what goes with rauchbier?

Hello everyone,


I recently read an article in the New York Times about traveling around Germany in search of beers that are difficult to find outside of their native towns ("On A German Beer Trail, One More for the Road", May 20). One of the types of beer mentioned was rauchbier, a smoked-malt beer in which the author of the article tasted the following: caramel, acacia, and notes of smoked meats ranging from ham to Alaskan salmon and sweet unagi. It was also described as "liquid bacon."

Now, I love bacon. I feel pretty good about smoked meats in general. I would really like to try this beer (which is available at Sam's, according to the nice gentleman I spoke with on the phone earlier today). What I can't figure out is what the heck do you pair bacon beer with? Sausage? Melon - it works with prosciutto, why not bacon?

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Honey 1 ribs

I guess there's two ways to go about pairing beverages with food (or, let's just say there's only two I can think of): you can 1) find a food that matches the beverage (like a sweet wine with dessert) or 2) find a food that contrasts with the beverage (like a sweet wine with spicy food).

Overly simplistic, I know, but it's a place to start.

I think in this case, I'd tend to go the contrast route. It seems like a cheese (maybe an old cheddar, something with a little bite) would complement a smoky beer.

I'm not a pairing pro...but I would recommend against the melon.

David Hammond wrote:I'm not a pairing pro...but I would recommend against the melon.

But what if the melon is wrapped in prosciutto?

BooksAndGarlic wrote:Hello everyone,


I recently read an article in the New York Times about traveling around Germany in search of beers that are difficult to find outside of their native towns ("On A German Beer Trail, One More for the Road", May 20). One of the types of beer mentioned was rauchbier, a smoked-malt beer in which the author of the article tasted the following: caramel, acacia, and notes of smoked meats ranging from ham to Alaskan salmon and sweet unagi. It was also described as "liquid bacon."

Now, I love bacon. I feel pretty good about smoked meats in general. I would really like to try this beer (which is available at Sam's, according to the nice gentleman I spoke with on the phone earlier today). What I can't figure out is what the heck do you pair bacon beer with? Sausage? Melon - it works with prosciutto, why not bacon?

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Are you getting one of the Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchibiers? I think they are all great but recommend the Urbock if it is available for the most smoky goodness. Try out the whole line if you can though!

As for pairing I've always enjoyed these beers solo, so I'll just wish you luck with finding a good pairing. Anything smoked could not go wrong though!

A great resource for beer + food pairings is beeradvocate. They have descriptions of each style with suggested pairings. Here is their info onrauchbier. The pairing suggestions are on the right hand side.

schenked wrote:A great resource for beer + food pairings is beeradvocate. They have descriptions of each style with suggested pairings. Here is their info onrauchbier.

What an excellent resource! I've gone to the Beer Advocate site over the years, but didn't notice the pairings sections. Looks like much of what we've discussed here could be paired (except for the melon )

Hammond

I made a rauchbier about a decade ago (I called it Zeppeliner because it was a form of smoking safe to enjoy on a Zeppelin). Although I suppose it would have been all right with any sort of salty bar-ish food, the smoke flavor is pretty heavy-- it really does taste like ham-- and I would mainly think of it as something to drink by itself.

BooksAndGarlic wrote:I would really like to try this beer (which is available at Sam's, according to the nice gentleman I spoke with on the phone earlier today).

The map roomtypically has a rauchbier on tap. And, they have complementary bbq (from Leon's, I believe) on saturday and sunday afternoons.

I now have 3 bottles in front of me: Schlenkerla Rauchbier Weizen, Schlenkerla Rauchbier Marzen, and just because it was the only other Heller Aecht beer there and I didn't want it to feel left out, Schlenkerla Helles Lagerbier. Unfortunately, I'll have to wait until this weekend to try them, as I am saving them to be shared with my similarly bacon-obsessed, beer loving friends who will be grilling for Memorial Day.

Grilled meats definitely seem to be the preferred accompaniment of the Beer Advocate website crew - great site! If I try anything else that works well with the beer, I'll post it to this thread.

Thanks!

Hop Haus features a Schenkerla smoked beer in a few of their "burger pairings."

I was not that excited by the well-done wild boar burger that they paired with mine.

We recently discovered a new rauchbeer that we purchased from West Lakeview Liquors called Eisenbahn Defumada

yes, brazil is not exactly known for their beer...
But this beer is brewed by a german ex-pat and we think he did a very nice job!

It was not as hit-you-over-the-head smoked as you will find schenklera to be.
If you find you like smoked beers, this is a lighter-handed but still very interesting example!

West Lakeview Liquors
2156 W Addison
http://www.wlvliquors.com/

Right now (and probably only for another week or so) Goose Island on Clybourn has a Smoked Maibock on tap that gives Schenklerla and all of the examples I tried while in Bamberg a run for their money.

It's a wonderful (and a bit strong at 7.3%) refreshing Maibock with a very notable, but smooth and sweet smokiness.
A good pairing would be their Farmers' sausage and cheese platter, which is not the very highest quality of sausages and cheese, but a good deal during their 4-6 happy hour half-pricing.