Smoked Beers

I remember that beer from the social media release, but unfortunately I never had the opportunity to try it. If they brew it again I'll have another chance at it. Come to think of it, I don't know if it was bottled/distributed. Maybe that's why I never had it.
It's listed as an Altbier: https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/9629/101070/

 

It was definitely tap room only and if I recall it was an alt with smoked hops and I believe some portion of smoked malt. I remember being pleasantly surprised at its delicate smokiness (not at all heavy or aggressive) and thinking that it would be the perfect beer too drink with BBQ

 

Vinepair - Craft Brewers Are Reinventing Ancient Rauchbiers With Modern, Smoky Styles


"Brewers are using smoked malts to challenge consumers’ preconceptions, honor ancient brewing history, and elevate and evolve their craft"

 

I like that cap.

 

I am not a tequila drinker, but Mezcal is sooooooooooooo good! I can definitely see where the smoky flavors would help it all come about!

 

Northbound Smokehouse & Brewpub in Minneapolis does a Smokehouse Porter that is delicious. They smoke a lot of their meats and also the grain for this porter.

 

You end up making your way out to Fox Farm?

 

If it plays out like last year, then their Märzen Lager (Tines) is on the horizon

 

Is that really so crucial for smoked beers?

 

In my (limited) experience, it depends what you like about smoked beers. The sharper smoke flavors tend to fade with time

 

If a smoked beer morphs from sharp to smooth, I'd be the last person to complain. Shrugs.

 

There are folks who claim that the 'qualities' of the smoke flavors will 'degrade' with age. I have heard it stated that the smoke flavors will become more 'meaty' with age as one point of example. I personally have not 'tracked' a given brand with age (e.g., purchased a 6-pack or case and consumed those same batch of smoked beer over time) so I can personally not provide my opinion here.

Would you be willing to buy a 6-pack (or case) of a brand of smoked beer and conduct this experiment?

Cheers!

 

I have seen it with the schlenkerla cans that came in a year ago or so. When they first showed up the sharp/bright aspect of the smoke was super prominent. The last can I had was a few weeks ago and it was much mellower, to me only the subtle woody flavors were present from the smoke, none of the "bite".
How that change plays out is off course up to the individual. To me those cans have passed their prime as I like some of that bite. But at 1 month they were a little sharper than I prefer. It was the 4-6 month window that was the sweet spot for me on those beers

 

Really?

In my experience (bear in mind, I'm no expert on smoked beers) what @JackHorzempa says is true. My brother recently purchased a bottle of Schlenkerla Urbock. I told him I probably wouldn't have bought that since Schlenkerla bottles tend to be old.

We had it, and it indeed tasted terrible. It was overpowered with flavors of meat. We had to drain pour it, and I very rarely do this with a beer.

@stevepat I believe the cans are a different animal. Due to the condition in which they're shipped here and then canned. @herrburgess has discussed this before in this thread, see below...

 

I recommend cooking with unenjoyable beer, at least when it's not particularly hoppy (the concentrated bitterness can be a bit much). ASRU seems like an ideal candidate for a cooking beer.

 

I have had pretty good luck finding fairly fresh Schlenkerla (relatively speaking). At least, not sitting on the shelf for months and coming from the distributor recently. I have a good euro import shop that has a nice variety of imports that doesn’t stock a ton of any particular beer, so turnover appears to be quite good. They only carry Marzen, but those bottles I’ve gotten from them have been the best I’ve had here. They are also about 50 cent cheaper than any other store, so it’s a win-win!

The only other way to ensure you get fresher bottles are the seasonal drops when they show up.

But the Schlenkerla bottles do hold up well, all things considered. Wouldn’t mind a bottle date code, though…

 

How about a smoked scotch ale?

 

As a lover of Rauchbier and British strong ale, I'll always enjoy trying one, but the entire concept of "Scotch ale + Scotch whisky" strikes me as getting too close to pastiche (something that is rampant in craft beer) and I think we'd be better off with less of that in relation to other's cultures.