Smoked Maibock
Goose Island Beer Co.

 

 

On tap in Clybourne; you get a big ol' glass of it, which I didn't expect since it's got a good punch to it and most people can't drink more than a sip or two of smoked beers. When I ordered the waitress said "seriously," and she was only partially joking.

Pours like a maibock. No big shocker there. Dark brown in its heart, vermillion near the liminal bounds of beer and glassware, topped with a fine white head.

Smells like... a maibock! There's very little smoke in there. But the bizarre part is that my friend ordered the regular, smokeless maibock and it smelt unpleasantly alcoholic and not at all good. This is smooth and lightly zippy, big nodes of chocolate caramel, but there's only the slightest hint of mesquite smokiness to it.

Tastes like... a maibock and smoke. Good. That's--you know, even as I ordered it, drank it, talked about it and thought about it, it's only hitting me just now how odd this combination is. Smoke and sweet? Sometimes, good brewing, like good NFL officiating, is best when it goes unnoticed. Not always, but sometimes. This is a hell of a combination but they pulled it off with aplomb.

This was served in a Stein at the Clybourn brewpub.

This beer is an extremely cloudy dark, honey amber with a thin, foamy white head. The clearest scents are sweetness and, obviously, the smoke, but this wasn't quite as beef jerky-smelling as many smoked beers are. It was actually quite subtle. Behind the smokey scent, there is a soft, berry-like tartness, a hint of citrus, and a bit of bread.
I was quite impressed when I tasted this beer. The smoke was quite pleasant, and, again, not very beef jerky. The taste was a bit bready, with some sweetness and was quite malty. There was even a bit of cognac-like heat in the finish.
The carbonation was relatively low, but this was, over all, quite smooth.
Usually when I go to Goose Island, I tend to try things that I haven't before, but I have to say that this was one that I had on multiple visits. Very enjoyable and easy to drink.

Served in a stein at the Clybourn location.

Pours a hazed brown/orange, thick off white head, nice lacing, decent retention. Smell is sweet, smokey, bit of beef jerky, citrus, bready yeast, pretty neat. Taste is toffee, sweet and malty in the front end, smokey jerky middle, bready, some fruits and citrus in the finish, finishes malty. Mouthfeel is medium to light bodied with low carbonation, smooth, easy to drink, alcohol is well hidden. Not usually a fan of smoked beers but this was done pretty well.

Sample glass at the Clybourn brewpub. Pours hazy gold with a miniscule head and no lacing. The color is nice, but the appearance is otherwise pretty unremarkable.

Smells like smoked meat-- bacon, sausages, beef jerky, take your pick. There is a clear background of lightly roasted malts, and maybe a little bit of continental hops, but I could be making that up.

Tastes like it smells, smoky all the way through, with some mid-palate malty sweetness and a drop of herbal hoppy bitterness on the finish. The smoked malts aren't nearly as overwhelming as they are in other rauchbiers I've had. The maibock aspect of it brings in some nice malts.

Mouthfeel is medium-thick, with no carbonation; the smoky saltiness makes mouthfeel harder than usual to notice.

As is usual for smoked beers, drinkability is low, but I can't really fault this beer specifically for that.

This is definitely much better than the other smoked beer I had, but I'm still not in love with the style or with the concept of smoked malts. I'll keep trying them, partially out of masochism, partially out the desire to freak out my BMC/fat tire/SNPA friends, and partially out of the the desire to be surprised.

Served in a stein at Goose Island-Clybourn 5/7/07. Thanks to HeatherAnn for the assist.

A: Hazy, honey-amber color. Tiny head that leaves no lace to speak of.

S: Nice smoky nose, with some aromas of spices and caramel apples.

T: Wonderfull smokey flavor dominates with spicy malt, zingy hops, sweet caramel, and tart fruit.

M: Very smooth and creamy.

D: Deliciously smokey and spicy. The smoke is not overdone in the least and compliments all of the other flavors and aromas without trampling any of them.