Smoked Lager, from the Artisan Brewery, is reviewed by Craig Heap.
“This is one of my favourite finds this year. I paired it with a cold platter of anti pasti and cheese on a hot summer day and damn near had an orgasm.”
Smoked Lager
“Bare Naked Beer”
Artisan Brewery
ABV 5.4%
Along with the thrill of discovering a new brewery, it was the Smoked Lager which pulled me to the Artisan Brewery. The Germans heavily influenced the rest of the world with their rauchbier, and now the American craft ale scene leads the way with beers such as Stone Smoked Porter. The British scene, however, remains light on smoked beers.
Artisan Brewery follows the Germanic beer tradition (Helles, Vienna etc) so a rauchbier is not unsurprising. Smoked flavours can be an acquired taste, and even then it’s not a guaranteed love. Smoked cheese and meats are great; smoked tea (lapsang souchong) is the devil’s own work. So how is the Smoked Lager?
It’s the cloudiest of the Artisan beers, sitting with a moody, glowing ochre hue in the glass. It has an off-white head which soon vanishes and light carbonation. The odour is smoky, but light and oaky. My experience in smoked beers is limited to this sole sample, but I reckon it’s at the lower end of smoked-scale. Let’s put it this way, it doesn’t smell like your house just burned down to the ground.
It has a slightly sweet, oak smoked taste. And that’s it. This beer is next to impossible to review; I had three bottles over separate days, and this is all I know – it looks like smoke, it smells of smoke, and tastes of smoke. Actually, there is one other thing it tastes of. It also tastes of Awesome.
This is one of my favourite finds this year. I paired it with a cold platter of anti pasti and cheese on a hot summer day and damn near had an orgasm. In terms of food pairing, on warmer days you could sub out a porter and drink this alongside savoury dishes instead. Unless you really detest smoked flavours, I think the smoke level on this would be accessible to most; in fact, I’d love to see a special edition, say double the smoke and double the strength, for sipping in the winter.
Rum & Reviews Magazine 