Smoke Creek Rauchbock
Great Basin Brewing Co.

Ordered one of these during the Best in the West Rib Cook-Off this past weekend. Following review written from notes.

Served in a 20oz. clear plastic cup. (Typically glass, but they serve everything in plastic on the weekend of the Cook-Off.)

Appearance: A fizzy white crescent was all I got for head. Very clean; no lacing. Body was clear, flat, and bright cherry wood in color.

Smell: Smoked malt, sweet woody aromas, and red currants. Very smooth and pleasantly sweet.

Taste: Rich, sweet wood and barbecue smoke throughout. Ash and alcohol were also apparent, but to a lesser extent. Very smooth and enjoyable.

Mouthfeel: Very clean, both during the sip and in the finish. Carbonation seemed too low to me, and I found that to be the case with several other Great Basin beers. Still, it works. Light sweet smoke hung around for a while after each sip. Body was light-to-medium. A very easy-going beer.

Drinkability: While I'm not to familiar with this style, it seemed to be nicely done. This went great with the ribs I had been eating, and it was light enough to allow me to sample a couple other beers at Great Basin. Recommended.

The beer has a nice, frothy, tan colored head that sits on top of a brilliantly clear, amber-hued, brown colored beer. The aroma is very smoky, with an intense Beech-wood derived smoke character that is just beefy and thick. Not much else is noticeable underneath the smoke aromatics, though there is some structured, caramelized malt character here in the background.

This has a nice mix of sweet, chewy, caramelized malt flavors and savory smoke. This has quite a bit of caramel character in it as well as a nice grain-like note in the finish that gets a bit toasty. This beer is quite rich bodied and viscous, the beer coats the palate quite well. The savory smoke flavors keep both the body and the sweetness well in check though as the beer is neither too heavy or too sweet. This is pretty tasty, but it is not quite as complex as I might wish for; I could wish for more of the complex, malty Bock flavors to be noticeable, but I think the smoke would have to be dialed back a bit for that to happen and I am certainly enjoying the smokiness of this brew.

Pours a clear brown color with a decent white head.

Aromas are quite smokey, but not overwhelming. Subtle roasted malt and smokey salmon like notes.

Taste follows the aromas. Nice smokey malt flavors, that aren't too strong. Some sweet creamy malt flavors, and a crisp snappy finish.

Mouthfeel is good. Nice carbonation and an overall smooth character.

Drinkability is good. A nice tasty easy drinking Rauchbier. Reminds me of a mellow little brother to Alaskan Smoked Porter. Nice beer.

Appearance – This was clearer than the glass itself with a nice white head to cover the dimly-browned body.

Smell – The smoke aroma was like you get from burning tobacco rather than from something like roasting a pork, the latter being the more traditional of the two. Still, it was nice.

Taste – The smoke at the taste was just like it smelled. There was also a light candy sweetness to the grain though that I didn’t care for.

Mouthfeel – The smokiness travels up into your nostrils from your throat when you hold this in your mouth. You’re almost ready to start blowing smoke rings. The bier itself is a bit bigger than light-bodied but far from medium.

Drinkability – This was a bit on the thin side for my tastes and I would have liked to have experienced a meatier smoke, but overall this wasn’t a bad job on a surprisingly difficult style to produce.

Dark brown with a ruby tint and a good head that leaves a bunch of lacing.

Smell is mostly malt with a slight smoke aroma. Light hops on the end.

Taste is very well balanced. Smoke flavor balances well with the rich malt and makes for a very tasty brew. Light hops carry the flavor and help it finish clean.

Goes down very smooth, paired nicely with the Sausage platter, complementing almost perfectly.