Smoked & Oaked Belgian-Style Ale - Epic Brewing Co.

chadlebald

California

3.38/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

An interesting beer for sure.

Pours a cloudy, almost 'chunky' looking way--looks a bit similar to an apple cider (non alcoholic kind).

Aroma is prett nice - both the oak and smoke come through. Caramelly sweet too. Vanilla.

Taste is what kind of throws me - again, both the oak (taste of whisky barrel) and smokiness are there. I like both of those favors in my beers, but combined, my jury is still out: like they are competing for my affection. How does one choose a favorite child? alcohol is quite present too, which seems to go well with the aforementioned whisky oak.

A lot going on in this brew. Worth a try, for sure. Curious to see where YOUR jury nets out!

Serving type: on-tap

12-02-2011 02:14:26 | More by chadlebald

jsmith6051

California

4.5/5  rDev +16.3%

05-24-2013 01:17:10 | More by jsmith6051

nick_asian

Nevada

4.5/5  rDev +16.3%

05-19-2013 07:07:00 | More by nick_asian

MoistPope

California

3.25/5  rDev -16%

05-17-2013 15:48:38 | More by MoistPope

rhhjr

New Jersey

4.25/5  rDev +9.8%

05-15-2013 12:07:48 | More by rhhjr

Laklimell

Washington

4.25/5  rDev +9.8%

05-07-2013 01:08:37 | More by Laklimell

ejimhof

Pennsylvania

3/5  rDev -22.5%

05-05-2013 23:00:32 | More by ejimhof

JohnnieNepal

Michigan

4/5  rDev +3.4%

04-29-2013 02:20:43 | More by JohnnieNepal

kmahe

Washington

4.25/5  rDev +9.8%

04-22-2013 06:33:21 | More by kmahe

ralphw56

Nevada

4.5/5  rDev +16.3%

04-19-2013 21:54:35 | More by ralphw56

bulldogg915

Wyoming

4.5/5  rDev +16.3%

04-14-2013 03:58:22 | More by bulldogg915

bcostner1

Tennessee

4.19/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

A: Burnt orange with reddish hues. Khaki head that sticks around for a while.

S: Smoke, booze, vanilla, mild yeast.

T: Sweet caramel, vanilla, mild bourbon, candi sugar, molasses, a little oak, bacon and smoke on the back end. Nice combo.

M: Sticky, viscous, full, and satisfying. Booze mildly detectable but not abrasively so.

Overall, this is another solid offering from Epic. I would definitely have it again.

Serving type: bottle

04-07-2013 23:30:56 | More by bcostner1

Devinph

California

3.75/5  rDev -3.1%

04-05-2013 05:26:40 | More by Devinph

Gobzilla

California

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%

03-28-2013 07:40:03 | More by Gobzilla

gunpwdr

Virginia

2/5  rDev -48.3%

03-20-2013 20:55:24 | More by gunpwdr

mrshoes

Georgia

4.25/5  rDev +9.8%

03-15-2013 20:12:02 | More by mrshoes

StonedTrippin

Colorado

3.8/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

a smoked Belgian? I wasn't sure what to make of this one, a seemingly strange fusion between the german rauch style and the Belgian yeast was sure to be strange, and this indeed is a stranger. pours a light brown shade, cloudy, with only a thin film of tan suds. the nose is Belgian yeasty, some bright plantain fruity flavors, but also that classic biscuit dry crumbly spicy teacake sort of vibe. plenty of smoke, sweeter smoke, some toffee and caramel, nutty too like a good brittle. the oak isn't as strong in the nose as it is in the taste, the whole back end of this is whiskey soaked and really vanilla heavy, especially as it warms. the smoke flavor is rather mild and despite my hesitance, actually matches up very well with the Belgian yeast. the alcohol is nowhere to be found, which is nice, it allows the complex flavors to not be disturbed. the finish is long and yeasty, with a campfire feel. low carbonation is still just enough, and the texture is soft. overall a very interesting combination of flavors, im not sure its balanced perfectly, but I really like the idea behind this one. went well with some cheese steal pizza, and I can think of a range of other food pairings. for the adventurous palate.

Serving type: bottle

03-10-2013 16:40:28 | More by StonedTrippin

SocalKicks

California

3.75/5  rDev -3.1%

03-08-2013 04:03:55 | More by SocalKicks

roostor07

Minnesota

2.75/5  rDev -28.9%

03-07-2013 15:41:42 | More by roostor07

jdhugeloser

California

4/5  rDev +3.4%

02-09-2013 18:34:12 | More by jdhugeloser

Lugenbeast

North Carolina

3.5/5  rDev -9.6%

02-06-2013 15:18:59 | More by Lugenbeast

avisong

Virginia

3.75/5  rDev -3.1%

01-13-2013 03:06:18 | More by avisong

TheBigLebrewski

Michigan

1.68/5  rDev -56.6%
look: 1.5 | smell: 1 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

Unappealing appearance. Ugly mid-brown, opaque shade that looked cloudy, even muddy.
Smell was an even greater put-off.

The drinking buddy pulled it off the tip of my tongue when he said it smelled like meat. I didn't get meat in the smell, but I certainly do in the flavor - cured, sweet meat. Indeed, the flavor is not too far from Rogue's Voodoo Donut, in certain ways. The Belgian yeast certainly maintains a difference in flavor, but it ends up providing the factor of sweetness that brought the voodoo to mind (which contained maple).

In my opinion, it's not smoky enough. The smoked aspect seemed to be what came through as a bit of salt, and even more-so meat. Which I wouldn't choose as a flavor in any sort of beverage, save maybe bacon bloody marys. The oak was lacking as well, being completely overwhelmed by yeast and malt, and, if anything, contributing to the carnivorous off-flavors.

I was pretty excited about this - I tend to favor both smoked and oaked beers of various styles, but the Belgian sweetness and the weak oakysmokiness didn't pair well at all.

Could the bottle have gone bad?

Serving type: bottle

12-27-2012 08:17:25 | More by TheBigLebrewski

JimmyFlatRock

Ohio

3.25/5  rDev -16%

12-24-2012 22:39:21 | More by JimmyFlatRock

JayQue

Virginia

3.55/5  rDev -8.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Not bad! More smokey than Belgian, but is goes down nicely. Poured into my Chimay goblet. An orangy brown color with a smallish off white head. About average head retention and minimal lacing.

Aroma a bit weak for a Belgian. A little dark fruit and some smokiness. None of the yeast, spices, candi sugar etc that you would expect in a strong Belgian.

Taste is pretty good. THe smokiness is just right and there is some malt, dark fruit and a little sweetness to round things out.

Mouthfeel is rich, there is a distinct alcohol "burn" but not enough to ruin the drinking experience. A year's aging is probably in order.

Not a top-tier Belgian Strong Dark Ale, but not a bad beer either.

Serving type: bottle

12-17-2012 01:41:29 | More by JayQue