Aecht "Schenk-Erla"
The Olde Mecklenburg Brewery

 

 

 

 

 

 

Draft at Old Meck. Goldish/amber pour, finger of off white head.

Aroma, smoke is REALLY subtle. Some grainy and toasted malt and toffee.

Taste, again a nice grainy malt. Some caramel and bread. The smoke is a nice accent throughout and lasts nicely throughout. Finish is a little herbal, anise and smoke. Thought this opened up a bit more as it warmed.

Heavy side of light body. Good carbonation, no real sign of the 7%. Pretty easy drinking.

Reminded me more of some of the smoked wheat malt beers I've had rather than the Bamberg classics. Still was pretty good, more of a warm weather Rauchbier.

 

On tap at the brewery. Pours a clear copper with a finger of creamy bright-white head. Good retention here that dots the sides of the glass with sticky swathes of lace. The aroma has a light meaty smokiness to it, backed by notes of caramel and fresh citrus flavors. A touch of a leafy feel hangs on the edges. Like the nose, the taste has a pleasant subtleness to it from the smoke, which nicely compliments the caramel sweetness and even a touch of roast that is present. A light, green flavored citric gives this just enough crispness to keep this actually quite drinkable. The feel is medium bodied with a firm creaminess to the carbonation and an overall nice presence in the mouth, especially for 7%. This was an interesting beer. Part of me wanted to them to go the full distance with the smoke in this but on the other hand, I also appreciated that they were trying for something here with a Rauchbier character but more drinkable than that style normally is. Anyway, this was decent but I’d still love to see them go for a more straight forward take on the style at some point as well.