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26th May 2005

Smoke a Glass of Beer?

posted by | posted in food and drink |

Hey, vegetarians, if I told you I found a beer that smelled and tasted like a plate of smoked meats, would you throw a parade or just throw up?

Well, at least one of my vegetarian friends is getting the ticker tape ready as we speak. Then again, she only became a vegetarian because of a late-onsetting meat allergy and not because she was morally opposed to killing animals. Me? I'm a meat person through and through. I always joke that the number one reason I could never become a vegetarian is lamb. And the second, third, and fourth reasons are beef, pork, and chicken!

(crickets)

Yeah. I get lots of blank stares with that one. Anyway, being a meat person I was stoked to discover what was, for me, a new beer.

There's a great bartender over at Suppenküche. His name's Craig and we love him. He sees us and says, "Let me show you something new I've got." And then we drink. It was one of these "something news" that brought us to Smokebeer. Smokebeer, called Rauchbier in Germany, comes from Bamberg in Bavaria and has been made since the 1500s. The intensely smokey flavor in this dark, rich beer comes from exposing the unsprouted malt to burning slats of local beechwood.

The first sip I took was intense. Yep, that was bacon in a glass. One of those and I actually feel that I've had a meal -- it's that filling and it's that satisfying. That said, my limit may be only one of the 25 oz bottles, because of how aromatic and full the beer is. However, set me up with a platter of Suppenküche's sumptuously crispy potato pancakes and a bowl of homemade applesauce and I just might keep on sipping.

The two places Craig suggests looking for Smokebeer in San Francisco is at Suppenküche on the corner of Hayes and Laguna in Hayes Valley or at Schnitzelhaus on 9th at Folsom in SOMA.

Until we make our next visit, I have an empty bottle that we absconded with just so we can sniff it every once in awhile. Mmmm, Bacon.

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This entry was posted by on Thursday, May 26th, 2005 at 10:36 pm and is filed under food and drink. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

There are currently 4 responses to “Smoke a Glass of Beer?”

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  1. 1 On May 27th, 2005, Jack said:

    We used to go to the brewery where this wonderful elixir is made in Bamberg, Germany (I was stationed there with the army from 88-91, but don’t hold that against me, I voted for Dukakis).

    There are actually two breweries in Bamberg that make this style of beer. The one you reviewed is by far my favorite. And yes, I am also a vegetarian.

    I’ve had Rauchbier elsewhere, such as at the Essen Haus in Madison, Wisconsin. But it simply isn’t the same thing bottled. Nonetheless, it’s a nice thing to be able to get a little taste of Bamberg.

    Tschuess!

  2. 2 On May 27th, 2005, Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic said:

    Oooh, I’ve been to the Essen Haus in Madison, WI but I was visiting a friend in college so I was in my Lite Beer phase (yergh) and didn’t get to experience Rauchbier.

    According to Craig at Suppenkuche, for some reason, you can’t get the beer in kegs in the U.S., so we have to be satisfied with bottles. Which sounds unfortunate after reading your post.

  3. 3 On June 6th, 2005, Anonymous said:

    Look to your local brewpubs for smoked beer. One of the better smoked beers I had was at the Lafayette Brewing Co in Lafayette, In. The best time to look for the beers is in the fall or winter, particularly around Oktoberfest.

  4. 4 On March 21st, 2008, Kanno K said:

    While beers made with smoked malts may taste smoky, giving the impression of a “bacon beer” it didn’t go far enough for me and my homebrewing buddy. There is a style of beer called Oyster Stout that uses raw oysters in the boil. They are eventually filtered out, but it is known as the only style of beer that uses meat. Viewing this as both a challenge and a dare, we brewed 5 gallons of pale ale with 3 pounds of bacon. The resulting beer was surprisingly drinkable, but had a bit of an oily finish. Next time we’ll need to try combining the bacon with a smoked beer style.

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