Aecht Schlenkerla Helles Lagerbier

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

Pours gold with a thick white head. Aroma of malt, earth, butter and some smoke. Flavor is basically of a helles with smoky notes. Balanced palate with medium mouthfeel. Could be darker, but an interesting beer.

Bottled: Light smoky aroma, malty, butter, hoppy and a bit grainy. Golden color. Smoky but not too intensive smoky flavor. Sweetness, malty and light grassy notes. Astringent, hopped and light bitter finish. A bit too light bodied.

Bottle. Clear medium yellow / orange color with a average frothy good lacing white head. Aroma is moderate malty, toasted, bread light, grain, light hoppy, grass, earth, butter, light light smoke. Flavor is moderate sweet and light bitter with a average to long duration. Body is medium, texture is watery to oily, carbonation is soft.

Tap. Very quaint and refreshing helles, though not quite what one would expect from Schlenkerla, nor a helles, if that makes sense. A bit of off bitterness, but a very clean finish, quite quaffable. Pleasant.

Pale yellow-golden pour with small white head that diminishes quickly. Combination of light smoke and bready grain in the aroma. Bitter finish after a slightly sweet start. Subtle flavors of bacon, dough. Crisp mouthfeel and the finish is moderately long. Medium body. Very nice.

Draught at Reading Beer Festival, April 2006. Gold colour with a light sparkle. Despite the absence of "Rauch" in the name, this has the signature Schlenkera smoky bacon profile in abundance, especially in the aroma. There are spicy hop notes in the flavour that do not clash with the smoke, but compliment it. Fantastic stuff.

Perfectly clear deep gold color, sizeable white head with large bubbles popping and leaving a spider web of lacing on the glass. Nose is a bit stenchy, with some assertive buttered biscuit malt scents and some more subtle dough, creame and even lemons or oranges... with the smoke character coming out as it warms. Grassy, vegetal hops as well, and a small hint of charred and smoked corn when cold, more full in the nose when warm. Slick and oily up front, then drying and almost peppery on the back of the tongue. Dried out quickly into the finish. The smoke I think works well with the more light and oily biscuit malt flavors. It certainly stands out from both regular rauchbier and from helles.

Pours a two-finger white head that fades quickly to a thin layer leaving traces of lace. Almost clear pale amber color. Smoky nose. Light-medium carbonation and medium bodied. Flavor is smoky sausage, way more than "a hint of smokiness". Clean finish. $3.30 for a 500ml bottle from Tully’s Beer & Wine Wells, Me.