Browns Bavarian Rauchbier

Brewed by Troy Pub & Brewery (Browns Brewing)
Style: Smoked
Troy, New York USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, Lager glass, Stein

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On Tap at the brewery. I had to try this one when they had it for a short period of time, and it definitely the best beer I have had from their brewery. Very nice color and smell when I first received it. Lots of smokey scents, but at the same time slightly sweet. Flavor is very rich and just as smokey as it smells. Very refreshing taste, yet rich in flavor and well bodied.

A - Nice deep and dark amber/red color. Had very little head when it arrived and had a very short retention time. S - Very inviting smokey aroma. Left lingering smokey/salty/peppery elements lingering. T - Presented early with a heavy amount of smokiness. The smokiness remained throughout the entirety of the taste and was joined by the malt taste in the middle. Left a very nice smokey taste afterwards.Tasted similar to cured meats. M - Much smoother and lighter than I would have expected based on the smokey taste/aroma. D - The strong aroma and early smokiness are a bit intimidating, but after the beer hits the tongue, it is much smoother then expected and wound up being very pleasant. Serving type: on-tap

Clear reddish orange color. Thin layer of white head. Glassy with tiny carbonation bubbles. Head fades quickly. The smell is a very smoky BBQ aroma. Wonderful smoked meats waft above the glass. Some roasted malts a distance second. The initial smoky, roasted, fireplace flavor of a rauchbier, but a bit of pale malt underneath. Does have a nice smoky aftertaste. A bit watery feel, and fades away quickly. Not bad out of the bottle, but much better on tap. More thin and watery than I would have liked.

Tap at Barcade: Brownish with an amber hue and a strong off white film. Nice smokiness in the aroma- richly malty with a campfire/beechwood smoke character and a light peat note. Creamy on the palate. Clean flavor with an assertive smokiness! Yes! Awesome! Finally, an American brewery that isn’t afraid to up that smoked malt bill! Beechwood, campfire, brine-y. It is not hammy or vague like most American examples of smoked beers. One of the first smoked beers that is comparable to the amount of clean, firm & rich smokiness of the Schrenkerla offerings. Awesome!

Tap at Barcade. Deep amber beer. Aroma is fantastic. Intensely smokey and salty. Lots of big beechwood smoke over a minerally, toasty malt base. Clean and crackery with a long lingering toasty, smoky finish. Intense, rich and delicious. There is a lot of smoke retronasally. There is a light minerally/earthy bitterness on the back. This is the best American brewed rauchbier I’ve ever had... world class.

Tap at Barcade. Fantastic beer, one of — if not the closest — to an Aecht beer I’ve yet had. Big, thick, fresh smoke aromas, with none of that hamminess that you normally get from American smoked beers, paler smoked beers, or sometimes peat. The palate is a little thin, but it is of little concern for such a wonderfully smoky and sessionable beer. A+

UPDATED: MAR 31, 2009 Draft at Barcade. Pours an amber hazy orange body with no head. Huge smoky notes, campfire, peat, liquid smoke, toasted wood and bacon. A hint of honey amongst the smoke. I love it.

Tap at Barcade. Pours a mostly clear, amber-brown with a thin dissipating head. Aroma is very smokey- intense campfire, slight bubblegum mintiness- birch and alder-wood-like with a touch of sweetness. Flavor is almost too intense with smoke- gets a touch medicinal and slight band aid but mostly just a nice harsh alder-wood smokeyness with hints of mint, gum , sharp crystal sweetness, and a fairly smooth to drink despite the intense smoke character. Not bad if you like smoked beers.

Rating from a 22 oz bottle. Deep amber in color with a smal off white head. Aroma is very smoky- campfire, smoked meat, light molasses. Taste is also really smoky with smoked meats, some campfire, well balanced with a nice malt backbone- molasses, some sweet crystal malts. The sweetness balances the smoke very nicely. Very clean and smooth. This was a great rauchbier.

Draught sample at the brewpub. Hazy/oily amber with a dollop of creamy head and lace....full-on, gorgeous smoky aroma, autumn leaves and smoky fatty gouda, Vienna-like Munich malt with just a hint of caramelized bock-y sugar, sweet and burnt and pretty over-the-top, really quite the equal of the Schlenkerlas, meaty and thick and unforgettable....oh but it goes downhill, metallic bitterness evident at once on the tongue, a too-thin body not supporting the lightly sweet, smoky-oily character as well as it should....bubblegummy, sticky mouthfeel, clean but just a bit dull and flaccid in the mouth....dry, rather bitter finish....hmmm, close but no cigar; perhaps a cigarillo?