Aecht Schlenkerla Helles Lagerbier Unfiltriert
Schlenkerla (Heller-Bräu Trum)

 

16 oz can poured into a nonic pint glass. Pours a brilliant light yellow with a gorgeous creamy head. Aroma and flavor feature subtle smoke which integrates beautifully with a bready/biscuity malt base. Hints of minerality and earthy/floral hops. Overall a fantastic beer. This would be a great introduction to smoked beers - not "challenging" at all IMO.

Update: bought a 0,5L bottle dated 11/2023 to-go from the brewery in Bamberg. This beer follows their regular Helles so it’s a great comparison. Straight away pours beautifully. As if their Helles wasn’t good enough, this unfiltered version is even richer and creamier. Body and feel are off the charts. Truly incredible malt/grain bill. Subtle smoke throughout with a bit of sweetness. I could drink this or their Helles every single day. Stellar!

 

 

Slightly cloudy hazed golden apricot pour with a creamy two fingers of snow cap white head.
Aroma of bready grainy malt, mildly grassy with a distinct minerality and a definite whiff of light smoke admixed with earthy hops.
Malty bready flavour again with the earthy hop and that minerality - light sulphur - and a decent smokey hit (though not meaty/ham like as with their Marzen or Urbock); decent bitterness at the end.
Light but decent body with bright carbonation - punches above 4.3% - malty, smokey, earthy finish.

This pours a really nice head with plenty of retention for it's weight. Aroma is fresh sourdough bread, light beechwood smoke and noble hops... which all come through in the flavour. It's a surprising amount of flavour for a 4.3% brew. Light to moderate body with a crisp finish.

 

 

Pours an unclear yellow with thick, fluffy head.

Smell is crisp and bready with some hints of smoked ham and crackers. Notes of rye, knäckebröd and citrus.

Taste is bready, crisp and clean with some subtle smokiness. Notes of rye, knäckebröd, citrus and ham. Solid bitterness and excellent balance.

Mouthfeel is medium, a bit creamy and well carbonated.

Overall, a terrific smoked lager, subtle but full of flavor.

This one's something special, boys. Dark and hazy straw colour with a massive, choppy, puffy, four-finger white head despite a gentle pour that lingers for days and leaves buxom rings of lacing as it reluctantly subsides. On the nose, huge bread dough malt, earthy hops, and gentle campfire smoke. The taste follows, with the smoke more prominent on the finish, mingling with the massive bread dough malt to create a deep, rich, toasty aftertaste. And yet it manages to be actually refreshing! And despite the smoke, the earthy hops are still detectable, easy to parse out, and add a welcome but gentle bitterness. It's also super smooth going down. The carbonation is light, almost like the majority of it dissipated on the pour, and there's just enough for it not to feel flat. Overall this is a truly great beer, delicious, deeply rich and complex, yet drinkable and refreshing, which is quite surprising for a Rauchbier. This one is not to be missed.

16oz Can
Glass: 0.5L Willibecher
Temp at Pour: 51.7 F


Look:
Somewhat hazy and murky golden yellow with a 3-finger foamy white head. The head slowly dissipates to a 1/2-to-3/4 finger, leaving very nice lacing along the sides of the glass.

Smell:
Biscuity and perhaps crackery bread dough with a light touch of lemon or zest. Of course smoke is present. The smoke is noticeable but is not as dominant nor overpowering as other Schlenkerla offerings. This smoke has campfire notes, but it is a campfire in the distance. I can even detect some cut grass and hay.

Taste:
Similar to the nose, but the smoke and campfire are more prominent. The sip starts off with a "light" campfire note and that remains throughout the sip. The biscuity and crackery malts are in the background. The spicy zest asserts itself mid-sip. Things finish dry with some zesty/spicy bitterness and that lovely and restrained smoke.

Feel:
Crisp and smooth. The body is light-medium, obviously affected by the yeast in solution.

Overall:
A nice and flavorful kellerbier or helles with just enough smoke. This is a good summertime "light" Rauchbier. As a matter of fact, I enjoy this on warm rainy days (or nights) where a more standard Rauchbier would be a bit too much.

Schlenkerla Helles Spezial

Pours a slightly unfiltered golden color with an enormous, pillowy head.

Smells of flowery garden herbs, lighter, strawy horse blanket and spicy bread dough among matured noble hops and a note of caramel.

Mouthfeel on this is surprisingly smooth, defined by a lower Initial carbonation level, slowly ramping up and resulting into a refreshing effervescence.

Tastes of sugary white bread rind, old grass and bitter, spicy, leafy noble hops with a rustic, subtle malt balance. Offers an intriguing candle wax and toffee malts interplay among a coumarin hoppiness. Finishes with rich straw, additional rock sugar and dominating, dry hops with an utmost rustic, slightly salty and smoky flavor profile, leading to a crisp, bitter finish.

This is a fantastic Helles with not much smoke to speak of but an insanely well put composition of flavors.

From the bottle, it pours an almost clear light yellow color with a nice white head that soono reduces to a ring and leaves lacing. The nose gets a light malt scent with possibly a touch of smoke. The mouth definitely gets a touch of smoke, along with a nice helles flavor.

16 ounce can, no dating on it that I noticed. Served in a dimpled mug, the beer pours a somewhat hazy gold color with about an inch and a half frothy off-white head that stayed around for a while. Head retention is pretty good too. The brew smells like bready/grainy malt, apple, banana, honey, herbal hops, pears and a bit of smoke. Taste pretty much follows the aroma, but there's a hint of lemon noticeable too. Mouthfeel/body is light/medium, it's smooth and easy to drink with a moderate amount of carbonation. I liked this brew, worth a try if you like Helles lagers but I have to say I prefer their smoked beers.

From pint can with no visible date.

Poured into my pilsener glass this beer is a clear straw gold with a bright white cap which falls quickly leaving traces of soapy lace.

Scent is light crisp floral and grassy/herbal hops and a very subtle note that reminds me of smoked meats.

Taste is very lightly smoked malt and crisp hops. Lightly bready notes. Apple. Pear. Hay. The smoke contribution here is very subtle. I don't actually taste anything "smoky" but the flavor is slightly thickened and intensified over that of a non smoked Helles. There's something that suggests a meaty note like smoked ham. It's a sort of savory note.

Mouth is a crisp medium with a fine carbonation.

Subtle and very drinkable. Overall a delightful lager and and an intriguing departure from the traditional Helles. An ideal introduction to smoked beers for the neophyte.

 

The colour is yellow, the liquid clear. The three-finger head is white and airy, and it sinks slowly dowl leaving massive amounts of thick lacing on the glass. Lots of bubbles are visible in the liquid.

The smell got distinct delicatessen smoke flavours, although on a lower level than the proper smoke beers from this brewery. It is quite sweet with some bread and herbal hops. Hints of metal and fresh flowers.

The taste is balanced with French loaf, creamy malt flavours and slowly growing hay hops. There is a smooth delicatessen smokiness, too. It is quite dry. Light to medium body. The aftertaste is rather light and dry with some salty smoked sausages, floral hops, low to medium clean bitterness and a hint of butter. The finish is fresh with bread and smoke.

The carbonation is medium strong, lots of small smooth bubbles. The liquid is smooth.

Not as in-your-face smoky as most of the Schenkerla beers. Highly balanced and quaffable.