Viking Brewing Rauch

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

A lovely smokiness permeates this medium-bodied amber lager. The flavor seems to me like a lighter Octoberfest, with the smokiness gradually seeping in, along with cheese and a slight nuttiness. Smooth but unexciting finish.

Here’s an underappreciated beer, I think. A light lager with a subtle meaty smokiness - it would be very easy to F this up, but it’s flawless. Good delicate maltiness, fleeting hints of smoke. I enjoyed this more than the Aecht Schlenkerla I rated recently.

Bottle - thanks to Badgerben for the trade! Pours every so slightly hazy amber with a moderate off-white head that diminishes mostly. Mild aroma is sweet with a bit of hickory and fruit. Flavor is nice, sweet and smokey, some dark fruit and a bit of hops with the smoke in the finish as well. Light to medium body with creamy carbonation. Nice treat from the midwest - thanks Ben.

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.

Cloudy orange, with a thin white head. Aroma is fruity, with just the mere-ist hint of smoke. Flavor is also rather fruity, and again just a hint of smoke to compliment it. This is the least smokey smoked beer I’ve ever had. Notes of pear, pine, pepper, too. The smoke flavor compliments but does not overpower. Thanks to JK for the trade.

My take on this beer is that is can be quite enjoyable but suffers from one major flaw, if you call it a flaw. Unlike that of some others, mine poured a huge head, just bubbles all over, even with the very gentlest, slow pours. The aroma from the head was very interesting--almost a Belgian ale aroma of raisin, sweetness, spices, and a touch of wood. Golden/amber color. But then the body was so immediately flat that it was an oddly sweet, syrupy, generally autumn fruit flavor with smoke in the finish. Not a bad smoke--certainly not overpowering, and pretty good with food. Still, that flat, it just didn’t hold up. But I drank some of it straight from the bottle, and sure enough, it went into my mouth with a billowing palate, making it a more deeply bitter, broadly Germanic beer experience. Very curious beer--defying easy labels. But not as bad in my opinion compared to how some others have experienced it.

Clear copper with a small white head. Light smoke and caramel sugar aroma. Sugary sweet body is somewhat unrefined with very little to no hop presence. The finish is the best part, where the subtle smoked malty flavor lingers. An average smoke beer.