Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen

Brewed by Brauerei Heller
Style: Smoked
Bamberg, Germany

Serve in Dimpled mug, Lager glass, Stein

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UPDATED: OCT 2, 2006 Cask @ Schlenkerla, Bamberg. Dark brown color with small head. Smokey aroma. Very soft and smokey. Bottle. Dark brown color with large head. Very smokey aroma. Very soft and smokey. Really enjoyable beer.

A deep red beer with a good head. The aroma is tar and smoke dominated. And the flavor is very powerful and dominated by tar and smoke. Really a great beer.

(Bottle 50 cl) Dark brown, with a nice, lasting beige head. Rather dry, not that heavy but solidly smoked throughout. The smoke almost drowns any other flavour, and takes some getting used to. But whenerver that happens, this turns out quite quenching. I doubt that smoked beers will ever be a clear favourite though. 091200

From 50 cL bottle. Pours amber brown with a lacing light brown head. Meady and smoked aroma. Bacon flavoured and quite smoked. Damn this is good.

UPDATED: AUG 24, 2009 Dark amber with rich, stable head. Densely smokey aroma, quite reminiscent of smoked ham. Full bodied with big maltiness and nicely salty, very bitter finish. The intense woody smokiness is there all the way through. Simply a world class beer in it’s own style. When had from the wood at Schlenkerla it gains yet another dimension - combining intesne flavours with Franconian drinkability and softness. If you’ve only had it from bottle or keg - you don’t know what you’re missing!

Bottled. Brown colour with minor brownish head. Aroma is made of wet burnt wood (or coal). Taste of burnt wood (alt. smoked fish). Extremely smoky. Some of my friends love this one, I didn’t like it that much, but it sure differs a lot from "normal" beers.

Draught at the brewpub. Clear brown coloured with a solid brown head. Aroma of malts, smoke and hops. Smokey flavour of malts, wood and hops with some sweetness. Hoppy finish. The bottled edition is more smokey but less sweet and hoppy (6-3-6-3-13).

UPDATED: JAN 11, 2011 Bottle. Very smoky aroma. Wood, chew tobacco. Flavour is of course also quite smokey. It is hard to taste anything but smoke, even though the carbonation balances it a bit. Seems malty. Bitterness shows itself once "the smoke clears" from your palate. Mouthfeel is nice and smooth.

UPDATED: DEC 25, 2011
Name: Marzen
Date: July 01, 1996
Mode: Bottle
Source: BrickSkeller, DC
Appearance: very dark amber, scant head
Aroma: strong smokey aroma
Flavor: very strong smoke flavor on top of a slight malt flavor, smoke stays long after the beer is gone

Name: Marzen
Date: March 11, 2000
Mode: draft
tap, mac cumming, very subdued compared to the bottle

Aroma: 9/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 4/5.0
Score: **** /4

Name: Marzen, Distilled, Couveur
Date: October 13, 2011
Mode: Bottle
Source: Mac McGee
Appearance: clear copper, viscous with legs
Aroma: sweet smokey caramel aroma
Flavor: sweet caramel flavor, lots of smoke, sweet caramel and vanilla balances the smoke, light oak hiding behind the smoke

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 8/10; Palate: 7/10; Overall: 17/20
Rating: 4.1/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **** /4

UPDATED: SEP 30, 2011
2011-09-30, draught at Ølbaren, Copenhagen, 10-5-8-4-17=44
In the large mug the color seems very dark; the head is creamy. The nose is full of smoked ham, followed by campfire. Good caramel flavor, but the body has less impact than usual, the mouthfeel is drier, and with more roastiness; usual bitterness. The final is quite dry

2011-02-12, at the brauhaus, from fass, 9-5-9-5-19=47
And finally, here I am at the mother of all rauchbiers...
I got two glasses, one was last of the small fass, one was the beginning of a small fass.
Dark chestnut color; generous, compact head. The aroma is less strong than from a regular tap, but very harmonious; it mixes the smoke, with the wood campfire, and some roasted nuts; not fat, nor sour (but the new fass shows some butter too). The carbonation is very mild, therefore the flavors can develop better; caramel, chocolate, smoke, roasted nuts... Somehow there is some residual sweetness too. The flavor is worth an 8, but it gets at least an additional point because of the harmony and blend. Correct bitterness. The final has a good mix of smooth caramel, smoke and bitterness. Perfect.

2010-02-14, bottle, bb 06-2005, about 6 years old, 9-5-9-4-17=44
Dark brown color; generous creamy head, reducing to a thin layer and nice lace. Nice smoke aroma, with roasted chestnuts, dust, light pepper and wood. Mellow caramel flavor, smoked, woody; the body is lean; lower bitterness, not sweet but the age has softened the corners; the final shows a good mix of caramel and smoke. No signs of oxidization. Marvelous.

2009-10-09, draught at Ølbaren, Copenhagen, 9-5-7-4-16=41
Beautiful mahogany color, generous creamy head. All around the glass it spreads its wonderful aroma, smoky, deep, with just a bit reminding smoked sausages. Caramel flavor, less sweet than I would prefer, with medium body strength, and of course the smoked malt. The final has a quite low bitterness, some comes from caramelized sugars. Very well brewed; personally I prefer the Urbock.

2007-04-02, draught at Bishop’s Arms, Malmö, 8-5-8-4-16=41
Beautiful dark amber color; generous creamy head. Very nice smokey aroma, harmonious, sweet. The flavor has more roasted malt (and therefore bitterness), than the bottled version, which also hides the smokey character more; some nice hop as well. But it’s a great beer as usual.

2002-11-14, bottle, 8-5-8-4-16=41
Misty dark brown color, with a big persistent head. Very nice smoked aroma, hiding some malt. The taste is very well balanced, smoked of course, with some malt and the right blend of bitterness; quite dry.
I’m just figuring out which food to eat with, the next times…