Redfish
Sockeye Grill & Brewery

a recent gold medal winner in the smoke beer category at gabf this year, and well earned. so cool to drink one is such close temporal proximity to their award. its a bock as a base, a strong one at that, murky red in color from the tap and with a ton of head, very german foamy looking on tap in a dimpled mug, autumnal and bold. nothing subtle about the smoke in nose or taste here, this is robust, with a campfire wood smoke element to it and a little earthy bitterness as well, those who prefer only a little smoke in these styles will be easily overwhelmed here. fortunately, i personally dig it, and there is enough sweet red malts and european grain breadiness in here for this to seem whole and balanced, some almost umami character in here too, not soy-like, but not way different either. a deep woodiness is here in the end with the lager yeast that i like from the smoke, like a freshly lit fire rather than one just burning charcoal, its woodsy and its the essence of autumn, still distinctly german and obviously a bock, but the smoke defines this one. a cherrywood character, a little fruitiness to the wood maybe, but also a peat thing as it warms, an almost iodine or bandaid thing too. really flavorful beer, couldnt make a night of it, but one was a treat, and this probably deserves a gold medal. i love all the carbonation too. this seems like a dying style to me, i might have had less smoked beer this year than ever before, a tragedy! thankful for this drinking experience.