Maple Rauch
von Trapp Brewing

Had on tap at OO. Brewery description fully realized. A wonderful understated Rauchbier with tons of caramel and maple emerges nicely as beer loses its chill. Gorgeous rich woody red with a perfect tan head. Malty body with otherwise soft but still crispy carbonation really takes me back to Germany.
Loved this brew on tap.

Smoked maple lager.

A: Light ice tea exit from the can, sits a much darker tea coloring in the vessel. Light mention of carbonation. Light tan capping, spongey is slight on the hold. Good visual per style.

S: Sweet smoked malt, slim jim, beef jerky and some spiciness of red peppers. Fading campfire wood, smoked kielbasa with a decent awareness. Background ambience of smoked/baked apple peels.

T: Smoked wood for flavor, spicy cola, barrel wood with some apple-tobacco. Smoked meat, dry smoke, mineral campfire ash and smoked fruit on the finish.

M: Light to medium weight, spicy with some dry smoke covering. Light carbonation.

O: Overall an above average awareness of smoked malt, bold and spicy with a dry smoky feel.

Darker amber color and clear. The minor head retains a film and rim bubbles. Tiny spots on the glass.

Lots of smoke to the smell, not much maple. There's a distinct odor of band-aide unfortunately.

The rauch is overwhelming. There's some maltiness providing a light sweetness. The finish dries out leaving a shorter aftertaste. In the end, this isn't blended well with way too much smoky.

Can. Smokey. No yeast or hops flavor. Mildly sweet. Not bad

 

A nice well crafted smoked lager. Von Trappe does everything well. Really well made, light on smoke, no noticeable maple. Crisp hoppy finish. Enjoyable beer.

On tap at Fattey Beer Company in Rochester, NY.

This one pours a clear reddish color, with a small head, and lots of lacing.

This smells like a wisp of campfire smoke, breadiness, herbal hops, and some light maple.

Neither the smoke nor the maple are overdone here. They are balanced well, sweetly smokey, with some rich breadiness and just a hint of herbal and spicy hop character.

This is lighter bodied and crisp, very clean, with a good drinkability.

This is a beer that was essentially custom made for me - I love everything about it.

BB: 07/24/23

L: The beer pours a beautiful pale (edging up to medium) amber color with excellent clarity. The pour produces two fingers of a light khaki head with excellent retention. As the beer goes down it leave a nice ringed and webbed lacing on the glass. This is a gorgeous beer.

S: Notes of smoked malt, toasted and bready malt character, light notes of maple syrup, and just the slightest hint of herbal character.

T: Maple syrup is at the forefront (but is not overly sweet), delicate notes of smoked malt complemented by rich notes of lightly toasted bready malt character, the backend end presents herbal notes mixing with a bit of earth, and a note of noble hop spice on the finish. This one has a nice medium-low hoppy bitterness that perfectly balances out the sweeter aspects of the maple syrup and malt bill. No residual grain alcohol is discernable on the palate.

F: Medium to medium-light body with ample carbonation. The mouthfeel is smooth and silky bordering on creamy with a nice light dryness on the finish.

O: For me the rauchbier aspects are rather subdued but that may be because I get most of the Schlenkerla brews fresh from B.United's distro footprint in CT. That being said, the amalgam of maple syrup and smoked malt works like a charm here. They complement each other perfectly and are balanced out by the noble hops which cut any residual sweetness leading to an eminently drinkable beer from the good folks at Von Trapp. Highly recommended!

 

 

Appearance: Arrives coffee colored with a two finger beige head; excellent retention and a web of lacing

Smell: Toasted brown bread with a smoked cheese aspect; hints of maple and caramel

Taste: The backbone of toasted brown bread and a hint of caramel supports the smoked cheese flavors that build, through the middle; the finish brings a nice blend of the maple with the smoke

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with moderate carbonation; somewhat creamy

Overall: Nice to see a domestic craft brewer take a stab at the style and be rather successful with it

 

Poured from the can into a beker nonic(k) glass.

Deep dark walnut brown and nearly black bodied, with a big rich light mocha to tan colored four finger tall head. Creamy top and ice cream like laced, with a mix of big and fine bubbles and lots of retention. Rings of lace and clumpy island creamed puck on top. Great looking rauch just like the classics.

Nearly classic aroma with a bit of a twist. Light hints of smoke and embers. Touches that classic bacon flavor, but also has more of a hint of milk chocolate like sweetness. Still very nice.

Palate really hits nicely. Mid palate hits more at first milk chocolate, then comes to a slight hint of smoke and wood. Classic clean finish but with a little bit of sticky taffy maple like flavor and sweetness. More milk chocolate notes and sweetness gets amplified while drinking.

Neat tasting rauch but leans more to the sweet than the smoke. Still makes for a great experience.

The few rauchbiers I have tried are too smoky. This one is not. The subtle smoke blends very well with the maple. This beer is delicious!

 

 

Best by 2022/04/10
Pours a brown foamy 2 finger head with good retention, sticky lacing, dark bit clear auburn ruby color

Nose nice smoke, smoked meat cheese like with hint of campfire, sweet maple and caramel candy, rich smoked meat, toasted bread crust

Taste rich smoke again, a lot like smoked lox flavor without the fish, little campfire, smoked cheese, a bit of malt candy and caramel, toasted bread crust and sweet toasted biscuity malt, little bitter spicy hop, mild sticky finish, lingering bitterness

Mouth is med to a bit fuller bod, rich like with med creamy carb, touch syrupy

Overall solid Rauch, just a bit of male thankfully, bringing a nice blend

From the tap into a clear pint glass it came. It's color is a dark mahogany brown, void of a head, nor obvious carbonation. No head, nor glass lacing for the eyes. Not so much of a smeller, neither. There's mainly a malty sweetness for the nose. The original mouth hit is also almost nothing but a mild sweetness for the tongue. But, as it drinks, the pleasant subtleties begin to show. First, there's more than enough carbonation for the taste and mouthfeel experience. Although mildly sweet up front, it never becomes negatively so. What is there is a remarkable balance of malt, hops, maple and smokiness. After the sweet maple and malt hit, you get the smokiness of a rauchbier and some concluding lager hoppiness. It all ends very nicely and makes this a worthwhile have.

 

Best by 4/12/22

So I’m assuming this one is the same base beer as their Trösten which I recently had. Whether it is or not, I am very intrigued by the idea of a maple Rauchbier, it sounds like a perfect combination. Let’s see how they execute it

Pours a very dark brown with 2 fingers of clingy tan head that slowly fades to a cap and leaves minimal lacing

The smoke is wonderfully strong in the nose, but the maple is a wonderful complement to it. I'm picking up on aromas of beechwood smoke, burnt oak, dark toast, toffee, sweet maple, and a touch of caramel

This takes a bit of a shift in taste, focusing less on the smoke and more on the sweeter aspect while still retaining its identity. On the front end of the sip I'm tasting brown bread, oak smoke, caramel, herbal hops, authentic maple, and toast. The swallow brings notes of oak smoke, sweet caramel, authentic maple, dark toast, raisin, herbal hops, and charred malt

A medium body pairs with gentle prickly carbonation, resulting in a dry and roasty beer. Finishes mostly dry and wonderfully balanced

Who the fuck actually likes Rauchbiers this much? Me, I do. This is top notch, better than some of the Schlenkerla Rauchbiers I've had, the balance is awesome. I need more