Rauchbier
Daredevil Brewing Co

 

Hooray for @jkblr who sent me this CAN & others to not only further The CANQuest (tm), but to give me something to do on New Beer Sunday (Week 715)!

From the CAN: "Authentic*Traditional*Lager"; "An elegant, malty German-style amber lager with a balanced, complementary smoke character. Prost!"; "Brewing eclectic, aggressively fun beers is not for the timid. Fortunately, the only thing we like better than a challenge is drinking the end result."; "2017 Indiana Brewers Cup Grand Champion Brewery Indiana Brewery of the Year Best in Show".

This was the one that initially caught my attention & caused me to reach out for a possible trade! If there is a style that I like as much as AIPAs, it would be the elusive German Rauchbier. I was pleasantly surprised on the Crack! when I got a spritz across my knuckles, followed by some light foaming through the vent. I gave it a few minutes of calming time, during which it revealed itself to be a brimful craft CAN with nowhere for the tongue to go when pressed inwards by the tab. Cool! I proceeded with a slow, gentle Glug since the potential for dribbles, spills & other unwanted events is greater in these instances. Once it was sufficiently decanted, an in-glass swirl raised just under two fingers of fizzy, foamy, eggshell-white head with limited retention, quickly falling to wisps with no traces of lacing. 8=( Color was a gorgeous Golden-Amber (SRM = > 5, < 7) with NE-quality clarity, but The Gelt Gang of Mammon, Midas & Croesus only marginally agreed, saying it was more towards Amber, plus they were not enamored of its smokiness. Bugger off, lads! Nose was quite smoky & it brought a smile to my face. Craft brewers are skittish around smoked malt and tend to be reserved in its use, while I like a good bit of smoke. Mmm. Mouthfeel was medium, big for a Lager. The taste had a pleasant sweetness to its smokiness, more like a ham than bacon. Mmm. This was definitely smoky and although there was room for increased smokiness, it may not increase the beer's sales, which I CAN understand. I have to admit to being a little CANcerned when their first two Lagers of the day were sub-par, but this one definitely redeems them! I could really go for some more of this one, plus I'd be curious to delve into their Ales at some point. Dang, but this was tasty! Warming, it got more assertive in its smokiness. The beer does not have many reviews/ratings on here, which is too bad. It could be a nice entrée to the style for those who are curious, but trepidatious. Finish was semi-dry to dry with a lingering smokiness well after the finish. Bravo to DDBC!

This had a nice and balanced smokiness that made you think you would be sitting by a bonfire. I wanted more flavor from it but like I said the balance was nice too.

16oz canned 2/12/18 (6 months ago) purchased cold at the brewery poured into a tulip pint glass at fridge temp, no ABV listed on label. The beer pours bright light rusty amber with a quickly fading off white head. The head recedes to a pencil thin ring and a few bubbles. The aroma is moderate campfire smoke and maybe a hint of ham. The taste is similar with medium smoke and a bit of malt. It is neither sweet or bitter and the finish is quite dry. Mouthfeel is medium to thin bodied, sharply carbonated and very clean. No off flavors or aftertaste. Overall, excellent. The can states "Bamberg style lager" and it's as close as any American rauchbier I've had. I would say it's halfway between Schlenkerla Helles and Marzen in almost every way. If you're in Indy in the spring and enjoy the style, pick some up.