Smoked beer (german: Rauchbier) is a type of
beer
Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
with a distinctive
smoke
Smoke is a suspension of airborne particulates and gases emitted when a material undergoes combustion or pyrolysis, together with the quantity of air that is entrained or otherwise mixed into the mass. It is commonly an unwanted by-produc ...
flavour imparted by using
malted
barley
Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...
dried over an open flame.
[''Beer'', by Michael Jackson, published 1998, pp.150-151]
History
Drying malt over an open flame in a smoke kiln may impart a smoky character to the malt. This character may carry over to beers brewed with the smoked malt. Prior to the modern era, drying
malted
barley
Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...
in direct sunlight was used in addition to drying over flames. Even though hot air
kiln
A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay int ...
drying of malt, using indirect heat, did not enter into widespread usage until the industrial era, the method was known as early as the first century BC. Also, there have been various methods over the years of preparing cereal grains for brewing, including making
beer from bread, so smoked beer was not universal.
Beginning in the 18th century, hot air kiln drying of malt became progressively more common and, by the mid-19th century, had become the near-universal method for drying malted grain. Since the hot air kiln method prevents any smoke from getting in touch with wet malt, a smoky flavour is not imparted to the grain, nor to the subsequent beer. As a result, smoke flavour in beer became less and less common, and eventually disappeared almost entirely from the brewing world.
Bamberg ''Rauchbier''
![Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen und Weizen](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f8/Aecht_Schlenkerla_Rauchbier_M%C3%A4rzen_und_Weizen.jpg)
Certain
breweries maintained the smoked beer tradition by continuing to use malt which had been dried over open flames. The malt is dried over fires made from
beechwood logs. The malt and fermenting beer are stored under the pub and brewery in a part of the
catacombs of Bamberg, a maze of tunnels under the city built from the 11th century onward, which have a very stable moisture and temperature. In former times, ice was used to cool the fermenting beer tank room, the ''Lagerkeller''. This ice was locally harvested above ground in the winter, although when the winter was too mild, ice was imported from as far away as
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
or
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. The beer is then filtrated to remove the opaque colour and yeast remnants, and put into oaken vats. Two
brewpubs in
Bamberg, Germany,
Schlenkerla
Schlenkerla is a historic brewpub in Bamberg, Franconia, Germany renowned for its Smoking (cooking), smoked Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier.
Beers
Aecht Schlenkerla is recognized for making traditional Rauchbier (smoked beer) including Bock, urb ...
and Spezial, have continued this smoked beer production for more than a century. Several varieties of ''Rauchbier'' ("smoke beer" in German) are produced by these companies. Both are still in operation today, alongside seven other breweries in the same town. Since the rauchbier tradition was continuously preserved in Bamberg, the beer style is now marketed as ''Bamberg Rauchbier''.
Due to the popularity of
craft beer in recent years, industrially made, smoke-flavoured malts became available, and so the style has been attempted worldwide, including in its heartland of Franconia and Bamberg. Schlenkerla and Spezial, however, use a traditional, elaborate way of smoke malting. In 2017
Slow Food
Slow Food is an organization that promotes local food and traditional cooking. It was founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy in 1986 and has since spread worldwide. Promoted as an alternative to fast food, it strives to preserve traditional and re ...
included these two ''Rauchbiere'' into their
Ark of Taste
The Ark of Taste is an international catalogue of endangered heritage foods which is maintained by the global Slow Food movement. The Ark is designed to preserve at-risk foods that are sustainably produced, unique in taste, and part of a distin ...
.
The
Brewers Association
The Brewers Association (BA) is an American trade group of over 5,400 brewers, breweries in planning, suppliers, distributors, craft beer retailers, and individuals particularly concerned with the promotion of craft beer and homebrewing.
Two of ...
distinguishes between three variations of Bamberg-style ''Rauchbier'': ''
Helles
Helles or hell is a traditional German pale lager beer, produced chiefly in Southern Germany, particularly Munich. The German word ''hell'' can be translated as "bright", "light", or "pale".
Flavour profile
Helles-style beers typically are f ...
'' , ''
Märzen
''Märzen'' or ''Märzenbier'' (german: March beer) is a lager that originated in Bavaria. It has a medium to full body and may vary in color from pale through amber to dark brown. It was the beer traditionally served at the Munich Oktoberfest. ...
'', and ''
Bock
Bock is a strong beer in Germany, usually a dark lager. Several substyles exist, including:
*Doppelbock (''Double Bock''), a stronger and maltier version
*Eisbock (''Ice Bock''), a much stronger version made by partially freezing the beer and ...
''.
Each is brewed according to the underlying style, but with smoked malts replacing some or all of the
mash bill
Mash ingredients, mash bill, mashbill, or grain bill are the materials that brewers use to produce the wort that they then ferment into alcohol. Mashing is the act of creating and extracting fermentable and non-fermentable sugars and flavor co ...
.
''Grodziskie''
''
Grodziskie
Grodziskie (; other names: Grätzer, Grodzisz) is a historical beer style from Poland made from oak-smoked wheat malt with a clear, light golden color, high carbonation, low alcohol content, low to moderate levels of hop bitterness, and a stron ...
'' or ''Grätzer'' are similar, traditional smoked beers from
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
, but made from wheat and highly carbonated, and with a perhaps older history, although they saw a period of no production in the late 1990s.
''Grodziskie'' traditionally contain 2.7-3.7%
alcohol by volume with little to no hop flavor or aroma, and medium-low to medium bitterness.
Typical coloration is straw to gold.
Smoked beers outside Germany and Poland
*In
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, the
Feral Brewing Company
The Feral Brewing Company is a brewery in the Swan Valley, Western Australia.
History
Feral Brewing first opened in October 2002, and was founded by Alistair Carragher and Brendan Varis with a vision to "craft beers that ... were a little on ...
, in Western Australia, makes a smoked
porter
Porter may refer to:
Companies
* Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto
* Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets
* Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer
* H.K. Porter, Inc., ...
. In addition Gulf Brewery, in South Australia, make a Smoke Stack rauchbier.
*In
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, the
Dupont Brewery
Dupont Brewery (in French: ''Brasserie Dupont'') is a brewery in Tourpes (Leuze-en-Hainaut), in western Hainaut, Belgium. Founded in 1950, it is on a working farm which dates back to 1759 and has significant brewing history. In the 1990s, a bre ...
produces
Triomfbier Vooruit, a
saison
Saison (French, "season," ) is a pale ale that is highly carbonated, fruity, spicy, and often bottle conditioned. It was historically brewed with low alcohol levels, but modern productions of the style have moderate to high levels of alcohol. ...
produced with smoked malt.
*In
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
Eisenbahn produces a smoked beer called Eisenbahn Rauchbier, using malts imported from Bamberg.
*In
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, Les Trois Mousquetaires makes a smoked beer, and
Half Pints Brewing Company the seasonal Smoktoberfest. Also, Church-Key brewing of
Campbellford, Ontario produces a peat smoked Scotch ale called Holy Smoke. Cameron's brewing in Oakville, Ontario produces Bamburg Castle smoked ale. Moosehead Breweries Small Batch label now produces a smoked lager using magnum hops.
*In Chile, Cervecería La Montaña produces Yuta, a smoked Munich dunkel (5,6% abv) with traditional German ingredients, although it does not follow the classic base beer styles from Bamberg's ''Rauchbiere''.
*In
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
,
Birrificio Lambrate
is a craft brewery in the Lambrate district of Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a popul ...
make two smoked
stout beers, the draught or bottled Ghisa (5% ABV) and the bottled Imperial Ghisa (8.5%).
*In
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
, Dundulis brewery produces a smoked beer called Juodvarnių.
*In
the Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
,
Emelisse produces a traditional German-style smoked beer, as well as a smoked porter and a peated Russian
imperial stout
Stout is a dark, top-fermented beer with a number of variations, including dry stout, oatmeal stout, milk stout, and imperial stout.
The first known use of the word ''stout'' for beer, in a document dated 1677 found in the Egerton Manuscript ...
.
Brouwerij De Molen has several different smoked beers, such as Bloed, Zweet & Tranen and Rook & Vuur. Othmar also produces a traditional smoked beer, named Rauchbier.
*In
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
,
Haandbryggeriet
260px, The mash tun, circa 2008
Haandbryggeriet is a Norwegian brewery founded in 2005 by Jens Maudal, Rune Eriksen, Arne Eide and Egil Hilde. The brewery was situated at the site of an old textile factory in Drammen, then in a railroad yard, an ...
produces a smoked, juniper-flavoured beer called Norwegian Wood.
*In the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
,
Meantime Brewery
Meantime Brewing Company is a brewery based in Greenwich, London, England, and owned by Japan's Asahi Breweries .
The company was founded by Alastair Hook in 1999, and was purchased by SABMiller in May 2015. As part of the agreements made with ...
produces Winter Time, a smoked
old ale, and
Kelham Island Brewery
The Kelham Island Brewery was a small independent brewery based in the Kelham Island Quarter area of Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It closed down in May 2022.
In 1990 the brewery was opened (the first for 100 years to open in Sheffield) ...
in Sheffield made Brooklyn Smoked Porter in association with
Brooklyn Brewery
Brooklyn Brewery is a brewery in Brooklyn, New York City, United States. It was started in 1988 by Steve Hindy and Tom Potter.
History
Hindy learned to brew beer during a six-year stay in various Middle Eastern nations such as Saudi Arabia and K ...
.
Adnams
Adnams is a regional brewery founded in 1872 in Southwold, Suffolk, England, by George and Ernest Adnams. It produces cask ale and bottled beers. Annual production is around 85,000 barrels.
In 2010, the company established the Copper House ...
bottles its Smoked Ruby (4.7% ABV) using cherry wood and has brewed a similar, limited edition, 1659 Smoked Ruby Ale.
Beavertown brews a smoked porter called Smog Rocket.
*In
the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
, the
Alaskan Brewing Company,
Great Basin Brewing Company
Great Basin Brewing Co. is a brewery headquartered in Sparks, Nevada. It is Nevada's largest and oldest currently operating brewery—though not the state's longest operated. Great Basin Beer, beers are available as beer bottle, bottled draught b ...
,
New Glarus Brewing Company,
Revolution Brewing
Revolution Brewing is a brewery in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois. It was founded as a brewpub in 2010 on Milwaukee Avenue (Chicago), Milwaukee Avenue in the Logan Square, Chicago, Logan Square neighborhood. A separate production brewery, with canni ...
,
Surly Brewing Company, and
Samuel Adams
Samuel Adams ( – October 2, 1803) was an American statesman, political philosopher, and a Founding Father of the United States. He was a politician in colonial Massachusetts, a leader of the movement that became the American Revolution, an ...
make and distribute smoked beers influenced by the ''Rauchbier'' of Bamberg.
See also
*
Grätzer
Grodziskie (; other names: Grätzer, Grodzisz) is a historical beer style from Poland made from oak-smoked wheat malt with a clear, light golden color, high carbonation, low alcohol content, low to moderate levels of hop bitterness, and a stro ...
*
List of beer styles
Beer style is a term used to differentiate and categorize beers by various factors, including appearance, flavour, ingredients, production method, history, or origin. The term ''beer style'' and the structuring of world beers into defined categ ...
*
List of smoked foods
References
External links
Brewery SchlenkerlaBrewery SpezialBJCP style guidelines for smoked beer
{{Beer styles
Smoked food
German beer styles