I heard of it on Alaska Ale's website...

True/False?

and, the bigger question, is it any good?

Lena

"Lena B Katz" > wrote in message
...
> I heard of it on Alaska Ale's website...
>
> True/False?
>
> and, the bigger question, is it any good?
>
> Lena

Rauchbier, smoked beer, is actually pretty good! I've had it on a couple of
occasions.

kili

On Thu, 23 Jun 2005 15:36:59 -0400 (EDT), Lena B Katz
> wrote:

>I heard of it on Alaska Ale's website...
>
>True/False?
>
>and, the bigger question, is it any good?
>
>Lena
No the question is, how do you keep it lit?

I've had the smoker porter from the Alaskan Brewery. I don't care to
drink it, but I like to cook with it. I reduce it to a syrup and then
use in marinades or dressings. They only make it seasonally, but it is
actually really popular.

I think it is very nice. It's from Bamberg Germany. But I have had
some say they didn't care for it as they were more into the Pils

Chuck

On Thu, 23 Jun 2005 15:36:59 -0400 (EDT), Lena B Katz
> wrote:

>I heard of it on Alaska Ale's website...
>
>True/False?
>
>and, the bigger question, is it any good?
>
>Lena

Lena B Katz wrote:
>
> I heard of it on Alaska Ale's website...
>
> True/False?
>
> and, the bigger question, is it any good?
>
> Lena

I'm not sure what you mean by "Skunk"?
Anyway, smoked beer is great. At least the
Bavarian one I had once was wonderful.
Can't think of the name of it right now.
The concept is a little hard to get your mind
around but that didn't stop me from enjoying it.
Kate

On Fri, 24 Jun 2005, Kate Connally wrote:

> Lena B Katz wrote:
>>
>> I heard of it on Alaska Ale's website...
>>
>> True/False?
>>
>> and, the bigger question, is it any good?
>>
>> Lena
>
> I'm not sure what you mean by "Skunk"?

Skunk means when the beer goes bad, from being kept too long.

Apparently, you can lay smoked beer down like fine wine, and keep it for
years at room temperature.

Lena

ps. where'd you find the Bavarian one?

Wrong! Smoked beer is the way they make it, and they are very proud of
it. Now skunk tasting would be like Mickey's Big Mouth that they sell
in the States. As for keeping beer for long periods of time. I don't
think so, it is just like soda or pop as some may refer to it. It
does have an expiration date and after a while it will go bad. If you
don't believe it buy something today and drink it next year. It will
be flat.


On Fri, 24 Jun 2005 10:23:45 -0400 (EDT), Lena B Katz
> wrote:

>
>
>On Fri, 24 Jun 2005, Kate Connally wrote:
>
>> Lena B Katz wrote:
>>>
>>> I heard of it on Alaska Ale's website...
>>>
>>> True/False?
>>>
>>> and, the bigger question, is it any good?
>>>
>>> Lena
>>
>> I'm not sure what you mean by "Skunk"?
>
>Skunk means when the beer goes bad, from being kept too long.
>
>Apparently, you can lay smoked beer down like fine wine, and keep it for
>years at room temperature.
>
>Lena
>
>ps. where'd you find the Bavarian one?

In article >,
on Fri, 24 Jun 2005 10:23:45 -0400 (EDT), Lena B Katz wrote:


> Skunk means when the beer goes bad, from being kept too long.

You've misused the term "skunked". Beer becomes skunked when it is
struck by sunlight (or any light in the daylight range, including the
fluorescent bulbs in many coolers), which causes a transformation in the
hops so the beer acquires the taste and aroma of a skunk's "fragrance".
This is frequently associated with beers in green or clear glass
bottles, such as Heineken. (Miller gets away with using clear glass
bottles by chemically manipulating their hops to remove the component
that skunks.) Brown bottles block light in this range, which is why they
are best for storing beer.


> Apparently, you can lay smoked beer down like fine wine, and keep it for
> years at room temperature.

Despite what they say, it's the higher alcohol content (6.5% in that
particular beer) and probably higher hopping rates that enables the beer
to age. I strongly doubt their claim that the smoke acts as a
preservative. Those "sherry, raisiny" notes they talk about on the web
site are the result of oxidation - which is basically a process of
deterioration. In a lighter beer, this would be objectionable. In a
heavier beer, oxidation may add desirable complexity.

Be warned, too, that if things don't go so well during oxidation, it can
make the beer taste like wet cardboard, instead of sherry. It can be fun
to lay down a few bottles of a strong beer to see what it tastes like in
two, three, four, even ten years. However, if you're planning to serve
it to company, taste it yourself first, and have a backup plan if it's
simply gotten old and nasty.

--
Seth Goodman

"Seth Goodman" > wrote in message
.net...
> In article >,
> on Fri, 24 Jun 2005 10:23:45 -0400 (EDT), Lena B Katz wrote:
>
>
> > Skunk means when the beer goes bad, from being kept too long.
>
> You've misused the term "skunked". Beer becomes skunked when it is
> struck by sunlight (or any light in the daylight range, including the
> fluorescent bulbs in many coolers), which causes a transformation in the
> hops so the beer acquires the taste and aroma of a skunk's "fragrance".
> This is frequently associated with beers in green or clear glass
> bottles, such as Heineken. (Miller gets away with using clear glass
> bottles by chemically manipulating their hops to remove the component
> that skunks.) Brown bottles block light in this range, which is why they
> are best for storing beer.
>

I absolutely agree with this statement, Seth. Skunky refers to the odor and
flavor of the beverage when exposed to ultraviolet light. Steinlager,
Molson, Heineken, Moosehead, even Becks are fine examples of skunky beer.
Buy one, get your churchkey out, open the bottlecap and smell. It's
skunky. That's not a good quality in an expensive beverage. Brown bottles
are the way to go.

kili

Chuck R wrote:
>
> Wrong! Smoked beer is the way they make it, and they are very proud of
> it. Now skunk tasting would be like Mickey's Big Mouth that they sell
> in the States. As for keeping beer for long periods of time. I don't
> think so, it is just like soda or pop as some may refer to it. It
> does have an expiration date and after a while it will go bad. If you
> don't believe it buy something today and drink it next year. It will
> be flat.

Well, it may eventually go bad, but I've had beer in my fridge
for several years and it tasted fine. Recently however I had
some that was probably 4-5 years old and it had a nasty sediment
and didn't taste too good. Had to throw it out. It wasn't
flat, though.

Kate