So this one didn’t do so well. “Subtle smokiness” should be removed from the brewer’s description, along with the two other mentions of the word smoke because they got The Ministry all wound up looking for smoke. However, even with this blatant misdirection played on the helpless masses, a 3 is an awfully high of a score (says The Witchdoctor). This really only means one thing, that The Ministry has compassion in their hearts for good beer. Put an ax in a baseball player’s hands and he’d probably make a pretty good lumberjack, but the goal is to deliver baseball players. So the brewer may not be a master of the tools at their disposal, but we can’t deny a good product. We strive to find the best smokebeers so the general public won’t have to dredge through slop and swill. And if anyone else out there is looking for a smokebeer (or even a recipe), keep looking. No smokebeer here. Overall Happiness 3 out of 7.
| Brewer | Ranger Creek |
| Beer Name | No. 2 Small Batch Series |
| Brewer’s Description | A Wallonian-style saison was brewed with spelt malt that has been smoked over 4 Texas fruit woods (peach, apricot, apple and plum). The subtle smokiness and light fruit texture marries with the complexities of the Belgian farmhouse yeast. Earthy, herbal notes, smoke phenols, esoteric. |
| Food Pairings | Texas summer |
| Brewer Location | San Antonio, TX |
| Alcohol content by volume | 7.7% |
| IBU (International Bitterness Units) | 28 |
| Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark) | 2 |
| Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns) | 1 |
| Sausage detection? Y or N | N |
| Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks | 1 |
| Overall Happiness Rating: 1-7 (low – high) | 3 |
Brewstillery? I can learn about that at:
SmokeBeerMinistry 