Evil Twin The Cowboy - Evil Twin Brewing

brentk56

North Carolina

3.88/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Appearance: Pours a hazy honey color with a big, rocky head that delivers both in the retention and lacing departments

Smell: Smells just like what you would think a smoked pilsner would smell like; the smoke adds a subtle smoked sausage aspect

Taste: Bready, with the smoked sausage and grassy hop elements arriving simultaneously; somewhat sweeter than I would have expected, after the swallow, as if it were intended to be an imperial pilsner

Mouthfeel: Medium body with moderate carbonation

Overall: A little too sweet and lacks some crispness, but the smoked malts add an interesting dimension and were a nice complement to the pilsner malt

Serving type: bottle

02-11-2013 00:00:38 | More by brentk56

TMoney2591

Illinois

4/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Served in a Walter Payton shaker pint glass.

Home, home on the range... This stuff pours a very lightly hazy straw topped by over a finger of lightly off-white froth. The nose comprises dark smoke, light plastic, very light wheat, and very light grass. It's understandable that the smoke is front and center, but there isn't much else going on at all. Still, nice smoke... The taste brings in more of the same, though now the smoke is hammy, less plastic-y. The body is a light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a drying finish. Overall, an enjoyable smoked pilsner, something that shows that you can, indeed, smoke a pilsner without completely losing sight of the base (though, admittedly, the smoke seems meant to o'erpower all else). Not bad at all.

Serving type: bottle

11-07-2012 23:39:36 | More by TMoney2591

metter98

New York

3.89/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: The beer is clear dark yellow in color and has slight hints of visible carbonation. It poured with a short head consisting of large bubbles that quickly died down, leaving lacing on the surface and a collar around the edge of the glass.
S: Light to moderate aromas of smoked malts are present in the nose.
T: The taste is similar to the smell and has nice flavors of smoky malts (which linger through the finish) along with hints of underlying bready malts. It has a light amount of bitterness and hints of grassy hops.
M: It feels medium-bodied and a little clean on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: I found this beer to be very enjoyable and drinkable because the smoked flavors in the taste were not overpowering. This beer seems like it would pair well with barbecued food because it is clean and has some refreshing properties.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2013 18:19:44 | More by metter98

smcolw

Massachusetts

3.68/5  rDev -2.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Dirty gold color--cloudy. Moderate head with lasting power. Leaves plenty of lumpy lace on the glass.

Plenty of smoke to the nose. Seems to be quite dry.

If you like smoke, you'll really love this beer. After the initial flavor of paler malts, the smoke completely takes over. The swallow features a strong medicinal flavor--a real shame. Full body, particularly for the pilsner style. Good carbonation.

Serving type: bottle

11-03-2012 02:12:49 | More by smcolw

ppoitras

Massachusetts

4.3/5  rDev +14.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

22oz bottle purchased as a single from somewhere localish.

Poured into an imperial pint glass, formed a 1/2" off-white head over the slightly cloudy golden amber brew. Head recedes gradually, with lasting lace. Aroma is sweet with obvious smoke presence. Cool. Everyone always seems to scrimp on smoke.

Taste has smoke from head to tail, to my utter surprise. Beyond that, sweet upfront, touch of citrus in the middle, reasonably balanced closed, bitter aftertaste. Mouthfeel is soft and smooth, and drinkability is easy. Nice brew, and delivers the advertised smoke. Two thumbs up!

Serving type: bottle

04-25-2013 21:26:14 | More by ppoitras

thagr81us

South Carolina

4/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Served from bottle into a COAST Willi. Poured a slightly hazy red-orange with a one finger white head that subsided to half a finger slowly. Maintained phenomenal lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, wheat, smoke, smoked meat, and grain. The flavor was of sweet malt, smoked meat, smoke, wheat, and spice. It had a light feel on the palate with medium carbonation. Overall this was a good brew. The smokiness on this one really stands out and makes it quite intriguing upon first investigation. I am a big fan of smoked brews when they are done correctly and this one seems to be spot on for what I enjoy. Nice smoky flavors with a nice kiss of sweetness to keep your palate from getting overwhelmed easily. This made it quite easy to drink and would make it easy to drink in large quantities at a cookout. An absolute must try for any fan of the smoke. You won’t regret doing so.

Serving type: bottle

10-18-2012 11:30:45 | More by thagr81us

dbrauneis

New Jersey

3.93/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

A: Pours a mostly clear medium to dark golden yellow in color with light to moderate amounts of visible carbonation and very light hints of orange + apricot highlights. The beer has a quarter finger tall sudsy/soapy white head that quickly reduces to a medium sized thin patch of larger bubbles and a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Light to moderate amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Light to moderate aromas of smoke with some very light hints of iodine.

T: Upfront there are light flavors of bready malts along with a light amount of grassy hops. All of that is underneath a light to moderate flavor of smoke with just a hint of fatty pork BBQ-ing. There are light hints of iodine as well. Light amounts of lingering bitterness.

M: Medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation.

O: I really enjoyed the fact that the smokiness of this beer was not overly intense or too over the top, it kept the beer approachable and easy to enjoy. The aroma of the beer is slightly one dimensional but the flavors are more complex and interesting - this is just what I would expect a smoked pilsener to be. A little too intense to be an easy drinker or a sessionable beer but I would definitely like to have this one again, preferably with some BBQ.

Serving type: bottle

04-06-2013 18:16:27 | More by dbrauneis

ngeunit1

California

4/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Fairly clear golden orange with a finger of frothy white head. Fades at a normal pace.

S - Smoke, vanilla, pilsner malts, lemon zest, noble hops, some lager yeast esters.

T - Smoke, vanilla, pilsner malts, lemon zest, citrus and noble hops, a hint of bitterness, some lager yeast esters, bit of hop bitterness.

M - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Smooth with a smokey, warming, and lightly sweet finish.

D - Interesting mix of pilsner and smoked beer, but it works. Pretty good balance.

Serving type: bottle

01-04-2013 07:20:37 | More by ngeunit1

CrazyDavros

Australia

3.5/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.75

Pours amber with a fading head.
Nose shows heavy smoke and campfire with soft ham alongside a faint fruity hop note.
The smoke is not as powerful as a flavour although it's still definitely there. Some herbal and spicy hops show instead.
Carbonation could be higher.
Needs more malt or less smoke.

Serving type: bottle

05-05-2013 12:39:23 | More by CrazyDavros

LiquidAmber

Washington

4/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured into a Stone gargoyle pint. Pours a orange golden amber with a thin, fine light white head with great persistence and lacing. Light aroma of smoke, smoked meat and faint sweet malt. Flavor starts with nice wood smoke which gradually reveals pleasant biscuit malt and hops. Nice persistant smoky after taste. Great flavor progression and integration. Medium bodied with good creaminess. This is a very nicely made smoked ale. I would definitely return to this if the bomber price point weren't so painful.

Serving type: bottle

10-13-2012 04:24:52 | More by LiquidAmber

Bung

North Carolina

4.3/5  rDev +14.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

22oz. Cloudy orange pour, thin layer if white which laced pretty well.

Aroma, some spicy biscuit. Light caramel, way light smoke. Some crisp hop notes, citrus and lighter pine. It is quite interesting, just not sure what to make of it.

Taste, Nails it. The smoke is light and works very well with the lighter pilsener type malts. Light bread and citrus. A beach wood like smoke underpins the entire time.

Just heavy of light body. Good carbonation, very easy drinking. Reminds me a bit of the Holy Smoke and lesser bit of the Shenklera Weizen.
If it wasn't for the price point if these Evil Twin brews I would have them in the fridge much more often.

Anyone with an appreciation of the smokes will like this one. Worth the dollars to try once, maybe more.

Serving type: bottle

11-07-2012 03:17:26 | More by Bung

EgadBananas

Louisiana

3.88/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a sunny orange color, with a pale off white head. Leaves lots of lace. The aroma is very smoky. Kinda like smoked sausage. There's some citrus tones and some mild grains too. Tastes smoky too, go figure. Kimda like burned leather. There's some citrus fruits and hoppy bitterness vieing for attention too. It's somewhat light bodied, creamy, slight prickly carbonation.

Interesting. I don't know if it works beautifully, but its good and worth a taste.

Serving type: bottle

01-20-2013 01:38:17 | More by EgadBananas

Resuin

Massachusetts

4.08/5  rDev +8.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Bomber poured into a pilsner glass.

Appearance: Golden-brown in color with a nice, white one-inch head. Very pleasant appearance.

Smell: A punch of smoke, some bacon, caramel, perhaps a little citrus.

Taste: While smoke is certainly the predominant flavor, it is actually quite well balanced. This is a tasty beer. Little to no alcohol taste, but the smoky taste lingers a bit.

Mouth-feel: Very well bodied; nice texture. Very enjoyable mouth-feel, one of the best parts of this beer.

Overall: I enjoyed this beer, it was a pleasurable and memorable experience. This is an extremely well balanced beer, and if I find it I will definitely go for another.

Serving type: bottle

11-14-2012 22:51:29 | More by Resuin

udouche

4.53/5  rDev +20.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

22 oz bottle poured into a Chalice

A - Slightly cloudy dark orange. A solid 3 finger head on a medium pour. Thin yet full lacing.

S - Campfire, fresh bread, a sweet caramel, some ginger, and a slight scent of citrus.

T - Lots of smoke upfront, but not in the overbearing sense of a rauchbier. It settles well showing its light pilsener character with touches of sweet malt and crisp hops. Washes with a hint of smoke, but otherwise very clean.

M - Fairly light body, yet heavier than your normal pils. It is full of creamy carbonation. Leaves your mouth clean.

O - For those who can't handle or feel overpowered by super smokey beer, but still appreciate smoke, this is a create place to look. It pairs well with, as the name suggests, cowboy food. I'll probably grab a couple more since I'm a fan of southwestern US food.

Serving type: bottle

12-26-2012 18:13:13 | More by udouche