TheBeerObserver

I stumbled upon this beer at Pete's Waterfront Ale House in Brooklyn and ordered it mostly because I had no idea what a Rauchfetzen was. The bar tender described it as a smoky ale so I hesitated - assuming it might destroy my palate before dinner - but decided to give it a go. I must have liked it because I ordered several more. In fact, I did like it quite a bit. I would describe it as very respectable ale with a hint of smoke in the background. It turns out to be part of a limited batch series Harpoon is offering: "Harpoon Rauchfetzen is the 25th offering from our 100 Barrel Series. We used beechwood smoked malt from Bamberg, Germany to craft this copper-colored ale that evokes Rauchfetzen, a poetic German word meaning 'wisp of smoke'."