Tazawako Rauch is a 7.5% award winning rauch style beer from Tazawako Beer. Rauchs are brewed by drying the malts over an open flame, rather than on the floor or in a machine, imparting a woody smokey flavour into the final beer. It’s based on a traditional smoked recipe from the Bamberg region of Germany.
Deep red soba tsuyu.
Tazawako Rauch Aroma and Taste
We’ve not had many rauch style beers on BeerTengoku due to the difficulty in finding breweries that either have the ability to buy malts that are dried over the open flame or import their malts in from Germany. You can count on one hand how many we’ve had…two. Now let’s make it three.
The Tazawako Beer website recommends drinking this with either smoked cheese, smoked sausages, some smoked smoke or something smoked. Alas, I had nothing and had to do with some burnt toast and dried sausage from FamilyMart. Tazawako Rauch poured out a deep reddish brown colour with an off-white, slightly brown tinged frothy head that hid away an aroma that would soon leave my wife choking and reeling. Tazawako Rauch’s aroma could only be described by her “it smells like someone has put bacon into soba tsuyu (dipping sauce) and put it all in this beer”. I guess she was right as I was taken aback as much as her by the overpowering BBQ and smoke smell. It’s pungent and verging on offensive.
Drinking Tazawako Rauch is also a dangerous game too as that pungent aroma is as strong, if not more so, in the body. The smokey taste felt like I had my head over a slab of bacon doused liberally in liquid smoke and the acrid aroma had made it’s way around my nasal cavities. Finally, there was some respite with a sweet caramel flavour punching through the meaty barbecue flavours. However, Tazawako Rauch deserves praise as it was incredibly smooth throughout.
Tazawako Rauch One Line Review
Tazawako Rauch is a pungent, offensive beer that is sweet and smooth yet harsh in the smoky flavours.
Where to Buy Tazawako Rauch
Tazawako Rauch can be bought from the following places:
