This may be my first taste of a German Rauchbier that isn't from Schlenkerla. A true red letter day!
Like BestMaid's pickle beer, this one was purchased in exurban Chicago. The clerk at the register was surely thinking I was a weirdo as I came before her with 2 packs of Rauchbier and one of pickle beer. Plus Malört and Underberg.
I don't recall having seen Klosterbräu's beer previously but I don't know if this means they started exporting to the States fairly recently or if they've been doing so for a while but the beer has finally made its way to the middle of the country after being available to coasties for some time. The bier came in cans and, according to Untappd, Klosterbräu Bamberg is a subsidiary of Privatbrauerei Kaiserdom, Bamberg's largest brewery. By large we're talking New Glarus size, not Miller. Perhaps the Damen und Herren at Kaiserdom are aiming for the American market. I only saw their Rauchbier which is, in my opinion, an odd choice if you are looking to gain market share in this country.
Can you imagine the management meetings about this?
Vee vant to penetrate zee American market.
Aber how do vee do so vizout an IPA?
Vee shall zend zem zee Rauchbier!
However a strange business plan they may have, to them I say willkommen!
Klosterbräu Bamberg dates back to 1533 although there is a mention of whatever it was called back in the Middle Ages from two centuries earlier. The can notes that the grand guaiacols, the fantastic phenols, and the scintillating syringols come from malt that is dried using the smoke from beech wood flames. Beech wood is traditional these days for Bamberger brewers but I'd bet their forebears used whatever hardwood they had at their disposal back in the day.
One thing the can didn't mention was what style of beer this is. Is it a Märzen? A bock? A Helles? Maybe it's just their own creation.
I was very eager to try this beer. How would it differ from Schenkerla's?
A big, firm tan head with staying power sat atop the liquid which was dark and opaque. Lifting my glass to a light and putting it at just the right angle revealed the beer to be a deep ruby-brown hue. It seemed to be clear. I mean, it's a German beer that's not a hefeweizen so surely it was clear. It looked like just the tonic for a chilly, overcast autumn evening. And so it smelled too. While the smokiness came first and was most prominent, it was a complex aroma with a bit of wood of the unburnt variety in addition to the usual fuliginous elements. There was also a hint of malty sweetness, mild stone fruit, and some spicy hoppiness struggling to be smelled.
The medium-light body was punctuated by a good, firm fizziness. Still, the luscious smoke flavor had a pleasing smoothness to it, at times. The smokiness was rather potent and tasted rather sprightly, as if it wasn't being dulled a bit by malty sweetness. Indeed, the beer had a clean smoke taste and was not the least bit sweet. The hops protested the grains vigorously and added a very nice spicy contrast. On the finish, the smoke lingered as the hops took on herbal notes that gained in strength to give firm doses of both bitterness and dryness. I also tasted bitter chocolate here once the smoke began to fade.
Sehr schön!
This is one fine bier. While it looks like the stuff in the pool that takes you to the Black Lodge, it has a fairly light body and is the very definition of easy drinking. It went down like water for me. I loved the smoke flavor and the way the other malts didn't get in the way of it so it had a sharper, "fresher" taste. Marvelous! It had a stronger hop flavor for me than any Schlenkerla beer I've had but I am unsure if this is because Klosterbräu uses more of the precious herb or if the Schlenkerla varieties I've tasted had their hoppy potency dulled by age. Also, I think Schlenkerla's brews tend to have more sweetness and bready flavors than this stuff.
I am unwilling to say that this is better than Schlenkerla or that Schlenkerla is better than this. However, Klosterbräu's Rauchbier is no shadow on a cave wall; this is definitely a Platonic ideal.
Junk food pairing: Klosterbräu's Bamberger Rauchbier pairs magnificently with Herr's Horseradish Cheddar Potato Chips. The folks at Herr's do not skimp on the horseradish which makes this perfect companion to the smokiness.
