Rahr and Sons Brewing Company - Current Line of Products

Current Line of Products

• Blonde Lager is a light-bodied Munich Helles-style lager with a grainy character, a faint sweetness, and a bitter finish.

• Rahr's Red is an amber lager with a malty character and light caramel notes.

• Iron Thistle is a dark brown Scottish style ale characterized by a bold taste dominated by a smooth, sweet maltiness balanced with a low, hoppy bitterness. This brew is only featured from January through February.

• Ugly Pug is a black lager, or Schwarzbier. While dark in color, it is light-bodied and has a moderately roasted flavor.

• Stormcloud IPA is an India Pale Ale, a popular style among American craft breweries. What is unusual about Stormcloud IPA, however, is the use of German noble hops, German malts and Kölsch ale yeast to imbue the style with Fritz Rahr's own German brewing heritage (American IPAs are typically brewed with American hop styles and other varieties of ale yeast). Likewise, the beer is marketed with a German heritage backstory that reinforces this stylistic hybridity. "Stormcloud" is English for the German Sturmwolke, the name of the ship that carried brewer-ancestor William Rahr to the New World. According to the brewery's website, "During a fierce storm on his voyage across the ocean, William Rahr could be heard yelling from the tall masted ship: 'Roll on old sea! And when you are done, when the storm clouds have destroyed themselves, we will still be standing and drinking!'" According to local journalist Barry Shlachter, this beer may become Rahr's flagship product in the future.

• Bucking Bock, a spring seasonal, is a sweet and full-flavored Maibock. With 8% ABV (alcohol by volume), it is also particularly strong. This brew is available from March through April.

• Summertime Wheat, a summer seasonal, is a Bavarian-style wheat beer, or Hefeweizen, with rye added to the grist (the brewery has called it a Roggen-Weizen, or rye-wheat, for this reason). Unlike many American craft breweries that produce Hefeweizens with more neutral yeasts (e.g. Sierra Nevada, Pyramid, or Spoetzl (Shiner)), Rahr employs the characteristic Bavarian wheat beer yeast, resulting in clove- and banana-like flavors. Live Oak Brewing Company's Hefe Weizen is another example of the more traditional Bavarian style. This brew is available from May through June.

• Gravel Road is a seasonal alt bier. This brew is available from July through August.

• Oktoberfest Fall Celebration Lager is a fall seasonal in the Bavarian Märzen lager style. This brew is available from September through October.

• Winter Warmer is a winter seasonal rendition of the traditional English "winter warmer" style. This is a toasty, nutty, lightly carbonated ale with about 8% ABV. This brew is available from November through December.