Sierra Nevada Rauch Beer

Draft at the Blind Tiger. No head covers this cloudy amber body. Well focused if a bit too light aroma propose gentle cookie, bready, nutty flavours with obvious soily peaty smokiness procuring cask wood and campfire notes. As it warms up, every sip procures new fruit suggestions, ranging from leathery, mushroomy apricots to juicy peaches. Very good stuff, I’d only wish the body would be a bit more full and confident, less thin and oily, but this remains most satisfying, well done!

Tap at Barcade. Pale amber beer with a white head. Lovely soft smoky aroma over a soft munich/caramel malt base. The smoke is well-balanced by sweet malts. There is also a light blackberry fruitiness in the flavour that seems a bit strange, but not unpleasant. The hops are quite subtle, but they serve to balance the combination of sweet fruit, smoke and berries. This is a quaffable, tasty pint from Sierra Nevada.

The body’s caramel colored and spots a thin off-white head. Very little smoke in the nose, mainly some grainy malt with a touch of sourness. Thin drink with some caramel and a quick passing of smoke. Disappointing.

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Mild smoke, mint and cookie dough in the aroma. Clear amber-copper coloured body is topped by a low, off white head that recedes to a very slight ring. Strong, biscuity, round malt character with assertive but nicely balanced smoked malt character. Underlying fruity esters add depth and dimension. Medium body with fairly lively effervescence. Sampled on tap the Blind Tiger in NYC with Olivier MTL and Rastacouere.

Draught pint at Sunset Grill on 2/10/07
Ruddy auburn with beige-tan hues and a medium-beige head that is small but well-retained, providing minor lacing. Well-conditioned and showing a high clarity with moderate carbonation.
Dry woodsmoke in the nose only incorporates a bit of salty/meatiness. Unfortunately, crystal malt hardness is very apparent lending that "iced tea and hard candy" sort of note that always seems too dry when used to the point where you can smell it. This keeps it quite dry and actually distracts from the smokiness through the middle. Light breadiness and a some sweet pale maltiness lends a light vanilla cream note that almost succeeds in warding off the crystal maltiness. Smoke returns, lightly, on the finish, with light phenols of clove, black pepper and some light band-aids. Medium to medium-high strength of aroma that definitely improves vastly with warming. The sweeter malts emerge and fend off the hard crystal malts, while the smokiness seems to grow stronger as well. No alcohol noted.
Wet/slippery texture with a prominent hardness thanks to the crystal malts, that slowly eases up and allows light pale malt sweetness in to the picture. Smokiness arrives quietly and with an almost scratchy, wooden dryness. Strong breadiness fights with the sweetness and a moderate amount of acidity begins to build. The smoke isn’t overdone (can you really overdo smokiness? haha), that’s for sure and definitely is of the more dry, less full variety. Low to moderately-low carbonation somewhat helps to concentrate the sweetness and offset some of the oily/wetness. Hickory-like woodsmoke, with lots of fruitiness, lingers on quite nicely. No alcohol noted. Hops are earthy and lightly grassy at times, leading to some pleasant, additional complexity. Tastefully done, as always, from SN, but I wish they’d cut out the crystal malt.

Tap @ Blind Tiger. One of my favorite styles and this stuff didn’t dissapoint. Kind of a light copper color with a thin veil of a head. Burnt white ash aroma and light smoky taste. Mellow light apricot flavor. Lightly sweet and balanced really well. I’d really love to see this stuff again.

Tap at Boston Sunset Grill. Cloudy amber body topped with a small off-white head. Moderately smoked on the nose. The malts have a maple taste and its smokiness adds a smoked-ham flavour with some roasted nuts and dry tree branches. Sweetness level is low which I like with that type of beer. Taste is somewhat restrained and obviously far from the intensity of a Schlenkerla. This really is a session Smoked and a pretty good one at that. Makes me glad to be a beer lover. Hey, at least I have a positive attitude about my destructive habits.

(Draft: Sierra Nevada 2005 Beer Festival at Lucky Baldwins in Pasadena, CA) This will be my final beer of this festival, and I’ve saved what I’m hoping will be the best for last. As with the others, it looks beautiful in my small Chimay glass, boasting that tall, creamy, tan head with the excellent retention and supreme curtain-like lacing. Dark amber in color, and again, it’s crystal clear. Things really get interesting with the nose. As expected, it’s very smoky, like sitting around a camp fire, but there’s also a good bit of spiciness I tend to associate with Belgian ales. Oddly enough, with as smoky as the beer smells, the initial flavor is pretty light on the smoke. But as we near the finish, the smokiness starts to build on the palate and then hangs on. Still, it’s not a beat you over the head kind of smokiness, but more subtle. Moderate maltiness also doesn’t become apparent on the front end either. Rather, the beer starts a bit nutty and gently hoppy like an English Bitter, but as I’ve noted, that is short lived. Medium bodied, nicely carbonated, smooth on the palate, and that smoky finish is just wonderful. I made the right decision by finishing with the Rauch Beer. This is really nice, and for those that don’t like smack you up smokiness, this shows how this style can be executed without being overbearing.