Aecht Schlenkerla Fastenbier

Brewed by Brauerei Heller
Style: Smoked
Bamberg, Bayern, Germany

On tap at Ashley’s - Ann Arbor, MI. Aroma is strong right off the bat. Good complex Maple smoke, burning leaves and pine woods. Complex. Pours an interesting mid-brown, amber with a soft soap of off-white above. Flavor bursts as an immediately interesting complex smoke flavor, with Aspen bark, light ash and Beechwood. Wow! This is a fantastic smoke flavor. Spicy, complex and developing some unique earthy character. Just awesome. I can keep going with the flavors, from burning Balsam to Campfire to wood shop. It morphs and lingers for a long, long time. One of the most nuanced and delicious uses of smoke I can image. The toothy, chewy sugars back it up, but stay real dry and crisp. Clean and light, give the excellent smoke character plenty of opportunity to shine. This is tremendous!

pours cloudy orange, nice lacing of the head. aroma of smoke & mixed spices. flavor is spicy underarms. the finish is the same spiciness. if you like spicy underarms, this is the beer for you.

F-me. Hand-bottled. A bit of a hiss as I sprang the pop-top. Superb sign. Poured with a bold, thick head. I’ve been waiting too long to try this. Rich amber color. Rocky white head has decided to hang around. Initial whiff is big with big woodsy aromas. I can smell the glowing embers of a slightly extinguished fire, bacon crisping in a cast-iron skillet. My mouth waters for this smoky sensation. Slightly oily on the palate yet smooth and quenching. Still tingling with hints of carbonation. Underpinning of sweetness with passionate snips of bittering hops. As with too few things in life, this has been well worth the wait. Many thanks to redlight!

On tap at Three Floyds Brewpub and served in a 1/2 litre Schlenkerla glass. This beer poured a cloudy mahogany with a two-finger thick head of slowly fading tan foam. Some nice lacing was left around the glass. The aroma of the beer was made up of campfire and smoked breakfast ham. Not overpowering, but very inticing. The flavor followed suit with heavy smoke, bacon and ham notes, but not in an overdone fasion. The mouthfeel was medium-bodied and super smooth. A heavily smoked brew that remains highly sessionable. Top notch!

Draft - These beers are unbelievable. This has a much more subdued smoke aroma and flavor than the other Schlenkerla beers. It really draws out more of the malt and sweet charachter in the beer, Truly excellent.

Date: March 16, 2008
Mode: Draft, Nitro
Source: Brick Store Pub
Appearance: hazy burnt orange, fine beige head, scattered lace
Aroma: huge smokey wood aroma like a slab of hickory smoked bacon
Body: creamy body
Flavor: dry dark caramel malt flavor, layers and layers of smoke, lots of earthyness with the smoke keeps it very dry, very woody, touch of dark caramel sweetness tries to break through but can’t find its way through the smoke, by the third glass you become saturated with the smoke and the caramel sweetness blooms and provides the perfect balance to the smoked earth
Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 8/10; Overall: 16/20
Rating: 3.9/5.0
Drinkability: 6/10
Score: *** /4

(3/17/08) Draught at De Wildeman in Amsterdam. Deep amber with a small and stable off-white head. Aroma of smoked meat. Very smoked sweetish flavor with sausage (salami and kabanos mostly) and malt. A dry, rather hoppy, finish. Medium-bodied. Really good and quite refreshing. I really hope to have it again some day.

Cask (gravity) @ Schlenkerla, 96049 Bamberg, Germany. Unclear light to medium amber brown color with a large, frothy - creamy, excellent lacing, fully lasting, beige head. Aroma is moderate malty, roasted, caramel, wood, moderate smoke. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet bitter with a long duration. Body is medium to full, texture is oily - creamy, carbonation is soft - flat. At last i manage to taste this beer, I was so excited. It is so nice and smooth and easy to drink. Delicious beer... the smoke is very well balanced. We was sitting in the Old Original room and did get more than 5 mugs of this fantastic beer, so nice ;o)) (200308)