Triumph Rauchweizen

30.07.06 Tap at New Hope, also brought growler home, also had the Princeton version 14.07.06 from a growler courtesy of egajdzis at BCTC. These two versions are only similar, but each one was freaking fantastic. I didn’t take notes on the Princeton version, knowing that I’d be having it again shortly in New Hope, but not realizing it would be a quite different beer. Whatever, I loved them equally and will stand by my score as an amalgam of the two with notes on the NH version only.

The beer is a hazed dark amber color with small and fading tan head. Aromas immediately waft and I’m rapt by the woodsmoked siren’s song. The wonderful honey, clove, and banana notes do nothing to contradict the mission of the smoked malts, in fact enhancing the overall picture of the beer in such a beautiful way as I’ve never before experienced. Caramelized fruits abound on the palate as if lightly charred on a campfire stone. The interplay of hefeweizen tartness with the natural acidity of the smoked malt is a wonderful dance. I will say that the Princedton version leaned more heavily on the hefe yeast esters, while this New Hope concoction if more firmly rooted in its Bamberg soil. The finish is predictably long as the sweet and smoke tickle the palate forever. Even driving home I can still taste this beer and enjoy retronasal wafts of burnt beechwood. Why, I beg, has this style of beer not been better explored!?

I really enjoyed this type of beer. Poured hazy yellow with fluffy white head. Aroma of a BBQ. A smoky flavor throughout with some fruit hints. Very different and very good.

12 oz handbottle, via Dickinsonbeer. Pours a cloudy dark copper to orance colored body under a one finger foamy white head with great retention. Aroma is just beautiful. Images of smoky campfires, sausages, and bacon appear in my head. Behind that, spicy wheat, fruity esters, and yeast peek out. Flavor is well balanced between the smoke and fruity esters from the yeast. More of a subdued smoke versus some of the German classics, but way beyond the usual American brewpub’s efforts. Finishes fairly dry. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a very soft well rounded almost creamy texture. Pinpoint soft moderate carbonation is just perfect. Overall, this was a pretty frickin awesome beer.

Poured a cloudy golden color with a medium sized, off white head that left nice lacing on the glass. Aroma of banana, caramel malts, clove and nuts, with subtle hints of smoked wood in the background. Taste was refreshing like a nice German hefe, with banana, light clove and citrus fruits, with a really nice, smokey meat taste coming through strong.

Ohhh man!! I gotta get me more of this!!! This was at the Brewery and it was quite a treat. Nice and smokey!