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).

Website:

https://www.blindpigco.com