BetterBeerBlog

Tapped my Raspberry Wheat Ale yesterday at my sister-in-law’s baby shower. It ended up being a decent beer but different from the last time I made it. Sammy enjoys this version as much as the last version but for different reasons. She says the last time I made this beer, it was easier to drink whereas this time, it’s still good, just more complex in flavor. You can read about it here.

Made it over to Gordon Biersch last last night. I was trying to catch their brewmaster Dan Satterthwaite because I wanted to talk to him regarding some beer stuff. It’s all top-secret, hush-hush stuff that I can’t really divulge just yet. Just know that I have a few things in the works that I am very excited about.

Anyway, he wasn’t there. I’ll just have to catch him another time. While there, I asked our server what their latest seasonal beer is and she told me it was a rawck beer. I sat befuddled for a moment before I realized she meant rauchbier (sounds like rao-sch), or a German smoked beer.

According to the BJCP, a rauchbier is as follows:

Märzen/Oktoberfest-style (see 3B) beer with a sweet, smoky aroma and flavor and a somewhat darker color.

Now that you have an idea of what a rauchbier is supposed to be, here’s what I thought.

Gordon Biersch, Rauchbier

This beer is an opaque, caramel color with amber hues and an off-white head/beige head. Medium-level of smoke aroma that is reminiscent of smoked salmon and smoked bacon. Beneath it all, I am able to pick up slight Munich malt character. I can taste a medium-level of sweet, Munich malt flavor with an equal amount of chewy, smoke flavor that tastes like smoked bacon with hints of smoked salmon. The hop bitterness is medium-lo/medium. The rauchbier has a high level of carbonation and is medium bodied, yet the body seems a bit fuller because this beer is unfiltered. When compared to their regular marzen, the rauchbier has a fuller mouthfeel and, for lack of a better term, muddled flavors. The marzen is clear, the flavors brighter and clean.

In all honesty, this beer is not a good example of a classic rauchbier, it’s an “okay” example but not a good one. The biggest flaw in this beer is the lack of clarity. A classic rauchbier should be clear. Another flaw with the GB rauchbier is the flavor. While not bad by any means, the unfiltered nature of this beer give the rauchbier a “muddled” flavor, not really clean or distinct.

I’m wondering if this is a lagering problem or if it’s a filtration thing. During the National Organic Homebrew Challenge, one of the other judges ordered a pilsner and it was cloudy. Pilsners are supposed to be “brilliantly clear” but his looked more like a hefeweizen.

Brouwerij Van Steenberge, Witches’ Brew, Belgian Strong Golden Ale, 9.3% ABV

Witches’ Brew is a beer that I haven’t had before. Some friends of mine came over for dinner and they were kind enough to bring back a bottle of this beer. I have not heard of this before the Brouwerij van Steenberge sounded familiar and a quick Google search reveals that this company does make some beer that I have heard of, and tasted before, notably Gulden Draak, Piraat, and Celis White.

Witches’ Brew pours out a wonderful gold color that is cloudy with straw highlights and a white head. The aroma is sweet, slightly malty with moderate fruit esters reminiscent of pears and a spicy, peppery finish. The flavor of Witches’ Brew is very similar to the aroma. It is sweet, lightly malty, some fruit undertones and a spicy, peppery finish. When this beer warms up, a noticeable alcohol character is evident that reminds me of isopropyl alcohol in the aroma but thankfully, its effect on the flavor isn’t very harsh at all. Hop bitterness is medium-low. Witches’ Brew is medium-high/high in carbonation with medium/medium-high body.

When compared to the BJCP style guidelines for a Belgian Golden Strong Ale, I find that Witches’ Brew comes up a little short in some areas. The aroma of this beer when first poured hits all the high points for the style but as the beer warms up, the alcohol character starts to get a little solventy making it seem harsher than what it really is. Witches’ Brew also doesn’t have the long lasting, “Belgian lace” making head I would expect from the style. This could be due in fact to my glass not being “beer ready”. There may have been some soapy residue left on the glass that would’ve inhibited head retention

Overall, I find this beer to be a decent example of the style. All the aromas and flavors one would expect from the style are evident, just don’t let this beer warm up too much. My final critique would be that the overall flavor profile, while to style, seems a bit tame.

This entry was posted on Sunday, November 23rd, 2008 at 4:52 pm and is filed under Beer Styles, Beer in Review, Brew pubs, Craft Beer, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.