Is smoked beer (Rauchbier) always considered a seasonal beer?

I love Rauchbier from the Bavarian city of Bamberg! It has a very strong taste akin to smoked Black Forest ham and, despite being a rather weak beer (from a European POV) at a little over 5% alcohol, it has a very full body. You can thus get a thick drink without getting drunk like e.g. on Bock beers. read more

The exception is a handful of brewers in and around Bamberg, Germany, whose rauchbier (smoke beer) is still made with wood-cured malt in centuries-old fashion―the definitive smoke beer. In the bigger picture, smoke is more characteristic than stylistic, as even the producers of Märzen-inspired rauchbier infuse their other German brews with rauchmalz (smoke malt). read more