Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen

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

remember having had a Schlenkerla Rauchbier (not sure which type) some years ago and thought it was like drinking smoke .... this one however tastes rather like a light stout (good dryness) with some smoked ham addition .... I am having it with some black forest ham ... just a delicious pairing ...

The first thing I noticed was the aroma. Never seen (smelled) a beer with such a potent aroma, and certainly never felt the smell of smoked pork bacon in a beer ! The head was light brown, pretty high and slow to disppear. The body was a beautiful deep, dark ruby red, and very promising. The flavour confirmed the aroma impression : very smoky, very filling too. Why I almost felt like I was drinking a whole meal! There was also a caramel second taste well concealed under the smoky first taste. My conclusion is, this is a very good beer for long Winter evening, in front of a fireplace, preferably sitting at my Stammtisch (habitual table) in a Bamberg restaurant ! Prost !

caramel,roasty rauch aroma, dark, and brown foam, medium sweet, medium bitter, good roasty bacan flavour, long bacon finish

Bottled. Very dark brown to amber colour. Nice, very creamy head is medium sized, white in colour and long lasting. Aroma has heavily smoked malts with some tar. Perhaps a hint of some dark berries? Almost no hops in this one. Slavor is sweet and malty, very distinctive wit this style. Palate is very smooth, soft carbonated and slic. A "warm" and smooth beer for slow sipping.

Tarry and smoky, softer but less intense than the urbock. Good stuff, one of the things that alko gets right by not letting it go after all these years.

On tap at redlight. Brownish red body. I was not at all surprised when I tasted this and meat came to mind. Nice smokey but not overpowering. Easily my favorite german brewery.

50cl bottle. Pours a dark amber brown maple syrup colored body with hints of red. Inch thick, beige, fizzy head that dissipates quickly and leaves a moderate lacing. Slightly darker in color and less laced than the urbock. Aroma is the least smoky out of the urbock and weizen, but still has that bonfire touch. This beer, in opposition, seems to have more berry fruit malts up front and the smoked character seems to balance out the malts rather than occupying most of the aroma like the urbock and weizen. No real roast smell, unlike the urbock. Flavor is sweeter than the urbock too. Initial pale malt flavors, light caramel sweet middle, and a balancing smoky finish. Still seems like the least smoke flavored out of the three. Finishes very lightly bitter, less than the urbock, but more malty sweet and a bit of a berry touch. Slightly woody and salty. Palate is medium to full, smooth, clean, and a little higher in carbonation that the other two, but not by much. Dry, but definitely the least dry of the three. Overall, if I was to introduce someone to a smoked beer, I think I would do it with this one. Its not an over the top smokiness like the weizen and its not as bitter as the urbock. I like the sweetness of this and the fact that the smoke seems to balance the malts very nicely, while still remaining pronounced. I would put this just under the urbock.

Boom! I feel like a kipper. I am smoked out. This is lovely. Intense and dark. Of course it is smokey and all the better for it. So many mental connections with meats like sausages and smoked hams. It has something of a honey glaze about it. Huge sweetness involved. Amazingly interesting and amazingly delicious.