Grodziskie doesn't try to please itself. Accepts being slighted, forgotten, disliked. Accepts insults and injuries.: Grodziskie by Sketchbook Brewing Co.

 

 

My own view is that a dislike of smoke beer is a character flaw, an indication of a lack of virtue. Not lack of virtue as in smoke beer haters are just plain jerks, although they may be that too, but that they’ve forgotten what we all innately know deep down in our souls, i.e. – smoke beer is extremely tasty. For virtue is knowledge – knowledge acquired by education and praxis.

Back in the day, most malt was kilned in such a way as to expose it to smoke and so it was caressed by the spectral tendrils of burning wood, imparting the tastilicious flavors of guaiacol, syringol, phenol, et al. Then indirect kilning methods arose and the knowledge of the gustatory pleasure of smoke beer was lost to the intellects of most and with it, virtue.

And so now it is incumbent upon us all to drink smoke beers so that we may undergo anamnesis and recollect the knowledge that smoke beer is divine.

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Back in August my Frau and I attended the Great Taste of the Midwest. As I noted in my post about it, I sought out the smoke beers which included a few Grodziskies, a Polish beer style which is traditionally brewed with 100% smoked wheat. One of those Grodziskies I sampled on that day was from Sketchbook Brewing in suburban Chicago. On a recent visit to the City of the Big Shoulders I acquired a 4-pack of the brew.

The genesis of this beer dates back to at least 2013 when a homebrewer named Cesar Marron brewed a Grodziskie that won Sam Adams’ Longshot homebrewer competition. Not long after his victory, Marron co-founded Sketchbook Brewing along with a trio of other craft beer lovers.

The Grodziskie apparently dates back to the 14th century and is named for the Polish city Grodzisk. It is thought that, back in the days of yore, it was brewed with 100% wheat that was smoked over oak but some modern recipes cut the smoked wheat with the unsmoked stuff. While it seems to have been a very popular style for a quite some time, the Grodziskie apparently fell out of favor in the 20th century and slowly disappeared. Finally, in the mid-1990s, it had gone extinct in its homeland. Since then, however, a Polish brewer here and and an American brewer there have brewed the style and so it has been resurrected. Beer historian Ron Pattinson once said that Grodziskie should be light, smoky, fizzy, and hoppy and I’ve gone with those expectations ever since.

Beer Advocate says that Sketchbook has brewed this beer a few times over the years – you’ve gotta dance with the one that brung ya - but I can find neither hide nor hair of it at their website. Maybe mention of this brew is buried at one of their social media accounts.

My pour produced a smallish but brilliant white crown of foam that wasn’t keen on sticking around for long. The piwo was a bright yellow that had a touch of haze. There were some bubbles to be seen in the beer. As expected, the aroma was dominated by luscious smoke but it wasn’t especially pungent. There was also a hint of grain and a very faint and indistinct fruity smell too. I think my nose was stuffy on tasting day.

Upon taking my first tip, my mouth was greeted by a generous dose of fizz. This is a very light-bodied brew and I was treated to a fair amount of smoke but it was rather mellow in contrast to, say, Schlenkerla’s Rauchbiers. I also tasted a little wheat and some spicy hops underneath – they were listed as being Saaz at the Great Taste – but those Czech hops didn’t come to the fore until the finish where they added a gentle black pepper taste & bitterness. The wheat taste came out more on the finish while that nebulous fruity aroma emerged as a lovely, delicate pear-like flavor.

Oh mama, this is tasty stuff! It’s got a great smoke smell and taste but it’s fairly mellow. A little wheat, a dash of fruitiness, and some spicy hops tie it all together. With its very light body, this makes for perfect summer drinking, as proven at the Great Taste back in August. But I am slow on the draw and didn’t get my hands on the stuff until the autumn. Better that than never.

Junk food pairing: A bag of Jay’s Hot Stuff potato chips is a must for this Grodziskie. The piwo will cut through the fat and heat of the chips and let the smoke and paprika mingle on your tongue in gustatory grace.