Aecht Schlenkerla Rauchbier Märzen

Brewed by Brauerei Heller
Style: Smoked
Bamberg, Germany

Serve in Dimpled mug, Lager glass, Stein

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Helt såld bara på dess lukt. Bör egentligen smaka den igen för att kanske komma ner på jorden.

The first time I tried this beer was in its very original Bamberg. The city was in the midst of some local festival, with music, flowers, colours, sizzling sausages, polka dances, buxom girls carrying trays with an unbelievable amount beer "steins", smiley faces, red noses, and plenty of laughter. Had I not known I was in Germany, I could have sworn we had been dropped in Middle Earth’s Erebor. We made our way through the sea of Lederhosen without even cringing, until we finally found the brewery. And this is when I was born again. The beer was reddish brown, with a lovely sand-coloured head, very much as the bottled version that I took home and now, as I appreciate a new bottle. The aroma is a killer. The most heavenly smoked bacon, more specifically grün Speck. I love the spices and herbs that come with it, perhaps carraway, peppercorns and marjoram, not too pungent, always well hidden by the smoked pork. Yes, a full Franconian kitchen. In addition to the malts, that are sweet as love, the flavour is loaded with peat, smoke and wood again, and I cannot tell what type of lumber it is, but I can guarantee that it is one of the most formidable beer experiences. You should find some indications of fruits left in the cellar, the spices and that glorious smoked pork belly and all the salt that comes with it, bringing the beer to a notch up (or more) above the so many others. The hops are lost in this glorious dream of medieval carnivals and foolishness, but they come out in the bitter finish. This is an earthy, but smooth beer, perfectly balanced. I can perfectly sympathise with a moment of reckoning as one drinks it for the first time. The worst thing about it is that it makes the others look really really bad...

Bien rouge à la lumière, elle possède un petit col de mousse ; odorante, elle dégage sans surprise de fortes effluves de fumé, de bois calciné et de sucre. En bouche, tout est en subtilité, le fumé vient complimenter le sucré d’orge et le malté sans le dominer. C’est une sublime bière fumée, un modèle du genre, bien balancée mais sans timidité.

500 ml bottle into pint glass, no bottle dating. Pours fairly clear medium reddish brown color with a dense 2 finger cream colored head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lingers. Dense spotty soapy lacing clings down the glass, with some moderate streaming carbonation. Aromas of huge smoked wood, caramel, brown sugar, toast, bacon, ham, light roasted malt, brown bread, and smoked earthiness. Fantastic aromas with very prominent smoke character; with great balance and complexity of malt and smoke notes. Taste of smoked wood, caramel, brown sugar, toast, ham, brown bread, bacon, floral, light roasted malt, light clove, and smoked earthiness. Lingering notes of smoked wood, ham, caramel, brown sugar, toast, light roasted malt, brown bread, and smoke earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Very nice balance and complexity of malt and smoked flavors; with nice robustness and no cloying flavors after the finish. Medium carbonation and body; with a fairly creamy and smooth mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a slight warming noticed after the finish. Overall this is a highly excellent Rauchbier style! Great balance and complexity of smoke and malt flavors; and very smooth to drink. A highly enjoyable offering.

Cerveja antológica, extrema, costumo chamá-la de "meu suquinho de bacon". Defumação muito intensa, difícil de ser consumida em grandes quantidades, mas que representa uma experiência única de cerveja, e que definitivamente se completa em harmonizações com carnes e queijos também defumados. Não se pode morrer sem conhecê-la !

Classic example of a BALANCED beer. Not the hit-em-over-the-head American smoke beers that I have tasted. Just right. The Germans know what they are doing. American brewers take note. Less is more.

Deep brownish-orange in color with off-white head. Deep, meaty, salty smoke with faint ash, cheese, and fruity malt. Gentle, yet assertive. Flavor is more of the salty, semi-ashy smoke with background Munich-type malt fruitiness. Definitely smoke forward with base to the background. Yet, all flavors well blended and not overbearing. Medium creamy palate.

Pour brown with an amber hue. The "grey" head leaves some nice lacing. Aroma is smoky of course, only smoky in fact. Taste is quite dry with a low level of bitterness. Flavors are once again smoke, brown malts with a little grain. Mouthfeel is a little watery. Not bad, not great. Pretty average really but well made.

On tap at the brewpub. Pours a dark cola color with a thick tan cap. Smell is smokey, bacon, peat, roast and malt. Smell is fairly thick. Taste starts with roast, caramel. The smoke is more in the middle and is not as harsh as the aroma. The body is light/medium and the beer is slippery with mild carbonation which is finely constructed. I was happily surprised as to the complex flavor and easy drinking nature of this beer.

Bottle. Dark brown beer with a small beige head. The aroma is wonderful, smokey wood. The taste is smoked kippers, wood and roasted malts. A sensation of burnt charcoal lingers on the lips and tongue. An excellent beer.