SmokeBeerMinistry

Brauerei Spezial Rauchbier – Lager Beer = 6.8 smokestacks

Posted on March 17, 2023 by SmokeBeerMinistry

If a 7 out of 7 will get more people to visit Spezial, then go ahead and consider it a 7, but technically, the ministry has this one jotted down with 6.8 smokestacks. As the head ministry official, I must maintain a hierarchy of order, so here we have Spezial. At least this brewery gets the high-ground in Bamberg, Germany. Spezial sits on top of the mountain that neighboring brewery Aecht Schlenkerla resides, and if you can make it to one, you must visit the other. Upon exiting Schlenkerla, I walked up the hill, to Spezial, no reservations, and was sat across from a gentleman nice enough to share his table with me (please read up on German restaurant etiquette before travelling). And while this heavy set gentleman facing me, sloppily ate scrambled eggs, I ate and drank in yet another unforgettable setting, although I don’t remember as many crucifixes as I saw in the Schenkerla restaurant. And to talk about the beer, comparatively speaking, this beer is a little more toned down on smokepower, although the untrained palate will not use the term toned down at all. Still, this is one of the top 5 best examples of a traditional Bamberg smokebeer. And, it tastes better at the brewery. I will return. 6.8 smokestacks of happiness out of a possible 7. Splendid.

Brewer	Brauerei Spezial
Beer Name	Lager Beer
Brewer’s Description	Our lager is the best-known type of smoked beer from our range of specialties. The amber-colored beer with its fine, mild smoky flavor turns even skeptics into convinced smoked beer fans.
Food Pairings	Traditional German Supper
Brewer Location	Bamberg Germany
Alcohol content by volume	4.9%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	na… people care less about IBUs nowadays
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	4.25
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	5.5
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	5
Sausage detection? Y or N	Y
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	4
Foaminess 1-7 (thin ring – rabid dogs mouth)	4
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	6.8

I’m counting on ChatGPT to give me an idea on what to do with all these spreadsheets

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it… probably the game plan with this website, which I support.

https://brauerei-spezial.de/brauerei-und-maelzerei/

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 6 - 7, Bamberg, beechwood, Brauerei Spezial, educate, enlighten, Germany, lager, rauch, rauchbier, traditional | Leave a comment

Jackie O’s – Abandon the Halogens – 6 Smokestacks of happiness

Posted on March 3, 2023 by SmokeBeerMinistry

Jackie O’s Abandon the Halogens, and some hoodoo for your soul.

BOOZY! This beer is boozy. To the tune of 14.5%. Oh, I love my alcohol. Why do we try so hard at our jobs, do so well with our tasks, save the company so much money, just to watch Bushy, that lazy SOB, get an award? Who even nominated him for that? His biggest win this year was finding his spitter on the back of the toilet which he forgot about two days ago. Oh, Alcohol, you get me. Embrace the chaos. Things keep happening. There are no reasons. And I have my cool nights, fires, incense, Mongolian folk-metal throat singing music, and alcohol. The beer? Tastes more like BCBS than anything I’ve ever had. This beer is great. This beer is sweet, slightly smoky, pours like syrup, dark as night, and I like it so much. I originally wrote this down as a 5.8 smokestack, but the written word was so glowing, that I bumped it up to a 6. The all too rare 6 out of 7 Smokestack rating. Just do a good job because it matters to you. Alcohol is our reward.

Brewer	Jackie O’s
Beer Name	Abandon the Halogens
Brewer’s Description	After aging in bourbon barrels for 14 months, Abandon the Halogens packs heavy notes of nutty chocolate and perfectly toasted marshmallows. Brewed with an exorbitant amount of Northwestern Meadowfoam honey and the gentlest sprinkle of smoked malt, this decadent stout pairs best with a roaring fire on a cool evening.
Food Pairings	Chocolate, then Abandon the Halogens, then a cigar. That’s a decadent, 2 hour, non-meal related event.
Brewer Location	Athens, Ohio
Alcohol content by volume	14.5% this is not a typo
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	zilch
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	7
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	2
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	3
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	6
Foaminess 1-7 (thin ring – rabid dogs mouth)	2.5
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	6

Omega < -1? Time travel? Mind control.

Website is good:

https://jackieos.com/beer/abandon-the-halogens/

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer, Stout | Tagged 6 - 7, boozy, honey, Jackie O's, Ohio, Stout | Leave a comment

Brouwerij De Glazen Toren – Saison D’Erpe-Mere Gerookt Special Smoked Edition = 5 Smokestacks out of 7

Posted on February 3, 2023 by SmokeBeerMinistry

There’s a lady in Little Haiti who will give you your cuts. Maybe I’ll get mine when I’m 50.

Is this a saison? Based on the taste, yeah, I’ll give them that. This beer, I call Gerookt, has quite a bit of bitters in there. And its very dry, really to its detriment. It’s a collaboration beer of sorts. The Brouwerij made a beer and then blended in a bunch of Aecht Schlenkerla Marzen into the beer, and this Gerookt is the result. Does blending break the rules of saisons? Judge not. Or, Actually, I am the judge. Judging is kind of a SmokeBeerMinistry thing. And I usually deduct points when I find silt in the bottle, like in this one, but, lately I’ve been pouring most of my beer, then giving the bottle a swirl, and pouring everything left, silt and all, down into the glass. And the results help with the judging. Hopefully that’ll support my bench press (side project I have going). Final score = 5 smokestacks. Honest effort.

Brewer	Brouwerij De Glazen Toren
Beer Name	Saison D’Erpe-Mere Gerookt Special Smoked Edition
Brewer’s Description	Smoked Belgian Saison
Food Pairings	Chicken Wings
Brewer Location	Belgium
Alcohol content by volume	6.9%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	Its probably a lot
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	3
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	3
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	4
Sausage detection? Y or N	Y
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	3
Foaminess 1-7 (thin ring – rabid dogs mouth)	2
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	5

I wonder if De Glazen Toren has the same web support as SBM?

http://www.glazentoren.be/index.php/en/

Posted in Beer, collaboration beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, saison, Smokebeer | Tagged 5 - 6, Belgian, Belgium, De Glazen Toren, marzen, saison | Leave a comment

Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier – Urbock – 7 out of 7

Posted on January 20, 2023 by SmokeBeerMinistry

Back with the upper levels of the hierarchy, actually, the highest level. Aecht Schlenkerla always delivers. Bamberg, Germany houses the best smokebeer breweries in the world; it is the motherland, and I am a witness. This particular bottle was delivered to Ireland, where I found and bought it, then, nestled in my luggage, I delivered it to the tabernacle in the states, where SmokeBeerMinistry is domiciled. I’ve never seen the beige colored perimeter around the label; the label is red in the US, and I was intrigued. This is the best smokebeer in the world. Schlenkerla’s motu proprio describes the smoking chambers where beechwood logs smoke the malts in the 14th century cellars underneath Bamberg, and I have witnessed this first hand. If you’ve ever been drawn to a particular corner of the world, just go there… This beer is full of smokepower. Smoky sweetness. Campfire. A beer with a dark amber hue and the tan head of George Hamilton. SmokeBeerMinistry is ready to return to the motherland. And in the next few moments, this bottle will be delivered to the catacombs. 7 out of 7 smokestacks of happiness.

Brewer	Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier
Beer Name	Urbock
Brewer’s Description	Aecht Schlenkerla Urbock is the complex sibling of the classic Maerzen Smokebeer. Exactly like the classic all its barley malts are smoked over beech wood logs. Its higher smokemalt concentration and longer maturation in the 700 year old cellars underneath Bamberg create a taste profile of most intense smokiness beautifully balanced with deep malt sweetness.
Food Pairings	The Host
Brewer Location	Bamberg, Germany
Alcohol content by volume	6.5%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	40
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	5
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	7
Sausage detection? Y or N	Y
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	7
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	7

I’m unsure if people realize the Host refers to the consecrated bread of the Eucharist.

Water into wine? close enough:

https://www.schlenkerla.de/indexe.html

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, Smokebeer, urbock | Tagged 7!, Aecht Schlenkerla, Bamberg, beechwood, bock, enlighten, Germany, Ireland, smokebeer, urbock | Leave a comment

Half Acre Brewing – Smoking Gull Pale Ale = 4 out of 7 honorary smokestacks

Posted on January 2, 2023 by SmokeBeerMinistry

Not a smokebeer. But why am I happy? It’s good beer! Why is there a drawing of a seagull smoking a cigarette on the can? I don’t know, but I bet there’s an employee at Half Acre with a personal story explaining that, and I bet they share it while giving tours, and I don’t want to hear that story right now. There’s no smoke in this beer. Zero. But grapefruit? hmm, maybe. About five years ago my sister in law, who is from New Jersey, asked me if I’d ever had any Half Acre beer. I said yes. I don’t know why she asked that, maybe I’ll find out after I post this review. The word smoke appearing in the name of this beer is misleading. I wonder if Half Acre knows about smokebeers? Making the world aware of smokebeers is in our mission statement… I’ll send them an email and ask. Question: Are good listeners typically people who listen to lots of music? Are people who listen to lots of music using music to avoid hearing their own thoughts? Are they avoiding the labor of creating thoughts? Are good listeners lazy people who feel too burdened to contribute equitable feedback to conversations? I listen to lots of music. I’ll explore the “hate on good listeners” tangent at some other time, maybe at one of my wife’s work parties. And since I’m on tangents, I recommend the streaming service Tidal (unpaid promotion). Overall beer happiness experience rating = 4 out of 7 notasmokebeer honorary smokestacks.

Brewer	Half Acre Brewing
Name	Smoking Gull
Brewer’s Description	Brewing some beers only once a year, the memory of them becomes the dominant part of the relationship. The actual experience enjoying Smoking Gull stands very tall against the praise we all offer it when it’s not around. The recipe holds true. Citra & Mosaic on a very soft malt base. Super vivid flavors. Smoking Gull is a heaving success. Half Acre loves pale ale. We honor the Gull, a beautiful, thieving water bird.
Food Pairings	Heavy American food, except not hamburgers. No beef.
Brewer Location	Chicago, IL
Alcohol content by volume	5.2%
IBU	People are saying “no IBU”
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	2
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	1 = No
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	1 = No, I guess we should say zero, not 1. But 1 is as low as it goes, that’s how it works, so I guess it’s 1.
Sausage detection? Y or N	N, which stands for No, No sausage detected.
Beer thickness, 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	3
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	4 honorary smokestacks

Spreadsheets are my life. Wait till you see my pivot tables.

Half Acre has a good website, I bet they’re paying someone to look after this. Which all brewers should do:

Smoking Gull

I’m actually going to try this website inside a website feature… Oh, looks like it does the same thing:

Smoking Gull

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten | Tagged 4 - 5, ale, can, citrus, Half Acre, Illinois, not a smokebeer, pale ale | Leave a comment

Klosterbrau – Bamberger Rauchbier – 6 Smokestacks of Happiness

Posted on December 13, 2022 by SmokeBeerMinistry

This beer was brought over from Germany by hand, my hands, stashed in luggage, refrigerated, tasted, and written about. Written on some scrap of paper that has long since been lost because I was drinking, but the memory lives on, through me, so that you can drink and never thirst again. This beer tastes like smoke, and it should. Having been made from within the motherland of smokebeers, Bamberg Germany, just down the street from the famed Aecht Schlenkerla. I don’t think I’ve mentioned my pilgrimage to the motherland on this site in much detail yet. Well, it was a vacation of a lifetime. I toured the entire city which culminated with a decent down into the center of a mountain where they brew the beer of angels, and I drank from the vessel at the moment of transubstantiation. This bottle of Klosterbrau Bamberger Rauchbier was purchased at a nearby giftshop. We are loved all the same… But for the purposes of this beer review, this rauchbier gets a little bit less love. 6 smokestacks of happiness for Klosterbrau Rauchbier. It’s just a bit less flavorful than it’s Schlenkerla cousins.

Brewer	Klosterbrau
Beer Name	Bamberger Rauchbier
Brewer’s Description	Shimmering in deep black and with an imposing beige foam, this original Franconian cult beer from Bamberg impresses with its appearance. A clear smell of smoke, which is evident in the nose and behind it a balanced, fruity hop note from the finest Hallertau aroma hops, can be recognized. The smoky flavor comes from the use of beech wood during the drying of the malt. On the palate, the velvety taste of liquorice, smoked ham, dark chocolate and roasted caramel nuances lovingly come together. A real specialty for connoisseurs and lovers of this original type of beer.
Food Pairings	A heavy meal with gravy. Meats, Potatoes.
Brewer Location	Bamberg, Germany
Alcohol content by volume	5.3%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	naw, we ain’t got nun
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	5.5
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	7
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	6.6
Sausage detection? Y or N	Y
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	4
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	6.5

Can you believe that you can’t copy/paste spreadsheets into wordpress? Somebody needs to do something.

Klosterbrau – Pretty good website

Unsere Biere

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 5 - 6, Bamberg, beechwood, Germany, Klosterbrau, rauchbier | Leave a comment

Weyermann® – Nr. 1 Schlotfegerla® = A strong 6 smokestacks out of 7. Definitely trademarked.

Posted on December 2, 2022 by SmokeBeerMinistry

I found this in Bamberg during the Great Smokebeer Pilgrimage.

Weyermann^® – Number 1 Schlotfegerla^® is a strong trademarked beer by a company (Weyermann^®) that makes the best malts in the world. The sell their malts to breweries mostly, and decided to branch out and make beer at some point I suppose. And this beer, Number 1, tastes just like the beers in Bamberg, Germany taste. And Weyermann happens to be located in Bamberg, the motherland of smoked beer. Beechwood smoked malts always deliver the aromas and flavors that the ministers at SmokeBeerMinistry savor, and this beer sure lets them come through in the glass. I wonder if Weyermann supplies Aecht Schlenkerla with their malts, which Schlenkerla happens to smoke themselves, deep inside a mountain, that I saw for myself, but that’s another story. And enough of this story, or any story, Nr. 1 Schlotfegerla gets 6 Smokestacks of decadence. Excellent effort here.

Brewer	Weyermann^®
Beer Name	Nr 1 – Schlotfegerla^®
Brewer’s Description	Our Schlotfegerla^® is a full-bodied, dark smoke beer. The fine beechwood- smoky notes combined with the aroma of espresso invite you to take your first sip. On the tongue it impresses with pronounced notes of malt reminiscent of dark chocolate and bread crust. Together with the fine smoky impressions it becomes an harmonious, characterful beer that goes well with flavors combine meats and ham.
Food Pairings	A full on dinner, served in a restaurant that makes you feel like you just walked, uninvited, into someone’s dining room.
Brewer Location	Bamberg, Germany
Alcohol content by volume	5.2
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	no
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	5.5
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	5
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	6
Sausage detection? Y or N	Y
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	4
Foaminess 1-7 (thin ring – rabid dogs mouth)	5. A good 5. Seven is actually bad
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	6

If we quantify feelings with numbers, then we can pick which child we’d choose, and measure the size of the hole in your soul.

Great website. What I like most is that this is a malt company, that also happens to make beer, and does other things apparently. So, you have to look around to find the beer page:

WEYERMANN® Nr. 1 „Schlotfegerla®“

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 6 - 7, Bamberg, beechwood, Germany, smokebeer | Leave a comment

Young Blood Beer Company – Smoked Porter – 4 out of 7 Smokestacks

Posted on November 17, 2022 by SmokeBeerMinistry

That horned bottle you see on the left I got from a Voodoo priestess. Hope to get my cuts for my 50th birthday.

So they named their company Young Blood? At least they had the sense to not print the word blood on the front of the label. YB Beer company is better. Maybe change the name to Young Bold? Well young bloods, thank you for making me a smoked beer. I like the term perpetually electrified printed on the front. Is Perpetually Electrified the name of this beer? and Porter with smoked beechwood is a descriptor? and Smoked Porter up at the top is a bold and concise descriptor?… That’s enough about what I’ve read on the can.

This Smoked Porter is just fine. On the nose you’ll pull in notes of great beer; Great beers like the dark stuff from Founders, or Bells Black Note Stout, seem to share a lot in common with the scents, but that’s about where it ends. The taste comes off burnt, and not smoked. I don’t think they’re hiding anything by doubling up a bunch of flavors, but how would we know? Actually, they are hiding the 8.1% abv in these flavors, which is a good thing in my opinion. But I have to call the flavors in this one muddled. I look forward to other stuff out of YB brewing. If you only knew what I went through to get this beer. That’s a story for another time, feel free to ask about it… it involves Phil Collins, Awe, I’m rambling now. Overall Smokestacks = 4 smokestacks.

Brewer	Young Blood Brewing
Beer Name	Perpetually Electrified
Brewer’s Description	These young bloods need to get their website together. Maybe say something nice about themselves.
Food Pairings	Cheese
Brewer Location	Madison, WI
Alcohol content by volume	8.1%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	naw
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	6
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	4
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	4
Sausage detection? Y or N	Y
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	4
Foaminess 1-7 (thin ring – rabid dogs mouth)	4
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	4

They need a manager to get on this website.

https://www.youngbloodbeerco.com/

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, porter, rauchbier, Smokebeer, Smoked Porter | Tagged 4 - 5, beechwood, can, porter, Wisconsin, Young Blood Brewing | Leave a comment

Melvin Brewing – Velvet Rut Imperial Smoked Porter = 5.5 Smokestacks

Posted on November 3, 2022 by SmokeBeerMinistry

Smokebeers al fresco. Marie Laveau looks on.

Gone are the days of reserving bottles for the good beer. Brewers are perfectly happy with putting good beer in cans. And I guess they kinda have to be cause everybody’s out of glass right now (Its a mess out there). And the folks of Melvin Brewing felt fine enough to put this dark and hardy beer, Velvet Rut, into a can, which I like, and who cares anyway if you’re pouring it into a chalice (maybe that’s just me)? This beer reminds me of Spanning and Sensate, and actually, it reminds me of all of the DeMolen beers, feel free to research. Brewed in Wyoming, I bet this Imperial Smoked Porter has some of those Idaho hops in there because I’m gettin some bitterness and dryness in these sips. And as the setting sun begins to peek through the trees and highlight Marie Laveau in the background, I feel compelled to wrap this review up. Overall score is 5.5 out of a total 7 points possible.

Brewer	Melvin Brewing
Beer Name	Melvin Velvet Rut
Brewer’s Description	Winter in the mountains can be brutal, and sometimes you just need to find a cozy place to hunker down with a robust dark ale to warm your insides. Our Alpine crew knows this feeling well, and it was the inspiration behind our newest experiMENTAL Series release. This bold smoked imperial porter is pitch black in color with a beautiful tan head. The aroma kicks things off with notes of campfire, coffee and chocolate, and then your palate is rewarded with more of the same rich, roasty flavors along with a touch of dried stone fruit. Put on your preferred lounging gear, crack a cold can, and get into your own velvet rut.
Food Pairings	Smoked turkey.
Brewer Location	Alpine, Wyoming
Alcohol content by volume	8.5
IBU	nuthin
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	5.25
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	3
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	4.5
Sausage detection? Y or N	Y
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	4
Foaminess 1-7 (thin ring – rabid dogs mouth)	4.75
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	5.5

Getting spreadsheets into this website isn’t as easy as it should be.

WordPress really likes dropping in links to other websites. Look at all the details they allow to crop up from just leaving the web address:

Velvet Rut

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, porter, Smoked Porter | Tagged 5 - 6, can, imperial, imperial Porter, Melvin Brewing, porter, Smoked Porter, Wyoming | Leave a comment

KEES Brouwerij Smoked Pecan Porter = 4 out of 7 smokestacks

Posted on October 1, 2022 by SmokeBeerMinistry

They’re justified and they’re ancient. JAMs

Kees beer Smoked Pecan Porter tastes ok. It’s a little musty. Sweet, but not too sweet. Not too smoky. It’s more roasted than smoky I’d say… It’s ok. The beer is dark, but not too dark. I am getting light to peek through. Kees Brouwerij is from the Netherlands. I’ve been to the Netherlands. I once ate a pot brownie and went to the Rijks museum and have never been more entranced in art in my life. Then this old guy tripped over a bench in one of the galleries and I looked at the person next to me and said, “Old people be trippin.” and I laughed for the next half hour. That day was ok. I’ve been accused of being prone to hyperbole, and that’s ok. I guess it’s ok if my mood impacts my beer reviews periodically. Smoked Pecan Porter overall score = 4 out of 7 smokestacks.

Brewer	Kees Brouwerij
Beer Name	Smoked Pecan Porter
Brewers Description	Pure & Craft dat is waar Kees Bubberman, eigenaar van Brouwerij Kees voor staat. Met zijn vertrouwde brouwteam creërt hij verrassende bieren met gedurfde smaken van de best mogelijke en constante kwaliteit. Klassieke stijlen gebrouwen, met een eigen twist, vol van karakter en verrassend van smaak.
Food Pairings	BBQ
Brewer Location	The Netherlands
ABV	6%
IBUs	idk, maybe eleven
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	5
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	3
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	3
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	4
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	4

Do not try to insert into pivot table

They have a good website. Professional. Hard to read without being literate in… Flemish?

Home

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, porter, rauchbier, Smokebeer, Smoked Porter | Tagged 4 - 5, Kees Brouwerij, Pecan, porter, smokebeer, Smoked Porter, The Netherlands | Leave a comment

Jackie O’s – Bourbon Barrel Wood Burner = 5 Smokestacks out of 7

Posted on September 2, 2022 by SmokeBeerMinistry

Ms Laveau illuminated by the fire tonight. Pretty nice night this was.

Wood Burner is a good beer. Confession right off the bat however, I let this beer sit a bit too long down in my smokebeer bunker. But true smokebeer experts can backdate their palates, and tell you what the beer tasted like, had they not been so lazy on their beer drinking (I will make adjustments). I’ve had beers similar to this one; American ingredients forward, copious amounts of malts, definitely smoked malts in there, and some hops? because I’m getting bitters on the back of my tongue. And there are barrel flavors in this beer, which mask the 11% booze really well. I like it. Pro tip – if you have this beer, drink it. How does it stack up? Wood Burner earns 5.5 overall smokestacks, out of a total of 7 smokestacks possible.

Brewer	Jackie O’s
Beer Name	Bourbon Barrel Wood Burner Imperial Smoked Stout Aged In Bourbon Barrels
Brewer’s Description	Wood Burner focuses on rich caramel notes and chocolate with a deep, savory backbone. The entire batch made its way into bourbon barrels, where it rested for over a year.
Food Pairings	Drink as an aperitif, and then have another.
Brewer Location	Athens, Ohio
Alcohol content by volume	11%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	6.5
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	2.5
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	3.5
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	5.8
Barrel Power 1-7	5
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	5.5

Decent website:

https://jackieos.com/beer/bourbon-barrel-wood-burner/

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 5 - 6, barrel aged, boozy, imperial, imperial stout, Jackie O's, Ohio, Stout | Leave a comment

Logsdon Farmhouse Ales – Helles For Sinners = 4.7 Smokestacks out of 7

Posted on August 19, 2022 by SmokeBeerMinistry

Another really nice night illuminating Marie with fire.

What’s a helles lager? This is a helles lager. A helles lager is a lighter beer; helles is German for light, and this one’s got a bit of smoke, which is not normal, but it seems normal to me. Sometimes you lose track of what’s normal. Does it matter? I argue that it doesn’t. Does a strongman contemplate what is normal strength, and adjust his performance to align with normal? Well, maybe when opening a bag of chips, but not otherwise. Let’s not trifle with being normal. Let this be your encouragement to follow your path, and I hope that path is not painful. Sinners are welcome here. Helles For Sinners overall score = 4.7 smokestacks out of 7. Chips all over the damn place.

Brewer	Logsdon Farmhouse Ales
Beer Name	Helles for Sinners
Brewer’s Description	Lightly smoked Helles lager, brewed with Oregon State Homebrewer Of The Year Russel Berger. Inspired by Aecht Schlenkerla Helles Lagerbier. Classic Pilsner malt profile and Bavarian yeast strain balanced by Smaragd hops and 10% beechwood smoked malt. Prost!
Food Pairings	Anything you cooked on a charcoal grill.
Brewer Location	Oregon
Alcohol content by volume	5%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	15
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	2
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	3
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	4
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	2
Foaminess 1-7 (thin ring – rabid dogs mouth)	4
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	4.7

Website:

https://www.farmhousebeer.com/home

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, helles, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 4 - 5, beechwood, light, Logsdon Ales, Oregon | Leave a comment

The Orkney Brewery – Skull Splitter – 4 out of 7 notasmokebeer smokestacks

Posted on August 4, 2022 by SmokeBeerMinistry

This beer is pretty good for a beer that isn’t a smokebeer. I stumbled across multiple descriptions and posts online linking Skull Splitter to the realm of beers that taste like smoke, compelling the celebrant to deliver it to the tabernacle, and yet SmokeBeerMinistry feels completely betrayed, Judas. This Skull Splitter beer by The Orkney Brewery is a wee heavy ale, and apparently also a scotch ale as Orkney has defined this beer as both on separate occasions. I’m more familiar with scotch ales given that scotch ales usually include smoked malts in the mash bill, so we wind up crossing paths quite often, and it wasn’t until this writing that I learned Scotch Ale is synonymous with Wee Heavies; we both get to learn today. Regardless, my smoke detecting nasal passages and taste buds came up short on this day. On the bright side, this beer is one of the best scotch ales I’ve ever had. This tasted sweet upon the first sip. Then recognizable beer flavors shortly followed and stuck around for the session. Lots of small, tiny bubbles were fizzing around in every sip helping me breathe in everything this bottle has to offer. And its a solid beer. I’m going to end this right here. Final score – 4 out of 7 smokestacks. Middle of the road.

Brewer	The Orkney Brewery
Beer Name	Skull Splitter
Brewer’s Description	Skull Splitter is one of our strongest beers, named after Thorfinn Einarsson the 7th Viking Earl of Orkney. It is a sophisticated, satiny smooth and full flavoured beer. It has a rich fruity wine-like complexity with flavours of fresh and dried fruits, warm exotic spice and mellow summer fruity notes.
Food Pairings	A large turkey leg ripped from the carcass and a cluster of grapes still on the vine.
Brewer Location (They could have said Scotland)	The tranquil Orkney Islands, with their fertile farming lands and fishing grounds, have been inhabited for over 5000 years. The Orkney brewery is housed in the former schoolhouse in Quoyloo one mile from Skara Brae in the heart of Neolithic Orkney.
Alcohol content by volume	8.5
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	55
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	5.75
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	1.1
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	1.1
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	4.5
Foaminess 1-7 (thin ring – rabid dogs mouth)	4
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	4

You won’t get banished just because you arrive with mere traces of smoke.

Great website, great photography:

https://www.orkneybrewery.co.uk/

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 4 - 5, not a smokebeer, scotch ale, Scotland, The Orkney Brewery, Wee Heavy | Leave a comment

Brasserie Trois Dames – Bise Noire (Black Kiss) – 3.5 smokestacks out of 7

Posted on July 14, 2022 by SmokeBeerMinistry

Smells like sorghum. Looks like it too. This beer smells familiar. Familiar like malt, wheat, and an abused college bar at 10AM Sunday morning. But less familiar are the notes of caramel, burnt sorghum (which is already burnt I think) and almost tries to make me think there was a barrel nearby. And those scents and aromas follow all the way to the palate bringing with it no surprises. Bise Noire means black kiss, translated by my wife told me, she claims to speak French. She read the rest of what’s written on the bottle and said that there isn’t any smoke in this beer and told me to quit drinkin, so this will be my last beer until she goes to bed. Overall happiness metric = 3.5 smokestacks out of a total possible score of 7 smokestacks. ABV = 7.2 and I’m feeling it.

Brewer	Brasserie Trois Dames
Beer Name	Bise Noire
Brewer’s Description	Brewer is not returning my emails. Their loss, not ours.
Food Pairings	Snails
Brewer Location	Switzerland
Alcohol content by volume	7.20%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	5.5
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	1.25
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	1.1
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	5.5
Foaminess 1-7 (thin ring – rabid dogs mouth)	2
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	3.5

This website looks pretty cool. I want to visit Switzerland.

Accueil

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, Stout | Tagged 3 - 4, Brasserie Trois Dames, not a smokebeer, Stout, Switzerland | Leave a comment

Schlafly – Raspberry Chipotle Brown Ale – 3.2 out of 7 Smokestacks

Posted on June 19, 2022 by SmokeBeerMinistry

St. Louis’s well liked brewery Schlafly brewed this experimental Raspberry Chipotle Brown Ale that didn’t do too well, too bad. And it started off great with smoke on the nose right upon opening it, but then when I poured it into a glass and a frigging foam monster emerged. I fought it back and was able to give myself a decent pour after a sec. Then I tasted it and got peculiar peat flavors. I guess raspberries and smoked jalapeno peppers (chipotle peppers) combine to form a flavor that is less becoming. And while I begin to grow accustomed to these earthy, musty beer flavors, I notice the heat. spicy heat, picante, no caliente, The spiciness helped the score out a smidge, but overall, this beer ain’t my cup of tea (or suchong). Final score = 3.2 Smokestacks out of a total possible score of 7 Smokestacks.

Brewer	Schlafly
Beer Name	Raspberry Chipotle Brown Ale
Brewer’s Description… or, well, I found it on the internet, don’t actually know if the brewer wrote this.	Brewed with fresh raspberries and smoked, dried jalapeños, the new 5.9-percent abv entry is packaged in a 750-ml. bottle that highlights the beer’s experimental development process through a descriptive label and neck tag
Food Pairings	BBQ
Brewer Location	St. Louis, MO
Alcohol content by volume	5.90%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	24
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	3.3
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	3
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	2
Sausage detection? Y or N	N, not even chorizo
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	4
Foaminess 1-7 (thin ring – rabid dogs mouth)	7
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	3.2

They got a OK website:

Schlafly Beer Homepage

Posted in Beer, brown ale, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 3 - 4, ale, brown ale, chipotle, foam, fruit, fruit beer, jalapeño, Missouri, pepper, Schlafly | Leave a comment

Jester King – Figlet – 5.25 out of 7 smokestacks

Posted on May 15, 2022 by SmokeBeerMinistry

Everyone likes Jester King. Not everyone like figs, certainly not smoked figs, so why would anyone make a beer out of that? Well, for whatever the reason, it worked out well. The folks at the highly respected Jester King Brewery made Figlet, a farmhouse ale made out of smoked figs, and, of course, when SmokeBeerMinistry heard about this, we brought it into the tabernacle. Figlet starts off tasting tart and a little sour, just as you would expect from a farmhouse ale. And by drying out your mouth a bit, it compels you to go back to the glass for more. This is good beer. I hope you know about Jester King. We at SBM are grateful for opportunities to relax and drink beer. Grateful to be able to spend a little extra money on good beer. Grateful to go into the garage and hang upside-down on an inversion table while experimenting with recreational weed, but I digress. We are grateful for Jester King. And even with only traces of smoke coming through, the benevolent Ministers, Reverends, and Witchdoctors all agree that smokepower can be value added even when it’s playing second fiddle, even to figs, when you’re dealing with a tasty, well made beer. Overall, Figlet garners 5.25 Smokestacks out of 7.

Brewer	Jester King Brewery
Beer Name	Figlet
Brewer’s Description (paraphrased)	Figlet is a farmhouse ale refermented with Texas figs smoked by our friends at FRANKLIN BBQ. We sourced 200 pounds of figs from Little Om Farm in Elgin, Texas. Those figs were taken to Franklin BBQ where they were split in half before smoking. By doing this, more surface area was exposed, resulting in a higher concentration of smoke in the figs. We found that this resulted in what we consider to be a more balanced beer overall.
Food Pairings	Various dried snacky fruits that your granola girlfriend got from the co-op
Brewer Location	They’re outta Austin, right? Austin, Texas
Alcohol content by volume	5.4
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	Could be 28, or Zero
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	3
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	1.5
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	1.25
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	4.4
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	5.25

Solid photography on their website. Really good.

https://jesterkingbrewery.com/

https://jesterkingbrewery.com/main-blog/figlet-release-today

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, Farmhouse Ale, fruit beer, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 5 - 6, ale, farmhouse, fig beer, fruit, fruit beer, Jester King, Texas | Leave a comment

Little Fish Brewery – Enginuity – 2 out of 7 Smokestacks

Posted on April 6, 2022 by SmokeBeerMinistry

Down there at the bottom, see, Enginuity

Little Fish Brewery of Athens, Ohio has a good number of smoked beers to choose from. On this day SmokeBeerMinistry made it out to Ohio and got to test out Enginuity, a 5.8% abv smoked porter and it was a dud. I didn’t like it. It was too bitter, musty, the maltiness tasted funny, it had a unappealing dryness to it, and there was virtually no smoke. Then Little Fish retired this beer. How lucky Enginuity was to be served at 101 Beer Kitchen, I really like this place. I am interested in visiting this brewery however, in the hopes of discovering that this was just some kind of one-off situation. Here’s to hope. 2 smokestacks out of 7.

Brewer	Little Fish Brewing
Beer Name	Enginuity
Brewer’s Description	This porter, brewed with house-smoked malts, is a tribute to the freight train line that runs right on the edge of our property. We brew this coal-black ale with Ohio-grown barley, smoked in our custom smoker, with a mix of local hardwoods (cherry, chestnut oak, and applewood). If you are a fan of smoked beers, seek this one out!
Food Pairings	Chicken Pot Pie
Brewer Location	Athens, OH
Alcohol content by volume	5.80%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	no word on ibu
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	5.75
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	2
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	2
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	5
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	2

Check out their website, its pretty good. Even contains pages of archives.

https://littlefishbrewing.com/beer/enginuity/

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, porter, rauchbier, Smokebeer, Smoked Porter | Tagged 2 - 3, applewood, cherry wood, chestnut oak wood, Little Fish Brewery, Ohio, porter, Smoked Porter | Leave a comment

Sketchbook Brewing Company – Grodziskie – 5 out of 7 smokestacks

Posted on March 3, 2022 by SmokeBeerMinistry

Sketchbook Brewing’s Grodziskie has arrived in the SmokeBeerMinistry tabernacle.

I smell smoke. I don’t even have to try. A carefree wisp wafts out of the glass. Such a great start after having a bit of a difficult time with the last beer from Sketchbook (nothing personal). Today’s beer, Grodziskie by Sketchbook Brewing out of Skokie, Illinois (or is it Evanston?) is a solid effort from a brewery that I need to learn more about. A Grodziskie is a Polish style smoked wheat beer that falls on the lighter end of the beer spectrum, and this rendition falls on the lighter side of Grodziskies, really light. Just about every Grodziskie I’ve had (Gratzers included) usually has an undeniable wheat beer base to it, along with cloudiness, but not so much in this one. Sketchbook’s Grodziskie delivered a strong and proud degree of smoke power on the nose and palate, and it kept the abv. down pretty low at 4.1% which is indicative of the style, but the wheat beer elements tastes to have been swapped out with Coors Light as far as I can tell, or even one of those Bubly Sparkling Waters that everybody is drinking nowadays (wouldn’t a smoke flavored Bubly be a pleasant surprise?, regardless of it’s financial viability). But, it says on the back of the can that this beer won the Sam Adams Longshot award, and oddly enough, SBM reviewed another Longshot award, which was also a smokebeer, because that’s all we review here. I think all smokebeers should win awards. Honestly, SmokeBeerMinistry should give out awards, but that is an idea for another day. In conclusion, this beer is awarded 5 out of 7 smokestacks. And I look forward to whatever else Sketchbook smokes up next.

Brewer	Sketchbook Brewing Company
Beer Name	Grodziskie
Brewer’s Description	When Cesars historical smoked polish style wheat beer won the Sam Adams Longshot contest, it quickly captured the hearts of beer fans around the country.
Food Pairings	Gouda, Pork, Kielbasa, and BBQ
Brewer Location	Skokie, IL
Alcohol content by volume	4.1%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	22
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	1
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	4.5
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	5
Sausage detection? Y or N	Y
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	2
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	5

And Sketchbook has a decent website so we have their link below, but you really have to go to their Facebook page to get the low down. I hope we’re not actually going to do this move everything Meta thing.

https://www.sketchbookbrewing.com/

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer, Wheat beer | Tagged 5 - 6, can, enlighten, grodziskie, Illinois, light, Sketchbook Brewing | Leave a comment

Sketchbook Brewing Company – Smokey Jack – 3 out of 7 smokestacks

Posted on February 4, 2022 by SmokeBeerMinistry

I’ve liked about one out of every seven pumpkin beers I’ve had and this is not one of them. This beer was hand delivered to me by my old roommate, who was committed to finding a smoked beer that had not yet been introduced to SmokeBeerMinistry. And after a few tries, he achieved success in a mere 6 months. He joins an elite group and was promptly consecrated into The Ministry and frocked, and although he kept yelling Semikhah during the ceremony, the outbursts were deemed acceptable given our non-denominational status. But more about the beer… Right off the bat wafted notes of Christmas beer (the worst notes found in pumpkin beers). SmokeBeerMinstry is looking for Yule Log and Smokey Jack delivered a scented candle. Deeper in the nose is a decent saison, but you gotta get pretty deep in the weeds to find that. And written on the back of the can it lists “cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves” which has got to be the four horsemen of the beer apocalypse. And as I sip looking for smoke, or even a decent saison, I can’t seem to get potpourri out of my head. Smoke is in there, however, and it doesn’t help matters out much at all. I guess I’m dogging this beer pretty hard, but don’t go looking for Sketchbook to straighten this all out, as they have stricken Smokey Jack from their website (but it’s still mentioned on Facebook, however). Final score for this beer is a generous 3 out of 7 smokestacks.

Brewer	Sketchbook Brewing Company
Beer Name	Smokey Jack
Brewer’s Description	One hundred smoked pumpkins. Just a touch of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and clove.A whiff of maple syrup. All riding on a dry and spicy saison. Smokey Jack is here for the autumn.
Food Pairings	Turkey dinner
Brewer Location	Skokie, IL
Alcohol content by volume	7.50%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	25
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	2.5
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	1.5
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	2
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	4
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	3

Pretty decent website Sketchbook has:

https://www.sketchbookbrewing.com

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 3 - 4, can, Illinois, Pecan, pumpkin, saison, Sketchbook Brewing, smokebeer | Leave a comment

Bolero Snort – Imperial Moountie – 5 out of 7 Smokestacks

Posted on January 8, 2022 by SmokeBeerMinistry

In the year of Our Lord 2022, SmokeBeerMinistry will try to come out of pandemic hibernation and start drinking and reviewing beers that taste like smoke again. Oddly enough, SBM’s heaviest traffic days have come in just the last few weeks; quite the surprise. Kicking off the new year with an Imperial Smoked Brown Ale with coffee and maple syrup called Imperial Moountie by Bolero Snort. This beer is a nice, ingredient heavy beer that was actually brewed by a separate company called Cypress Brewing, also in New Jersey. It’s a good beer. It’s got a mild sweetness to it, and a mild bitterness to it, a mild coffee-ness to it, and a mild sourness to it. Too timid? I wonder if they originally made a brown ale and thought there wasn’t enough punch to it, so they added coffee, and still didn’t like it and added smoked malts, and still wanted more and added maple syrup, and then just bottled it and sold it? Maybe. They certainly didn’t love this beer seeing how they stopped making it and retired this beer. They don’t even mention it on their website. So if you want to try it, good luck finding one, but I bet there are still a few out there. Fans of coffee beers will love this beer. SBM is not so much into coffee beers, but we reward quality and that comes through upon pouring this fairly viscous, dark, and boozy snifter beer. Two full pours out of this champagne bottle was enough for me, but I’m going to have a third and finish this bottle because you the reader deserve it. Final score comes in at 5 smokestacks out of 7. You folks be safe out there.

Brewer	Bolero Snort
Beer Name	Imperial Moountie
Brewer’s Description	What better way to combat a bit of winter nip in the air than to whip up an imperial version of one of our Fall favorites. We scaled up our cherrywood smoked malt heavy base to a mash maxing level to get this morning wake up to 10.5% then conditioned it on maple syrup and coffee. Syrup smothered bacon and pancakes washed down by a warm cup of joe. (from passionvines.com, maybe it’s the actual brewers description, I don’t know)
Food Pairings	A messy fried chicken sandwich smothered in syrup
Brewer Location	Carlstadt, NJ
Alcohol content by volume	10.5%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	IBU = (W grams * U% * A% * 1000)/(V liters * C gravity) = a number that does not reflect perceived bitterness tasted in beer, so it’s stupid.
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	6.5
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	2.85
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	3
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	5.75
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	5

I like spreadsheets

Website:

bolerosnort.com

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 5 - 6, ale, beer, Bolero Snort, boozy, brown ale, cherry wood, coffee, imperial, maple syrup, New Jersey, smokebeer | Leave a comment

Pipeworks – Smoked Helles – 5.8 smokestacks out of 7

Posted on February 15, 2021 by SmokeBeerMinistry

This works! By Pipeworks, Smoked Helles. Helles means Light, according to the inebriated employee at a random Kentucky liquor store, (I don’t recall ever verifying that Helles statement). And this Smoked Helles by Pipeworks really fits the genre better than just about anyone out there who has ever made one. Pipework’s Smoked Helles has full force smokepower smell and taste from what I suspect are beechwood smoked malts, a hand full of thirst quenching bitters, and just enough alcohol to brighten your day after 16 ounces, or 32, or… The gold standard of smoked helles beers is by Aecht Schlenkerla out of Bamberg, Germany and this rendition does them proud. Something I haven’t shared on SmokeBeerMinistry yet was my pilgrimage to Bamberg, and into the center of the mountain where they brew their beer; it was a surreal experience. But at the time Pipeworks Smoked Helles was reviewed, I was well past an entire bottle of wine and seem to have jotted down ramblings encouraging readers to review the website’s About page, or Mission Statement; or not, who cares, its been a tough pandemic on us all, and this is a beer blog, how many curve balls could possibly be out there? I’ve been critical of Pipework’s creations in the past, and their business model in general. They deploy the scattergun technique, and produce an ever changing palate of beer concoctions and have never to my knowledge held steady onto any one recipe that I can find on two separate trips to the liquor store. But it is on this day that I learned the wisdom of the seeker. This search is central to SmokeBeerMinistry, and that makes me happy. Pipeworks Smoked Helles – 5.8 smokestacks out of 7.

Brewer	Pipeworks
Beer Name	Smoked Helles
Brewer’s Description	I couldn’t find one, and I really tried scouring their website, which is just about the shittiest website I’ve ever seen. There’s an image of a cowboy campfire scene on the can.
Food Pairings	chicken wings
Brewer Location	Chicago, IL
Alcohol content by volume	5.0%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	idk, it’s prolly something
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	2.9
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	6
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	6
Sausage detection? Y or N	Y
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	3
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	5.8

And then you have this website… Maybe I’m expecting too much to come from a decent website.

https://pdubs.net/about

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, helles, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 5 - 6, beer, can, Chicago beer, drunk, enlighten, helles, Illinois, light, Pipeworks, smokebeer | Leave a comment

Freigeist and Against the Grain Breweries – Zerbster Bitterbier (A Traditional German Style Smoked Beer) – 4 out of 7 smokestacks

Posted on August 1, 2020 by SmokeBeerMinistry

The darker one. In a can is kinda rare. What the hell are you reading? This is the most comprehensive beer site in the world dedicated entirely to beers that taste like smoke. And the beer up for review today is a collaboration beer from Freigeist Brewery and Against the Grain brewery. As far as I can tell, the name of this one is Zerbster Bitterbier and it is the second canned smoked beer from this series that the two breweries put together, making it into the SmokeBeerMinistry tabernacle. Upon opening, the beer gushed up and out of the can all over the counter-top. Oddly enough, the other collaboration beer from these two was also extra fizzy, and even more odd, This beer marks the EIGHTH smoky beer from AGT that has been a collaboration beer. Are they completely unwilling to make a beer without the guidance of others? In any case, this beer, Zerbster Bitterbeer, is a traditional German style smoked beer that hits close to home (Bamberg, Germany) and brought with it a whole buncha hoppy bitters along with some smoke, and thousands of tiny bubbles I already mentioned. I’ve been drinkin and got drunk. This is not what The Ministry is looking for, but we’re not casting them out either. Final score = 4 smokestacks out of 7. End of infallible oration, typed by google.

Brewer	Freigeist Brewery & AGT
Beer Name	Zerbster Bitterbier
Brewer’s Description	An Unconventional Pair Somewhere between “I don’t wanna be a chicken” and “I don’t wanna be a duck” Smoke and Hop lock eyes. Gallivanting across the dance floor Smoke meets Hop and they shake their butts. Their traditional nature separates them, but infatuation keeps them together. So, they spice things up and share a boot of this smoked beer over a special sausage. Prost!
Food Pairings	Wiener schnitzel
Brewer Location	Kentucky / Bamberg Germany
Alcohol content by volume	6.8%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	12?
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	3
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	2
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	2.5
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	4
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	4

Posted in Beer, Bitterbier, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 4 - 5, against the grain, bitter, Bitterbier, drunk, Freigeist, Germany, Goller, hops, Kentucky, smokebeer | Leave a comment

Against the Grain – Lichtenhainer (A traditional German style smoked sour beer) – 3.9 smokestacks out of 7

Posted on July 25, 2020 by SmokeBeerMinistry

The brewery that seems financially sound, but has to reel in countless other brewers to produce a decent beer (and then make crude diarrhea jokes about it), has produced two canned smoked beers that have been marginally approved by The Ministry Celebrants at SmokeBeerMinistry. Against The Grain Brewery has convinced the team at Freigeist Brewery (Braustelle) to pool their resources, and produce this traditional Lichtenhainer beer. And while the final score is a 3.9 out of 7 smokestacks, we still think you should try it if you’re interested in overly carbonated, under smoked, but a still drinkable example of a lichtenhainer beer. On the lighter end of the smokebeer spectrum, lichtenhainers are smoked sour wheat beers, traditionally from Germany. This one in particular produces a bunch of burps. This beer strikes me as just another swing for the fence, in the hopes that it’ll go viral in the beer world somehow, but it didn’t, and as it turns out, they discontinued this beer before I put the review online, but what can I say, I gave them my money.

Brewer	Freigeist Brewery & AGT
Beer Name	Lichtenhainer
Brewer’s Description	Smoke stepped out of his estate in the Lichtenhain hills of Thuringia to see the carnage the people had left. He’s always been accused of doing things people don’t like. The townspeople hate it when he makes something different. Armed with disdain for such a melding of styles they launched their unrest at Smoke’s spirit. This isn’t the first time and it won’t be the last, but he’s not mad. He stands proudly with his monocle showing the future for taste buds among the people, including this smoked sour.
Food Pairings	Wiener schnitzel
Brewer Location	Brewed at Göller facility Germany
Alcohol content by volume	4.7%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	I wonder
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	1.95
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	1.25
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	1.75
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	2
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	3.9

Spreadsheets don’t translate well in beer blogs.

Are these age verification things the law of the internet? In the history of the internet, has one ever worked?

https://www.sheltonbrothers.com/breweries/freigeist/

https://atgbrewery.com/

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer, Sour beer, Wheat beer | Tagged 3 - 4, against the grain, Braustelle, drunk, Freigeist, Germany, Kentucky, sour, wheat | Leave a comment

Amager Bryghus – Black Donald – 3.3 smokestacks out of 7

Posted on June 30, 2020 by SmokeBeerMinistry

Jumping right in on this one. This tastes like a cigar made out of tobacco roots. The flavor is packed with peat, dirty peat, tar and peat. I taste a boozy (11% abv) smooth burnt caramel square. Is there liquid smoke in here? I have to say, this beer is better than BrewDog’s Paradox Smokehead beer, if I remember correctly. Paradox was this beer that I had a long time ago, and didn’t like too much, so I hunted it down for a do-over review and found it after at least 5 years of hunting, and I didn’t like it the second time either. And here we are years after that, and now I’m drinking Amager’s Black Donald beer, and it tastes like that same beer is down in this glass, but for some reason, this is like a home coming. Did you grow up in a neighborhood with a mean old man on the corner? And years down the road you go back to visit your old house, and there’s Old Man Sandy shaking and shouting at you, “You’re driving too damn fast!” And as his lawn rake slides all down the side of your paint job, all you can feel is love and warmth in your heart. This beer is that old man.

Final score: 3.3 Smokestacks out of 7.

Brewer	Amager Bryghus
Beer Name	Black Donald
Brewer’s Description	Now first of all, don’t get things mixed up: Black Donald was here way before that other Donald. And Black Donald is not involved in race or politics. Black Donald is all about plain evil, because he is himself the Devil – plain and simple. Black Donald takes many shapes. He may come as the well-dressed guest at the poker table – only given away by the cloven-hoofed goat feet he hides underneath. Those feet will always give him away, no matter what disguise he uses. And as a goat is how you’ll most often see him – with a long chain clanking after him. As this shape-shifting goat, Black Donald is known to cause terror all over the North of Scotland, often for no other purpose than to simply frighten people. If for some reason you need the help of the Devil – for instance against your enemies – a so called taghairm can be formed. A sort of spiritual calling involving the spit-roasting of live cats. It’s a long and complicated ceremony, and we honestly cannot recommend it. Also since you will forever be indebted to Black Donald himself.
Food Pairings	Let’s pick up Danish for Belle
Brewer Location	Kastrop, Denmark (Amager Island)
Alcohol content by volume	11%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	51
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	6
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	3
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	4
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	4
Barrel Power 1-7 (in name only – burns nose)	3
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	3.3

Decent website:

https://www.amagerbryghus.dk/

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 3 - 4, Amager, ash tray, boozy, Denmark, dirt, peat, root, scotch, smokebeer | Leave a comment

Unity Vibration – BrewGyver Kombucha Beer – 3 smokestacks out of 7

Posted on October 3, 2019 by SmokeBeerMinistry

I’m in so deep with this smokebeer thing that I branched out and bought a smoked kombucha. Or is it kombucha beer? Kombucha is a fermented, slightly alcoholic, fizzy, sweetened drink that Whole Foods customers think have health benefits, (they might be right). This kombucha beer called BrewGyver, made by the vegan-paleo-artisinal team at Unity Vibration hits the smokestack ratings on the lower end, which was higher than I was expecting. This kombucha-beer (kombucha-beer reminds me of the term cheese-food, which KraftHeinz will have you know cheese-food is NOT cheese, cheese-food is something different that the gov’t allowed them to invent in order to distract you long enough to get your money) but this kombucha-beer drink smells sweet and sour. Has noticeable fruit scents in it. Has a weird but light smoke taste to it along with a mild sting on the tongue. And a flat and dry finish. My friend liked it. I said I’d never buy it again. Plus, it had a good bit of sediment down in the bottom, which I don’t really like. I’m done. BrewGyver, overall score = a generous 3 smokestacks out of 7.

Brewer	Unity Vibration
Beer Name	BrewGyver Kombucha Beer
Brewer’s Description	Brewed in honor of our “brewgyver”. Kombucha beer hopped with galena, chinook, and crystal hops. With strawberry, maple syrup, and smoked maple chips.
Food Pairings	Anything Local-Vegan-Paleo that doesn’t cast a shadow
Brewer Location	Ypsilanti, MI
Alcohol content by volume	8.26%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	122.5 (I swear, that’s what they have on the bottle)
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	1.75
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	1
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	1.5
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	3
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	3

Good Website:

Kombucha Beer

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, Kombucha, Kombucha Beer, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 3 - 4, fruit beer, Kombucha, Kombucha Beer, maple syrup, Michigan, rare, rauchbier, strawberry | Leave a comment

Samuel Adams – Cinder Bock – 5 out of 7 smokestacks

Posted on September 13, 2019 by SmokeBeerMinistry

It’s OK. I’ve had this beer before. I’ve not only had a Cinder Bock by Samuel Adams before (in 2008 if I remember correctly), but I’ve also had beers from other breweries that taste exactly the same as this one, and I can’t remember any of those beers names, but I think they were from Colorado maybe. This beer smells sweet, nutty, slightly smoky. I smell caramel. Smells good. Tastes good. Not enough smoke. And this is one of those times (oftentimes) that low smoke is bad, but sometimes low smoke could be good (other times). But because of the “everything else factor” low smoke in this beer is bad. And I can tell that I am particularly fatigued at this moment and have no interest in saving this review as a draft and returning to it with any extra vigor, no sir, plowing through this review here and now. This beer is good. No dynamite element. Brew this with a bucket of “everything else plus smoke” and Sam Adams gets a dynamite smokestack rating. 5 is respectable. And so is Sam Adam’s small business lending branch of the company. End times.

Brewer	Sam Adams (The Boston Beer Company)
Beer Name	Cinder Bock Rauchbock
Brewer’s Description	Unusual and playful this cross-breed brew begins with a rush of smoky, almost savory, aromas and flavors. The distinctive campfire smokiness of a rauchbier lingers and begins to reveal the rich and velvety malt smoothness of a double bock with notes of toffee and caramel. This roguish brew transforms from its bold start to a hearty and satisfying finish.
Food Pairings	Boston cream pie? What do they eat in Boston? Clam Chowda?
Brewer Location	Boston , MA
Alcohol content by volume	9.4%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	N/A
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	3.85
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	2.5
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	3
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	5.5
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	5

And who calls them The Boston Beer Company anyway?

https://www.samueladams.com/

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 5 - 6, bock, dopplebock, Massachusetts, Samuel Adams | Leave a comment

Deschutes – Baltic Porter – 4 Smokestacks (out of 7)

Posted on July 17, 2019 by SmokeBeerMinistry

Smells like beer, not smokebeer, but good beer, but sometimes I get really trashed and drink good beer and then I’m too drunk to enjoy it, or it goes to waste one way or another, taking me over the edge… Maybe this beer is bringing back bad memories. This beer seems mass produced due to the fairly faint flavors and the thin consistency (thirst quenching with low viscosity). I’m getting a little musty – dusty flavor in this. I’ll approve Deschutes “edge of smokiness” comment printed on the bottle. And, after getting interrupted by my phone for 20 minutes, I realize that my sobriety has long since left and it hasn’t increased my personal allotment of utils of pleasure. I have the hiccups. This beer is ok. This beer is not a smokebeer. Deschutes is a good brewery and I look forward to something more bold and smoky. Baltic Porter… meh. Overall metric = 4 smokestacks out of a total possible smokestack rating of 7 smokestacks, which means that this beer is something that wouldn’t be missed if it disappeared.

Brewer	Deschutes
Beer Name	Baltic Porter
Brewer’s Description	A rich malt character highlights flavors of toffee, dried fruit, and molasses with an edge of smokiness. Chalk art by Ben Woodcock
Food Pairings	Hamburgers
Brewer Location	Bend, Oregon
Alcohol content by volume	8%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	25
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	4
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	2
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	2
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	3
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	4

Website is all professional! Beer culture is coming around:)

Baltic Porter

Home Page

Posted in Baltic Porter, Beer, Educate, Enlighten, porter, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 4 - 5, Baltic Porter, Deschutes, drunk, not a smokebeer, Oregon, porter | Leave a comment

Ganstaller Brau – Schwarze 90 = 5 smokestacks out of 7

Posted on June 14, 2019 by SmokeBeerMinistry

This beer doesn’t taste smoked. And that’s mostly because it’s not a smoked beer, but it is made by one of the most reputable brewers who happens to have a solid selection of smoky beers, so you can say that reputation had a hand in getting this into the tabernacle. But this is good beer nonetheless. It tastes a bit too bitter for what I would call ideal. But lets get down to brass tacks, I’m a bit drunk at the moment. This is like rich peoples beer. I like rich people’s things. I own some rich people’s things because they weren’t paying attention. Slight bits of bitters down in there. I like golf. I used to drive an Infinity. This beer has metallic notes in there, like iron, and not like copper. These folks have made other beers that SmokeBeerMinistry has ranked, which you can read about here, here, and here. Final score = 5.

Brewer	Gänstaller Bräu
Beer Name	Schwarze 90
Brewer’s Description	For a Russian Imperial weighing in at nearly 12%, Schwarze 90 has a surprisingly citrusy, grapefruity and piney nose and palate. The trademark rich, creamy Gänstaller mouthfeel is backed up with plenty of bitter roastiness in the finish. A truly unique dark crossover bottom-fermented beer, with the brewery’s typically huge but balanced flavors on display.
Food Pairings	Hamburgers, pub food, eat with big bites, chug beer
Brewer Location	Hallerndorf, Germany
Alcohol content by volume	11.9%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	unimportant
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	5
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	2
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	2
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	4.5
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	5

Here’s my hi tech translucency tool for the color metric (SRMs for the overly informed). Science.

Ganstaller Brau’s website is not OK. But we do have the Shelton Brothers

http://www.ganstallerbrau.de/

https://www.sheltonbrothers.com/breweries/ganstaller-brau/

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Russian Imperial Stout, Smokebeer | Tagged 5 - 6, boozy, Denmark, drunk, Gänstaller Bräu, lager, Russian Imperial Stout, schwarzbier, Stout | Leave a comment

De Dochter van de Korenaar – Sans Pardon – 4 smokestacks out of 7

Posted on May 24, 2019 by SmokeBeerMinistry

SmokeBeerMinistry first learned about these guys back in January of 2017, and since then they took my advice and put some effort into their website, at least I’d like to believe that it was my advice that they acted on. The next step will be to get them to look into organizing a robust, over the top, smoky beer. To be fair, that was not their intention here with Sans Pardon, how ironic. This beer smells like excellent beer. Slight smoke notes, stout beer wafting around, a bit of caramel, which is fairly balanced with the malts, bitter notes, and a number of other tastes like coffee, nuttiness, and must. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I got this beer. I know about De Dochter and the caliber of their work, regardless of my palate. And, with this beer being 11% abv, I’m only happy to investigate what about this beer drove them to write “touch of smoke” on this little dangling paper tag tied to the fancy bag the bottle is wrapped in (is presentation everything?) But the smell and taste kind of diverge, and the review gets a little tough for them. I taste burnt coffee, and musty basement, ash, something fruity, and I swear I taste old red wine, but that might be wafting off my shirt. Also, the carbonation had about a month left in its life, because the bubbles were tiny fizzy bubbles that dissipated quickly. I still liked this beer better than their Vanilla Smoked Porter that you can read about here. Anyhow, Final score = 4 Smokestacks, out of 7. Also, Rooibos is a kind of tea.

Here’s a picture of the bottle still in its paper sack, probably feeling all uppity.

Here’s the spreadsheet that will pay dividends any day now… any day.

Brewer	De Dochter van de Korenaar
Beer Name	Sans Pardon
Brewer’s Description	Classic heavy bittersweet ‘Imperial Stout’ with a touch of ‘Rooibos’, 11% vol. Sans Pardon is one of the toughest full malt beers from the brewery. Black as the night, with a creamy head. The high alcohol content complements the coffee and chocolate aspects in the beer. The ‘Rooibos’ gives the beer that extra touch of fruitiness. Sans Pardon the tastiest.
Food Pairings	Sans Pardon tastes delicious with spicy hard cheeses.
Brewer Location	Baarle-Hertog, Belgium
Alcohol content by volume	11%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	some say 50, I say meaningless
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	5.5
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	4
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	3
Sausage detection? Y or N	n/a
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	5
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	4

Looks like a family business:

http://www.dedochtervandekorenaar.be/?lang=en

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Russian Imperial Stout, Smokebeer | Tagged 4 - 5, Belgium, De Dochter van de Korenaar, imperial, Rooibos, Russian, Russian Imperial Stout, Stout, tea | Leave a comment

Half Batch – Peppersprout Smoked Porter – 3 out of 7 smokestacks

Posted on April 12, 2019 by SmokeBeerMinistry

I remember this one. And I cannot believe that I liked the smoked pumpkin beer more than this beer which I had on the same day. The Tap House in Chattanooga, TN seems to be on the right track with two distinctly different smoked beers available for The Ministry to throw back, on a day that civil war reenactors exchanged cannon reports (without the cannon balls) between the top of Lookout Mountain and the bottom, way way down, in front of that mental hospital at the bend in the river (serenity now). It was too good of a day where Papaw and the baby, and the baby’s parents, all went out on an adventure without incident. And then this beer tasting on the jaunt back into town came as quite the refuge from all the excitement. Peppersprout – Smoked Porter with Roasted Jalapenos by Half Baked Brewing of Hendersonville, TN has promise, but not without criticism. What’s in this beer? Pepper? Chipotle? I can’t tell; I didn’t have a description at the time, and in fact, I still don’t have a description, just a longer version of the name. And at the table, a green horn Ministry official stated, “I’ve had better” and “This gives me indigestion.” But I have taught him well, because these are my thoughts too. This beer has just enough heat to the spice to make me want to drink more, more of a different beer. The Tap House Chattanooga takes the prize on this day. Better luck next time Half Baked.

Brewer	Half Baked Brewing
Beer Name	Peppersprout – Smoked Porter with Roasted Jalapenos
Brewer’s Description	Missed opportunity
Food Pairings	Hotdogs
Brewer Location	Hendersonville, TN
Alcohol content by volume	5.2
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	27
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	4
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	3
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	2
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	3
Spiciness 1 – 7 (mild – painful)	4
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	3

Website, well, it’s up, I guess that’s their victory:

https://halfbatchbrewing.com

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 3 - 4, Half Baked, jalapeño, pepper, porter, Tennessee | Leave a comment

Fat Bottom Brewing – Fire Starter smoked pumpkin porter = 4.5 smokestacks out of 7

Posted on March 15, 2019 by SmokeBeerMinistry

Chattanooga is cool. Chris Calhoun is probably alright too. While his straightforwardly business name The Tap House might lack creativity, his beer menu does not. At the time of this drinking, The Tap House had 2 smoked beers on tap, both of which were new to The Ministry. As for the beer, not bad, well, too bitter. It has a dryness on the exhale. I can just barely taste the pumpkin, which is a good thing, and the potpourri spice garbage that often comes hand in hand with pumpkin beers is virtually non existent, which is a really good thing. This beer is OK. That’s all I have. I look forward to returning to The Tap House Chatt.

Brewer	Fat Bottom Brewing
Beer Name	Firestarter Smoked Pumpkin Porter
Brewer’s Description	We put our spin on the classic porter by using Pecan smoked malt, smoked wheat, and real pumpkin. It’s velvety on the palate, and finishes with notes of nutmeg, cinnamon, and real vanilla. It’s just like drinking the Autumn season in a glass!
Food Pairings	Burgers
Brewer Location	Nashville, TN
Alcohol content by volume	6.5%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	30
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	3.75
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	3.8
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	4
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	4
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	4.5

Fat Bottom Brewing website:

https://fatbottombrewing.com/drink/

The Tap House (Chattanooga)

http://www.taphousechatt.com/

Also, I spotted this under the resin top bar. Its a good sign…

Posted in Beer | Leave a comment

Blind Pig Brewery – Bamberger Smoked Helles – 4.5 smokestacks out of 7

Posted on February 15, 2019 by SmokeBeerMinistry

This beer smells like beechwood smoked malts straight out of Bamberg. Although The Blind Pig Brewery resides in Champaign, IL, which is a cool 3 places in the recently revived Champaign downtown. 1)the brewery, 2) the brewery extension that has its own separate entrance and is technically connected to the brewery, but it seems like its own place to some of the locals, and 3) the original Bling Pig bar that is my favorite of the three mostly because of the hidden cove seating options, not to mention the twin city leader for beer selection. And speaking of The Blind Pig, this Bamberger Smoked Helles lager beer on the agenda today, happens to be the 5th smoked beer this fine establishment snuck into SmokeBeerMinistry (lucky them). The taste comes off as a bit too bitter. And the smoke power dissipates along with my enthusiasm as I get down farther into the glass. This beer reminds me of Schlenkerla Helles Lager but that didn’t boost the score too much. The Blind Pig used smoked malts, which should lead you to investigate how Aecht Schlenkerla makes a smoky beer without using smoked malts (research project for you my friend). Well anyway, I blasted my shoulders at the gym today. I’ve recently switched to an all overhead press workout and it leaves me exhausted for the rest of the day. At least a couple hundred reps of heavy weights up over my head. I’m too fuckin manly. Oh, and Helles means light. Final score 4.5 smokestacks (out of 7).

Brewer	Blind Pig Brewery
Beer Name	Bamberger Smoked Helles
Brewer’s Description	Augustiner yeast. 25% beechwood smoked malts… which I read off the menu. The website has erroneously posted some other beer’s notes in Bambergers description.
Food Pairings	Pub fare
Brewer Location	Champaign, IL
Alcohol content by volume	5.0%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	idk
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	2.9
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	5
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	4
Sausage detection? Y or N	Y
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	2
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	4.5

Website:

https://www.blindpigco.com

Posted in Beer | Leave a comment

Amager Bryghus / ATG – Kentucky Sausage – 2 out of 7 smokestacks

Posted on January 11, 2019 by SmokeBeerMinistry

I found this beer in the discount bin. It always helps to spend less, although we must stop short of saying that we are saving money; you can’t save money by making purchases. Amager Bryghus of Demark is a reputable brewery, now with two beers making it into the tabernacle, and Against the Grain Brewery of Louisville, KY (USA) is another story. ATG gets beat up a bit (too much) on this site because they employ the quantity over quality approach, along with a disappointingly crass public relations campaign. But, collaborating with some of the better brewers around the world, fortunately works to elevate ATG’s clout in the industry. But what’s in it for Amager? Distribution I suppose. ATG must have a hell of a salesman working for them, because anyone willing to work with a company that put a crude image of an undressed man with diarrhea on their beer cans, is not functioning completely on their own accord. And this beer’s name, referencing dicks, could only be the product of those clever wits at ATG. Typically, no matter how (un)clever the marketing team is, the name of a beer hints at the flavor or style. Not here however. And this beer, an imperial brown ale, was awfully bitter, is not similar to most other brown ales, isn’t a fest beer, and doesn’t taste like sausage. And after 20 minutes of complaining about this beer, I realize that I haven’t taken a second sip in that 20 minutes. Maybe I just didn’t get enough sleep last night? There ain’t no smoke in here! The froth on top helped aerate the flavor a bit, there, that’s my good deed for the day. Overall score = 2 smokestacks.

Brewer	Amager Bryghus / ATG
Beer Name	The Great, Big Kentucky Sausage Fest
Brewer’s Description	We expected banjos and Bourbon but received nothing of that sort. Instead our brew day with the handsome fellers of Against The Grain Brewery from Louisville, Kentucky turned into a hotdog eating contest. Yep, no kiddin’. Big Kentuckian feller, Sam, challenged our own big feller, Jacob, as to who could down the most gourmet hotdogs, big and spicy as they were with specialty toppings. Well, Sam should never have done that….should you Sam? However, a beer was indeed brewed in between all the trash talk and wieners. We hope you’ll enjoy this hoppy Imperial Brown Ale – it was designed to go with hotdogs in particular and other spicy and smoked foods.
Food Pairings	hot dogs, spicy and smoked foods
Brewer Location	Kastrup, Denmark
Alcohol content by volume	7.7%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	20
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	3.75
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	1
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	2
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	5
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	2

Websites:

http://www.amagerbryghus.dk/

http://www.atgbrewery.com/

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 2 - 3, against the grain, Amager, brown ale, Denmark, imperial, Kentucky | Leave a comment

Port Huron Brewery – $1Million Smoked Maibock – 4 Smokestacks out of 7

Posted on December 21, 2018 by SmokeBeerMinistry

Port Huron Brewery of Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin produced this here $1M Smoked Maibock in a bottle, which I’ve had on tap in the past, but had to test this bottle out for some reason. This beer smells like a four dollar smoked maibock, not quite a million. Maibocks are stronger lager beers, German in origin, and on the pale side of a regular bock beer. This one, however, is a bit off the maibock mark that Wikipedia suggests. This beer also smells of notes of something I call “brand new brewery and/or unrefined brewing processes still working on tightening it all up and serving our community top notch shit, but at least we have all the necessary equipment” smell (which sounds better if you say it real fast). Smoke smell from this beer dissipates a bit over the life of this beer, which is about 10 minutes, but the taste seems to have some staying power. Carbonation is a bit on the light side and after the thick head settled down, there was hardly any bubbles left, which is another newbie trademark. It still tastes fine though. Malt, warm grape nuts, and caramel flavors, moderate smoke, and more notes and flavors of factory floor in the new brewery, which ain’t that bad. So, ahh… it’s late here. This beer is OK. I don’t want to say more things. Final smoke metric = 4 smokestacks.

Brewer	Port Huron Brewing
Beer Name	Million Dollar Smoked Maibock (bottle)
Brewer’s Description	A collaboration brew between Port Huron Brewing Co. & One Barrel Brewing from Madison. This hefty Maibock is brewed with just the right amount of smoked malt to give it a fantastic smoky nose and the right amount of smoky flavor. Dangerously drinkable! Available in spring for a limited time!
Food Pairings	Pub Grub, cheese curds, pie
Brewer Location	Wisconsin Dells, WI
Alcohol content by volume	7%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	no
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	3.8
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	4.5
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	5
Sausage detection? Y or N	Y
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	3
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	4

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer, Sour beer | Tagged 4 - 5, lager, Maibock, Port Huron Brewing, Wisconsin | Leave a comment

Pearl Street Brewery – Smokin’ Hemp Porter – 4 out of 7 smokestacks

Posted on December 7, 2018 by SmokeBeerMinistry

Smells like a 4, tastes like a 4 (on a 1 – 7 scale). Reminds me of Stone smoked porter, but with more roasted flavors (when I want more smoke). This beer is kinda thin, dark, but not dense with particles because light seems to pierce right through my full glass, which isn’t necessarily bad, but it does explain why I’m not currently touring flavor country. Halfway through this beer and I’m getting cottonmouth. Swear. Only encouraging me to drink more (clever, but dangerous), but I don’t care. The world needs someone to drink as many smokebeers as possible and then write about them, I think, therefore this is my contribution to the world. You’re welcome. You should watch the TV show Alone. It’s about a buncha people isolated out in the woods, filming themselves, slowly coming to the realization that they have gotten themselves in over their heads. I find that funny. And I bet I could be one of those people. In the woods, filming myself slowly deteriorate for your amusement. Give me a couple more of these Smokin’ Hemp Porters and I’ll sign up. Also, I don’t know anything about the outdoors. Pearl Street looks like they’ve stamped “BB” on their bottle caps. Now I’m confused. Anyway, here’s a family friendly smokebeer for you. Smokin’ Hemp Porter. It’s OK! Final smokestack rating = 4 smokestacks out of 7.

Brewer	Pearl Street Brewery
Beer Name	Smokin’ Hemp Porter
Brewer’s Description	Another Pearl Street original. This dark, smooth, and easy drinkin’ porter is made with cherry-wood smoked malt and toasted Canadian hemp seeds. Released each year on 4/20 and aged throughout the year, its flavor matures with time.
Food Pairings	Burgers and Fries
Brewer Location	La Crosse, Wisconsin
Alcohol content by volume	5.5%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	18
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	4
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	3.5
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	3.5
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	3
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	4

Good Website:

https://pearlstreetbrewery.com/

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 4 - 5, cherry wood, Hemp, Pearl Street Brewery, porter, roasted, Wisconsin | Leave a comment

High Water – Campfire Stout – 3.5 smokestacks out of 7

Posted on November 23, 2018 by SmokeBeerMinistry

I sure smell marshmallows in this beer, and the second smell is graham crackers. Smoke smell is in there somewhere, but it has a lot to compete with. It may even be only roasted notes that are tricking me into believing in something that isn’t really there. But, the word campfire and accompanying image of one on the bottle was too much of a smoke signal to pass buying and bringing into the tabernacle. They sure got the sweet sugar flavors into this beer. This beer reminds me of something, some beer thing, some memory of a beer experience, and not of a campfire experience. Not like any campfire experience (repetition for emphasis). As I get halfway through this bottle, I think that this beer delivers on their marshmallow and graham cracker target, but I only want more and more of a smoky campfire experience. This beer has potential. This free consultation is for High Water Brewing only, which some brewers can expect to pay thousands of dollars for = needs tons more smoke, all else fine. You’re welcome. Overall beer satisfaction numeral = 3.5 smokestacks out of a possible 7 smokestacks.

Brewer	High Water Brewing
Beer Name	Campfire Stout
Brewer’s Description	“Leaves you wanting S’More” Stout brewed with graham crackers, molasses with natural flavor added. Campfire Stout evokes fond memories of wilderness and camping adventures. Notes of chocolate and graham cracker topped with a hint of marshmallow will leave you wanting s’more. Like any campfire experience, this beer is best shared with a warm circle of family and friends.
Food Pairings	Hot Dogs
Brewer Location	Lodi, CA
Alcohol content by volume	6.5%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	39
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	5.95
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	4
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	3
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	6
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	3.5

Good website:

http://www.highwaterbrewing.com/

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 3 - 4, California, Graham Cracker, High Water Brewing, Marshmallow, Stout | Leave a comment

Dovetail Brewery – Flanders Rauch X01 -5 smokestacks out of 7

Posted on November 16, 2018 by SmokeBeerMinistry

This is the last review of the Dovetail Brewery tabernacle takeover month, where SmokeBeerMinistry reviewed 4 different beers from Dovetail that are all smokebeers in some capacity. And this review in particular spilled into the next month because I didn’t get this written up fast enough, but that doesn’t diminish anything from the pheasant experience that this smoky sour beer brings to the table. Upon opening and pouring this beer, you’ll detect sour notes, good sour notes (oxymoron?) but not so much smoke, however. This beer has the kind of sour vinegar taste you find in one of those fancy oil and vinegar stores, with the dainty little bottles that you fill up with help from an employee (because they’re not cleaning up another customer’s mess), and then pay 10X the price of anything reasonable that you can find in a grocery store, good sour. And the smoke is there, but mostly on the exhale. Dovetail does things alright. When I was at the brewery the place was packed. And at the end of the bar was one guy, clearily an employee of the competitor brewery from around the block, enjoying himself with everyone else. Dovetail is where local brewers go to drink good beer. And Flanders Rauch X01 is good. 5 smokestacks good. And my taste buds are dead.

Brewer	Dovetail Brewery
Beer Name	Flanders Rauch X01
Brewer’s Description	What is Flanders Rauch? A slow drinker, a deep thinker, a dream of Dovetail born of experimentation. Bringing together two beers—Franconian smoked lagers and Belgian sours—into a new distinct style, aged in 19 oak barrels over one year—found only here in our first bottle release. Crazy? Yes, crazy & complex, smoke & tart with a hit of funk. Drink, enjoy & make a friend you never expected to meet.
Food Pairings	Quail
Brewer Location	Chicago, IL
Alcohol content by volume	5.3%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	no guesses
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	4
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	2
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	3
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	5
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	5

Website… I’ve seen better, but I can’t suggest that extra effort here will be rewarded:

http://dovetailbrewery.com/beers/

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer, Sour beer | Tagged 5 - 6, aged, Belgian, Dovetail Brewing, Flanders, Illinois, oak, rauch, sour, tart | Leave a comment

ATG and Holy Mountain – Ashes to Mashes – 4.1 smokestacks out of 7

Posted on November 2, 2018 by SmokeBeerMinistry

Against The Grain brewery out of Louisville, KY has delivered another collaboration beer with moderate success. This time with a crew called Holy Mountain, whose name alone would grant them entry into the tabernacle, however, in this case, they have produced a beer using foraged walnuts to smoke the malts for this Amber Ale aged in bourbon barrels. Ashes has a decent tart and smoky smell to it that wafts out right as you open it up. Oh, and speaking of opening it, upon opening this one, beer gushed up and out of the bottle, and all over my kitchen counter and floor, like a champagne bottle that had been shook up, point deduction there. I’m surprised this bottle didn’t explode in my fridge. I wonder if the barrel developed the tartness in this beer, as well as the component that caused some kind of pressure inducing foam and beer spewing monster inside this bottle that caused all the fuss. In their defense, the hidden notes of barrel power in this beer hit my palate just right. This beer reminds me of Funkenrauch which fared a bit better in the overall score (well, the clean up was much easier). Ashes to Mashes isn’t great. I’m still upset about the mess it made. And ATG didn’t do this alone; I wonder where this brewery would be today if it weren’t for the collaboration beers they’ve been involved in? 4.1 smokestacks awarded in the overall category.

Brewer	Against The Grain and Holy Mountain Brewing
Beer Name	Ashes to Mashes
Brewer’s Description	Amber Ale Aged in Bourbon Barrels. Typically it’s the last thing you’ll hear before you’re covered with dirt. All the nuts in the world can’t buy you an eternal life. So live in the moment!. For just that reason, our friends from Holy Mountain Brewing cam all the way from Seattle, Washington to brew and thus was born Ashes to Mashes, Nuts to Butts! It’s brewed with malt smoked form foraged black walnuts and aged in Kentucky Bourbon barrels. So get it now or get it never.
Food Pairings	Pub food
Brewer Location	Louisville, KY and Seattle, WA
Alcohol content by volume	6.0%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	40
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	3
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	3.5
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	4
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	3
Barrel Power 1-7 (in name only – burns nose)	2
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	4.1

These Holy Mountain guys (beards in black t-shirts) seem honest enough. Their website could use some work:

http://www.holymountainbrewing.com/beers

No mention of this beer on Against the Grain’s page of over 300 beers they’ve produced. That’s odd…

http://www.atgbrewery.com/index.html#section-home

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 4 - 5, against the grain, ale, amber, barrel aged, Holy Mountain Brewing, Kentucky, Walnuts, Washington | Leave a comment

Dovetail Brewery – R&R – 3 smokestacks out of 7

Posted on October 19, 2018 by SmokeBeerMinistry

One of the Rs stands for Root Beer, and the second R, well, if you can get anything out of this other than root beer, hats off to you. Its a blend of rauchbier and root beer, however, the root beer is so overpowering that you’ll strain to taste anything else. Dovetail’s 3rd entrant into SBM Tabernacle Takeover month is with a beer called R&R. You may be familiar with shandy’s, a kind of beer that is basically some kind of beer (usually light in nature) mixed (usually 50/50) with something refreshing like a lemon-lime soda or ginger beer. A radler is the same thing as a shandy, however, both ingredients seen here, are very unusual. And speaking of unusual, mixing a 5.3% abv beer with a 0% root beer cannot = a 5.3% abv radler, somebody needs to look over the math. I love rauchbier, and I love root beer, but the two mixed together… I’ll just be nice and say, maybe it’s a case of too much of a good thing. R&R is not good. Dovetail Brewery is still cool. And I have one more beer of theirs, Flanders Rauch, to try before the month is over. Let us hope for a redemption beer. Overall score for this way too sweet, but clearly off radler beer = a generous 3 out of 7 smokestacks.

Brewer	Dovetail Brewery
Beer Name	R&R
Brewer’s Description	Our Rauchbier was feeling left out of the Radler fun, so we mixed it 70/30 with Filbert’s Draft Root Beer.
Food Pairings	Rauchbier
Brewer Location	Chicago, IL
Alcohol content by volume	5.3%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	technically, 30?
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	5
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	4
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	Root Beer = 7
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	5
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	3

Website’s ok:

http://dovetailbrewery.com/

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 3 - 4, beechwood, Dovetail Brewing, Filberts Draft Root Beer, Illinois, Radler, root-beer, shandy, sweet | Leave a comment

Dovetail – Rauchbier – 5.5 smokestacks out of 7

Posted on October 12, 2018 by SmokeBeerMinistry

Week 2 of Dovetail’s tabernacle takeover month delivers another properly named beer. Rauchbier by Dovetail Brewery is the name of this beer and Rauchbier is the name of this kind of beer, leaving no unanswered questions to customers who also speak German. Rauchbier is German for smoke-something and is traditionally a smoky flavored German beer from Bamberg, Germany. And, after having this good beer at the brewery, I also happened across it at a pretty cool bar called Collective Pour in Champaign, IL. Dovetail says that they use 100% smoked malts (and then later revised that to 98%) but I’m not getting the overwhelming smokepower I was expecting. It’s really smoky, don’t get me wrong, but when I hear 100% (or whatever)… I expected more I guess. I’m also guessing that they don’t save their yeast. I’m thinking this crew buys new yeast for every batch to help keep their beer consistently tasting the same every time, which is fine, but new yeast can draw in smoky flavors and never let them go, which may be happening here. Dovetail could also use more smoked malts, or less water, and get a change in the intensity, which I concede, the general public is not ready for. Espectations can really sway a review, and so can smokebeer, like the last beer I had, the Grodziskie, just a few moments ago. Intense flavors can punish your taste buds. Nonetheless, Dovetail’s Rauchbier is a solid entrant into the smokebeer tabernacle. Traditional presentation and execution all the way to the customer. 5.5 smokestacks out of 7. Respectable.

Brewer	Dovetail Brewery
Beer Name	Rauchbier
Brewer’s Description	Dark with reddish tones and an off-white head with a rocky foam standing above the rim of the glass; as you bring it to your nose, you feel like you are eating a bar of chocolate in a smokehouse, full and rich with generous hopping to balance the flavor of beechwood smoked bacon.
Food Pairings	Chicago style pizza, sausage
Brewer Location	Chicago, IL
Alcohol content by volume	5.3%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	30
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	4
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	5
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	5.5
Sausage detection? Y or N	Y
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	4
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	5.5

Good website. Got a few pages that exist, but can’t be reached through the homepage, you gotta stumble across them in independent searches, no big deal:

http://dovetailbrewery.com/

And here’s Collective Pour, via Facebook. They should probably get a real website:

https://www.facebook.com/collectivepour/

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 5 - 6, beechwood, Dovetail Brewing, Illinois, rauch, rauchbier | Leave a comment

Dovetail Brewery – Grodziskie – 5 out of 7

Posted on October 5, 2018 by SmokeBeerMinistry

Another tabernacle takeover month with Dovetail Brewery this time. This crew buckled down and cranked out 4 unique smokebeers at the same time, much to SmokeBeerMinistry’s surprise. And, you gotta love the names of these beers. Calling a spade a spade for a change! The Ministry appreciates this. How did beer culture get so far off track with names? I don’t want some stupid story about some old person who did or said something… and then the brewer claps back with a big F-U and names a beer after the old curmudgeon… Cripes! We don’t care. A Grodziskie is a smoked wheat beer. Typically smoked with oak wood and Polish in origin, this Grodziskie comes from Chicago, IL. With notes of spent firecrackers and fading bitterness, this beer fits exceedingly well within the namesake genre. And this brewery fits in exceedingly well within this neighborhood. The bar is packed with 15 or so bar seats and 15 or so tables, and has 8 bartenders behind it. All of them busy, and it looks like all of them love those little Underberg things. You know those little green liquor filled paper covered bottle thingies? They’re selling and drinking a ton of them, I guess its their thing. Imagine a thin and bubbly wheat beer that tastes smoky, that’s a Grodziskie, and that’s what Dovetails Grodziskie tastes like. Competency skills test passed. Overall score = 5 out of 7.

Brewer	Dovetail Brewery
Beer Name	Grodziskie
Brewer’s Description	Pale in color with a spirited effervescence, Grodziskie is the specialty beer of its namesake town in Poland. More carbonated than Hefeweizen and lower in alcohol, this 100% smoked wheat beer features light, citrus-like overtones with a surprising glimmer of spice and smoke.
Food Pairings	Thick pizza, Chicago style
Brewer Location	Chicago, IL
Alcohol content by volume	3.8%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	na
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	2.25
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	4.5
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	4.5
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	3.5
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	5

Good site they got here:

http://dovetailbrewery.com/beers/

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 5 - 6, Dovetail Brewing, grodziskie, Illinois, oak, wheat | Leave a comment

BrewDog – Paradox Smokehead (bottle) – 3.5 out of 7

Posted on September 21, 2018 by SmokeBeerMinistry

Here’s a paradox, I cannot recommend this beer, but I want another. I originally had BrewDog Paradox Smokehead a looong time ago, and was the first documented smokebeer reviewed on SmokeBeerMinistry (see here), and the results were similar. But this time, I’m at least interested enough to keep thinking about it.

The brewers at BrewDog, in collaboration with the team at Smokehead Scotch whiskey makers, put this Paradox smokebeer together a few years back, and now have made it onto this site (I’m sure they’re thrilled). I was a little nervous about how this was going to pan out with the pour so void of carbonation, but lifting the bottle above the glass a good foot or so as I poured, agitated the beer enough to develop the bit of suds seen in the pic. And the smell was loaded with scotch whiskey and barrel notes, but not so much smoke. And on the first sip I noticed that this was loaded with booze, leaving a warm sensation on the back of my throat, a nice consolation given that the barrel and heavy peat scotch were doing all the driving on my palate. Do you know peat? Peat is the mud substance with rotting weeds, roots, and fibers in it, all matted down for centuries, and then dried and used as fuel for heat as well as for smoking malts for eccentric beer brewers. Paradox and Smokehead have used peat smoked malts which makes for extremely earthy and scotch flavors in this beer. I had a hard time getting into this beer, even at a warmer than normal temperature (but colder than the room temperature recommendation given by BrewDog). I feel like I should like this beer, but since this beer has been discontinued, I doubt I’ll find it again. I’m sure that if BrewDog liked it more, they would’ve kept making it. That’s all I have to say. Final smokestack rating = 3.5 smokestacks out of 7.

Brewer	Brew Dog
Beer Name	Paradox Smokehead
Brewer’s Description	This latest edition – Paradox Smokehead (10% abv) – has already sent a wave of excitement across the beer world with fans of the award winning stout predicting great things from the new partnership. The smooth, robust stout has been completely infused with the Atlantic smoke, heavy peat, vanilla oak and balancing fruit and honey flavours of the powerful Smokehead whisky to deliver a deliciously complex flavour.
Food Pairings	Meat shanks
Brewer Location	Ellon, Scotland
Alcohol content by volume	10%
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	5.75
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	3.5 (7 out of 7 in scotchwhiskey smells)
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	4.5
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	4
Barrel Power 1-7 (in name only – burns nose)	7
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	3.5

The website is a little hard to follow, but it works:

https://www.brewdog.com/usa/lowdown/blog/paradox-smokehead

And Smokehead:

https://smokehead.com/

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 3 - 4, barrel aged, Brewdog, collaboration, imperial, peat, scotch, Scotland, Smokehead, Stout | Leave a comment

Off Color Brewing – Class War – 5.5 smokestacks out of 7

Posted on September 14, 2018 by SmokeBeerMinistry

This beer is good. A group out of Chicago called Off Color Brewing whipped this one up and were sure to pack in all the necessary ingredients to set this off right. This beer called Class War could benefit from hitting the crop feature before printing the next batch of labels, although given that this beer is a Gotlandsdricka style beer, in a champagne bottle, and found priced and placed among other craft beer collections, I wouldn’t expect the benefits to be all that pronounced, but it couldn’t hurt. A Gotlandsdricka beer is a smoky ale, historically from the Swedish island Gotland, and brewed with juniper berries. Leaving Class War as a dark, but not too cloudy, robust smoky beer. This beer reminds me of an imperial porter but with less beer flavors and more sweet and spicy hints. It’s interesting because the 9.5% abv is well hidden, I find it thirst quenching without thinking that it’s watery, and the flavors are just a little off center enough to throw off my palate. And that’s enough intrigue to get me on board with this beer and this brewery. And I really like honey, although I would have never known that it was an ingredient. I’m looking forward to trying Off Color’s 15 Feet beer, which is also smoked, so look for that review to crop up sometime. Overall smokestack rating = 5.5 smokestacks.

Brewer	off color brewing
Beer Name	Class War
Brewer’s verbose Description	Gotlandsdricka, or Gotlandsdricke, is the indigenous farmhouse ale of Gotland, the largest island in Sweden. A cousin to the Finnish Sahti, it’s similarly kept alive by a handful of old men and very much in danger of dying off with them. Was taught how to make it by the head brewer at Nårke over the course of several, several beers where he made me run through several books he had with him a the bar despite the fact that a) they were in Swedish b) there were no pictures and c) I don’t speak Swedish. Undeterred, he carried on and felt it was very important to discuss the tradition of brewing dricke and also that there are different sexes of juniper trees. Our version is deeply spicy with both malted and unmalted rye and a hefty addition of juniper but, while rich, finishes dry and fruity thanks to a large honey addition and a portion of malt Dave smoked by hand over pear wood in the backyard. ABV is deceptive and balances against the stonefruit sweetness of dark munich. At 9.5% it should leave you well prepared for the brave new world we’re heading into or at least blissfully despondent. Just remember, vikings didn’t have health insurance either. Gonna go ahead and guess lots of us won’t anymore, so we have priced Class War accordingly. Brewing for the proletariat.
Food Pairings	Deep dish or Chicago Style or Chicago style deep dish or a hotdog with tomatoes on it… Actually, just stick with pizza.
Brewer Location	Chicago, IL
Alcohol content by volume	9.5%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	I’m thinking it doesn’t have a rating
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	5.5
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	4
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	5.75
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	5
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	5.5

More about what a Gotlandsdricka beer is can be found at Wiki-somethin’another:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotlandsdricka

Off Color’s website’s OK, and they emphasize their core competency (beer making), which is good:

http://www.offcolorbrewing.com/beer/

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 5 - 6, boozy, fruit woods, Gotlandsdricka, honey, Illinois, juniper, Off Color Brewing, pear wood | Leave a comment

Left Hand Brewing – Smoke Jumper (draft) – 5 out of 7 smokestacks

Posted on September 7, 2018 by SmokeBeerMinistry

Found this on tap. I remember having this in a 22oz bomber a few years back, and I liked it enough to have picked up a few more since then. One bottle happens to be in my bunker right now. So finding this on tap for the first time was a pleasant surprise. And the near 10% abv which I had forgotten about was a pleasant surprise as well, so I had two. If you would like a reminder on how that review went back in 2014, check here. And if Left Hand Brewery would like a reminder of how this beer was received, they should check here too, because for some reason, their administrator has expunged this concoction from their website. I had this Smoke Jumper beer on my way to a movie with a friend, and the only thing I can remember about the movie is where it was screened, but the title and any memory about what I saw is gone. I sure remember this beer though. Sweet, not too smoky, booze hidden in the caramel, sugars, and malt flavors, and the price and size of the pour were robust (but not really an attribute of the beer or brewery, but positives for me nonetheless). There’s something in here that makes me think I taste peat, but it’s at just the right mild intensity to convince me to like it. If you can find this beer, buy it and drink it. Overall smokestack rating = 5 smokestacks out of 7.

Brewer	Left Hand Brewing Co.
Beer Name	Smoke Jumper smoked imperial porter
Brewer’s Description	A tribute to men who parachute into a fiery wilderness so we can enjoy it. This 21 degree plato porter made with barley malt hand-smoked by our brewers. Roasty brown in color, the long lingering smokiness wraps around notes of molasses, toasted malt, and an earthy hoppiness.
Food Pairings	Chocolate, BBQ, Beef, Smoked meats, grilled meats.
Brewer Location	Longmont, CO
Alcohol content by volume	9.5%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	50
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	6
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	2
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	3.5
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	4.75
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	5

I have feelings about this website, ambivalent feelings.

http://lefthandbrewing.com

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 5 - 6, boozy, Colorado, draft, imperial, Left Hand, porter | Leave a comment

De Molen – Spanning & Sensatie – 5 out of 7 smokestacks

Posted on August 31, 2018 by SmokeBeerMinistry

This is the final of 5 De Molen beer reviews, completing Tabernacle Takeover month with a respectable entrant, Spanning & Sensatie (Excitement & Sensation literally, Thrills and Spills in meaning). This beer is a solid smoked beer, with some bitter ashes, fleeting chocolate, and just a wee bit of heat which builds up slightly before the beer is done. This beer delivers what I must describe as that element that only De Molen can deliver, its a flavor that is distinct in all five of the DM beers I’ve had this month, and its the inarticulate nature of my mind grapes that drives me to invent the word DeMoleny. Out of the world’s upper echelon brewers, of which De Molen resides, Spanning, and pretty much everything else smoked that we’ve had, are in the middle of the road of the upper echelon. Like someone on the all-star team, but only used as an alternate. Or a world class dual citizen soccer player who has to choose the less competitive country to play for in the World Cup. It was a fun month, and expensive too. No ragrets. Maybe I’ll take next week off. Final smoke metric = 5 smokestacks.

Brewer	De Molen
Beer Name	Spanning & Sensatie
Brewer’s Description	Spanning & Sensatie was intended to thrill your taste buds. We tried to achieve this by adding cacao, chili peppers and salt to an already powerful imperial stout. Have fun. Flavor indication: cacao, chocolate, chili, salt. Translates as Excitement & Sensation or in meaning Thrills & Spills.
Food Pairings	Gourmet hamburgers
Brewer Location	Bodegraven, Netherlands
Alcohol content by volume	9.8%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	61 EBU
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	6.1 (314 EBC)
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	3.4
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	4
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	4.85
Spiciness 1 – 7 (mild – painful)	2.1
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	5

Here’s their homepage:

http://brouwerijdemolen.nl/en/

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 5 - 6, cacao, chili beer, chocolate, De Molen, imperial, pepper, salted, Stout, The Netherlands | 1 Comment

De Molen – Hemel & Aarde – 5.85 smokestacks out of 7

Posted on August 24, 2018 by SmokeBeerMinistry

Hemel & Aarde (Heaven & Earth) smells like the best smokebeer that I’ve had come from De Molen to date. As we continue tabernacle takeover month with De Molen Brouwerij and their host of beers that taste smoky, we find this beer, Hemel & Aarde offering a solid peaty, smoked imperial stout, that I had to open prior to the 25 year “enjoy by” expiration date. I think I just may buy this one again and stash it away for a quarter century and see what kind of sludge comes out… stay tuned for that post in the fall of 2043. And speaking of aging, SmokeBeerMinistry doesn’t promote this practice, in fact, we kind of think its silly, and yet we do it anyway in very limited quantities. Plenty of smoke, peat, and sweet rich malt notes wafting around, but then the taste goes and takes a left turn. The taste is peat forward, with a scotch highball chasing right behind. And I swear I taste barrel in this, which must be coming from the scotch and not a barrel, because this was never in a barrel, although De Molen does make a BA variant of this beer. This beer never wavers from a rich persons beer flavor with a touch of bitter tart and dryness on the back of the throat. I like it. Overall score = 5.85 smokestacks.

Brewer	De Molen
Beer Name	Hemel & Aarde
Brewer’s Description	Hemel & Aarde is brewed with the most heavily peated malts we could find. Not for the fainthearted. This powerful brew overwhelms you with smoke, chocolate and coffee. Flavour indication: smoke, chocolate, coffee Translates as Heaven & Earth
Food Pairings	Pot roast, potatoes, desserts
Brewer Location	Bodegraven, Netherlands
Alcohol content by volume	10.0%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	108 EBU
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	5.6 (394 EBC)
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	6
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	5
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	6
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	5.85

Good Website:

http://brouwerijdemolen.nl/beers

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 5 - 6, ale, chocolate, coffee, De Molen, peat, scotch, Stout, The Netherlands | Leave a comment

De Molen – Bloed, Zweet & Tranen – 5.75 smokestacks out of 7

Posted on August 17, 2018 by SmokeBeerMinistry

De Molen tabernacle takeover month continues with this angelically aromatic beer! Smoky. Like a full on rauchbier, which really is the main direction that SmokeBeerMinistry is driving at; think campfires, charcoal grills, and smokehouses. Although there are some beers with a low smoke profile that score high, the campfire smoky flavor almost always catapults the score well above average. Bloed, Zweet, & Tranen beer by De Molen Brouwerij is a good example of a good beer by a great brewery, who would benefit by focusing on filtering and/or minimizing the particles floating around inside their beers. I don’t mind a little silt here and there in unpasteurized, unfiltered beers, but that changes the product over time, and it might help the customer if they knew what they were going to get before opening. This beer had tons of flakes all swirling around in there. Plus, carbonation really starts to fade after a few years, and these De Molen beers are such slow movers on liquor store shelves, that it’s rare to find anything younger that 3 years old. This sweet and smoky stout delivers the personification of a rich person drinking from a snifter, although I only have this shaker glass to drink from. I didn’t get any chocolate or coffee notes out of this, just rich smoke, sugar, and a touch of peat in there. I would like to drink this again, perhaps something right out of the brewery, but I’m not too keen on paying another $8+ for a gamble on something that may have gone awry in the bottle. Bloed, Zweet, & Tranen is sweet, smoky, good. Overall smokestack metric = 5.75 smokestacks

Brewer	De Molen
Beer Name	Bloed, Zweet, & Tranen
Brewer’s Description	Bloed, Zweet & Tranen is not for those looking for something easy. Heavily smoked, loads of chocolate and roasted malts. Yet a beer you can still enjoy all evening long. Flavourindication: Smoke, chocolate, roasted malts. Translates as Blood Sweat & Tears
Food Pairings	Pecan pie, Smoked almonds or pistachios, digestifs
Brewer Location	Bodegraven, the Netherlands
Alcohol content by volume	8.2%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	29 EBU
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	5.8 (EBC 169)
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	6.7
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	5
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	6
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	5.75

Here’s there website:

http://brouwerijdemolen.nl/beers

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 5 - 6, ale, De Molen, peat, Stout, The Netherlands | Leave a comment

De Molen – Hel & Verdoemenis – 5.5 smokestacks

Posted on August 10, 2018 by SmokeBeerMinistry

Smells like good beer. Although I saw a few globs of somethin’ anuther’ flop down into my glass when it was poured, it smelled alright… I’m pretty sure I say “it smells alright” before I eat something way too often, let’s assume this is not one of those questionable instances that goes horribly awry. Hel & Verdoemenis (which translates to Hell & Damnation) by the brewers at De Molen is apparently the little brother beer to last weeks De Molen Heaven and Hell beer. Both beers seem to form translucent congealed globs in the bottom of the bottle, so I guess this should start to become expected, although I’ll never condone this happening. As far as what a smoked imperial stout aged in scotch whiskey barrels should taste like, SmokeBeerMinistry will point to this final product as a good example. I would ask De Molen to rethink the “enjoy within 25 years” statement printed on many labels that have gone out, but it seems that it has already been removed, perhaps because of the peculiar formations down in there? As for the taste, I taste whiskey, chocolate, smoke, peat, lots of booze, along with a slight sour stinging bitterness that only a barrel can impart, and I like it. The score would have been in the +6 area had the consistency held on, but the globs bumped into my lips towards the bottom of my glass so I had to bump the score down a notch. I’m glad to report that the De Molen Brouwerij that I know exists has delivered a beer of their caliber, if only they would go a little farther. Overall score = 5.5 smokestacks out of 7.

Brewer	Brouwerij De Molen
Beer Name	Hel & Verdoemenis
Brewer’s Description	We were looking forward to this beer…and it turned out we were right to. With 11% ABV it’s a strong beer for beerlovers that enjoy their peated flavors. The original bitter coffee and chocolate flavors of Hel & Verdoemenis (translates as Hell & Damnation) are enriched with the peat, woody, roasty tastes of the exceptional Scottish Barley Whiskey Barrels. Warming and powerful. Bitter, roasted, chocolate, coffee. All times 2. It’s this why it’s our Flag Ship and best selling Imperial Stout.
Food Pairings	Pair with desserts
Brewer Location	Bodegraven, Netherlands
Alcohol content by volume	11%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	mass spectrometry 102 EBU
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	7 (297 EBC)
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	4
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	3
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	7+
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	5.5

Here’s a link to the De Molen website list of beers:

http://brouwerijdemolen.nl/beers

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 5 - 6, barrel aged, chocolate, De Molen, imperial, peat, scotch, Stout, The Netherlands | Leave a comment

De Molen – Heaven & Hell – 3.5 out of 7 smokestacks

Posted on August 3, 2018 by SmokeBeerMinistry

August is tabernacle takeover month for Brouwerij De Molen starting with Heaven & Hell. This boozy, dark, and thick (too thick) monster grew into something well beyond the intentions of De Molen. “Smoked” seen in the ingredients listed on the bottle was all it took to bring in this beast which was supported by the added comfort that the De Molen brand brings with all of their concoctions. De Molen is one of the very few organizations that SmokeBeerMinistry allows to continue to employ the scatter gun technique when delivering beers to the market, and with this beer in particular, they seem to have switched up the formula at least 3 times. This behavior makes me wonder, “How happy was De Molen with the first attempts? and Why did you sell it to the public if it wasn’t good enough then?” Their informative website shows a long list of just about every kind of beer under the sun, and typically, De Molen delivers products that are top notch. Now in this case, they weren’t so successful. Upon opening this beer, slight smoky smells wafted out on the backs of sweet berry scents. And speaking of berries, four or five blueberry sized globs of what I hope were congealed beer plopped down into my glass as well (was gelatin an unlisted ingredient?). I have enough respect for De Molen to drink this beer anyway, no matter how unappetizing this occurrence was; respect, it was respect, not alcoholism. And the lack of depth that my light can penetrate this fluid is enough to garner 7 out of 7 smokestacks of darkness, and of course, thickness was a 7+. The taste was of a musty, ashy, coffee beer with redeeming milk chocolate flavors in there, and a touch of smoke. And that’s about where this review is going to end. This particular rendition of this beer earned 3.5 smokestacks out of a total of 7 possible smokestacks, a glob below average. I’m eager to experience a redemption beer.

Brewer	De Molen
Beer Name	Heaven & Hell
Brewer’s Description	Although hard to comprehend for many, this is the big brother of Hel & Verdoemenis. With loads of dark malts in both back and foreground, supported by strong but smooth bitterness from hops and roasted malts. Flavor indication: chocolate, coffee, toast
Food Pairings	Pie
Brewer Location	Bodegraven, Netherlands
Alcohol content by volume	10.2%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	mass spectrometry suggests 92.5 EBU
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	7 (494 EBC)
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	4
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	4
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	7+
Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high)	3.5

They have a useful website nowadays, and a label that indicates a 3rd change to the formula of this “same” beer:

http://brouwerijdemolen.nl/beers

The Shelton Brothers say that this beer will last 25 years, and also show an ingredients list neglecting smoked malts:

https://www.sheltonbrothers.com/beers/heaven-hell/

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 3 - 4, boozy, De Molen, imperial, Stout, The Netherlands | Leave a comment

Bell’s – Black Note Stout – 5 out of 7 smokestacks

Posted on July 27, 2018 by SmokeBeerMinistry

What’s all the brouhaha about this one? It’s good, don’t get me wrong, but I must report that this beer does not bring anything new to the table that any number of barrel aged stouts deliver. In my world, this Black Note Stout by Bells is harder to find than Bourbon County or KBS, which are the only other rare beers that I’ve ever been able to wrangle in. I’ve seen Black Note Stout 3 times in my life, once for $6, once for $10, and once for $20 per 12 oz bottle, I bought it the first two times. And now that I’ve had one, I’m fairly glad I was able to utilize some restraint. This beer smells like super strong familiarity. And it tastes like it was made with chocolate malts, roasted malts, and put in a barrel, which is Bell’s intention, but I wanna know about the brouhaha. I guess you can’t control the masses, especially when they are infatuated with your beer, and that is a good place to be. Maybe the 11.2% abv is giving them a bump? It sure helped my day. But there are others out there. If you like barrel aged, thick as Hershey’s syrup, stouts, you’ll like this beer. Bells seems to encourage shelfing this beer for an undetermined amount of time, maybe you could try that. Until then, Black Note Stout gets 5 out of 7 non-smokebeer smokestacks.

Beer Name	Black Note Stout
Brewer’s Description	One of the most sought-after stouts in Bell’s history, Black Note Stout blends the complex aromatics of Expedition Stout with the velvety smooth texture of Double Cream Stout, each aged in freshly retired oak bourbon barrels for months. The resulting harmony of flavors captures the finest features of all three components: malty notes of dark chocolate, espresso and dried fruits, all buoyed by the warmth and fragrance of the bourbon barrel. Aimed squarely at the stout and bourbon aficionados, Black Note makes a grand statement about the art of the dark.
Food Pairings	Smoked Brisket, dark chocolate
Brewery Location	Comstock, MI
Alcohol content by volume	11.2%
IBU (International Bitterness Units)	na
Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark)	6.85
Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns)	1
Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks	chocolate
Sausage detection? Y or N	N
Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil)	7
Barrel Power 1-7 (in name only – burns nose)	7
Overall Happiness: 1 – 7 (sad – happy)	5

Good website:

https://www.bellsbeer.com/beer/specialty/black-note

Posted in Beer, Educate, Enlighten, rauchbier, Smokebeer | Tagged 5 - 6, barrel aged, Bell's, boozy, Michigan, rare, Stout | Leave a comment

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