Aecht Schlenkerla Helles Lagerbier

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

Mild smoky aroma, golden colored, big white head, malty, sweet, much lighter smokiness than some of their other beers, very enjoyable.

500 ml bottle from Stateline Liquors in Elkton, MD (April 2006), cellar temperature pour in a La Chouffe tulip. No date on the bottle but looked relatively fresh. It pours incredibly clear, very pale gold with quite a thick, smooth snowy head that diminishes slowly leaving significant fine lacing....the nose at first exhibits that typical Schlenkerla meat-smoked-over-hardwood character, entrancing and sweet, but even with just a couple of minutes in the glass lighter, grass lager characteristics show up, dry hay mingling with applewood and lean bacon, more subtle and less intense than the rest of the brewer’s work but not much less inviting....in the body, ah that’s a premium German lager, no doubt about it, plenty of noble hop presence as clean grassiness up front and increasing in robust bitterness towards the finish, smoky hardwood sweetness and delicately caramelized malts playing a presence as well....carbonation is unsurprisingly fairly low and in this case I think maybe it works against the beer, creating a little stickiness that seems to argue against the heavy finishing bitterness rather than partner with it, and showing transparently a fair amount of metallic character as well (the water, perhaps?)....all in all not quite on a par with the rest of the Schlenkerlas IMHO though it is still drinkable and distinctive enough.

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.

Bright straw color with a moderate white bubbly head. Mild medicinal smoke aromas, with hints of floral hops and a touch of dry grain. Very light and soft of the tongue. Pale malt sweetness is taken away quickly by a light birch smoke flavor. Rather full bitterness in the finish and linger. Easy drinking smoked brew, perfect for that mid summers night grill out.

Pours a clear bright, lightly-effervescent golden with a thin-lacing airy white head. Very nice aroma of lightly sweet pilsner malt and a good amount of smoke, despite there not being any Rauchmalz used in the recipe, balanced with some noble hops. Body starts with lots of sweet biscuity malt, some lager yeast character and bittering hops before a crisp, dry, lightly smoked finish. A nice helles.

Aroma is smokey with a decent level of malt too, clear amber, pours a medium sized white head. Taste is lightly smoked malt, with just the right amount of hops. Very well balanced, lovely drinking, and the smokiness is most unique. Really fine! I’ve wanted to try this one for a long time, Thank You for sharing mds!

Strong smokey aroma. Typical smoked ham flavor. Hoppy and absolutely dry with a hint of maltiness and some hidden fruitiness. Long burnt wood finish. A classic!

Poured a clear light yellow color with a small white head. Big smokey aroma. The smell reminds me of the way band-aids smelled when I was young. Not in a bad plastic beer flaw way though. The flavor was lightly malty with pleasant smokey notes. Light body.