Vintage Grätzer Ale

Brewed by Vintage Brewing Company
Style: Grodziskie/Gose/Lichtenhainer
Madison, Wisconsin USA

Serve in Dimpled mug, English pint, Stein

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UPDATED: OCT 9, 2012 draft.
lightly hazed pale gold.
mild toast and smoked grain nose.
touches of hairspray.
fizzy and rough carbonation.
grainy and coarse malt.
mildly sweet pale malt and wheat.
cider-like lactic acid.
very subtle smoke notes (burnt rubber).
sourish cracker malt.
rather plain and simple.

Clear, light yellow with white head. Didn’t it this one coming...there was a great smoked sausage note (Polish sausage, actually...could that be coincidence?), a little bubblegum at the end, finishes bitter. (tap at Old Fashioned, Madison)

On tap at Vintage Brewpub pre-GMTW 2012. Cloudy straw yellow with a minimal head. Aroma is of smoked malts, noble hops and a touch of wheat. Taste is mildly smoked with pale malt, mild fruitiness and some spices. Fizzy and semi-sweet with a mild spicy and smoky finish.

On tap at GTMW - Pours light yellow with a thin white head. Nose is light smokiness over honey malt. Taste is the same--real light with a corn lager finish. Thin and well-carbonated. Interesting.

On tap at brewpub
My second to last sample was an interesting one. Despite being low in ABV it had a rich flavor profile and definitely was not your average beer. It almost made me want to plan a trip to Poland to try some at the source.

Aroma / Appearance - The cloudy base was like rusty tap water which had the biggest chunks filtered out. The nose was like a mix of a toned down imperial pilsener and a brick oven. Smoky in a way that is hard to describe it was nothing like a porter or a rauchbier.

Flavor / Palate - The taste of dry rubbed ribs hit the throat with a bang. Wheat and malt were heavy for something under 5%. This beer is one that you could drink all night before it caught up with you. Hitting the perfect spot on the complexity spectrum this is worth checking out while it is on tap.

Pour on tap at Vintage Brewpub (Madison, WI). Pours a richer golden pour, bit of orange glow, gentle haze. Nice glow with lively carbonation, frothy whitish head dies to a mellow ring, laces ok. Sticks around overall as that small layer. Aromas are a wonderful medium smoked malt element, woody smoke, touches of meat, fall leaves burning, and oaky wood. Some gentle bready malts, kiss of fruit, citrus is fleeting, more dry earthy hops. The smoke element becomes the focus and really pleases me. Lovely. Initial is thinner, lighter body, preaching some decent smokey flavors up front. A touch meaty and woody, earthy smoke qualities grow slowly. Middle is a bit thinner and more bland as the smoke dies off a touch. Some dry flaked wheat, grainy malts, gentle dry earthy hops offer something different. A bit more clean and dry into the backend and finish, dry bitter hops, crisp cereal and bready malts, some straw and grass. The smoke gives some more jabs into the backend and finish, lingers on the palate throughout and afterglow. I’m a smoked guy.. I also like a lighter dry session beer. This fills that role to a "T". A touch cool or earthy, almost an odd minty jab at times. But overall, the aromas are great and this sessioner doesn’t dissappoint. I’m a fan.

8/10/12. On tap at the brewpub. Clear golden pour with a small off-white head. Light smoke and hot dog in the aroma... Hot dogs, smoke, soft wheat, and grass in the flavor. Weird.

On tap at Old Fashioned, pours a pale yellow with hardly any head to it at all, the aroma has a subtle amount of smoke, not over bearing at all, the flavor has a good amount of smoke on the front end with a sweet finish, the smoke isn’t too much on this one, I enjoyed this but it would be tough to drink a lot of it.

On tap at the brewpub. Looks like a Lite beer but tastes like a camp fire. I keep trying smokes and just never enjoy them. Not the style for me.