Aecht Schlenkerla Helles Lagerbier

Brewed by Brauerei Heller
Style: Dortmunder/Helles
Bamberg, Bayern, Germany

14 Dec 07. 500ml bottle, blue & white bavarian flag label. Pours clear, 24K golden yellow. White very rocky head. A very light, almost undectable aroma of smoked malts. Flavor of smoke. But very light. Clean, crisp malt body. Very balanced. Earthy finish, with nice hop bitterness. Definately an unique brew.

500 ml bottle. I knew I tasted smoke on this beer. I thought I was crazy. Aromas were sweet malty, leaning toward pilsner. Flavor was crisp with some citrus notes and touches of smoke. Not bad. Interesting take on a helles.

Bright yellow gold color, with an off-white head, with a wet earthy, grainy pale malt nose, with a faint smokey note,with a hint of honeyed malt in the aroma follows through on a medium-bodied palate with a crisp, sweet honeyed pale malt, a bit corny also, with a mild smokey character, with a faint flowery hop note, with a subtle peppery spiciness, leading towards a shy smokey, lingering hop bittering finish.

Bouteille de 500 ml obtenue via Importations Privées Bièropholie. Arôme: Odeur de fumée. Apparence: La couleur est blonde avec une faible densité de bulle. Saveur: Goût de fumée avec une pointe d’houblons. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture légèrement huileuse. Moyenne effervescence en bouche. Présence de fumée en arrière goût. (Rating #1377)

A smallish head. Faint generally lagerish aroma. Cloudy, pale golden color. Just a hint of smoke, even though this is not actually a Rauchbier. Strong hops flavor for a lager and this is it’s strongest point.

Pours an unfortunate macro yellow with a loose conglomeration of big bubbles and a razor thin suggestion of a head. The nose is unfortunately a big skunked. (Shame too, this just showed up in my beer store!) Beyond the skunk this is a mildly sweet light lager with just the slightest hint of smoke. Maybe a bit grapey. The mouthfeel is thin and refreshing, what a lager of most sorts, like Helles, should be. The flavor is a bit better than the skunk suggests. A better than average euro lager at it’s heart. Bigger malt sweetness, but very light. A bit of hop bitterness. Some small aspect of grape. But there it is, just a touch of smoke. Not the huge sticky bacon, but more like campfire smoke. Oh how I miss drinking by a good camp fire... anyhow, a bit grapey. A bit tannic. Long dry finish, with, unfortunately, a bit of skunk.

Pours a clear, golden color with a quickly disappearing white head. Strong grain aroma, slightly metallic, hint of the upcoming smoked flavor, not much else. Thin body, but smoked flavor makes up for that. A dry, smoked wood in a fireplace is the best way to describe it, but not as smoked as the other Schlenkerla offerings. Easy drinking, clean finish. Great, if you can find it.

Bière blonde dorée, assez pâle, très claire. Faible col qui disparaît après peu de temps, effervescence très discrète. Le parfum est essentiellement celui de la fumée, mais légère. Il n’y a presque pas d’odeur de bière. Le goût est aussi dominé par la fumée, sans trop être aggressive. La finale est moyennement amère. Assez équilibrée. Le palais est mince, avec peu de gaz. Ce serait une partenaire parfaite pour un plat de fruit de mer ou de poisson. Elle se boit très bien pour une bière à la fumée, mais je n’abuserais pas...