Why smoked beer divides drinkers and how to taste it fairly
Few styles split a table like smoked beer. Some people love it at once, others push the glass away. Most of that reaction happens in the first sip, so here is how to taste it fairly before you make up your mind.
What smoked beer is
Before modern kilns, most malt was dried over open fires and picked up some smoke along the way. Today almost all malt is kilned with indirect heat, so smoke has to be added on purpose by drying malt over burning wood.
The classic example is rauchbier from Bamberg in Franconia, Germany, usually brewed on a Märzen-style base with malt smoked over beechwood. It is amber to brown, around 5 to 6% ABV, malty and smooth with a clear smoke character. Our guide to smoked beer and rauchbier covers the history and the brewing.
What the smoke tastes like
Different woods give very different smoke:
- Beechwood. The Bamberg classic. Smoky bacon, ham, campfire and a little sweetness.
- Oak. Drier and gentler, used in some smoked wheat beers.
- Peat. Medicinal, earthy and iodine-like. Familiar from Islay whisky and much harder to balance in beer.
Smoke flavour comes from phenolic compounds. People differ widely in how sensitive they are to them, which is one reason the same beer can taste gently smoky to one person and like a bonfire to another.
Why it divides drinkers
Part of it is surprise. Most people expect beer to taste of malt and hops. Smoke feels out of place until you get used to it. Part of it is association. Smoke links in the mind to food and fire, so in a glass it can feel savoury in a way beer usually is not.
The bigger reason is adaptation. Your senses dial down a strong, steady signal after a few exposures. The first sip of rauchbier delivers the full smoke. By the third or fourth sip the smoke has stepped back and the malt underneath comes forward. Many people judge the beer on that first sip and never reach the point where it tastes balanced.
A fair way to taste it
- Pour a small glass. 150 ml is plenty for a first try. Serve at 8 to 10 °C, not ice cold.
- Smell before you sip. Try to separate the smoke from the toasted malt and bread.
- Take three sips before deciding. Note what changes between the first and the third.
- Look for the beer underneath. A good rauchbier has a clean, malty lager behind the smoke. The finish should be smooth, not acrid or ashy.
- Try it with food. This is where most people change their minds.
Smoked beer with Indian food
Smoke loves charred and grilled food. A rauchbier next to tandoori chicken, seekh kebab or smoked pork from the North East turns from a puzzle into an obvious match, because the smoke in the glass meets the char on the plate. It also works with smoked cheese and grilled paneer tikka. Our guide to beer and tandoori pairing has more ideas. Keep very spicy dishes away from it, because heat and smoke together can overwhelm the malt.
Smoked beers beyond rauchbier
Bamberg is the reference point, but smoke turns up in many other places. Grätzer, also called Grodziskie, is a light, sharp Polish wheat beer made with oak-smoked wheat malt. Smoked porters and stouts use a small amount of smoked malt to add depth behind the roast. Some brewers add a touch of peated malt to a strong Scotch ale, though most style guides treat heavy peat in that style as a mistake. A few Indian craft brewers have also experimented with smoked malts in porters and dark lagers.
If the full Bamberg experience is too much at first, start with one of these. A smoked porter is a gentle introduction because the roast and chocolate already lean in the same direction as the smoke. Once that tastes familiar, a proper rauchbier stops being a shock and starts to make sense.
Good smoke, bad smoke
Not every smoky note is intended. A clean beechwood smoke is a feature. A sharp plastic, sticking plaster or medicinal note in a beer that was never meant to be smoked is usually a fault, often from chlorine in the water or wild yeast. The words overlap, which is exactly why trained tasters learn the difference on reference samples rather than from descriptions.
On the brewing side, some smoked malts are mild enough to make up the whole grist. Others are so intense that a few percent is enough. When a smoked beer tastes ashy, the brewer usually used too much of a strong malt.
Common questions
Why does smoked beer taste like bacon?
Beechwood smoke contains the same kind of phenolic compounds found in smoked meats, so the brain reads them as ham or bacon.
Is smoked beer the same as peated whisky?
No. Classic smoked beer uses beechwood smoke, which is softer and meatier. Peat smoke is medicinal and earthy. Only a few beers use it.
Why does the smoke seem weaker after a few sips?
Your senses adapt to a strong, steady signal. After a few sips the smoke registers less and the malt comes forward.
What food goes with rauchbier?
Grilled and charred food: tandoori dishes, kebabs, smoked pork, grilled paneer and smoked cheese all suit it well.
