Just like being in Bamberg. But different.: Smoked Helles by Working Draft Beer Co.

There is no better antidote to happiness, no greater engine of grief, nothing better able to transform a calm and peaceful demeanor into a fight or flight response than Twitter. It is a wicked place. Virtual bands of brigands roam the site hurling insults at any and everyone. Iniquitous toads lie in wait to vent their spleens at the innocent like lambs to the slaughter. Perfidious keyboard warriors don the cloak of anonymity and revel in being the nemesis of people who merely want to look at cat pictures. Dante himself could never have conceived a circle of Hell that approaches the sheer evil that is Twitter.

The latest trespass against my pure heart came the other day when I was happily scrolling along and Twitter’s algorithm – talk about banality of evil – showed me some tweets by a total stranger who was vacationing in Germany.

“Oh, look! Here I am on the shore of the river Regnitz!” one proudly announced. “Check out the lovely old town hall!” said another. “Here I am in the alt stadt!”

Of Bamberg. The guy was smack dab in the middle of Rauchbier paradise and I was not.

I could feel the anger build inside of me. Jealousy seethed through my veins and if I’d just been given an injection of malice. Why was I not in Bamberg enjoying a fine Rauchbier or 10?! Who was this guy to have all the fun?! I want to go to the Schlenkerla brewery and drink a Rauchbier while dining on a Bamberg Onion yet there I was, sitting at home leading a life of quiet desperation.

Someday I will go there and I too shall walk along the river Regnitz. I too shall stroll the alt stadt and stop in at Schlenkerla where I will suckle at the oaken teat of life, to be nourished by its Rauchbier. But until that day comes, I must make do with the Rauchbier presented to me.

In Bamberg, I believe there are 2 breweries that specialize in Rauchbier: the aforementioned Schlenkerla and Spezial. It is my understanding that some of the other breweries in town also brew one although they make a variety of other styles that lack smokiness. Here in Madison we have zero breweries that specialize in Rauchbier but, thankfully, there are brewers around that will occasionally deviate from the hazy, fruity norm and whip up a batch of smoky beer.

One such brewery is Working Draft. It seems like they brew a smoke beer of some kind 2 or 3 times a year. While I’ve seen their Rauch Helles mentioned before, I’d never actually tried it until recently. One time Isthmus beer scribe Robin Shepard even tweeted at me that it was on tap and I dutifully put it on my to-do list but, sadly, never got around to heading down to the brewery to give it a go. My suspicion is that it’s made in fairly small batches and that the brewers at Working Draft drink most of it. I mean, if Clint Lohman, his minions, and a few epicurean customers weren’t the only ones enjoying it, you’d think it'd be brewed more often.

The most recent batch was canned. I am unsure if previous batches were but I suspect not. This made things easier for me and I was totally unsurprised to find several 4-packs in the cooler as if I was the first to purchase the stuff. The bottom of the can noted that the beer was canned on 6/15/22 so it was quite fresh.

Smoked Helles poured a gorgeous light gold. (Or was it a deep yellow?) It was clear as day and topped with a modest head of loose, white foam that lasted what I think of as an average amount of time. There was a smattering of bubbles inside. The aroma got me drooling with its luscious smokiness which was accompanied by bread, a faint honeyed sweetness, and just a hint of spicy hops.

That first sip revealed a good, firm fizz before my tongue was awash in a sea of smoke. I am not sure, but it tasted like the traditional German beechwood smoke. The medium-light body also had some tasty bread flavor with spicy hops underneath. It had a firm astringency which gave it some bite. On the finish, the bready taste faded quickly but the smokiness lingered a short time before the hops added more of that spiciness with green notes that made for a firm bitterness and a pretty dry finish.

A friend of mine who has been making beer in the craft beer industry for a long time has sung the praises of Working Draft's lagering capabilities. "If you see their lager, you know it's going to be good," he once remarked. I agree. They have an excellent Rauchbier on their hands. There's smokiness in spades yet the bready and hoppy tastes get their due. It's clean and crisp and the savory malt flavors take center stage. My only gripe here is that I wish it was a little more smooth with less of an acidic bite. But this does not diminish the beer's deliciousness.

The light body is perfect for our summer weather so, when autumn arrives and it gets cooler outside, methinks we deserve a Rauch Festbier.

Junk food pairing: At 4.7% A.B.V, this is a fairly sessionable beer and I suggest pairing it with your 3 course junk food meal. Start with a bag of sour plum potato chips for your Vorspeise. The main course will be pork rinds with a bacon horseradish dip. (Heluva Good! makes a fine dip of this flavor.) For dessert, serve up a big slice of Dr. Pepper cake. You will find that Smoked Helles is the perfect complement to every one of these fine comestibles.