Shiner Smokehaus

Brewed by Spoetzl Brewery (Gambrinus Company)
Style: Smoked
Shiner, Texas USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, Lager glass, Stein

12 oz bottle. Pours a completely clear dark gold body with a small thin looking white head that quickly disappeared. Very minimal smoke on the nose with some light grainy malt and maybe a little corn. Very little smoke on the flavor as well with a more prominant corn note than even the nose let on. Very boring tasting. Very light bodied and fizzy with a short finish. This not only is a poor Smoked, but it’s a poor beer period.

12 once bottle from the asshats at Total Wine, West Richmond, VA. Pours a lightly hazy pale golden color with a thin head. Decent head retention and lacing. Aroma of earthy smoky notes with a definite mesquite vibe and pale grainy malts. The taste is fairly strong and slightly tangy smoke. Some pale malts sneak in, but the smokiness is definitely the star in this one. Thin-medium bodied. Decent beer.

smoke, basement aromas, clear, thin feel, light body, golden. a true crapper of a beer.

Pale yellow and clear with a white head - suggests refreshing I suppose but not my favorite color for a beer. Slight smokey aroma. Flavor has a subtle smokiness - makes me want to be in New Braunfels enjoying a smoked brat. Unlike other reviewers I don’t think it tastes like beef jerky at all (maybe cos I always get teriyaki). Strangely calm on the palate. Body / flavor / bitterness reasonably balanced. Not extremely bitter, which is okay for a summer quaff. It’s 104F as I write this and the beer is working just fine. Not a killer beer but enjoyable all the same.

Bottle. Poured a clear yellow color with no head. Aroma was beef jerky, ham and smoky malts. Flavor was lots of smoke and ham. High carbonation. Not even average. I drank 3/4 s of thos beer and then had to pour the rest out. I hate wasting beer.

Bottle… Pours clear and golden with amber highlights and a small, fizzy, white head. Decent retention. The bouquet is just flat-out mesquite smoke. I’ve done a lot of smoke cooking with a variety of woods and this beer really screams “mesquite.” Regardless of the type of wood used by Schlenkerla, this one’s aroma is reminiscent of their helles… from a distance, anyway. Light to medium-bodied and very effervescent. The flavor is of sweet pale malts and smoke, but a little thin. Finishes crisp, lightly sweet and smoky. Very decent.

12 oz bottle from the Binnys Singles Rack (Orland Park, IL). My second beer from Spoetzl, surprisingly. Pours a pretty transparent darker gold hue, some lighter amber thrown into the mix darkens it, dulled a bit with a big loose carbonation driven white head that dies to a small film that almost entirely leaves. Well carbonated. Aromas are a light campfire meat and cherry wood smokiness, a touch of wood mixes with light cereal grains and a touch of more substantial biscuit. Decent smokiness. Initial is lighter bodied with a decent smokiness, sticking campfire meats, bacon, jerky mix with wood and a touch of ash, sweeter cereal grains and biscuits, touch of hearty bread and light floral finish provides balance. Lingering light smoke and sweet bready malts play well together. A little thin, but the beer definitely has the right idea overall. Bread moves in more, a touch of fruitiness that gets in the way a bit for me, like apple or pear. Nice, not a great smoked lager though. Ok overall, suffers a couple points from the heavy carbonation driven head and fruitiness moving in, thinness. I probably wouldn’t rebuy this, even as a smoked fan.. but can see the draw of it.

A decent smoked beer. Kinda weak in the smoke department but a decent beer regardless. Aroma was very average and unfortunately not much smoke. Light pilsener malt with a distant smoke flavor that you have to reach for. Pour was a decent medium gold with some clinging bubbles and a thin white ring for a head. Taste was very subdued. Light pilsener malt and a flat and stale hoppiness. The smoke flavor is clearly an afterthought and not in the forefront. It provides depth to the beer that a normal helles would not have. Decent but average.