RoggenRauchBier
Terrapin Beer Company

RoggenRauchBierRoggenRauchBier
Beer Geek Stats | Print Shelf Talker
From:
Terrapin Beer Company
 
Georgia, United States
Style:
Rauchbier
ABV:
5.7%
Score:
85
Avg:
3.79 | pDev: 10.55%
Reviews:
116
Ratings:
125
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Sep 15, 2014
Added:
Jun 14, 2008
Wants:
  21
Gots:
  1
Side Project #2
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
 
Rated: 3.3 by Beer-Zombie from Oregon

Sep 15, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by jaydoc from Kansas

Jan 28, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by djrn2 from New Jersey

Feb 12, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by DrFunkenstein from Pennsylvania

May 16, 2012
 
Rated: 5 by whitekiboko from South Carolina

Dec 27, 2011
 
Rated: 4.5 by dowen44 from Georgia

Dec 21, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by EasyReader from North Carolina

Nov 16, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by nickfl from Florida

Nov 15, 2011
 
Rated: 3 by jophish17 from Georgia

Nov 14, 2011
Photo of Jayli
Reviewed by Jayli from Massachusetts

3.76/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Acquired from Beerbeagle via Nobody Wants to See a Beer Geek Naked 2 so a big THANK YOU goes out to him!
Consumed 11/14
Poured in to a pint glass.

A: This beer pours a translucent light caramel color with a 1/4 inch of foamy, off white head. Head recedes somewhat quickly and leaves no real lacing to speak of.

S: Nose is pretty tame. I was expecting big smoke notes - but not so much. Light smoke, some earthy notes, and a hint of caramel sweetness.

T: Taste starts with a mixture of caramel malt sweetness and smokiness. Ahh - there is the smoke! A smoked, oak chip breadiness hits in the middle. Finish is a continued light but nicely blended smoke flavoring with some grassy, earthy hop notes.

M: Medium body, medium carbonation, some what creamy body, but yet a crisp finish.

D: Goes down easily, not too filling, mild kick, nice representation of style. This isn't one that I would sit with for a night but definitely an enjoyable 1 pint brew.
Nov 22, 2010
Photo of BeerAdvocate
Reviewed by BeerAdvocate from Finland

4/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Review from BeerAdvocate magazine Vol. II Issue VII:

Volume two of Terrapin's "Side Project" specialty series. Rye meets smoke and gets lagered.

Burnt-amber color, bright and clear with a frothy off-white head that sticks to the glass without a problem. Lovely aromas of smoky malt and spicy rye come off very clean. Crispness runs deep and smooth within the lush medium body. Smoke kicks in quick but comes to the palate as a comfy blanket of flavor rather than being pungent, which lets the spiciness of the rye malt throw down. Bready all around with a hint of yeast on the tongue. Mild hopping, which is fine, with a touch of herbal flavor middle to end. Hint of grape skin, freshly cut grass and lingering smoke in the dry finish.

Terrapin brings it to the extreme but still keeps this beer approachable for what it is, meaning smoke in beer is not for everyone, and the other characteristics help round this lager out. This one is a must for all of the beer geeks.
Sep 13, 2010
Photo of alleykatking
Reviewed by alleykatking from Indiana

3.97/5  rDev +4.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured from a 22oz bottle.

A- Poured a hazy darker brown color. One finger off white head that dies down rather quickly. Some light streaking lacing left on the glass.

S- This beer has been aged a little while. Didn't know how that would take on the beer. Pretty above average aroma. Light sweet malts mix with some light rye and spices. A light smoked malt blankets this entire aroma. Nothing over the top and very settle.

T- This is a very interesting beer to say the least. The sweet malts come into play first with some light off fruity flavors. This is wrapped in a blanket of light rye tones. The middle to backing of this has a nice smoked flavor going on...almost a bacon like flavor but not quite yet there.

M- Medium mouthfeel. Carbonation was good for the beer. Light rye notes left on the palate with a good smokey aftertaste. Flavors are well blended which I think the age had something to do with this.

D- This was a good beer that I could drink a 22oz of. As far as a beer to drink all night on it would be a no go. For a 22oz serving this beer is just enough before going onto something else.
May 08, 2010
Photo of billab914
Reviewed by billab914 from Virginia

3.89/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Poured from a 22oz bottle into my Portsmouth snifter glass. Poured brown in color with a thin white lacing scattered across the top of the beer.

The aroma has a sweet malty smell to it with some more subtle smokey and spicy notes. The rye comes through with some nice spice to it. The smoke is very faint but it's there and provides a nice complexity.

The taste is also very malty with a good amount of sweetness and fruit flavors. Like the nose the rye and the smoke are more subtle. The smoke comes through a little bit in the finish which gives it a nice complex flavor.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Drinkability is good, it had some very nice malt flavors with some added smoke and rye complexity. I was a little disappointed that it didn't have more smoke flavor to it but maybe it was due to the age on it. Still a very tasty beer though.
Apr 10, 2010
Photo of spointon
Reviewed by spointon from Illinois

4.24/5  rDev +11.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
I got this one from the always generous BA everetends (thanks Gilly!). Poured from a 22oz brown bomber bottle into an imperial pint glass.

A= This beer poured a hazed reddish cola color with a 3/4" cream colored head. The head dropped to a skim in minutes and eventually disappeared altogether. Only a few spots of lace.

S= This had a bit of age on it at this point, and the aroma was a nice meld of smoked malt, sweet malt, spice, and rye.

T= Big and rich flavors here. The smoked malt gave this a nice Virginia ham flavor without overdoing things, and the spicy rye kicked in to complete the ham on rye allusion. Very nicely done. No hops to speak of. The finish was pretty clean but leaning toward richness.

MF= Heavy side of medium bodied with a tongue coating viscosity that made the flavors linger long into the aftertaste. Modest carbonation.

D= Pretty drinkable, but the viscosity and the richness would stop me at one bottle every time. Still, a very enjoyable and tasty treat of a beer.
Apr 05, 2010
Photo of mwa423
Reviewed by mwa423 from Ohio

4.39/5  rDev +15.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4
A - Pours a very very cloudy and hazy red with a thin off white head that quickly died to nothing. A bit of head retention and it could have been a 4 or 4.5.

Smell:

From BA Style Guideline: "very pronounced spiciness and sour-like rye character"

Check, tons of spice and a hint of sour like rye at the end of the smell. Heaviest spice I have ever had outside of a winter warmer.

T - WOW. I might be a sucker for a good beer made with rye malt, but man was this good. First the spices of the rye hit the tongue, then a sour taste like a very light saison hits the tongue and it finishes exceptionally clean.

M/D - Mouthfeel is great, this beer briefly coats the mouth but then almost cleans it's own flavor out of your mouth and has a slight aftertaste. This beer would easy be a 5.0 in drinkability but as I continue drinking the spice is unique and heavy on the tongue enough that I wouldn't drink more than one of these at a time.
Jan 05, 2010
Photo of degerbah
Reviewed by degerbah from Ohio

4.06/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Pours a very hazy brown with almostno head at all. No head retention, within a few seconds I see no head at all and very little sign of carbonation. Smells oddly spicy and malty at the same time, kind of like gingerbread. The flavor is very unique. The smokey and spicy flavors blend together into something strange but tasty. It's so different from about everything I've had. Still good though, I would really like to try other roggenbiers so that I have something to compare it to.
Jan 05, 2010
Photo of drabmuh
Reviewed by drabmuh from Maryland

3.83/5  rDev +1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
This is probably the only Roggenbier I will ever get to review. A big thanks to a generous guy for trading me this beer, this will get me considerably closer to my 103 styles goal. I love rye but I'm not the biggest fan of rauch beers so we'll see how this shakes out.

Beer is dark brown and hazy. Forms a thin off white head of small bubbles and carbonation is moderate to low. The head falls away leaving some lacing on the glass. Looks about as I expected. Looks good.

Smells kind of like a schwartz beer, a mild roasty, maybe some of the rye is sneaking through but not really.

Here goes everything, once you taste it you can't un-taste it. Light bodied, the smoke is the most dominant flavor. Tastes like hickory or almost a bacon like character. This is a little of a disappointment. I hope I can get a blank roggenbier in the future, this is just too smokey. All the rye is lost in the smoke and there is a rather strong smoke aftertaste that lingers. After a few minutes there is a nice finish and there is nothing left. This really isn't my style of beer, I had too great of hopes for this. I would have loved to have the rye in there, loved it. Oh well. Drinkability is moderate, the smoke slows it down but doesn't really stand in its way.

If it were possible, I probably would not order this again. Time to homebrew a roggenbier.

EDIT: This beer gets a lot better the more I drink it, I'm bumping up the flavor score.
Dec 21, 2009
Photo of Kegatron
Reviewed by Kegatron from Pennsylvania

3.7/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
22 oz bottle into a pint glass.

Pours a very deep looking coppery amber, with 1 1/2 fingers of foamy light tan head. Thin creamy layer of retention, that leaves some light spotty lacing behind. The aroma has a definite smokey meat smell going on with it but is fairly well balanced in the nose by sweet bready malts and some light floral character. The smoked malts actually seem to diminish some as this warms, as more spicy sweetness starts to overtake it.

The taste is sweet toasted grainy malts, with some firm spicy from hops and rye running through it. Smoked malt character is really only noticable towards the back of the profile, where it mixes with malt and citrus to impart a sharp tang. Finishes meaty, spicy, and dry. The mouthfeel is overall medium bodied but seems to be a bit too bubbly up front, carbonation wise, before getting more sharp and crisp towards the back of the swallow. A touch more firmness to the body would have been welcomed.

A solid effort for a hybrid smoked/rye beer here, with the balance of the two probably working the most in the taste. This could have used a touch more heft to the body but this still stayed decently drinkable.
Nov 18, 2009
Photo of coldmeat23
Reviewed by coldmeat23 from Oklahoma

3.92/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
GLASS: Mug
TEMP: Cellared @ approx 50 degrees

This pours up a ruby-tinted amber color. A head of almost one-fingers worth of light tan colored foam sits on top. It fades to a creamy surface covering, which stays around until the end of the glass. Lacing is foamy and slightly slick.

The smell is almost exactly what you'd expect. A nice level of smokiness, along with a good amount of rye spiciness. I also get some mild hints of roasted malts.

Some light maltiness hits first. It is then almost obliterated by a smooth and mild, yet dominant, smokiness. At about the midway point you get a nice level of rye spiciness, combined with the smoke, which carries on through to the finish.

It's a nice, medium-bodied brew. It has a medium-to-full level of carbonation. This makes it just a little bit too active, I think.

This is a brew with a good level of flavor, that never overwhelms the palate. It is under 6.0%abv and that helps it remain quite drinkable.
Very nice.
Nov 18, 2009
Photo of sinstaineddemon
Reviewed by sinstaineddemon from Connecticut

3.95/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
from a trade with Charliehhelms, thanks Charlie

A - dark reddish brown with crimson highlights, a thin brown head that fades to a ring swiftly, scant visible carbonation

S - this is my first roggenbier, so i checked the Bros. description in the stylguide and i must say, the description is spot on, the biggest note is a grainy rye element, with some weak vinegar like sourness (not a bad thing) and some fresh hops

T - big rye in the flavor, some intense malts add some support, the sour is less noticeable than in the aroma, the hops fade a bit giving way to the rye and malts, some faint spiciness

M&D - smooth and medium bodied, a dry finish from the rye, with some nice layering and intense flavors, a well done beer, of a new style (to me) and a brewery i dont have much experience with, huzzah!
Nov 08, 2009
RoggenRauchBier from Terrapin Beer Company
Beer rating: 85 out of 100 with 125 ratings