Grodziskie
Sketchbook Brewing Company

This was my first time trying a Grodziskie and I loved it. I'm a big fan of smoked beer and wheat beer, and I thought this was delicious. Not too smokey, so still very light and refreshing. Wheat taste is mild as well. A great treat!

10/11/25 - (Home) (Chicago, Illinois) Can Notes: Purchased a single 16 oz can at Beer on the Wall at store temperature on 9/12/25 for $3.41 including tax. No can date, distributed the week ended 9/12/25. 4.1% ABV Piwo Grodziskie Smoked Polish Style Wheat Ale. Brewed by Sketchbook Brewing Company - Evanston, Illinois - Skokie, Illinois.

Fire Up The Grill! When Cesar's historical Smoked Polish Style Wheat won the Sam Adam's Longshot contest it quickly captured the hearts of beer fans around the country. Perfect Pairings: Grilled Vegetables, Gouda, Pork, Kielbasa, Anything BBQ. 2023 Bronze Medal winner in the Historical Beer category at the Great American Beer Festival.

Appearance: Poured half the can into a tall pilsner narrow flute glass, yielding a generous egg white bubbly head leaving clumpy soapy lacing spots and a creamy cover over the clear straw golden yellow base. Sustained medium plus carbonation throughout. 4.5

Aroma: Nice smokey aroma, campfire wood, smoked polish sausage, maple candied bacon. Very nice and bold in strength. 4.25

Taste: Consistent with the aroma, pegging the maple syrup bacon first and foremost, campfire wood and salty cracker providing a nice supporting boost. 4.25

Mouthfeel: Consistent with the lower ABV. Body light and watery, minimally dry. Light gentle to slightly prickly carbonation throughout. The initial maple syrup bacon turns into a more balanced presentation of smoked bacon, wood and cracker as the bulk of this experience through the finish. 4.5

Overall: Really enjoying this one, in part because I love the style, but also Sketchbook's execution of this beer. Recommend to those who love the blended flavors noted in the mouthfeel section. Will buy more with confidence down the road, at least after fresh drops or on draft if they don't start dating their cans. Well done. 4.25

Nice beer- very light mouthfeel with good carbonation and a little tart and Smokey. Just what I expect for the style. Drank from the can on the train, so appearance is based off pictures. Only one minor quibble- I’d like more smoke. Maybe it would open up in the glass. Definitely would get again.

 

2024-07-21
16oz can served in a curvy Monhegan pint glass. BB 10.23.24. Bought it at Orange & Brew in Downers Grove a couple nights ago.

Pours clear pale yellow with about a finger of head that settles quickly into a thick skin. Smell is light, I get nothing but smoke and nuts.

Flavor is similar -- mild, light, mostly smoke and smoked nuts, but now a bit of a grainy sweetness and a little bit of lemony freshness.

Mouthfeel is very light, very effervescent. Overall, light, refreshing, smoky, interesting.

 

 

 

 

I had a home brewed version of a Grodziskie a few years ago that was REALLY heavy on the smoke. The base wheat ale notes are present with this beer, with some coriander and lemon notes, and the smoke overlays those flavors. A really balanced smoke beer that I’d drink again.

Now I need a couple of grilled kielbasa to complete my night.

A very odd beer, IMHO. Can't say that I enjoyed it. Here goes:

A: Very cloudy yellow - can't see the other side of the glass. Pours a decent, soapy head and leaves good lacing. Body carbonation is plentiful. Alright.

S: Probably the weirdest beer I've ever smelled. Smells like smoked meat and wood chips mixed with lemon and some cereal grains. Very odd, and not in a good way.

T: Follows the nose. Hay and lemon give way to burnt, smokey flavors of wood chips and grilled barbecued meat. There's also a noticeable aftertaste of smoked meat and wood. Never thought I'd say such words about a beer - quite odd.

F: Best thing about the beer. Well carbonated and refreshing.

O: It tastes like a wheat beer that was fermented with charred wood. Probably wouldn't have again, if I'm being honest.

 

talk about a style that needs a little more loving from our craft brewers community! this has to be the most neglected style out there, thanks for making this guys! paler than other ones i have had, nice and frothy though, with a huge bonfire smoke aroma and a cool wintery dryness to it. seems to be pale wheat in the grain base, smoked malt too, but real smokey. pleasant though being this light, and i find some bark element too, birch maybe, and a bakery aspect, cooked not doughy, but not like the hotdog bun thing i get form some of the imports, its far cleaner, drier, but still lingering with that smoke. heavy smoke without being harsh or acrid, impressive there, and this low abv is real interesting. nice to have something like this on the intersection of summer and fall, i think thats where its odd features find unity. i had never heard of these guys before this one, and its a heck of a first impression. not that the beer is the best ive ever had, but to tackle this style, its ambitious and fearless and i like it a lot. i could drink a few pints no problem.

Tasted at Firkin on August 25, 2015. Listed as 25 IBUs. Look is semi-cloudy gold, thin head with nice lacing. Smell is almost all campfire smoke with hints of herbs and spices. Taste is almost entirely liquid smoke with some earth and spice notes. Feel is light in body.