Try?
Folks, let’s get one thing perfectly clear. Nothing rubs my rhubarb the wrong way like buying a smoked beer and not finding any smoke in it. I mean, what’s the point of calling it a smoked beer if you’re not going to get at least some smoky character when you sip? And you’d be surprised how many times this has happened to me in the past.
Luckily, though, such was not the case with Crown Valley Brewing Black Cabin Smoked Ale. This is the first beer I’ve yet to try from this Sainte Genevieve, Missouri brewery. Actually, this is the second Sainte Genevieve brewer whose beers have come across my path in recent weeks, Charleville Vineyard and Microbrewery being the other. Anyway, I was very happy to get a good amount of smoke in this amber ale of strength 5.6% alcohol by volume.
From the label:
The flavorful, smoky undertones of our smoked ale are enhanced by the chocolate, black and smoked malt.
Ingredients from the website:
Hops - Fuggels and a high alpha acid hop
Malts - Smoked, Pale, Chocolate, Vienna, Special B
IBU - 25
Crown Valley Brewing Black Cabin Smoked Ale pours to a dark ruby red color with a medium creamy head formation and a distinctly smoky nose. Indeed, as soon as I sniffed this one I got excited, as I just love a good smoked beer and this bode well for smoke in the palate. It’s there, too, as I sip I get a full bodied beer with some caramel up front mixed with subtle hints of chocolate and roasted dark malt. The smoke emerges quickly and intensifies into the finish, smoky and mildly pungent with a sharp hickory note though they say this is made with beechwood-smoked malt. A gentle grassy hop character can be discerned in the finish as well, along with a bit of roasted dark malt.
This is a very impressive brew, and certainly one I would buy again even at the $9.99 a six-pack price. In this case, it’s worth it for a tasty rauchbier that delivers as promised. Worth seeking out.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft
