Against the Grain Mac FannyBaw
Truly a ground breaking beer, this Barrel aged Rauchbier was an attempt to replicate the flavors present in Islay Scotch Whiskey. We used Munich malt as a base and added copious amounts of Beechwood and Peat smoked malt, which provides the intense smoky and earthy peat flavors found in Scotch. Then the addition of Alderwood smoked salt lends a crisp brininess that is reminiscent of the sea air in the Islay region of Scotland. Aged in used Angel’s Envy Bourbon Barrels to give an intense caramel, vanilla and whiskey flavor.
3.5
205 reviews
Louisville, United States
Community reviews
Duft røget vanilje sød malt sæd smag sød vanilje røg karamel sød malt rosin whiskey æble
Bottle shared. Pours a hazy Amber with an off-white head. Aroma is full of caramel sweetness, smoke, vanilla and some oak. Taste is heavy on the smoke and peat but retains that fudgy sweetness. Medium sweet, medium bitter. Medium body, low carbonation.
Appearance: Hazed caramel color with a off white head. Ok lacing.
Aroma: Decent intensity.
Palate: Medium + body. Slightly sweet and a moderate bitterness. Soft carbonation.
Taste: Toffee, bready, ham and some smoke.
Overall impression: Decent mild smoked ale.
Personal stats: On tap at Schouskjelleren in Oslo, Norway
Pours a completely cloudy orange-caramel with a large white head. Smoky nose. Fizzy mouthfeel. Smoky and fruity flavors.
-clear red with white head- smoke, earthy and malty. Rough, fireplace and dry. Great!
Backlog, ocena przepisana z untappd, w ramach uzupełniania profilu na ratebeer.
Draft. Aroma of manhattan. Flavors follow nose, only with less sweetness than aroma would indicate. Lots of Scotch flavor but not a lot of smoke. Increasing raisin as it warms. Hides ABV well. Really wonderful.
22oz wax dipped bottle drank at Havana for the Vikes Giants game. Poured a thinner looking clear light brown with a smaller foamy eggshell head. Aroma/flavor of campfire, whiskey, smoked pork, medium toast, vanilla and wood. Thinner body with average carbonation and a lingering aftertaste. Interesting to say the least.
Tap at Rattle had my eye on this awhile but knew I didn’t want whole bottle so glad I could finally get flight sized portion. Hazed brownish yellow small head. Nose is peat and meat. Tastes of meaty ham, peat smoke, vanilla, and slick rubbing alcohol. I love Islay scotch with all my heart but smoke beers just don’t work in general for me but alas knock out the Rauchbiers in case it ever becomes a style here on RB.
Shared bottle at Craft. Poured hazy brownish with tan head. Nose was smoked malt, mild citric acidity, oak, bourbon. Tasted rauchy, woody and bourbony, with some late citric acidity and salinity, some vanilla, and a complex finish.
On tap at Café Sara, august 25th 2015. Unclear golden body with a small white head. Aroma is smoky with vanilla, apple and plums. Taste is peated malt, part sweet, part sour, with an oak/orange finish. Burned wood sticking in the aftertaste. Special and nice.
Abmer coloured and hazy. Has a white head, medium duration. Spicy aroma, no notes of smoke, and well, the delicate smoke is in the flavor, nice.
Bottle. Clear golden color with medium creamy white mostly lasting head. Smoked flavor. Sweet flavor.
Bottle. Frothy white good mostly lasting head. Amber colour. Moderate malty and light hoppy aroma. Moderate bitter fklavor. Some fruity notes along with the smoked notes. Average moderate bitter nice smoked notes. Average moderate bitter finish. oily palate.
Bomber bought online. I am a bit weary about this seen my previous experiences with this brewery and alas: upon removing the wax with a knife, a hissing sound already announced that it was going to be impossible to open this without gushing. Luckily I was well prepared for this and managed to reduce the ’beer loss’ to a minimum. Thin, regular, off-white to very pale beige head retaining well on the edges, hazy amberish orange blonde robe with somewhat pinkish hue. Aroma, as announced on the bottle, is heavily dominated by peat, in the medicinal iodine-like way I still haven’t completely managed to appreciate; underneath this peat bomb, I find hints of smoked bacon, (lightly moldy) orange, light caramel, hay, bourbon, honey, cigarette tobacco, fried egg, bread dough, wet wood but low in vanilla tannins. Sweetish onset, hints of peach, even a bit honeyish, orange freshness well-balanced with deep, gooseberry-like sourishness, medium carbo, supple and smooth malt body (not as heavy as expected from a 8.5% ABV beer), caramelly and pretty straightforward, almost ’Belgian tripel’-like fruitiness continues, while the peated iodine-flavors creep up on you and dominate retronasally, yet I must admit I expected them to be even stronger based on the aroma; they still leave room for ongoing juicy malt (and residual sugar) sweetness, some earthy, spicy hops providing late but effective and lasting bitterness and quite a lot of warming, even slightly astringent, bourbon-like alcohol; woodiness is, as in the aroma, present but very restrained and adds only an accent to the overall palate without drying effect. A ’deep’ sourish flavor lingers as well. I hate gushing to begin with but I must admit I expected worse from the taste; it has a kind of ’lightness’ and drinkability (not to say a rather thin body) paired with fruity, orangey sweetness and bourbon-like alcohol warmth, not that far removed from e.g. Muifel’s Beerskey from the Netherlands. The peat effect is strong in the nose, but remains more or less manageable in the mouth - there is much worse out there when it comes to this particular taste, which admittedly I still haven’t mastered entirely. Underneath it, there is still a somewhat messy arrangement of malt and esters which feels a bit ’Belgian’, and considering the fact that both beers I had from Against the Grain were violent gushers, I don’t think I’ll put my trust in this brewery a third time.
Refrigerated brown bomber poured. Hazy golden with big white head. Aroma is smoke, light body, medium carbonation, and a little lacing. Taste is smoke and some meat.
Poured into a snifter.
3.25 A: Moderately hazed orange brown color. One finger of frothy beige head that falls quickly and doesn’t really leave any lacing.
4.0 S: Big strong porcine smokiness with campfire undertones. Sweet and woody. The bourbon barrel is nearly completely hidden under the much more powerful smoke. The bourbon is so mellow that I’m not sure if I’m hallucinating it’s presence and it’s not actually there at all. Still, the smoke is awesome and I love it.
3.5 T: Ahh, there the bourbon is. It’s much stronger in the taste. It might be a shame though. Instead of meshing well with the smoke, it muddles the flavor profile. Again porcine smokiness is the lead flavor, then leathery bourbon, vanilla, sweet graininess from the malts and whiskey. Caramel and toffee notes.
2.75 M: This is the main problem with the beer. It’s a lighter medium body that comes off watery. A touch undercarbed and lacking creaminess.
3.5 D: I love smoked beers. This one happens to blend some flavors that should work really well together, but they don’t.
★ 1,076 characters
DavoleBomb, Oct 15, 2015
Bottle a dark golden yellow colored beer with a white head aroma malts smoke spicy citrus fruits sourness oak and hops flavor malts citrus spicy fruits some smoke sourness oak and hops
Amber color with a small white head. Aroma is smoke with mild notes of meat. Flavor is smokey with a meaty, peat-like finish. A bit thin given the flavor and smoke is mildly artificial.
BBE ei merkitty pulloon. Samean kuparisen ruskea väri, ok viipyvä vaahto. Mukavan mieto ja huumaava savuisa viettelevä tuoksu, suutuntuma hapokas, savuisan nestemäinen, huumaava, alkoholinen miedolla hyvällä tavalla, hyvää ja nautittavaa kamaa, mutta ei vetisyytensä takia nouse kärkee.
On tap at Choice City. Aroma of leather, light shoe polish?, caramel, toffee, vanilla, peated malt, smoke, earth, light oak and bourbon. Similar flavor, pretty messy overall.
Pours an amber color with a small of-white head. Has a fruity malty smoky peaty caramel aroma. Sweetish malty smoky peaty weak woody caramel flavor. Has a fruity malty smoky peaty finish.
Keg at IMBC 2015; hazy deep amber/brown pout with a frothy beige head, aroma has smoke and a hint of fruit, taste is quite phenolic with some smoke, sweet caramel, a bit peaty.
8 oz at First Draft. This is a clear orange with a long lasting white head. This is one of the more enjoyable AtG offerings I’ve had in a minute. Aroma is rather smoky with bacon, peat, young whiskey and oxidized hops. Solid meaty smoke makes up the flavor with a mild bitterness for balance. Not a lot of oak or whisky comes through, just enough to make it interesting. The aroma persistently reminds me of ham. Really nice.
Bottle - courtesy of my friend Noel. Thanks! Hazy amber with a tall, fluffy and rocky gold head. Strong peat and smoke with soft bourbon notes and some salt. Taste is peat, smoke, salt, caramel, toasted malt, light vanilla and booze. Body is medium with a strong, dense, bubbly carbonation. Lingering smoke and peat on the palate. Ends with more smoke, peat, iodine, salt, caramel, toasted malt, booze and sweet malt.
Pour a hazy hazel nut brown, with a small off white head.
Aroma of peat, caramel, toffee, slight old hops. Taste is pretty sweet, with some bitterness to it as well, but dominantly on the sweeter side.
Medium but slightly water bodied, with a rather flat carbonation.
Cool ass bottle, 65cl. Pours a hazy, Dark amber with a small White fizzy head. Aroma has lots of leathery smoke, a subtle acidity, huge caramel, perfumed bourbon notes, vanilla and wood. Taste is sweet, lots of light caramel, smokey dry mid sip, and with a long caramel and bourbon finish. Medium full body and medium high carbonation.
22 ounce bottle into tulip glass, 2015 bottling. Pours slightly hazy orange/amber color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense off white head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big peat/wood smoke, sea salt, honey, light caramel, toasted bread, vanilla, toffee, bourbon, oak, light pepper, and herbal/smokey earthiness. Damn nice aromas with good balance and complexity of smoked/bready malt, sea salt, and bourbon barrel notes; with good strength. Taste of big peat/wood smoke, sea salt, honey, light caramel, toasted bread, vanilla, toffee, bourbon, oak, light pepper, and herbal/smokey earthiness. Light-moderate bourbon/oak/smokey spiciness on the finish; with lingering notes of peat/wood smoke, sea salt, honey, light caramel, toasted bread, vanilla, toffee, bourbon, oak, light pepper, and herbal/smokey earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Damn nice complexity, robustness, and balance of smoked/bready malt, sea salt, and bourbon barrel flavors; with a great malt/spiciness balance and zero cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth and lightly crisp/saline mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a light warmth lingering after the finish. Overall this was a damn nice barrel aged rauchbier style. All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of smoked/bready malt, sea salt, and bourbon barrel flavors; and very smooth and easy to sip on for the ABV. This was supposed to replicate Islay scotch as a beer, and they did a really good job at that; since it actually did remind me of some of the heavily peated scotches I have had in the past. The smoked salt was used with good restraint, as it wasn’t too overly briny in the mouthfeel; but provided a nice balanced flavor with the smoke and malt. A very enjoyable offering all around.
Opaque amber, strong white head. Alderwood smoke and light salty aroma. As close to a good Islay as beer gets, I daresay. Medium body, sour and sweet with a definite smokiness and indeed salt flavour. Finishes sour and smoky. Outstanding.
Orange. In der Nase Kabelbrand, frucht, Eiche, torfig. Am Gaumen süß, torf, rauch, Schinken, herb, leicht wässrig. Ok.