May 1, 2009: Weiherer Rauch

Last week, I wrote about a beer called Mahr's Weiss that comes from a city called Bamberg in Germany. Mahr's was a standard hefeweizen, but the city of Bamberg has long been famous for producing a particular type of German beer called Rauch. Rauchbier which translates to "smoked beer" in English, is a uniquely German brew with a unique brewing process. The smoky flavor of rauchbier comes from the use of malted barley, which is dried or smoked over an open flame before brewing. While most beers dry their malt in a kiln that separates the smoke from the malt, a beer like Weiherer Rauch allows the smoke to combine with the malt to create the distinctive taste of rauchbier. If you consider yourself to be a pretty seasoned beer drinker and you haven't yet tried Weiherer Rauch, get your ass off of the couch and head to your local specialty shop and pick one up. Out of all the beers that I've tried in my life, I've never had one that was quite like Weiherer Rauch. The term smoked beer matches this brew perfectly. Before I tried this beer it was hard for me to conceive of a beer with a smoky flavor. Even now it is difficult to describe to you exactly what a smoky beer tastes like, but if you've ever had meat that's been smoked then you should be very familiar with the flavor that I'm talking about. There are other more subtle flavors in Weiherer Rauch that are floating just below the surface, but the smokiness of this beer is the one thing that has stuck in my mind and pushed everything else out. A lot of fellow beer junkies have criticized Weiherer Rauch for not being as smoky as some of the other rauchbiers out there, but Weiherer Rauch is perfect in my opinion for someone who is new to the world of rauchbiers and doesn't want to start out with anything that is too smoky. I truly enjoyed Weiherer Rauch and am certain that I will drink again sometime soon, but I could also see how many beer drinkers could be put off by the strange taste. Weiherer Rauch clearly is not for everybody, but if you've never tried a rauchbier and are feeling somewhat adventurous, then don't be afraid to try this one!

Prost!
Ian

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