Schwarzer Rauch
Live Oak Brewing Company

RB transfer

Tasted on tap at the brewery taproom.

A beautiful, brown/red beer with brilliant clarity and thick, creamy, off-white head. Aromas blend roasted malt, noble hops and light smoke seamlessly. Flavors do as well, with schwarzbier roastiness and low, spicy hops at first, smooth smoke coming in later. Medium body and full carbonation give creaminess. Low hops bitterness and no real alcohol presence. This is a nice beer, restrained but interesting.

 

Enjoyed sitting at a picnic table at the brewery, on a very pleasant evening while listening to a blues band.

This beer is all about the smoke. It hits you in smelling it but also in the flavor. The smoke is balanced by some maltiness and appropriate levels of hops. My only gripe is that I think it needs a bit more malt to be better balanced.

But overall this is a tasty one. I recommend it.

 

3/28/23 On tap at Live Oak Brewing, Austin TX.

Clear, brown in appearance. Slight lacing work minimal head.

Malty, caramel smokey in aroma. Fresh roasted coffee. Brown sugar. Maybe a hint of molasses. Lots going on.

Flavors follow much of the aromas. Not thick and over bearing at all. Bitter finish.

Like walking into a smokehouse....a good thing!

 

 

Notes from 2/25/2020.
On tap at the Draft House in Austin and served in a pint glass.
The body is dark brown with a little white foam. 3.75
The aroma is light and of malt, a little hops, and some smoke. 4.00
The taste is medium in strength and is of malt, some hops, and some smoke which is balanced by the bitterness which is medium-low. The smokiness becomes stronger near the bottom of the glass. 4.00
The mouth feel is just below medium, creamy, and a little dry. 4.25
Overall, it's well balanced and refreshing. It smells smokier than it tastes. it's a nice beer. 4.00

 

 

 

 

 

another unique smoked beer from these guys, really well done overall but a little heavier than some of the others i had in here. this one is deep amber, mahogany colored with some darker malts obvious. its a lager which i think is pretty cool, but cant really appreciate until the very end when it starts to crisp up a little bit. the malt is sturdy, sweet, and has a strong mineral profile, along with some caramel and some roast, not too deep, but this is pretty dense as they go. the smoke element is mid spectrum, not too intense but certainly a leading agent along with the sweeter crystal and munich types in here. smoke courses all the way through it, notes of raisin and even cherry too, a hefe type yeast element rather than a lager one, but bready and drying up towards the finish. carbonation is a shade below where id like it to be, but overall this is really well refined. a unique recipe for sure, a cool integration of smoke into a classic style, live oak seems to do a lot of that. i had a blast in here!

 

On tap at Bangers in Austin, TX.

This one pours a fairly dark brown, with a small white foamy head, with a little bit of sticky lacing.

This smells like sweet and earthy campfire smoke, milk chocolate, pumpernickel, brown bread, and light spice.

This is really quite nice. The smoke level is moderate, and doesn’t contain that gross bandaid/plastic that poorly handled smoked beers can have. It’s got a nice chocolate, bready, and slightly roasty base, with a bit of spice that’s kinda reminiscent of either rye or pumpernickel bread. This is just perfectly reminiscent of a warm campfire.

This is medium bodied, pretty creamy, with a soft level of carbonation.

Live Oak is definitely constantly pumping out bangers.

From notes taken at the brewery.

Dark brown with deep red hues at the light. Leaves a streaky tan froth down the side of the glass after a slow fade. Has a smokey sweet aroma. Taste involves grain, slight notes of dark fruit as well as other notes of faint wood and smoke that become more prominent as the beer warms. Lighter in body that expected.

A damn good outing by a damn good brewery (who generally has the German styles down pat) but could use a bit more flavor. Then again I'm a bit biased toward the real thing.