“A big and smoky Rauchbock created with lager yeast a long cool fermentation.”

Glassware: Dimpled mug.

Appearance: Light brown with a candy red tint. It forms a light and puffy two finger head which slowly recedes. Not a great deal of lace to speak of though.

Aroma: We testify, Rauchbier is without a doubt in our bottom two or three most disliked styles. But, and a very big but, we have warmed to a few of the Aussie interpretations, mostly due to the fact that they’re a lot milder and far less smoky than their Bamberg counterparts. This is the prime example – it’s got a considerable smoked ham hock note but it’s tempered by a nice malt sweetness which balances it out.

Flavour: Nicely balanced ratio of big smoky and gamey notes to the sweet and semi rich malts. We get a bit of the smoky bacon, ash, burnt wood and then the kinda rich and sticky toffee and caramel ooze through. Just the right amount of bitterness helps shift it all into the rather dry, malty and smoky finish. Good length too.

Mouthfeel: Chewy, a little sticky but nicely shook up by the bitterness. Medium body, mild-moderate Co2. The 7.5% ABV is well buried.

Overall: Yep, these are the sorts of Rauchbiers we can get on board with…sizeable smokiness yet still refined and palatable. Solid drop.