Smoked Applewood Roggenbier
Waterloo Brewing

 

 

 

 

355ml can poured into a pint glass. A clear brown with a one finger fine tan head which soon diminishes to a thin layer. Minimal lacing

Sweet malt smells. Cherry? After a bit some spicy smoke flavours. The smoke dominates more towards the end.

The smoke flavour is apparent at first draught. A nice long spicy smoke finish.

Medium body and carbonation.

A good smoked beer. The smoke kind of overwhelms the rye malt, so this might be more properly categorized as a smoked beer. By far the best offering from this brewery. I hope is a sign of good things to come.

 

473 ml can served cold into a pint glass. Purchased for $2.75 CDN from the LCBO. Smoked applewood roggenbier? Waterloo brewing company? Say what?

Appearance - pours a shade of dark mahogany, clear with plenty of carbonation and maybe the odd bit of sediment. Nice two fingers of ivory head are also poured with good retention and even a nice ring of lace left behind. A fine looking beer.

Smell - big time smoke, like almost but not quite Schlerlenka grade of smoke. Traces of rye and other grains, maybe a faint whiff of caramel but smoke is the dominant factor here.

Taste - smoke, smoke and more smoke. Definitely the applewood shows up here in the way the smoke is present I can almost imagine a huge piece of pork sitting in a smoker with this beer for hours. Smoke gets to be a little overblown and artificial tasting but still quite good.

Mouthfeel - smooth and a little creamy, carbonation is about right and body is light. I've not often enjoyed Waterloo beers, and while the smoke may be a little overdone if anything in this roggenbier, it's quite tasty and enjoyable.

Overall - definitely if you're looking for something on the smokey side, this is your beer. Looking forward to a few more of these and the best I've ever had from this brewery.

 

 

Picked this up at the Beer store in Barrie.

Look: Drank it from the can I admit so didn't take a good look.

Smell: It is immediately smokey in smell however not overpowering.

Taste: I was surprised upon my first sip with the unique flavor, a mix of smokey, can almost taste BBQ meat.

Feel: Not a particularly heavy beer and not excessively foamy. A good middle ground.

Overall: I gave it a 4. Not a beer I'd want to drink multiples of but has an excellent range of flavor. I would highly recommend buying one or two for sipping purposes while watching a hockey game. I will buy more of them in the future.

I live in Waterloo and usually get whatever Brick Brewing makes. This was definitely an interesting beer, probably the most unique that I've tried. I'm not familiar with Roggenbiers, so this was a nice change.

Look: Pours an amber colour with a nice head.

Smell: Very smokey. It almost smells bacon-ish.

Taste: Initially there's a strong smokey taste that ends with a bready, floral finish. I described it to my friends as almost tasting steak-like, but I assure you that it's not offputting.

Mouthfeel: Just the right amount of thickness; not so thick that it feels like I'm having liquid food, but not so thin that it makes the bold flavours fall short.

Overall: 3.75. Definitely not for everyone, and I don't think I could slam back a lot of these because of how flavourful and rich it is. However, it is incredibly tasty, and I will certainly pick up more on my next beer run. Huge props to Brick Brewing for this, it's definitely the most unique beer I've had to date.

 

 

473 mL can from TBS; packaged Aug 20 2015 and served slightly chilled. Seems safe to say that this is the most creative beer concept that has been released under any Brick label, possibly ever.

Pours a clear copper-amber colour; highly effervescent, and crowned with roughly one inch of creamy, light tan-coloured head. It fades away slowly over a period exceeding 5 minutes in length, imprinting a lovely ring of lacing as it does so. A creamy cap survives, remaining in place for much of the glass; this is a fine-looking dark ale. The aroma features some robust, smoky, campfire-and-bacon overtones, with accompanying hints of toffee, pumpernickel bread and orchard fruit. It's an eyebrow-raiser, for sure.

Interesting flavours, but probably an acquired taste. In comparison to the nose, the smokiness is toned down considerably - though notes of smoked applewood and bacon still permeate the profile. Instead, I am getting a lot of fruity esters - primarily overripe apple and pear - along with notes of bready rye malt and toffee sweetness. There's a flash of spiciness at the finish, with some lingering woodsmoke, caramel and sour rye in the aftertaste. Medium-bodied, with moderate carbonation levels and an exceedingly smooth, almost silky feel on the palate. This is not an amazing beer, but I still feel that I need to give Waterloo some serious props for releasing something so... well, unique.

[Updated Aug 9 2016]

Another can, dated from last November. With at least 25 Brick beer reviews under my belt, I am no stranger to Waterloo products - and so I feel pretty confident arguing that their Smoked Applewood Roggenbier is one of their best beers to date. Given that it is a smoked beer, it is an acquired taste by default - but this is still a brew that I think all beer geeks would benefit from trying at least once. I've bought at least half a flat of this over the last 10 months, and I hope they bring it back next fall/winter. Bumping the grade to reflect my opinion more accurately.

Final Grade: 3.77, a B+.