Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen

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

Bottle pours a bright, deep-mahogany with a creamy, ecru head that holds and laces. While this beer conjures the same aromas as the <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/aecht-schlenkerl I tried recently ("smoked sausage or ham, charcoal, campfire"), the flavor and palate are more savory and refined. I find no chemical slant but instead I stumble across dark fruit in the flavor. The aftertaste is at once smoke and roasted malt, and a buttery note to the palate makes the meatiness of the beer simply mouthwatering. By far the best Rauchbier I’ve tried.

<font size=-4><a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Wine & Spirits, Countryside, IL 60525<font size=-1>

Very smokey aroma, bacon. Nice head, 3/4 inch, light tan. Smoke taste, with carmalized ham, this is like Thanksgiving in a bottle. Wow, malty beginning, then the smoke and carmel ham kick in, AWESOME BREW!

What an aroma. Absolutely divine. Savory smoked bacon, light sweetness way back there somewhere. It also looks marvelous in the glass. Frothy light tan head murky ruby body. But that aroma. Yum. It is actually making me salivate. If only dear Dr Pavlov were here. The flavor is also very savory, bacon, salt, sweetness comes through more here. Nicely bitter, especially in the finish. The palate is soft full and feels like a mouthfull of liquid meat! I keep reflexively trying to chew while drinking this marvelous creation. Stunning in its smokiness and so well put together. Wow. Umm I hear a bell so I have to run now...

The bottle looks good, the beer in the glass also. Smells very much like smoked bacon. Tastes the same. Very spicy, roast-malty, dry finish. Not my favourite!

Poured a dark copper amber with a medium creamy beige head, leaves a slight lace. The aroma is rich and smokey, slight meaty notes, thick aroma. Very genuine and intense smoke taste and aroma. Not as good as the urbock, but still great.

Bottle sampled with Stegosaurus. Pours dark with a white head. Aroma of smoke, and smoked sausages. Flavor is sausage-like, smoke, and slight bitterness, sounds disgusting, but it was unusually pretty good.

16.9oz bottle. My third of the Schlenkerlas I bought a couple months back. Pours a clear brown with a red tinge with a medium-large frothy khaki head. Head stayed throughout, and the lacing was so thick there was just one big lace in my glass. The first aroma I pick up on is of course smoked malts (think campfire), a little metal, and pepper. Not quite as smoky in the flavor, though it is dominant. Some roasty malts in there as well. A little bit of a slight bitter, chalky finish with some charcoal ash. Could have a little more carbonation, but a solid beer nonetheless.

500 mL. Dark mahogany with red highlights and small but lasting head. Aroma is peppery smoke with some sweet barbecue sauce on a rib hiding underneath. Flavor is initially smoke, smoke and more smoke: but after a few sips the malt comes out from behind the cloud and the barbecue fun really begins. The herby-bitter hops show up a little later to turn the glass towards a balancing act of herbal spices, smooth and earth-rich molasses, jerky, and of course the overarching heart-of-wood smoke. Palate is surprisingly smooth and not quite medium-bodied. Give this one at least half of a (glass) chance and I think you will be pleasantly surprised, even if you don’t like rauchbier.