Craftsman Roggen Rauch Bock

Date: 12/01/2006
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewfest, Strong Ale Fest

cloudy dark amber, wispy beige head, earthy smoke aroma, lots of smoked malt flavor, touch of sweetness, earthy bitterness,

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 6/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 12/20
Rating: 3.1/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: *4

Aroma is a mixture between extreme smokiness and extreme sweet fruity malt. Brownish red color with a light tan head. Flavor is initially an intense smokiness. The back end is a sweet dried fruit flavor. Heavy smoke, some alcohol. I can see the appeal in this beer. Very complex, smoked beers are not my favorite. But this was by no means bad.

Sampled on tap at Lucky Baldwin’s March 2007
Pours from the tap with a nice, three-finger thick, tan colored, frothy head. The beer is a lightly hazy, ruby amber color. The aroma is a mix of caramelized beech wood smoke, touches of fruit that just peeks through the dominant smoke character (hints of raisin, and plum are most noticeable) and a tartness that seems to be derived, at least partly from the smoke character.

The taste is sweet, and fruity up front, but most definitely it is quite smoky. In fact it is very smoky, with a chewy, thick, hearty character to it that makes it a joy to sup upon on this cool spring day in LA. Fruity notes of raisin add an interesting character and counterpoint to this beer. Despite the ample smoke character here, this beer is amazingly well balanced; the smoke is not dominating and allows the beer to be surprisingly fruity with lots of sweet malt character.

This is a stellar brew, despite that I am a sucker for Rauchbiers. I will definitely have to give this brew another try.

Draught. Dark ruby-copper with a medium-sized sudsy head. Faint smokish qualities in the aroma along with dark bread, and sweet malts. Some off-beat fruit notes and sugar sweetness are found in the flavour. The smokiness prevails more towards the finish as it warms up.
Sampled at Lucky Baldwins on March 21, 2007.

10th Annual SD Strong Ale Fest: Poured a slightly hazey deep copper color with a small beige head. Light notes of rye and smoke in the aroma. Malty backbone. Good balance. Flavor of a rye and smokey mix. Great balance. The flavors are strong but balanced and don’t overwhelm. Very enjoyable. I must say I really like Craftsman. If they say the flavor or aroma is in there, it is. But everything I had from them was very tasty and drinkable.

On tap at Lucky Baldwin’s: Pours a dark mahogany with a wispy-lacing froth of off-white head. Aroma of sweet caramel malt, some biscuity character and a touch of smoke. Body starts fairly full and viscous with plenty of sweet dark caramel malts and a touch of earthy rye. The smoke character isn’t as prevalent as the Schlenkerla beers, but it’s plenty evident. Pretty good balance throughout with an authentic tasting German lager yeast strain. Surprisingly drinkable for 8.6% and true to style. An enjoyable beer.

This was not nearly as smokey as i thought it would be. more wheat and dunkel flavors than smoke. some wheat some very light meaty flavors and some smoked malt. some black and white perpper makes it worth drinking.

Tasted on tap at the 2006 Pizza Port Strong Ale Fest. This smoked beer pours an orange gold color. Small sized white foamy head. Aroma is malt and some orange, touches of smoke and some oak. A medium to light bodied bock. Malts are caramel, fruity and sweet. Hops are slightly spicy. The smoke is very subtle, buts its there throughout the beer. There are a lot of orange highlights throughout the taste. Very smooth, This beer probably works better as a bock than a smoked beer but… Mouthfeel is full and round. Finish is clean and smooth. Aftertaste is slightly sweet.