Rauchbier

I love good rauchbier! That being said, most of the ones I've tried that were US-made were just not good. Granted, I live in a beer desert - it's a five to six hour drive for me to pick up a couple of cases of Schlenkerla Marzen so many of the US examples in the above replies haven't crossed my palate as yet. The ones from my home brewing operations leave something to be desired.

I don't pair them with food - just pound them down.

 

As others said, S&D isn't really classified as a rauchbier - it's a smoky brown ale (lager) or schwarzbeir. S&D doesn't have the level of smoke that a classic rauch does. It's more like a subtle hint with the rest of the bill. I asked them one time, and they said that the smoke was between 5 and 7 % of the grain bill. A classic rauch is often 100% smoked malt, but always well over 50%.

 

Just try the Schlenkerla series. If you really like the style, these are the best and will blow you away.

 

I haven't had that but I thought Fire In The Ham was very good.

 

The Jack's Abby beers are definitely tasty, but in the case of the 500ml bottles I don't think they are worth the price. For the same exact amount you can get a Schlenkerla, which JA can't touch in comparison.

 

Had Jacks Abbey Fire in the Ham a few weeks ago. Light on smoke, heavy on the porkyness. Very nice.

 

It's a style that (IMO at least) is best served as absolutely fresh as possible or the smoke character tends to concentrate. I used to think it was a hit and miss style, but it ended up just being older bottles. When served fresh on tap or in a very recent bottle it can be divine. On the other hand, on the other side of the spectrum, really old bottles (3+ years) things mellow a little and a bunch of new flavors develop. It's the middle ground where 1 = enough for me.
In terms of German examples, I highly recommend the normal rauchbier lager from Spezial if you can find it. The smoke is far less assertive than Shlenkerla. While different, Smoke & Dagger is a damn fine beer, too.
A good intro to rauchbier is the Shlenkerla helles. It isn't a true rauchbier, but it has a fair amount of residual smoke character from their process.

 

Schlenkerla? You can't touch this. Agree 100%

 

I thought Z Lager from Fort Collins was pretty good and the level of smoke of Kidd Lager, a Schwarzbier, made it so approachable and delicious. I preferred it over the Z.

 

Yeah, they used to have 3-4 beers that were either rauchbiers or used rauchmalt. Their old smoked doppelbock was almost too much to handle. Now it feels like they're going through an identity crisis. They aren't sure if they want to be a German-style brewery, an early 2000's flagship-style brewery, or something else. Their beers are still typically quite tasty, but thematically the brewery is disjointed. That might be one reason they're far more popular outside of CO than they are here.

 

When not overdone it is a beauty of a brew, when overdone it is an ashtray of bacon and burnt.

 

The one style I truly dislike so bad I don't ever see myself coming around to it. Smoked meat + Beer = good. Meatbeer somehow doesn't follow the equation for me though.

 

It's a sessioner for me !!

 

Damn, well then I guess I gotta try this Schlenkerla. To be honest I have seen it a bunch of times in stores but always pass it up because quite frankly, I have a hard time reading the font on the bottle...
Glad you guys dropped some knowledge on me

 

Absolutely love rauchbier especially in the fall. The Schlenkerla stuff is all stellar

 

Never had one but it's on my tick list.

 

Yaaaas!! Finally the type of hype that is weel deserved..and this style lends to authentixity and tradition. With the cold season approching, this stylw will be in my line-up: my favorite German style beer. A fine aged Gouda, lamb stew, or rich slow roast meats should go well here.

 

I've had the pleasure to visit Bamberg, the home of rauchbiers, and visited several breweries that were centuries old (didn't have the courage to order scwhweinhaxe though). I'll always remember that day, and the Schlenkerla rauchbier is at the BevMo in town for when I get the hankerin'.