Welcome to This Week in Rauchbier for April 1, 2026.

Our Rauchbier spotlight is on the Pacific Northwest where eight breweries have come together to release Smoke Break, a collaborative Rauch Märzen built around a simple idea: Rauchbier is great, and more people should be drinking it.

"The project brings together Cloudburst Brewing, Obelisk Beer Co, Varietal Beer Company, Ladd & Lass Brewing, Ravenna Brewing Company, Urban Family Brewing Co., Human People Beer, and Single Hill Brewing (who hosted the collaboration.) It is a larger-than-usual collaboration centered on a style that does not often get this kind of spotlight," reads a press release. "Smoke Break is a mid strength Rauch Märzen brewed with beechwood-smoked barley, and a touch of oak-smoked wheat. The result is a malt-forward lager with notes of caramel and cocoa, backed by a firm but clean smoky finish that lingers without overwhelming."

Then Bart Watson the President and CEO of the Brewers Association joins us to share the latest growth and success of Rauchbier in the marketplace.

Finally, we hear from Brian Shirley at Time & Materials Beer talks about his cask rauchbier.

Enjoy these audio smoky delights.

For more Drink Beer, Think Beer check out All About Beer.

Host: John Holl
Guests: Bart Watson, Brian Shirley, Andrew Pytel
Tags: beer, craft beer, rauchbier, smoke, April Fool's Day

Music for this episode:
NewsSting by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4124-newssting

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/