Viking Brewing Rauch

Brewed by Viking Brewing Company
Style: Smoked
Dallas, Wisconsin USA

Bottle thanks to Skyview! Poured clear bright golden with an explosive cap of fluffy white head and quite a bit of rising carbonation. The aroma picked up soft, but nice smoked beechwood along with odd, sour oaky notes. Sour and smoky beechwood in the flavor as well on top of pils-type maltage.. left a sweet and tangy finish... warmth brought out some lemon that worked fairly well. Mild peppery bitterness toward the back-end.. light-bodied with plenty of carbonation.. decent feel to it. Not so good overall.

Bottle... Hazy golden lager with a small, frothy, white head and good retention. Beechwood smoke nose with herbal and earthy notes as well. Lightly smoky, sweet flavor of Munich or Vienna malt with a peppery, hop bite. Medium-bodied with lively carbonation. The finish is crisp and dry.

Bottle shared with Willblake and Hophead75. Pours a lighter than expected, hazy dull gold/hazy orange with a thin fizzy dissipating head. Aroma is light earthy funk with some wierd wet cigarette smoke, dirty beechwood smoke, smoldering campfilre with some wet sock. Dirty yeasty flavor with more smoldering smoke, smoked meats, and a bit astringent in the finish with a light sweetness. A bit dirty overall and somewhat harsh. Not very good for a smoked.

Picked up a bottle from Blue Max in Burnsville, MN. Pours an amber golden brew with a fizzy white head. Very good lacing on side of glass. Aroma of apples, a touch of caramel and some melted plastic. Can just barely pick up any smoked flavor. Palate is a little flat and watery. Finish a light. Could use a little more smoke flavor.

Bottle. Lightly smoked and waxy aroma with a fruity accent. Color is golden orange with quickly diminishing head. Flavor is lightly smoked, like smoked turkey, with a citrus and melted plastic mouthguard flavor. Lightly acitic bite. Pretty flat carbonation. Watery palate. Did not exactly excite my senses.

Viking’s Rauch pours a nice clear copper orange brown color with half an inch of cream colored foam. The head recedes quickly to a thin layer of foam which then remains throughout. It leaves a fine trace of lace behind. The aroma is smoky (no surprise) and little else. Still, it is a subtle smoke. If you were not expecting smoke in the aroma, you would have serious doubts. But if you were expecting smoke, you would be content. The smoke taste (although I can’t stress this enough - it is moderate for a smoke beer) predominates the initial flavor. And the aftertaste. Not a trace of hoppiness. The underlying beer is there only to support the smoke character.

Color is light orangey yellow, powdery body. Aroma is chickory smoked barbecue sauce. Bright sour orange flavor with some mild spice and dry Chardonnay finish. Small accents of smoke and watery vegetables. Definitely a weird brew but to my taste it might be slightly underrated.

12 oz. bottle purchased as a single from Blue Max in Burnsville, MN. Sweet aroma with orange and cinnamon notes. Otherwise, it smells like a macro pale lager. Pours a slightly hazy dark gold with a modicum of white head. Subdued smokiness in the flavor, reminiscent of a pizza fresh from the oven. The smoke taste is reminiscent of the oak taste that often comes from barrel aging. To be honest, though, I’m not sure that I would have noticed the smoke flavor much if the beer weren’t called a rauch. Modest malty sweetness with hints of orange. Noticeable but light hops typical of an American lager. For the most part, this tastes like a standard golden lager, but that’s not a bad thing. It is smooth and soft in the palate, making it drinkable and refreshing, as a lager should be. Overall, this is a satisfying beer, and I appreciate the smoke element, but there’s nothing really special about it. It’s certainly not offensive in the least, and I was perfectly happy to drink it, but "not offensive" doesn’t exactly constitute a rave review, does it? I bought Viking Rauch because I have never had a smoked beer before, but, judging from some of the comments, it looks like I didn’t come close to picking the quintessential example.