(draft) Pours a dark gold, with a huge white head. Looks like a lager. Smoky aroma and flavor, pretty good. Reminds me of Spezial. The oak smoke definitely gives this a different flavor than most smoked beers.
Ounces Consumed: 121(draft) Pours a dark gold, with a huge white head. Looks like a lager. Smoky aroma and flavor, pretty good. Reminds me of Spezial. The oak smoke definitely gives this a different flavor than most smoked beers.
Ounces Consumed: 121(draft) Cloudy dark brown. Medium head. Delicious smoke aroma. Flavor was pretty good. Much more subdued than other Schlenkerla offerings. Maybe a little bacony, but this was surprisingly good.
Ounces Consumed: 1544(bottle) Golden color, minimal head. Aroma of stale hops. Flavor of a citrusy stale lager tamed just a bit by smoke. The flavor wasn't too bad, but the damn aroma was disgusting. I poured most of the bottle out.
Ounces Consumed: 3(draft) Clear amber. Nice whitish head. Smells like malt and peat to me. Medium mouthfeel. Flavor sharper than I was expecting. Smoky and malty. Quite good.
Ounces Consumed: 132(draft) Slightly hazy copper. Aroma of hops, smoke, and malts. Flavor like the aroma, with a butter hoppy finish that I certainly could have done without. Decent.
Ounces Consumed: 17I was not expecting to like this. I don't know why. A nice clear dark amber color. The aroma of a smoky campfire. The smoke flavor is fairly apparent, and it's just smoke - no bacon or grapes or anything else to taint the flavor. I liked this a lot.
Ounces Consumed: 29181The first time I had this, I wasn't very impressed. Now, four years later, I see that my palate has become sophisticated enough for me to recognize this for what it really is. A truly great smoked beer. Can best be described as a more intense Marzen.
Ounces Consumed: 924(bottle) The first thing I noticed was the fantastic aroma. The second thing I noticed was the color. Very dark - almost like a porter. Not what I was expecting from a weizen. The entire beer, in fact, was not what I was expecting. Instead of toning down the smoke to keep a fair balance with the light-flavored wheat, they left the smoke intact. The result was a smoke beer, with no hint at all of its wheat heritage. This is not to say that I didn't like it, because I did. I just didn't like it as much as I expected to.
Ounces Consumed: 488(draft) Stupidest name I've heard in a long time. Clear copper in color, with a nice whitish head. Balanced aroma of hops and malts and smoke. Flavor of malts and smoke. A little cloying. Quite good, a tad sweet.
As good as it gets. Dark and smoky. Not too bitter and not too sweet. There's a bit of a "tang" to it that I can't describe any better. This beer can be aged for years too, though I doubt that I'd ever have the discipline to do it. Absolutely yummy. The best there is.
Ounces Consumed: 1414(draft) Very dark red, with a nice tan head. Smoky and malty aroma. Flavor very malty and smoky. Wow. Quite yummy. World-class, in fact. As good as I've ever had.
Ounces Consumed: 212(draft) The first time I saw this, they were calling it "Smokey the Beer." What a stupid name. This beer tasted terrible for the first few ounces, then once my palate had been numbed enough, it tasted pretty damn good. A lot like their regular, nonsmoked porter. It's probably the same beer. Just a touch
of smoked malt, a little chocolate. I liked it.
I had a little of this. I remember liking it, but quite frankly I was too drunk to remember much else about it. I will provide a real review the next chance I get.
Update 050909: Black, with a small tan head that faded quickly to nothing. Fairly strong aroma and flavor of roasted chocolate and malts. A little too bitter, mostly because of the 8% ABV. Decent is all I can say at this point.
Ounces Consumed: 58(mixture) I mixed Rogue Chocolate Stout and NABC Cone Smoker in a 1:1 ratio. I'd been expecting these two very different flavors to elevate each other to new heights. But that's not what happened. They pretty much cancelled each other out. Good thing I didn't waste too much beer with this experiment.
Ounces Consumed: 6(mixture) I mixed 1/2 NABC Tunnel Vision with 1/2 Rogue Smoke Ale. For whatever reason, I figured that the honey sweetness of the Tunnel Vision and the smoky bitterness of the Rogue Smoke would play off each other quite well. I was right. I would drink the stuff if it was available commercially.
Ounces Consumed: 20(mixture) I mixed Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier and Spezial Rauchbier on a 1:1 ratio. Amazing head, courtesy of the Weihenstephaner. Aroma of bananas and cloves, slightly subdued. Flavor of a German wheat beer. The smoke shows up in the finish. Yummy. I'm a freakin' genius.
Ounces Consumed: 20(cask) Dark brown. Whitish head that lasts decently. Light aroma of malts and smoke. Medium mouthfeel. Flavor fairly light, a little sweet, but smoked malts predominate. Reminds me of Spezial.
Ounces Consumed: 18(bottle) Black with a decent tan head. Incredible aroma of chocolate and smoke and grapes. Thin mouthfeel, a little watery. Flavor is good and chocolatey, but thin. No apparent smoke. A little disappointing, but still good.
Ounces Consumed: 252(bottle) Cloudy brown, with a smallish off-white head. Aroma of juniper and other woods, with a very faint smoke taint. Flavor is almost overwhelmingly of juniper and other evergreen flavors. Finish is a little dry. The first few sips weren't very good, but the this beer began to taste pretty good to me.
Ounces Consumed: 17(draft) I told the drunk next to me (he had asked) that I predicted that this would be my favorite beer of the night. I was wrong. The smoke was reminiscent of bacon, or perhaps beef jerky. Probably the only smoked beer that I've ever had that I didn't like.
Ounces Consumed: 5(draft) Black with a nice tan head. Aroma of roasted malts and smoke. Creamy mouthfeel. Flavor same as aroma. Smooth finish. Quite good.
Ounces Consumed: 21(bottle) Hazy copper, with a decent head that faded quickly. The aroma is malts and dobblebock weirdness. No smoke in the aroma, which did not bode well for me. The smoke did, however, show up in the flavor, and it showed up nicely. The flavor was very well balanced, with hops and malts and smoke, plus the expected dopplebock weirdness. I liked this a lot, and I wasn't expecting to like it at all.
Ounces Consumed: 115(bottle) Almost completely black. Huge heaping head. Heavenly smoked malt aroma. From under the massive layer of foam, some chocolate notes rose and made themselves known. The mouthfeel is a lot thinner than I was expecting. Flavor is intensely sweet. Some smoke in the finish. After the first few sips, I became numb to the sweetness, and the overall balance of the beer became evident. Quite yummy.
Ounces Consumed: 528(Draft) Clear dark copper. Medium tan head. Malty aroma. Strong malty aroma, maybe a little molasses. Tastes like it's a little too flat. Decent.
Ounces Consumed: 20(draft) Black with minimal beige head that faded quickly. Aroma and flavor chocolatey and smoky. Both understated, but balanced nicely. Good, but could use more of everything. I was very excited about this new beer, so I guess it disappointed me a little.
Update: I had a small sample of a new batch, and it was quite sour. I didn't like it as much. Downgrading to simply decent.
Ounces Consumed: 60(draft) Stupid name, I think they've given up there. The beer was black. More than black. It was anti-light. Very little foam, as is typical for NABC beers. Not much of an aroma, just a touch of smoky malt. Fairly thick and creamy mouthfeel. Flavor is a bit sharp and smoky, surprising after the tame aroma. Finish is creamy smoke. I liked it, so odds are good that they'll never make it again.
Ounces Consumed: 252(draft) Hazy light brown, with a decent head and good lacing. Not much aroma or flavor initially, but then a hint of smoke and a hint of a bitter rye finish show up. Decent.
Ounces Consumed: 14(draft) Cloudy cola-colored. No head, so quite typical of NABC. Aroma of oak and smoke, kinda intriguing. Flavor was a blast of oak and fruity wine. No apparent smoke at all. Decent is all I can say about this one.
Ounces Consumed: 5(draft) This beer has gone through a few different incarnations, all leading up to this, what may be the ultimate smoked ale. Dark brown, minimal head. Malty aroma with a teasing hint of smoke. The first couple of sips are sometimes bitter, but that usually fades quickly and all that's left is yumminess. I really wish that this were available more often.
Ounces Consumed: 6583(draft) Clear amber, with a decent head that actually seemed to hold up fairly well. Aroma of light smoke and metallic hops. Mouthfeel was that of dirty dish water, and the flavor was more of the same. I don't know what the finish was like because I spit it back into the glass instead of swallowing it. I was very disappointed with this.
UPDATE 091007: I tried this beer for a third and final time this evening. I actually managed to swallow three times. I was not going to risk a fourth time. Just disgusting.
Ounces Consumed: 3(draft) Black with a thin brown head. Enticing chocolatey grapey smoky aroma. Thinnish mouthfeel. Wow. Roasty and creamy and smoky. Quite yummy.
Ounces Consumed: 211(draft) Hazy brown with a light beige head. Aroma of malts and something weird. Flavor more of the same, with some smoke thrown in. I have no idea what the weird ingredient is, but I like it. A good beer.
Ounces Consumed: 388(draft) Hazy yellow, with a nice white head. Musty aroma, fairly light. Watery mouthfeel. Flavor of tap water that's been sitting out too long. Not worth the price I paid for the free sample.
Ounces Consumed: 3(draft) Clear dark ruby-colored. No appreciable head. Nice malty smoky aroma. Medium mouthfeel. Flavor a little flat with smoke and some dopplebock weirdness. Good.
Ounces Consumed: 11(bottle) Very dark brown with a decent tan head. Aroma of hops and smoke and a little chocolate. Medium mouthfeel. Flavor much more malty than I was expecting. A little smoky, a little chocolatey, and a lot malty. Good, but also surprisingly drying. Needs more sweetness and smoke, I think.
Ounces Consumed: 17(bottle) Almost black with a decent tan head that faded quickly. Aroma is mild smoke and chocolate. Flavor is mostly mild smoke flavor. I really like this because there's nothing competing with the smoke. Pretty damn good. My second-favorite smoked porter.
Ounces Consumed: 324There wasn't very much smoke, and what there was was the "grapey" kind of smoke that I don't really care for. To make matters worse, there was no bitterness, only sweetness behind the smoke, and those two flavors clashed quite a bit.
Ounces Consumed: 10(draft) It was a good beer, not nearly as smoky as I'd been hoping, but the smoke flavor and aroma was still pretty apparent. It had a less wide-ranging and complex flavor than the Cone Smoker I get when I'm back home, but sometimes simpler is better. A little subdued. Quite yummy.
Ounces Consumed: 968(draft) Amber in color, with a slightly sweet smoke aroma. Much lighter in smoke than other rauchbiers, but sometimes that's a good thing. A very good session beer. Usually when this available on tap I drink it exclusively.
Ounces Consumed: 1920It was pretty good beer actually, not as strong of a smoke flavor as some of the other smoked porters I've had, but enough to be recognizable, and enough to be pretty good. I'll call it "smoked porter light."
Ounces Consumed: 947