Rauchbier: The German Smoked Lager That Never Evolved

The History of Rauchbier

Rauchbier is a German-style lager brewed with rauch (smoked) malt. At one time, smoked beer was commonplace, not the novelty it is today. Before Daniel Wheeler invented his drum kiln and changed the course of brewing history forever, the only way to dry malt was directly over an open fire. The process ensured every beer had a smoky shade hanging over each sip. For maltsters and brewers of the day, it was an unwanted element, one they fought to be rid of.

Many things influenced the final flavor of these malts, including the type of fuel used and how long, and at what temperature, the malt was kilned.

The three main fuels used were wood (which itself can impart a variety of flavors depending on the variety used), straw, and coal. Coal was considered the least favorable, because it was expensive and dirty, no doubt imparting some less-than-optimal flavors.

What fuel was used depended a lot on what area of Europe you were in. While an English maltster might use coal or wood, German brewers (often German brewers would also do their own malting) did not use much coal, instead depending on wood alone.

How the Drum Kiln Changed Beer

In 1818, listed under the title “Improved Method of Drying and Preparing Malt,” Daniel Wheeler patented his new invention and everything changed.

The drum kiln never exposed the malt directly to the fire, which not only increased the range of malt colors and flavors produced, and made for a more uniform roast, but eliminated that niggling smoked character. Thus, as maltsters of the 1800s enthusiastically discarded the old roasting method and brewers excitedly explored the possibility of pale malts, smoked beers, to a large degree, passed into the annals of brewing history.

However, in the Franconian city of Bamberg, there were those who clung to the old ways, those who had embraced the smoky character of the malt and specifically designed their beers around it. Kilning with wood was something they understood, and saw little reason to change.

In doing so, they became the keepers of the oldest continually-made smoked beers.

Historical Rauchbier in a Craft Beer World?

Two hundred years later, there are still nine breweries within the city of Bamberg, and two of these have become synonymous with traditional rauchbier — Bauerei Schlenkerla and Christian Merz Brauerei Spezial.

Bauerei Schlenkerla:

Bauerei Schlenkerla’s history stretches all the way back to 1387. Its name, “Schlenkeria” means “the little dangler,” and refers to a nickname given to late 1800s owner/brewer Andreas Graser. “Schlenkern” is a word used to express not walking straight.

Schlenkerla still processes its own malt, kilning it over a fire of beach wood or, for their Christmas double bock, oak wood. In The Beer Bible, Jeff Alworth quotes the sixth generation owner of the brewery, Matthias Trum, describing the malting process this way:

“It depends on the time of the process. [The kiln] starts low goes up to around 100°C [212°F]. We control very exactly how much wood we put in at what time because we want to have a certain temperature curve for the entire process. It’s quite tricky to do it the right way.”

The beer Schlenkerla is most known for is their “Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier, “Aecht” means original. It is a Märzen-style rauchbier. Other beers in their lineup include an Urbock, a Helles Lager, and wheat ale… among others. Though, the Helles is subtly smoky, it is not because of smoked malt. It uses none in its recipe. Instead, yeast from the Aecht Rauchbier fermentation is repitched onto the Helles, which imparts the light rauch note.

Christian Merz Brauerei Spezial:

The Christian Merz Brauerei Spezial is a little younger than Schlenkerla, with origins going back to 1536. They, too, do their own malting and offer a range of rauchbier including their well-known lager, a Marzen-style, and a Weissbier.

Style Profile & Characteristics

The guidelines for the Rauchbier style are set by the Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) Style Committee. The details below are a summary of what a Rauchbier should represent.

The BJCP classifies the style under category number 6, “Amber Malty European Lager” and it can be found in the guidelines as sub-category (6B).

Other styles in this category include:

• 6A — Märzen
• 6B — Dunkles Bock

Appearance:

Color can range from a light copper to a dark brown. Head should be tan to cream colored; rich, thick, and creamy. Clarity should be superb.

Aroma:

The smoke profile can range in strength from only a whisper to quite strong and can have a bacon-like, smoky, or woody character to it.

The malt presents as low to medium with a rich, toasty, or malty-sweet profile. The scale between malt and smoke can tip in either direction, creating a wide range of possible balance profiles, but the two elements are often inversely proportional, meaning when one decreases the other increases and vice versa. Expect a clean lager profile. Hop aroma is low to nonexistent.

Mouthfeel:

Medium body with the smoothness of good lager character all carried by moderate to somewhat high carbonation. High astringency and harshness is inappropriate for this style.

Taste:

Much like the aroma, the taste will bring a profile of malt and smoke in some sort of balance. This balance can vary considerably, but the strength of one should always complement the other.

The slightly toasted malty richness of a Marzen should be present. The smoky character can take on a ham- or bacon-like note at higher levels. This is okay, as long as it doesn’t taste greasy. The malt can create a rich, even sweet, palate but the finish should be semi-dry to dry. Often the drying effect is enhanced by the smokiness.

Hop flavor can range from medium to nonexistent and bring low spicy, herbal, or floral notes. Hop bitterness is usually medium and balanced. Clean lager fermentation character. Ideally, the aftertaste is a balance between the malt and smoke. Any charred, burnt, sulfury, harsh, bitter, or phenolic smoky character is decidedly unsuitable to the style.

Food Pairing:

It would seem the obvious place to go with a rauchbier would be smoked meats, but this might be too overwhelming for many. Smoke on smoke just makes a deeper stronger smoke profile without really adding anything to the experience.

A better bet is the grill. Grilled meats contain some smoky elements, but not to the degree that smoke is all you’ll be getting. Of course bratwursts are a worthy partner to this German style, but you can also go with a steak, fish, chicken, and pork ribs. How about a burger with Portobello mushrooms and bacon? The point here is: if it’s meat and it can go on the grill, chances are you’ve got a good pairing. Throw some asparagus or broccoli on the grill to round things out.

Other rich meat dishes, such as roasts, stews, jambalaya, and oysters; as well as foods high in umami, like mushrooms, tomatoes, anchovies, olives, soy sauce, and potatoes will light up your taste buds when paired with a good rauchbier.

Cheese:

For cheeses, choose those with strong flavors and maybe hints of smoke. Blues, aged Cheddars, parmesan, Gouda (smoked or non-smoked), and Monterey Jack.

Dessert:

For dessert, you’ll find nothing better than that campfire favorite; smores. Other good pairings include bread pudding, gingerbread cookies, grilled pineapple upside down cake, or flan.

Serving & Storage:

For best presentation and greatest appreciation, a Rauchbier should be served at around 50-55°F in a Mass (Dimpled Mug), Willi Becher, or Vase. They are best stored at cellar temperatures away from light and can age well due to the smoke character.

Award-Winning Examples of the Style

• So Long and Thanks For All The (Smoked) Fish from SandLot Brewery at Coors Field (Denver, CO)

  Great American Beer Festival Winner, Gold, 2017. Availability: Rotating.

• Smoke on the Lager from Chilly Water Brewing (Indianapolis, IN)

  Great American Beer Festival Winner, Silver, 2017. Availability: Unknown.

• Croydon is Burning from Neshaminy Creek Brewing (Croydon, PA)

  Great American Beer Festival Winner, Bronze, 2016 and 2017. Availability: Limited.

• Raucher from Wolverine State Brewing (Ann Arbor MI)

  Great American Beer festival Winner, Gold, 2016; and World Beer Cup Winner, Bronze, 2016. Availability: Unknown.

• Weiherer Rauch from Brauerei-Gasthof Kundmüller (Germany)

  World Beer Cup Winner, Silver, 2014. Availability: Year Round.

Other Popular Rauchbier’s to Taste

• Rauchbier Marzen from Aecht Schlenkeria (Germany)
• Spezial Lager from Christian Merz Brauerei Spezial (Germany)
• Rauchbier from Angel City Brewery (USA)
• Fire in the Ham from Jack’s Abby (USA)
• Rauchbier from Sly Fox Brewing Company (USA)
• Scarlet Fire from Victory Brewing Company (USA)