Sooty Brother - Grimm Brothers Brewhouse

emerge077

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Thanks Joe for sharing this one!

Pale hazy golden body, thin layer of soft textured white foam across the surface. Spotty seafoam lacing all around the sides with lasting head retention.

Great aroma, lightly sweet grains and smokiness, a little porcine.

Moderate smoke flavor, honeyed bready malt, wheat smoothness. Dry aftertaste with a slight bitterness. Medium bodied and crisp. Very drinkable. Interesting take on this obscure style, I'd seek it out again. Imagine Schlenkerla Helles amped up with much more smoke and body. Really hits the spot without going overboard.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2013 02:55:57 | More by emerge077

GRG1313

California

3.75/5  rDev -5.3%

05-15-2013 03:36:47 | More by GRG1313

UCLABrewN84

California

3.74/5  rDev -5.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

Thanks to GRG1313 for sharing this one at his tasting.

Pours a hazy yellow-orange with a foamy white head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, grain, and smoke aromas. Taste is much the same with smoke and spice flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of smoke bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp and medium bodied mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer with a nice smoke presence in the aroma and flavor.

Serving type: bottle

05-08-2013 01:05:50 | More by UCLABrewN84

Mebuzzard

Colorado

3.95/5  rDev -0.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

A gratzer style beer right m'here.
Pours a light golden, a bit hazy. Nice fluffy white head rocked up a bit, then settled to a thick collar

Smoky aroma. Bacon, if one thinks about it. Almost a peaty character like some scotches. A hint of wheat malt

While certainly not a rauchbier, it does come close. The smoke is edible and puts out a bit of leather in the taste. It overpowers just about everything else, but does let breath a little bit of spice and hops.

Tough to pair this one. Bacon, naturally. Probably anything grilled, including veggies

Serving type: bottle

04-12-2013 16:28:09 | More by Mebuzzard

Vonerichs

Illinois

3.89/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Hazy golden straw body with a thin white head.

The smell is a nice meaty smoke with hay.

The taste taste has a grainy malt and the smoke is modest. It definitely reminds me more if a smoked meat flavor vs. a tobacco smoke.

Mouthfeel is clean and light. Medium carbonation.

A pretty solid smoked beer and not at all what I was expecting.

Serving type: bottle

02-23-2013 08:13:12 | More by Vonerichs

MarkyMOD

Colorado

4/5  rDev +1%

01-25-2013 03:00:41 | More by MarkyMOD

Butzen

Colorado

3.83/5  rDev -3.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

This grätzer pours a murky yellow with a grayish tint topped by an airy, fleeting, white-as-Pee-wee-Herman head. The aroma is mostly of smoke – sweet, hammy, hardwood smoke with the faintest hint of fruitiness. Despite an intense, mostly one-dimensional (Paul Reubens comparisons apply here as well) aroma, this beer is surprisingly mellow and relatively merciful with the smokiness. The flavor offers a clean, wheaty swallow mellowed somehow by the porky smoke. It's a good bit smoky, a little bit tart, a tiny bit hoppy, and insanely quaffable.

I love a slight smokiness in my beer, but I almost can't stand a lot of it – I'd say Sooty Brother hits the sweet spot, with a definite smoke presence but an easygoing drinkability that would suffer from any significantly higher amount of smokiness. Now, this may not be a perfectly historical version of grätzer – according to Ron Pattinson, grätzer was described in 1914 as rough, bitter, intensely smoky and hoppy, and brewed with 100 percent wheat malt, none of which hold true here (Sooty Brother uses a smooth mix of pilsner and wheat malt) – but honestly, who cares? This is a damn tasty recreation, and in this case, that's more than good enough for me.

Read the full review with photos at: http://vittlesandbrews.blogspot.com/2012/12/grimm-brothers-sooty-brother.html

Serving type: bottle

12-14-2012 00:56:14 | More by Butzen

adnielsen

Colorado

4.33/5  rDev +9.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Tap @ brewery. Moderately hazy, golden yellow appearance with a touch of brown and a cream colored head. Mild to moderate BBQ smoky, woody, mild wheat, slight veggie aroma, though the veggie smell isn’t a hint of an off taste but more something from the smoking of the malts. Initially a light wheat, smooth flavor that develops into a BBQ smoky taste as the beer progresses through the mouth along with a little floral hoppiness. Some of the burnt, woody characteristics come through towards the finish. Roasty, slightly burnt, a touch aftertaste. Very easy drinking beer. The smoke characteristics are more like BBQ smokiness than a charred smokiness. Very tasty beer and again it’s really awesome that these guys are bringing back some old styles and being pretty innovative.

Serving type: on-tap

11-11-2011 18:04:03 | More by adnielsen

MoustacheHero

Colorado

3.88/5  rDev -2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Although I labeled this a "smoked beer" that does not really dive into the Grätzer style. Beervana has a great article about the style here: http://beervana.blogspot.com/2010/11/meet-gratzer-new-gose.html

Growler poured into a pint glass.

A: A mostly clear golden beer with a rocky, white head that collapses soon after the pour.

S: A smokey, sweet smell. Like an open grill cooking hotdogs in a summer field.

T: A truly unique smoked wheat flavor. Reminiscent of camp fire, bbq, hotdogs and rich wheat. Finishes medium bitter.

M: A thin, light bodied beer great for campouts.

O: I know going in most won't appreciate a beer like this, but I highly enjoy it and recommend it for anyone who enjoys a smokey beer like the style of Rauchbier.

Serving type: growler

10-25-2011 23:32:24 | More by MoustacheHero