Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen

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

Great meat marinade. Over the top smoke and wood on the palate. not near enough balance for me personally but still well crafted.

Pours black, little ring of foam on the outskirt. Smoky smell reminding of a Hygrade smoked sausage; in the mouth, the first contact is a lot smoother than the nose was leading to believe, almost disapoointing in it smoothness, oh, in the aftertase, the smoke finally appears, followed by some mild bitterness and then by some more smoke. Overall, smoother to the mouth than the nose led to believe.

Comparing this to the weizen it is a little smoother, not quite as potent with the smoke, more full bodied and a little sweeter. Head is minimal and a light tan. Color is a clear amber/brownish.

Very surprised I’ve never rated this. Deep ruby amber, crystal clear. Moderate to strong wood smoked bacon aroma, touch of malt sweetness. Some bitter hops, medium to full-bodied. Woody smoky flavor, malty too, there’s some heft to this. A touch of minerally water in the smokey finish. This is the stuff. I’m likely seriously underrating this.

Dark cola bourbon colour with dark beige short lasting head. My instant reaction to the aroma was smoked fish but there are faint hints of wood and malt lingering somewhere. Medium body with a mild bitter start and middle, a sweetish finish fading to a pleasant dry aftertaste. Difficult to rate as it’s my first smoked and the novelty factor is still high. Like porters I don’t know how many I could drink in one sitting. Maybe one or too. Still nice though.

Deep maroon under a tan cream. Smoky, tarry aroma, softly coniferous with thick malts and spicy caraway. Dark chocolate before the sweetness of oily rye bread; bitter spices fade into a lingering tobacco aftertaste and building smokiness. Velvety—almost oily—good attenuation, pinpoint carbonation.

Satisfying and continually refreshing; a quaffable contemplative pint.

50 cl bottle, best before November 2008.

Rerated on 11 January ’08. Much different than my experience many beers ago. Sure, there’s still plenty of smoke -- rich and sultry -- but refined, bready malts can easily be detected behind the glowing, ashy remnants of a previous evening’s campfire. Light mineral presence in the aroma along with barely noticeable earthy hops. Rich, light brown hue with a medium, frothy, khaki head. The flavor is smoky and dry throughout with a malty, almost toffee-like, sweetness in the background. Feels a bit acidic, or perhaps it’s just the smoke playing tricks on my tongue. Iodine and Bakelite notes emerge with some warmth. I still get a little bit of fruitiness from this one, but it seems more like pears this time around. A bit of smoothness is gained from a little more warmth. Medium bodied with an oily texture and moderate carbonation. A little experience has gone a long way in my enjoyment of this beer. Previous score of 7,4,7,3,14=3.5.

50 cL bottle, goblet. No real Märzen qualities show themselves in the aroma. There’s lots of smoke, but nothing nasty like liquid smoke. Even though it’s absurdly over the top, it’s quality. A thick, creamy, white head is short and sits on a deep maroon body. Moderately sweet, lightly acidic flavor becomes a moderately sweet, lightly bitter, lightly astringent finish. There’s actually some nice caramel-apple Märzen flavors under the smokiness. Hard to tell too much about it though. Medium body, watery texture, soft carbonation. The bottom line is: it’s good, but do I have to like it?

Sample at Sleepy Bear tasting 09/30/06 - Aroma is smoke, beef jerky, roasted carmel and burnt toffee. Pours dark brown with a medium head and good lacing. Flavor matches aroma, kind of like licking hickory chips from the BBQ. Palate is sticky. A tasty brew that was a great compliment to the slow cooked pork.

I half-suspect that if you shat in a glass, these blokes could add smokemalt, ferment it and come back with something tasty. Damn, they’re good. This one doesn’t quite match the Urbock IMO, but it’s still a superb beer. Teak colour with a fat layer of foam that painted the glass beige on the way down. There’s a depth and intensity to their smokemalt that no other rauchbier (that I’ve sampled) matches. This has a rich aroma of hickory, oak cask, smoky bacon crisps and a meaty Christmas ham note. Doesn’t quite live up to the promise of the aroma. There was a hint of acetone and lemonade in the first sip before the smokemalt took over. Then it developed typical rauch burnt wood flavours, long and dry in the finish. For a rauch, this is ridiculously sessionable. Medium bodied and very rounded. Has anyone here done a tasting of all the Aecht Schlenkerla range side by side? If so, please beermail me - I’d be interested to read the results. (500ml bottle, IBS Perth, bb June 06)