pale lager or similar.

Pleased to have had one, and glad that these limited release beers continue, but a good choice in this instance for 'every now and again'.

btw - the 6.5% is very well hidden!
Apr 23, 2011
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Reviewed by brendan13 from Australia

3.72/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
A - Pours a very hazy dark straw with a 2.5cm white head that hangs about for a fair while.

S - Slighty smokey rauch like aroma followed by an immense amount of banana and clove. In fact if you served me this blind I would swear it was a smoked hefeweizen. Not bad at all.

T - More smokey rauch flavour in the taste but starts to become a bit burnt rubber like. The hefeweizen banana and clove character then comes barging through.

M - Medium bodied, medium to high carbonation.

O - A suprise indeed. I have no idea how they got it tasting so much like a hefeweizen if they really did use a lager yeast but I think it's made it better than what I was expecting.
Apr 15, 2011
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Reviewed by juju7 from Australia

3.9/5  rDev +5.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
It's always good when Malt Shovel deliver the goods. They can be hit and miss with their Mad Brewers range but this is a hit.
Not a raucbier per se but it is a smoked lager. Radiant gold with a tight head. Initial aromas almost remind me of a hefeweizen, a lot of banana there. But as it settles down it reveals some of that smoke.
The smoke becomes even more apparent on the palate and is balanced nicely with mild bitterness.
Enjoyed it with my rib eye steak and sausages but I wish I shared it-a bit too much for this sized bottle.
Apr 13, 2011
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Reviewed by jarmby1711 from Australia

3.91/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
There is a lot to like about this lager.
The cloudiness and the appealing gold yellow colour make it look as though it will be good.
The nose is pretty well absent , but what the heck it doesnt offend.
The flavour is resinous to me , something like creosote or turpentine in a very pleasant .
Perhaps it is some smokiness there .
It really sits well in the mouth and as the Brewers and other reviews have said , it seems to suit a BBQ environment
Apr 08, 2011
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Reviewed by Macca from Australia

3.03/5  rDev -18.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
I tried this on tap at the launch and wasn't impressed but have decided to give it another go.

Pours a cloudy bright colour with an ok white head.

Where is this smoke? Didn't get it last time and don't get it now. I get sweetness and some florals.

Ok so there is some smoke on the palate but not enough to balance out that sweetness. Get a little bit of the wild mint or whatever it was they used.

Medium bodied.

Sorry folks initial impression remains. Very average.
Apr 06, 2011
Photo of lacqueredmouse
Reviewed by lacqueredmouse from Australia

4.27/5  rDev +15.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Purchased from Sackville Cellars in Rozelle. Presented in the classic Mad Brewer's stylised 640ml bottle. It's a size I'm not that comfortable with, even though it reminds me of bombers of lovely US craft beer.

Pours a bright and hazed golden colour, with a fine and full head of beaten egg-white. Body is pleasantly heavy; lacing is sudsy, but solid. Looks nice.

Nose is odd, but pleasantly so. Lovely slightly meaty smoked characters, that also bring to mind the buttery notes of Belgian yeasts. A little sweetness, perhaps. With this, there's also clean and sharp organic notes which (I do agree with the label) give some hint of the Aussie bush. Foliage, eucalyptus, some floral characters, always laced with that glorious haze of lingering smoke. Delicious.

On the palate, everything is pared back to the smoke-laden characters which permeated but never dominated on the nose. Big meaty barbeque characters of smoky fats, only slightly shot through with the organic bite. It's a nice match, and the smokiness is only a part of the whole experience.

Feel is very smooth--the extra body and alcohol in the beer helps to cushion the complexity.

A really good brew, and probably the best of the Mad Brewers series I've had. This gives a really beautiful complexity of smoke, organics and spice to make a fascinating brew. I think, based on the description on the label, that they've really hit on what they were trying to do here. I'm a bit sad that it hasn't been so well received by others here.
Mar 26, 2011
Photo of dgilks
Reviewed by dgilks from Australia

3.47/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
I nearly didn't buy this. So put off had I been by the comments of my beer geek friends that I didn't think I should spend my hard earned on it. But it won out in the end and it isn't all bad. In fact, there is a lot of good here to show that Australian breweries don't have to be staid and stoic in their production of only a few middle of the road styles of beer.

This Rauchbier is not a classic in the German sense of the word. It is a deep golden colour with a small, white head and poor lacing.

The aroma is very fruity with distinct banana and apple notes combined with the smoke and wood.

On the palate it again fairs well but with a big, fruity note playing against lots of smoky wood.

A medium body and moderately-low carbonation are fine but serve to accentuate the wood character.

A decent smoked lager but nothing against the like of Schlenkerla.
Mar 13, 2011
Photo of ADZA
Reviewed by ADZA from Australia

4.05/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5
I have to admit everytime i hear about a brew from these guys i do get a little excited as they do try and push the envelope which i really appreciate anyways the brew pours a cloudy,pale honey hue with nice carbonation that leaves behind a two finger head and some lacing here and there,i really like this smell it has aromas of pepperoni,bbq snags,beef jerky,gum trees and a tinge of citrus and like they say on the bottle it really does remind me of an Aussie Bush BBQ really enticing,the mouthfeel is light bodied and well carbonated and the tastes are quite similar to the aromas with hints of smokey woodfire,pepperoni,blue gum honey and it is nicely finished off by a grapefruit bitterness,and overall this is the second time i have tasted this drop and i must admit its one of those brews that you have to taste twice as the first time i tasted it i thought it was just average but after second tasting it definately has its appeal and will buy some more before its gone for good cheers to Mad Brewers keep on pushing the envelope guys.
Mar 03, 2011
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Reviewed by LittleCreature from Australia

3.88/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Appearance - 4.0
Pale and cloudy with a dense, long lasting white foam head.

Smell - 3.5
Rather light-on, soft wheat malt, a trace of smoke and Aussie bush flora.

Taste - 4.0
Starts with sweetish wheaty malt with native bush flora, then finishes with a light but distinct ham flavour.

Mouthfeel - 4.0
Lively carbonation with fine bead lends to a smooth almost creamy mouthfeel.

Drinkability - 4.0
Not intended to be a session beer but I could see myself drinking this by the pint!

OVERALL
A rather good beer and certainly the best from Malt Shovel for a long time.
Feb 27, 2011
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Reviewed by eric5bellies from Australia

4.09/5  rDev +10.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Drank from my Traditional Aussie VB Midi glass.

A - Pours a slightly hazy straw colour reminiscent of a weak wit or heffe. There is a two fingered white head that reduces to a film reasonably quickly.

S - Has a real rauch aroma from the bottle, that is surprisingly pungent. Once poured a little citrus fruit is present behind the dominant rauch aroma.

T - Very interesting flavours here. Up front there are some nice citrus flavours and a little heffe like taste before moving into a smoky flavour, not exactly bacon like some of the dark rauchbiers. Finishes a little bitter and the smokiness lingers on.

M - Light to medium body with medium carbonation.

D - I like this beer, because it's different. The flavours are robust and diverse. Would suit a BBQ as suggested particularly some smoky ribs. Recommended.
Feb 25, 2011
Mad Brewers Scribbly Gum Lager from Malt Shovel Brewery
Beer rating: 85 out of 100 with 22 ratings