Smoke Break
Holy City Brewing

 

 

 

 

Pours a cloudy, brown/gold color. 1/5 inch head of an off-white color. Slight retention and poor lacing. Smells of smoke, sweet malt, hint of pale malt, slight alcohol, and a hint of wheat. Fits the style of a smoked beer. Mouth feel is smooth and crisp, with a low carbonation level. Tastes of wheat, sweet malt, slight smoke, fresh pale malt, hint of hop, and slight yeast. Overall, smoke is subtle, weak appearance, average otherwise.

Poured from a growler into a shaker pint, the beer is a dark, hazy, caramel-brown coloring with yellow highlights around the edges, a ton of carbonation, and a tall, frothy, bubbly, off-white head. Nose of subtle toasted grains, a healthy dose of campfire smoke, subtle caramel sweet notes, and some more smoke. This smells great. Flavors are toast forward, with a rolling blast of smoke. Layered throughout, you feel like you are getting different elements of campfire with each sip; charcoal and embers with one sip, and a more subtle smoke in the next. This is a tasty damn beer! There are some subtle caramel notes in the backbone to team with the wheat characteristics to help balance the smoke. Smooth and light in mouth, the carbonation and the wheat characteristics balance very nicely. The aftertaste is smoke and a hint of booze. Smooth, slightly frothy/effervesced finish, with a bit of a grainy linger.

 

 

 

 

A: Had this beer on-tap, poured into a pint glass at Gene's Haufbrau. It had an orange-ish color and a slightly hazy consistency. There was a small amount of foamy head that quickly dissipated. Good lacing.

S: An interesting aroma of wheat, malt, and smokiness.

T: Tasted of wheat, a little bit of citrus, malt, and the aforementioned smokiness (this element isn't as overpowering as with other smoked beers). Kind of an odd flavor, but still pretty tasty.

M: A good amount of carbonation with a sharp finish. Medium-bodied.

O: Certainly not your typical beer, but worth a try. Drinkable.