Aecht Schlenkerla Helles Lagerbier

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

Light lucid straw with a small white head. Aroma is fresh yeasty dough and musty at the same time and I swear there’s this funky banana smell too. Light and crisp on the palate. It tastes a little like bananas, smoked bologna, and faint hops. Very drinkable as a Helles should be.

(50 cl bottle) Smoked? No way! No smoke what so ever in this one... Pale Lager for sure! Clear pale golden color, small white head. Sweet sugary malty scent, some corn. Sweet malty and vegetable taste. Medium mouthfeel and bitterness.

Orange in color with medium white head. There wasn’t much to the aroma. Flavor was interesting. My first smoked beer. It was really good for a lager, but I guess smoked is a different category..

Bottle. Aroma: Biscuity malt, noble hops, apples, and faint whisper of smoke. Appearance: Light amber in color and clear. Off white head was full and frothy with good retention. Fair lacing. Flavor: Biscuity malt with a nice caramel note, noble hops that slant towards the spicey/earthy. Smoke is subtle and ties with everything else pretty well. Medium bitterness and a medium-sweet finish. Palate: Medium-light bodied. Medium carbonation. Overall: I liked this one. Smoke was interesting rather than overpowering.

Pours with the look of a standard lager. Smoky, slightly skunky aroma. More hops than usual in a german helles, and a nice smoky touch in the aftertaste.

Bottle at j-betskis in raleigh, nc! This is wonderful smoke beer very subtle smoke flavor. pour amber with light head and lacing. nice hoppiness on the mouthfeel and a light smoke finish

Bottle from Frugal McDugal in Nashville. A second hand smoked beer eh? Pours a translucent golden with sudsy white head that dissipates to a ring. Strong aroma for the style, which is biscuit. bread, and european hops. Flavor as lots of biscuit and grass that transitions to a european hop (noble?) finish, with some hard water/ mineral notes. The smoke is subtle on my palate, as I only catch it at the back of the mouth before it goes down. As it warms, you can pickup a little more. My wife picked up tons of smoke on the first sip. Perhaps I am becoming accustomed to smoke in beers or my receptors are not as sensitive. I liked this beern because it is a unique and fairly aggressive Helles.

on tap at the hop devil grill, NYC. thin creamy white head, clear yellow body. aroma is a bit metallic & grassy. smoke is super faint if noticeable at all. smells like a bottlecap. flavor is a bit spicy up front, medium carbonation, then dry grassy malt and a bit metallic. not really getting the smoke. the guy who distributes this told me there’s a big difference b/c it’s on tap, and would be more smoky from the bottle.