Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen

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

Draught. Clear brown colour with a longlasting tan head. Has a smoked aroma with some hints of sausages. Malty and slightly smokey flavor. Has a long malty slightly smokey aftertaste, with some bitterness.

Bottled. A deep brown coloured beer with a whitish head. The aroma obviously has smokiness but not as much as expected, it is much more subtle than that. It is a meaty smokiness, and this really comes out in the taste which is devine. It is so, so tasty; my only criticism being that it needs a little more body. A World classic beer. Score 4.4
Subsequent rating scored 3.8. Average becomes 4.1

After the initial shock of the smoked ham (!) taste this beer becomes very moreish. Its one of my favourites and I recommend it to all open-minded beer drinkers. Update - finally had this on cask and it was incredible. Well worth my original 4.6.

Wow....5 for appearance. Deep orange/ruby color with a medium ecru head. Huge aroma of malt, smoke, sausage, poontang, and scotch...like the aroma of a German maiden who stuffed a weinerschnitzel up her peckergrabber. Tastes malty, with a wonderfully delciious taste of weiners, campfire smoke, burnt hot dogs, and smoked salmon...the taste is more sausagy than salmony, but it almost defies description. It is simply delectable, and perhaps the most unique taste I have ever tasted. Palate is medium, and the finish is smooth, smoky, and crisp. I bought two of these...one for me and one for a trade, but I’ll be going back for more. The best rauchbier I have ever had...bar none. To appreciate this, you must have some palate experience with a variety of beers...otherwise, you may find it harsh or "odd". As for me, I’ve got a kielbasa in my hand and I’m going to Germany with it to find a fair maiden.........

Dark red brown with a fluffy head, some lacing. Aroma of smoke, tar, smoked meat. The meat seems even more present in the flavour.

Brown beer with distinctive smokey bacon aroma, more like smoked herring which for me is a good thing. Smokey bacon chips in the mouth, with a cetian sweetness to the malts. Had 2 bottles of this in a vertical tasting, and the oldest bottle had the most intense taste, and the mmost body. God is good!

Bottle. Head is initially small, frothy/fizzy, light brown, mostly diminishing. Body is medium to dark brown. Aroma is moderately malty (toasted dark bread, roasted grain), with a strong note of smoke and smoked meat, note of ash. Flavor is moderately sweet, lightly bitter. Finish is moderately bitter. Medium body, watery texture, soft/lively carbonation. Lately, the Maerzen and Urbock have just not been up to snuff...all the samples I’ve had in the past year or two have been undercarbonated and not very intense in either nose or mouth. The weizen is still great, but it’s sad to see the flagships stumble in quality.

Aroma and flavor are wonderful, though I think a bit less complex than the Urbock. More woody on the nose and hoppy on the tongue, a gorgeous deep red hue, and wonderfully smooth and silky going down. This could be the best brewery in the world, folks. Now for that Weiss . . .