What beer are you drinking now? #3718

Montclair Brewery -- Fumé
Rauchbier style smoked beer
ABV: 5.0%; pouring temperature: 46 °F; canning info: 2021
Source: Tavour



3.4/5 rDev -11.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Revisited December 25th, 2022

Pouring temperature: 46 °F; canning info: 2021

Nice medium born body. very clear; lively carbonation; thick, frothy, off-white head. The smell is mild malt with no suggestion of smokiness. The taste, likewise, is light malt with, perhaps, the slightest hint of smokiness on the back-end; a bit of spicy / herbal notes / phenol notes at the finish, too. Medium-light body; a bit thin and watery.

Another edition of this beer didn't really change my mind much. A notch down on the appearance, a notch up on the flavor, yet a pretty mediocre peat smoked beer. The can notes brown sugar, too, but even that is so subdued as to be immaterial.

The beer showed evidence of mild over-carbonation. It didn't gusher when opened, but the foam certainly cascaded out of the can and the pour took a lot of time to complete. Based on the can date of '2021', I'm guessing Tavour was just off-loading leftover beers. Additional age certainly didn't change much for this product.



----------------------------------------------------------------

Original January 16th, 2022 scores and ratings:

4.25 3.5 3.25 3.25 3.25; overall score: 3.37; rDev: -12%

Clear, fairly dark brown body; very active carbonation; thick, spongy head, light khaki colored head. Sweet smell; very faint smoke component. The taste is sweet and cola-like; no real smokiness; somewhat bitter, light phenol presence. Soft mouthfeel; rather weak and watery; light sponginess.

For a rauchbier, this one falls short. Things start off with a mildly over-carbonated appearance as the head verges on overflow when the can is popped though it makes for a great looking had in the glass. The taste and mouthfeel are the weak points. They lack definition and presence for the intended style. There's a decent enough dark malt element yet the smokiness one would hope for is really missing in action. Now, if this were marketed as an American brown ale...

Pouring temperature: 55 °F; canning data: unknown

 

I’ve eaten nothing but bacon & chocolate
I better have some fruit!

 

Merry Christmas, advocates. I think I'll have a Wild Child from McIlhenney while I watch the conclusion to this Packers game. Cheers!