Bacon Beer By Brooklyn Brewery Will Rule Them All

A heaping plate of bacon washed down with a frosty mug of beer is the perfect start to any day, but why can't scientists unite those two divine tastes into a single swallow? True, there is a German beer called Rauchbier, which means "smoked beer" and reportedly tastes like bacon, but it's not literally made with cured pig flesh. But at long last, Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster Garrett Oliver has heard the call of drunken gluttons and is developing a beer made with a special malt smoked in the same room with bacon made by "the legendary" Allan Benton. Oliver tells the Times, "It’s almost terrifying how much the malt smells like bacon." His ingenious plan involves infusing a brown ale with the flavor of Benton’s bacon fat through a technique known as "fat washing." The bacon-fat-infused ale is aged in bourbon barrels, and one historic day (t.b.d.) he will blend it with the bacon-smoked malt. And Oliver promises this to a world hushed with anticipation: "Either this will be the most amazingly disgusting thing you’ve ever tasted in your life. Or I shall rule the earth."

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By John Del Signore in Food on August 12, 2009 1:52 PM

Comments [rss]

JGNY

Rauch beers are awesome, I have only seen schinckerderkal (sp?). You can probably buy it at Bierkraft in Park Slope but you can drink it at Radegast Beer Hall or Rabbit Club on Macdougal. It really is like no other beer and most people hate it. I believe it is made with hickory smoke which gives it the bacony flavor.

sowhtifithppnsitwll

NOW THIS IS GOOD NEWS. :-) !!!!

Kayne

Quite a while ago, my friend that bar tends at 4th Ave Pub gave me what he dubbed "the bacon sandwich". It tasted exactly like smoked bacon. I gotta see if he remembers what the hell that was.

Barbj8

Wouldn't bacon flavored coffee make more sense?

hotstepper

any floating flakes of bacon, a la Goldschläger?

militza

*insert Jim Gaffigan shtick here*

drewo

Should go great with breakfast.

Nyctini11

now will this be kosher?

pastaboy12

there's always room for bacon

matty

The bacon craze ended 6 months ago.

sj

The Rauchbier you cited is really interesting, I have a couple bottles in my fridge (hard to find but if you know where to look...). I think it tastes less like bacon that it does smoke -- it tastes a lot like a beer brewed while the brewery was burning down. A heavy campfire-style smoke flavor. Good stuff.

barryap

Where can you find it? It sounds pretty unique.

dwarbi

As noted, Bierkraft on 5th Ave in Park Slope carries a couple of different rauchbiers. So does Spuyten Dyvil Grocery in Williamsburg. They also carry those little kegs of them. Whole Foods Bowery has some too.

The style is native to Bamberg, Germany. It's my favorite style and was in heaven for the two nights I spent there a couple of years ago.

Some American breweries have their own versions, such as Sierra Nevada:

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/140/9847
I like the one from Sly Fox:

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/10397/30457

It's always on tap at Fette Sau in Williamsburg and goes great with the best BBQ in the city.

But really, take a trip over to Bierkraft or Spuyten Grocery and pick up the whole line from Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier (marzen, weizen & urbock) and do a comparison with a friend. Get the lager too. It's not made from smoked malt, but since it's made in the same brewery, it picks up some hints.

As for the Bacon Beer... I guess we'll see.