Aecht Schlenkerla Fastenbier

04.07.05 16oz, hand-bottled from growler by TAR. Hazed chestnut, glowing. Sports a creamy khaki head mixed with some sizeable bubbles despite the stress it’s been put through in its short life. Aroma is deep with woodsmoke, hints of brine, more smoke, ripe grain, layer after layer of smoke, and something of a caramelized fruit quality (raisin?). First sip and wow! Now this is a session beer! As dominant as the smoke is on the nose, on the palate this seems more like an alt with some definite toasty (pretzel) notes and a bit salty. Smoke is integrated beautifuly to simply play into the overall impression. And while more heavily smoked than the majority of ’smoked’ brews seem to be, it’s maybe the least smoky of the Aecht Schlenkerlas that I’ve tried. The body is soft, very wet and refreshing; hints of tangy hops bitterness on the back of the palate. Damn, this stuff’s invigorating. I feel younger for having drunk this ambrosia. Thank you Jeff!

After dreaming about this beer for the last couple of nights, I’ve come to realize that I grossly underated the stuff. I’ve been waking with the DTs thinking about smoke. Previous rating 4.3

Tap at Ginger Man. Deep brown beer with a touch of ruby colour and a light yeasty haze topped by a 1/2” of creamy white head. Really gorgeous looking pint. Nose is amazing, soft beechwood smoke over soft bready/doughy malts. Light toasted wheat and a chewy breadiness. A hint of sulfur and light munich malt as well. Smells amazing. Flavour is great as well, soft texture shows off the lightly kilned malts to their utmost, with the smoke serving to accent the inherent sweetness. Minerally bitterness on the back with a touch of sulfury flavour adds an interesting note to the malts. Warming brings up a hint of berryish fruits. So good, it’s almost sinful. My favourite Schlenkerla. Another lucky find for me.

Draft: Unfiltered auburn. Loose but sticky off-gray foam. Fascinating nose chock-full of bready malt and honey-glazed smoked prosciutto. Faint leather, anise, and burnt toffee. Softly lush carbonation. Dash of acidity immediately deepens the rich smoke flavor. Thoroughly complex malt notes teem with sticky caramel drippings that segregate the mineral grittiness and lush, malt dust-laced foundation. Perfect level of datelike sweetness cuts the smoked poultry tang, but the attenuation magically remains impeccable. Finishes clean as a whistle but with an equally-rustic edge of ashen wood notes slowly cushioned by caramel and fresh bread as smoky phenolic whispers develop alongside firm herbal-accented hop bitterness and a neatly-tucked spicy anise punch. An “other-worldly” rauchbier, and perhaps the best smoked session beer on the planet.

On tap at Three Floyds. Damn this stuff was smokey and awesome. Pours a nice clear bright orangey woody brown with a massive lasting white head. Aroma is very smokey, yet, clean and refined- huge in smoked meats some light salmon, and constrained campfire- heavy on the smooth woody cold beechwood smokiness with some moderate sweet caramell nuttiness. Immense nutty toasty smokiness, tons of bacon, and smoked brisket and a drying smooht as hell finish. I was hungover as shit when I had this, but it still tasted fanstastic and I swore I felt 100 times better after I drank this.

Tap at Blind Tiger - beautiful amber body with a frothy, dense head - strong, but not overpowering aroma of hickory and beechwood smoke, with subtle hints of munich malt - very soft carbonation and a creamy body/mouthfeel (wonderful texture) - mild bock-ish sweetness, with touches of bready/doughy flavors and some caramel - slight touches of vanilla and fruit esters (cherry, mostly) - the wood and smoke flavors are integrated extremely well, and the wood notes in particular combine really well with the sweetness, and add a hint of spice - a tiny bit of phenolics in the background, but they work well with the smoke - this beer is pretty much flawless - if I were fasting, I would drink this all day long - hell, I’d drink it all day long regardless.