Rauch Dunkel
Heater Allen Brewing

11/29/15
Much lighter than I expected: closer to chestnut than char. Minimal head but with decent lacing.

Nose is surprisingly sweet and nutty. Hazelnuts and caramel and fresh dark bread. Not as much smoke as I had anticipated.

Taste brings more of the smoke, but not overbearingly so. Nuanced I'd say. Smoke breathes through the front door, opening to reveal more of that soft nutty cream and sweetness that presented on the nose. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's certainly something I recognize and of which I am enjoying the influence. Maybe almost thinking about giving cocoa hints? But not really.

Carbonation supports without distracting, and the finish is that warm sweet embrace with a finish that slowly seeps into dry and bitter as h. I dig it.

Bottle sitting in my fridge since... April or so?

 

 

Twenty -two ounce bottle shared by Andrew - thanks. Reviewed from notes.

A: Pours a clear light brown with reddish highlights under a very thin (1/16-inch) white head which fades to the rim and leaves some spots of lace.

N: Mostly smokey with some nutty and grainy notes.

T: Follows nose with some caramel and roasted grains.

M: Fairly light body and light carbonation. Finishes with a mild, but lingering, smoked feel.

O: A change up beer between other styles. Decent.

Pour is dark caramel with notes of ruby red edges. There is a smaller amount of tan head, fairly tight with a thick lace behind. Nose is gently smoked with notes of caramel, light grain, and a hint of honey malt. Taste is a bit stronger on the smoke, a bit of smoked meat, honey malt, and notes of caramel. Shades of vanilla, assertive carbonation, medium bodied.

 

 

Pours a hazy honey brown with a khaki colored head that falls quickly but not entirely. Leaves some wet sheets of lace to slide down the glass as you drink a few spots too. Has a beautiful orangey/reddish hue when held to the light. Nose is rich and malty. bread crusts. Slightly sweet, toasty and a bit of smoke. really not that much smoke. A slight whiff of noble hops and a bit of caramel round out the nose.

Flavor is delicate. Mouthfeel is very thin. Crusty bread, a caramel that is deep but not heavy or excessive. The smoke adds only a fiany hint of meat or even smoke and a just a bit of earthy char to the drink. A slight hop bitter finishes this one dry with the dry malt and a faint caramel sweetness. Clean, light and a bit of earth at the very end. Moderate carbonation.

Of the three beers I was able to try from this brewery I liked this one the least. Th e mouthfeel was so very thin. I felt like the smoke character was trying very hard to be "not disagreeable" or even smoky.

Pours a medium brown, a nice rich shade like a polished reddish mahogany. The liquid seems hazy, though it's somewhat hard to tell in a mug. Relatively small head, light khaki in color. Fades away pretty quickly. I'm guessing that smoked malt has this effect. The aroma has a full, round malt character on a background of meaty smoke. Good caramel. Quite nutty. The smoked malt adds a hammy flavor with a touch of char, and while the flavor won't be missed, it mostly stays in a supporting role. Typically, smoked malt either dominates a beer or gets lost completely, so it's nice to find a beer where the smoke is somewhere in between these extremes. The taste follows the aroma. Lots of nutty, toasty malt with a healthy dose of dried out caramel and the added complexity of a layer of smoke. It's tasty stuff. The base Dunkel seems very well made, and the smoked malt throws a chunk of meaty goodness into the mix. Drier than expected. It's not a terribly dry beer, but it also never really sweetens up. There's a lot of nutty, bready malt character but without the normal accompanying sweetness. Mouthfeel is light and creamy. The beer fills the mouth with flavor rather than sweetness. Drinks bigger than the abv. Finishes with clean, albeit malty and smoky, flavors. Heater Allen is three for three for me, so far.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

God, pigeonholing this beer is difficult. It's clearly not a rauchbier, and classifying it a smoked beer isn't wholly accurate either. Ultimately, the fact that this beer marvelously adds a smoky character to an excellent dunkel leads me to add this as one.

I picked up a growler from Belmont Station yesterday. Tonight, in my Sam Smith imperial pint, this sits a gorgeous deep mahogany red with a dense, light brown head that falls off to a thick cap leaving some lacing. The nose is excellent. A delicate smoky character (prominent but nuanced) is present on the initial whiff. Not unlike their Smoky Bob, this does smell a little bit like a smoldering pile of moist, green leaves. Swirling the beer in my glass does bring the dunkel notes to the front with roast, a little bit of cocoa, an excellent Munich malt character, rich and bready with some caramel present. The hop character is mildly earthy/minty, which does pair well with the smoke character. Excellent.

Wow. Talk about fantastic. Creamy, bready, toasty and mildly smoky, all in fantastic balance, there's a blend of cocoa, toasted whole wheat bread, a soft fruitiness and the smoke. Now the smoke character is a lot milder than the nose would have you believe, but therein lies the brilliance of this beer. Pairing beautifully with the sweetness, it lends a mild earthy, smoky bitterness. Mildly fruity on the finish, with a lingering bitterness, some whole wheat bread and delicate sweetness, this is exceptional on the palate. Now, I've come to love how HA beers feel in my mouth (and in my gullet as well), but the soft, creamy carbonation paired with the flavors makes this simply sublime. Medium in body while still being light, this is genuinely outstanding. This comes with the highest of recommendations