Ottos Rauchbier

Formerly brewed at Ottos Pub & Brewery
Style: Smoked
State College, Pennsylvania USA

On tap at the brewpub on 4/9/07: Pours a dark copper with mahogany hues and a wispy, clingy-lacing white head. Nice, smoky aroma explodes out of the glass with a touch of caramel. Starts fairly full and sweet with a nice smoky character and a smooth, earthy bittersweet finish. A nice, true to style rauchbier.

Draft at the brewery. Clear dark burnt amber color. LIght and sweet nose containing spices, light cedar wood, perhaps some nuts, some sweet apple-like malt flavors, not really any smoke in this beer at all. Doesn’t show up anywhere. Doesn’t make it a bad beer but I guess it does make it a bad rauchbier. Kinda weak on the palate, reminds me of their veinna, how it didn’t taste bad and had no technical flaws but it just felt uninspired and plain.

Draft at the brewpub. I beg to differ with those that found little smoke here. If Scherlenka is a 9, then this is a 6 or so. Medium copper pour, with minimal off-white head. The aroma is caramel malty and smoky. Not as intense as some, but the smoky aroma is there. The flavor is smoked caramel malt with mild hops and slight brown sugary fruit. I enjoyed this one a lot.

Tap at brewpub. Pours a nice woody deep copper and a foamy sticky almost white head. Aroma is woody, campfire smoke, and lightly smoked meats. Smoke isnt overpowering, but is smooth all around and is very enjoyable. Goes well with some sweet malts in the flavor, light roast, caramel, nuts etc. Full mouthfeel, and very savory. Smooth with no medicinal character which is nice. Great rauchbier.

Growler: Pours a copper color with an off-white head. The aroma isn’t that smokey, just has some light bacon notes. The flavor is a bit more pronounced in terms of smoke, yet there still isn’t enough. The malt profile is decent with a more bready/toasty character than smoked. Also has a hint of bitterness in the finish. A balanced, malty brew, but not really smoked enough.

On tap at brewery. Only has a mild smoky aroma, which gets a little stronger as it warms but it’s not as prominent as in classic German examples, like Aecht. Light sweet malt with mild spicy hops. Clear dark brown with thin off-white head. Medium bodied with medium carbonation. Good dry malt lager taste with mild smoky notes throughout. Medium bitter finish with a dry smoky bitter after. Not quite as strong as an Aecht, for example, but a good baby step for those wanting to try a smoked beer without being overcome.

On tap, at brewpub, 3/13/07. Pours a reddish amber under a small covering of beige head. Moderately smoky aroma, with touches of meatiness. Lightly hoppy with some fruity notes. The flavor is moderately smoky, less than the classics, but still evident throughout. The smoke has a nice campfire like quality to it. Solid malt base, with just a light sweetness on the finish. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, a little sticky, with moderate fizzy carbonation. A pretty nice Rauch, better than the average brewpub effort. I personally found the level of smokiness to be pretty sufficient, though some of the other raters found it too light or missing completely. I love me some smoke beers, and this certainly could have been kicked up a notch with more smoke, but I still thought it was good.

20070622 12oz hand bottled thanks to Paul. Dark brown with ruby hints. Sturdy, off-white head is impressive considering it’s probably 3 months old. Nice smoky aroma mixed with an odd note of white glue (huh?) Thin but soft mouthfeel. Hoppy bitterness and quick tart-smoky bite to finish. Good stuff.