Tocatta Smoked Ale by Cerveses DeDues of Sant Esteve, Spain was recently received, where we discovered virtually all memory of this organization has nearly dissipated from the internet. Thankfully, I got a hold of it before it was too late, because a 6 out of 7 smokestack rating is a centerpiece of a beer. Smoke smell arose as soon as I opened it, along with sweet smells. Sweet bubblegum machine sugary notes. An interesting quick fizzle of the head, which settled down to what is seen here. With the first sip were recollections of freshly installed telephone poles in the hot Mississippi summertime, followed by a short lived downpour in a coniferous forest. In the shade is a nice place to wait out the remainder of the evening with this beer in hand. This beer is well made with a little sting to it. It’s too bad that this company and beer are so hard to find. Exclusivity is one way to draw people in, but it can also work to keep people apart, but I won’t take it out on the score. Overall smokestack rating = Strong 6 out of 7.
| Brewer | Cerveses DeDues |
| Beer Name | Tocatta smoked ale |
| Brewer’s Description plucked from the internet | DeDues Tocatta ingredients are 50% pale ale barley malt and 50% whisky malt. All of them clear malts, that would give a blond color to the beer. Instead of that, Tocatta has been boiled for 25 hours so all sugars get caramel colour and taste. Mashing process is done to empower low fermentable sugars, with a residual of 40gr/liter. Thus, the final beer is sweet without adding sugars nor chemically stopping fermentation. Alcohol content is 11%. Tocatta is bottled with no carbonic although it can be produced within the next years. It is expected to give its best around 2014 |
| Food Pairings | Paella, Bikini, Croquette, Chorizo, Tapas, And Foie-Gras, desserts, nuts, or as a digestif |
| Brewery Location | Sant Esteve, Spain |
| Alcohol content by volume | 11% |
| IBU (International Bitterness Units) | na |
| Beer opacity rate 1 – 7 (light – dark) | 4 |
| Smell smoke? 1 – 7 (No – George Burns) | 4.5 |
| Smokepower taste: 1 – 7 Smokestacks | 4 |
| Sausage detection? Y or N | N |
| Beer thickness 1-7 (water – used motor oil) | 5.8 |
| Overall Happiness: 1 – 7 (sad – happy) | 6 |
This can’t be good, but at one point is may have been their website. They are also on LinkedIn, and that’s all I can find:
SmokeBeerMinistry 